You Can Make It
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· 28 viewsFaith in the LORD God will bring us perplexing and difficult times
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God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Introduction- Where Is God In Suffering?
Introduction- Where Is God In Suffering?
Illustration: The Count of Monte Cristo is set in the early 1800s in France, Edmond Dantès is wrongfully accused of being a political traitor and is ultimately sentenced to life in prison.
Edmond, is subsequently unjustly imprisoned in the sinister Chateau d’If (pronounced deef). As he enters his cell, escorted by the malevolent warden, Dorleac, he sees an inscription gouged into the otherwise barren wall: GOD WILL GIVE ME JUSTICE.
“People are always trying to motivate themselves,” Dorleac sneers. “Or they keep calendars. But soon they lose interest, they die, and all I am left with is a rather unsightly wall, I’m afraid. So I have conceived another way to help our prisoners keep track of time. Every year on the anniversary of their imprisonment, we hurt them. Usually just a simple beating, really. Although on their first day here- in your case, today- i like to do something rather special.”
Dorleac keeps speaking as his assistants chain Edmond and hoist him off the floor by the wrists.
“And if you are thinking just now,” Dorleac continues as he prepares his whip. “‘Why me, O God?’ the answer is, God has nothing to do with it. In fact, God is never seen in France this time of year.”
Though obviously terrified, Edmond answers, “God has everything to do with it. He is everywhere; he sees everything.”
Dorleac’s response is chilling. “All right, let’s make a bargain, shall we? You ask God for help, and I’ll stop that moment he shows up.” And with that he begins to whip the defenseless and innocent Edmond.
The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary Theodicy
Life’s harsh enigmas render belief in a benevolent deity difficult. Theodicy is the attempt to defend divine justice in the face of aberrant phenomena that appear to indicate the deity’s indifference or hostility toward virtuous people.
Transition To Body
Transition To Body
The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 2. Habakkuk, the Man
The prophet’s name means “to embrace” or “to caress.”
Embrace or caress not just the LORD God,
but also the plans and purposes of the LORD...
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 2. Habakkuk, the Man
Habakkuk was a person of great faith and great courage who dared take the theological teaching of his day and test it against the experiences of his own personal life and of the nation.
Habakkuk not only learns theology but he tests it against the experiences of his own life
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 2. Habakkuk, the Man
Whereas his colleagues served primarily as messengers from God to the people, Habakkuk took the concerns that troubled him and his fellow citizens to God.”
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 2. Habakkuk, the Man
Such action shows he was “an honest doubter, contemplative and speculative by nature … [with] moral and ethical sensitivity … [who] searched for truth … maintained profound reverence for God … with a deep personal faith.”
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 2. Habakkuk, the Man
He refused to have simply a faith of the fathers that he received without reflection.
Habakkuk reflects upon the WORD of the LORD
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 2. Habakkuk, the Man
Only when he had wrestled in conversation with God and created a faith understanding of his own did he present a message to the public.
Body
Body
Mystery Of Faith (Habakkuk 1)
Mystery Of Faith (Habakkuk 1)
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?
Wrestling with unanswered prayer
Wrestling with unanswered prayer
Wrestling with evil within the world
Wrestling with evil within the world
Versus knowing who the LORD is
Versus knowing who the LORD is
last week’s sermon...
last week’s sermon...
7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Life Of Faith (Habakkuk 2)
Life Of Faith (Habakkuk 2)
I will take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and look out to see what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
And the Lord answered me:
“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 4. God’s Second Answer (2:1–5)
Finally, God revealed the message itself. “It is short but comprehensive.” In the day of turmoil and destruction, the righteous person shall live by his faithfulness to God. The answer dealt with Habakkuk’s frustrations and fears.
Example of the righteous man or woman of God
Example of the righteous man or woman of God
1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;
3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 4. God’s Second Answer (2:1–5)
Thus it is a type of behavior characterized by genuineness, reliability, and conscientiousness.
make distinct, plain, of letters on tablets Hb 2:2
i.e. so that one may run past and (still) read; or, so that one may read swiftly; on stones
English Standard Version Introduction
Though God’s ways are sometimes mysterious, “the righteous shall live by his faith” (2:4) while awaiting salvation.
Human Impatience As It Regards God
Human Impatience As It Regards God
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 4. God’s Second Answer (2:1–5)
Impatience is the normal human response to God’s promise to answer his people. God warned the prophet to wait on the prophecy
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 4. God’s Second Answer (2:1–5)
The prophet’s humanity demanded that God provide a warning about impatience, one even more important to people living in the exhausting pace of modern society. Whether in prayer or prophecy, contemporary worshipers demand that God act according to the dizzying schedule of those pressed for time. God reminded the prophet of the certainty of the message but without the promise of meeting Habakkuk’s time schedule.
God Is Not Man made
God Is Not Man made
18 “What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!
The LORD Is In His Holy Temple
The LORD Is In His Holy Temple
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 4. God’s Second Answer (2:1–5)
The one whose life is puffed up in pride and arrogance will die; the righteous, in contrast, by his faithfulness will live.
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 4. God’s Second Answer (2:1–5)
“Wherever human beings rely on something of this earth—whether it be intellectual achievement or wealth or military might or aesthetic ability and appreciation or pride of birth and status or even the ability to cope and solve problems and master the complexities of modern life—wherever confidence is placed in human prowess and not in God for the achievement of a satisfying and secure manner of living, there true life cannot be had.”
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 4. God’s Second Answer (2:1–5)
To look for salvation in a world dominated by persecution requires faithfulness.
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 4. God’s Second Answer (2:1–5)
To be righteous means to meet the demands of a relationship. Righteousness toward God involves a strong ethical dimension—it is to meet the demands of God toward him and toward others.
The LORD is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness
The LORD is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Praise Of Faith (Habakkuk 3)
Praise Of Faith (Habakkuk 3)
The Prophet Heard the Report of the LORD
The Prophet Heard the Report of the LORD
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
2 O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
God With Deal With Your Enemies
God With Deal With Your Enemies
14 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
The LORD God dealt with
The LORD God dealt with
Pharaoh In Egypt
Lack of Food in the wilderness
Goliath & the Philistines
King Ahab & Jezebel
Assyria
Exile
Salvation through the person & work of Jesus Christ
Slavery in the USA
Jim Crow
Recessions of 2002 and 2008
Covid-19
Praise The LORD Anyway- rejoice in the LORD
Praise The LORD Anyway- rejoice in the LORD
I Will Take Joy in the God of my Salvation
I Will Take Joy in the God of my Salvation
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
Apostle Paul would later say
Apostle Paul would later say
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
God, The LORD, Is Your Strength
God, The LORD, Is Your Strength
The LORD God takes you up high- out of reach
The LORD God takes you up high- out of reach
19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Illustration: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s article “Hooves make everything deer do possible” on November 21st in 2010
Whether galloping across an open field at 30-35 mph, jumping an 8-foot fence in stride or clearing a 7-foot fence from a stand still, white-tailed deer are impressive athletes. A steep embankment onto a road is just an opportunity to cross the highway in a single bound.
Though there's no way to know where the best footing is, they seldom slip or fall under normal conditions.
When I watch a deer on the move, my eyes usually concentrate on the big rack or the white flag of a tail. But it is their obscure little feet that deserve the attention. Deer feet, or hooves, are anatomical wonders.
Whether simply running, chasing other deer or evading danger, muscular hind legs propel their movements. The front legs serve as pivot points to make sharp turns. But the hooves make it all possible.
A deer foot consists of two elongated toes. They walk, run, and jump on their third and fourth phalanges. Each toe is capped by a hard, horny toenail that we call the hoof. It's made of keratin, that same material that forms our fingernails.
A clean, healthy hoof is an elegant structure. The black outer nail is hard and strong. It absorbs the shock of every stride and provides traction on soft and wet surfaces. It's also a formidable weapon. The inner portion of the hoof is softer, but still quite tough. It provides a cushion and traction on harder surfaces.
When a deer bounds down an embankment on a worn trail, the sharp outer hooves dig into the bare soil on the trail for traction. When the hooves land on the roadway, the tough inner part cushions the landing. Only when a road or trail is ice-covered do deer slip, stumble or fall. Chased onto a frozen lake by dogs or predators, a fallen deer can be helpless.
Behind and above each hoof are two dew claws, what remains of the second and fifth phalanges. In deep mud or snow, dew claws broaden the foot's platform and show up in a deer track. Under normal conditions, a deer track consists solely of the split hoof.
Transition To Close- What Happened to the hero, Edmond in the Count of Monte Cristo?
Transition To Close- What Happened to the hero, Edmond in the Count of Monte Cristo?
After 4 years in prison Edmond is trying to hand himself:
Look at and kept looking at and carving the words in stone deeper:
“GOD WILL GIVE ME JUSTICE!”
After 7 years...
A man, in prision for being in Napoleon Bonapart’s army, under the impression that he was digging towards the outer wall...
Perhaps your thought of revenge is God’s way of keeping you alive all these 7 years
Working together, it take 8 years to dig to the outer wall...
I will offer you knowledge....
Here I have remained, with only God as my company, until God sent me you.
He trains and study’s (even Physics) while in prison...
He also becomes wiser, realizes who really imprisoned him (Villafort, Clarion’s son)...
“Dig First, Money later!”
“In God’s name, Go On!”
After escaping the infamous Château d'If, Edmond starts his journey towards transforming himself into a man that his enemies never recognize.
Using his newly formed identity, the Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond crafts elaborate plots to take down those who once tried to take him down. Along the way, he helps those who helped him, and in the end, justice is served.
I also told Edmond about the treasure of Spada....
I’m a priest, not a saint
Use the treasure for God
“Vengeance is the LORDS!”
The LORD has provided salvation
The LORD has provided salvation
13 You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. Selah
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
Without Faith It Is Impossible To Please God
Without Faith It Is Impossible To Please God
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
To Whom will you compare the LORD God?
To Whom will you compare the LORD God?
25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Close- You Can Make it
Close- You Can Make it
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.