Sermon Tone Analysis

A very religious man was once caught in rising floodwaters.

He climbed onto the roof of his house and trusted God to rescue him.

A neighbour came by in a canoe and said, “The waters will soon be above your house.

Hop in and we’ll paddle to safety.”

“No thanks” replied the religious man.

“I’ve prayed to God and I’m sure he will save me”

A short time later the police came by in a boat.

“The waters will soon be above your house.

Hop in and we’ll take you to safety.”

“No thanks” replied the religious man.

“I’ve prayed to God and I’m sure he will save me”

A little time later a rescue services helicopter hovered overhead, let down a rope ladder and said.

“The waters will soon be above your house.

Climb the ladder and we’ll fly you to safety.”

“No thanks” replied the religious man.

“I’ve prayed to God and I’m sure he will save me”

All this time the floodwaters continued to rise, until soon they reached above the roof and the religious man drowned.

When he arrived at heaven he demanded an audience with God.

Ushered into God’s throne room he said, “Lord, why am I here in heaven?

I prayed for you to save me, I trusted you to save me from that flood.”

“Yes you did my child” replied the Lord.

“And I sent you a canoe, a boat and a helicopter.

But you never got in.”

This silly story is a reminder to us that sometimes we get so caught up in what’s happening around us that we forget to listen for God’s voice in our lives.

It can also happen when a person throws in the towel and feels as though living for Jesus is no longer worth it.

They can allow all that is around us to cause us to forget the One Whom we serve.

Today, I hope you will be encouraged to:

Keep living for Jesus regardless of what may be happening all about us.

Let’s listen to what Habakkuk wrote in

Habakkuk 2:2

Live In Trust.

- 2:2-3

We left Habakkuk waiting for God to respond last time we visited this prophet.

Today, we get to hear God’s response.

Very simply, it is as if God is saying that He has it all planned.

Therefore, Habakkuk should patiently wait for God’s perfect timing to take place.

Here we see that God offers very clear information and tells the prophet what he is supposed to do with this vision.

There is always the question as to what a vision really is.

In the Bible, a vision or a revelation, depending on your translation, is a message that is transferred directly by God to the person He chooses.

It may be through a dream or just some inward insight that the individual receives from God.

What God specifically shared in this vision is most likely found in verses 4-20 of chapter 2. Habakkuk is told to record this on tablets, which ought to remind us and the people in his time of the time the law was recorded by Moses.

These tablets might have been wooden, stone, clay, or metal tablets.

It is to be recorded in large, clear letters for all to understand.

It is helpful to know of the significance of this by understanding the routine that took place when a prophet received a message from God.

They would write a summary of what was shared and place it on the gates of the temple so that everyone had the opportunity to see it and understand it.

Then after a few days, the temple ministers would take it down and store it in the treasury like a permanent filing system.

The running was referring to the heralds or even the ordinary people who would have read it.

Once they read it, they run off to tell others what was said.

Verse 3 is a reminder that what God has determined will happen is truly going to happen, though it is not immediate.

Unlike the many false prophets of that time, this is a true vision or revelation from God and it will most certainly come true.

Even though it may seem like a long way off, hope must persevere.

Of course, based on what we learned last time of God’s character, the only real choice left to anyone is to have complete faith and hope in God.

A song which our quartet, Hearts 4 Him, would often sing was In Time, On Time, All the Time.

One commentator stated, God’s Word is never late and His delays are always wise.

Live In Faith.

- 2:4-5

Verse 4 introduces the Babylonian psyche.

The NASB calls them proud; the NIV and ESV uses the phrase puffed up.

It literally means swollen.

Their pride and their attitude of self-sufficiency and indispensability have bloated their very being.

Verse 11 in chapter 1 describes them as being arrogant and exalting themselves above God.

They are concerned only for themselves.

Verse 4 continues by basically saying that they are morally bankrupt.

If you were to look for an example of crooked, perverse, and corrupt people, you would find this Babylonian Empire to be at the top of the list.

Suddenly, we see an incredible contrast to what has just been described.

The last part of verse 4 is one of my favorite sentences and serves as a foundation for at least three New Testament books.

The righteous will live by his faith.

Interestingly, the Talmud states that this simple sentence covers the 613 laws of the Pentateuch.

That’s quite an interesting commentary.

I personally believe this principle is built upon in the New Testament, also.

deals with the first part in talking about the righteous or the just, depending on your translation.

focuses on will (shall) live.

Hebrews 20:38 targets by faith.

focuses on will (shall) live.

Hebrews 20:38 targets by faith.

We see the contrast between two opposing kinds of people.

The first mentioned is the proud one.

This type of person is full of themselves and feel as though they need no one to help them.

Their confidence is fully in themselves.

Their confidence is fully in themselves.

Then you have the righteous.

This type of person is assured of their salvation.

They exhibit humility because they place their trust in the Lord alone.

The interesting thing which we remember is that the Babylonians or Chaldeans were full of themselves and how powerful they were.

They had no room for anyone, but themselves.

What they didn’t realize was that the Almighty God was the One Who enabled them to be victorious.

For many of us, we really want to know what faith consists of.

This appears to be talking about the righteous way in which a person strives to always live.

It’s not in a way that tries to be justified, but rather a lifestyle that shows itself to be fully reliant upon God.

In other words, if we are to be a people of faith, then we will cling to God, trusting wholeheartedly in the promises of His Word, while trusting Him implicitly to act according to His perfect and sovereign purposes.

This is true, as Habakkuk observed, even when we cannot understand or explain God and His ways.

In stark contrast, verse 5 transitions to the Babylonian peoples.

Though they think they are the best of the best and unconquerable, they are heading straight towards judgment.

The drunken individual has no control over themselves and without inhibition hurtles without any brakes toward destruction.

They are never satisfied with all that they have.

They have no restraints because of their incredible power, greed, and ignorance of the One true God.

Live In Hope.

- 2:6-20

There is a verse that reaches out to us in the midst of at the sins which God hates.

It is:

.

This is a promise that we can count on, as well.

We know this to be true because the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is going to return and set up His kingdom.

In this process, sin will be put down.