Untitled Sermon (2)

God’s Certainty in our Uncertainty

Outline

Habakkuk 1:2-4- Habakkuk’s Heart

Habakkuk knew God was just

Habakkuk’s heart was broken over the sin of Judah

This led Habakkuk to cry out for God.

Habakkuk 1:5-11- A shocking response

God is bringing judgement to Judah

God is using the terrible Chaldeans to do it

Habakkuk 1:12- 2:1- Habakkuk’s questioning

This answer brought Habakkuk view of God into question

Habakkuk waits for God’s response

Habakkuk does not give up on God

Habakkuk 2:2-5- Contrast of life and death

Pride leads to death

Righteous live by faith

God does give punishment to sin

Habakkuk 3:16-19- Habakkuk’s trust

Despair and judgement will come but Habakkuk rejoices and trusts in the Lord

Main Points-

We are to be broken over sin

God does not always do what we expect

Judgement comes to all

We can trust God as he is always faithful

This morning we will be in the book of Habakkuk. We will begin in chapter one. I know it is a challenging book to find so I’m giving you the whole introduction to find it. Habakkuk is a minor prophet and is in your bible between Nahum and Zephaniah. I realize that may also not be a help so look in the back of the Old Testament. If you see Zachariah or Matthew you have gone too far, if you see Hosea or Micah, you haven’t gone far enough.

Before we get into the text I should probably introduce myself. I am Bobby Skinner and I am from a small town called Bolivar that’s an hour east of Memphis. I moved to Kansas City about a year ago. I hope my southern accent isn’t too distracting. I attend Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where I will graduate with my Master’s in Divinity some time within the next year.

In the year I have lived here, it has been very interesting. I’m sure there are many people in this room that have had a interesting year personally. Some of you have probably gone through so big changes this year. Maybe you’ve had some pretty rough trials. Hopefully you have had a good year. I think most would agree that, whether you personally have had a good year or not, we are living in some very interesting and rough times. Although not totally unprecedented, we live in a year where things have happened that very few of us have entered before. Those who are not 102 in here never lived through pandemic. Those who didn’t live through 60’s are those who do not remember the 60’s probably can’t think of a time when there was so much rioting in the streets. Our country is more divided than ever. Times like these can shake one at their core. It can make one question things. It can lead you to question God’s justice. Maybe you feel that God has abandoned this country. Maybe you question why God doesn’t punish the wickedness that becoming more and more prominent in our country. Maybe your questioning God’s authority and sovereignty and wondering if God is really in control. Maybe your just don’t understand what God’s plan in all this is. If any of these sound familiar to you, you can relate to Habakkuk.

Habakkuk was a prophet in Judah, which was the capital of the Southern Kingdom of Israel. He lived in a time where God’s people had escaped the oppression of the Assyrians and had experienced a time of revival and freedom. This religious revival waned and the God’s people began to to turn to wickedness. In response to this Habakkuk prays to God as he does not understand why he would allow this. Let’s read Habakkuk 1:2-4.

What I want to focus on in this passage is Habakkuk’s heart. There’s a few things here. The first is that Habakkuk was troubled. Habakkuk rightly knew that God is a just and righteous God but what he was experiencing did not seem to match up with that. Many of you have probably been there at some point in your life. Maybe you’ve seen someone who lived in unrepentant sin and wickedness who continued to gain riches while you knew other people who lived their life for the Lord but they have cancer or just can’t catch a break. Maybe you have trusted God with everything and your crops, investments, or job just hasn’t turned out like you thought it would. Maybe these apparent inconsistencies have bothered you as they have Habakkuk.

God gives a response to this concern latter in the text but before we get there, the next thing that needs to be noticed is Habakkuk’s response to this wickedness that is around him. This one of the most convicting parts of this passage to me. We look at Habakkuk, and he is a man with a great burden. He sees the sin and wickedness around him and he cannot lay idle. His heart is broken. He knows that how the people of Judah are acting is against the will of God and this troubles him greatly. Verse two says “How long must I cry for help”. How long must I cry for help. Habakkuk didn’t watch the news one night and get upset and pray a quick prayer. NO! He had been crying out to God. Pleading to God for a change. Begging for God to step in. I don’t know about you but I don’t see that enough, in my life or those around me. When is the last time you truly cried out to God for this country and for the sinfulness of the world. I’m afraid that we have grown numb to this. We grown used to sin. We don’t fight it. We don’t go to prayer for our country. Whether we gather around a coffee table and complain about it. I am guilty of this. How often do we get in the car and drive to the next town and discuss of the issues and problems in the world but rarely do we join together in prayer about it. This has really hit me in the last few months. How lazy I have become about sin. Some nonbelievers are more concerned about sin, than we are. Our hearts must be broken. We must be disturbed by sin to the point that we repeatedly cry out to God. Habakkuk did not just plead with God once, as we see in verse 2, He pleaded with God for a long time. Let’s be a church that has it’s heart broken over sin and steadfastly seeks God in the face of it.

But no matter how much we plea, we may not like the answer God gives us. This is the position that Habakkuk finds himself in. Read Habakkuk 1:5-11. God is bringing judgement to judah but, not how Habakkuk had in mind. God is bringing judgement to Judah through the Chaldeans. Another name for the Chaldeans us the Babylonians. They are a people that had been ravenging the land, terrorizing and conquering. This would be the last thing that Habakkuk would have thought would happen. This would be like a country such as China or Russia coming to destroy the U.S. Except the Babylonians are even worse.

As we would not take it very well if God told us China was to come and bring a instrument of judgment from God, Habakkuk did not take too kindly to it either. Habakkuk 1:12-17& 2:1. Habakkuk was stunned by God’s response. Habakkuk wanted God to step in and make a change in Judah but this is not the way that he thought it would happen. God does not always do things the way we want him to or the way we understand. This caused confusion and concern for Habakkuk. This response from God did not match up with Habakkuk’s understanding. Habakkuk thought that God was promoting the sin of the Chaldeans and that judgement was not coming. Often this can happen to us. We get a certain idea of the way things should be in our head and when they don’t line up we question God. I’m sure that many of you have felt that way in a personal sense in your lives. Maybe the rain just isn’t coming too allow the crops to grow. Maybe you have lost a job you shouldn’t have. Maybe a love one has passed away. These things can call us to question God. Maybe your struggle is more on a national and Global scale as Habakkuk’s was. You may struggle with the mass shootings that have occured in country killing young people. Maybe, hopefully you struggle with abortion and sex trafficking in our country. There are many things that can and do occur that may shake our faith. This has shaken Habakkuk’s faith and thinking on God.

Although Habakkuk does not understand everything going on, he still trusts and waits on God.

God responds again to Habakkuk. God has given the prophet Habakkuk a message. Unfortunately, will not get into the whole vision from God that Habakkuk had today but we will focus on the initial part of it that summarizes the rest. Habakkuk 2:2-5.

There is punishment for sin. Habakkuk was right. God is a just, righteous, and holy God. God cannot stand for sin or evil. In verses 4 and 5 we see a contrast between life and death. The Babylonians are sinful pride filled people. Habakkuk 2:11 states that there own strength is their God. The Babylonians where self centered. They only cared about themselves and their own conquests. This may not sound too disimiliar from the culture of today. They where there own God. They seek victory throughout the land and to win great battles and gain riches. They will be that in the future of Habakkuk’s life but that will only last so long. Judgement eventually does come to them. There is punishment for their failure to obey God. This begins in their time on earth. Firstly, they are a slave to sin. They are always going about trying to get the next thing. Conquer the next land. Gain the most riches. They must do this to find happiness and joy. But the righteous? The righteous live by faith. They find comfort in God. They know that only God defines them. They are constantly appeases the oppessor of sin.

This Judgement will also come as Persia will take them over

This will also come when they die.

After God gives this message to Habakkuk, Habakkuk realizes that God did not change. He knows that He can trust in Him.