WHAT IS YOUR BURDEN?
Habakkuk 1:1-10
INTRODUCTION
The people
of Israel had become wicked and violent. They were
God’s chosen
people and they had corrupted them themselves.
They had
been chastised by God for hundreds of years, but never
Changed. I
guess you could say they were on the last straw that
Broke the
camels back. God decided to give them a punishment
That they
would not have conceived.
God revealed
to Habakkuk His plan to send the Babylonians to
Destroy their
cities and their beloved temple.
The US is in
a similar situation. It appears that violence in the home
And violence
against men and women of color is escalating at
An alarming
rate.
Last
weekend, there were 10 mass murders, 17 dead and 33 wounded.
So far in 2021 there have been 194 mass shooting.
I would say
we are in the last days before Jesus returns to get His Church as described in Matthew 24:6-7
Matthew
24:6-8
You will
hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such
things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in
various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
You have
been enlightened to the destruction described in Revelation.
Knowing
this, how do you feel about those who are perishing?
Do you have
any responsibility?
What can you
do even if you wanted too?
In this text,
God gives us some pointers.
THE
BURDEN OF ENLIGHTENMENT
V:1. The
oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.
A. When you study God’s Word, He will make
you
Aware of that which He
wants you to be concerned
About.
1. It is the Word that puts you in tuned
with the
Will of God.
2. I believe God has a purpose for every
circumstance
In our lives.
B. When God puts something on your heart,
it is a call to action.
1. It is not something for you to pass
on to others.
2. We miss opportunities to serve when
we ignore
God calling.
3. Not only do we miss opportunities to
serve, we miss
Opportunities to grow.
4. Others missed the opportunity to be
encouraged by
The council that God has
given us when we are silent.
THE
BURDEN OF PRAYER
V:2 How
long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you,
"Violence!" but you do not save? 3 Why do you make me look at
injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there
is strife, and conflict abounds.
A. In order for you to know what is
going on, God has to make you see
The sin and destruction around you.
1. God has a way of making you grieve in
the heart at what you see.
2. Habakkuk looked at the sins of Israel
and knew God’s promise of
Punishment for disobedience.
If
you look at the history of Israel, you know God punished them
Severely for their sins.
3. Knowing, this Habakkuk complained to
God as to why He had
Not taken care of the
problem.
B. Habakkuk communicated with God in
prayer but did not get an answer.
1. God is not on our schedule.
2. He does not answer prayers in our way
or in the ways He answered
Before.
3. We can expect an answer, and know He
will answer, but not
Own our terms,
4. God expects our prayers. He expects
our concerns.
5. God has to grieve our hearts, before
our prayers become
Real for victims of
violent crimes.
6. I have sons and daughters, grandsons
and granddaughters that
Are at risk for existing.
7. Until we replace the names on the
crime victim reports with
Our own family members,
we are not going to grieve enough.
THE BURDEN
OF UNEQUAL JUSTICE
V: 4
Therefore the law is paralyzed, justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the
righteous, so that justice is perverted.
A. That sounds like the justice system
of 2021,
1. We have enough laws for crimes.
2. We don’t have enough people to
enforce the laws we have.
3. We are growing up a generation of
people who don’t understand
That crimes against
others is a crime against them.
4. You may not be involved in street and
family crimes, but you
Can get caught up in it unknowingly.
B. We have an ideology that street crime
is the problem.
1. It is Corporate crime that promotes
drugs and the use of guns.
The promotion by large corporations
keep drugs and guns popular.
2. Our legal system is paralyzed from
the top down, not the bottom up.
3. Criminals will always be criminals,
they live and they die and their
Victims with them.
4. Those who promote the weapons of
crime get rich and never get
Touched by crime.
a. The NRA has spent millions of dollars
to promote gun ownership.
b. Over 300 congress members have received
donations,
Some upwards of 7 million
dollars.
5. Drug companies have donated millions
of dollars to congressmen
To promote their
interest.
6. It is men and women on the street
that get affected by the top dogs.
Anybody know what this sign means?
It is the 3 finger peace
sign that was featured in the movie Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In the us in 2012.
It has been adopted by
prodemocracy protests
In Hong Kong and Thailand.
They use this symbol as a
show of solidarity.
And to promote Americans
to help in their
Struggle
People watch
what you do and say and are affected by you.
People
around the world want the freedom that we have and take
For granted.
THE BURDEN
OF DISCIPLINE
V:5
"Look at the nations and watch — and be utterly amazed. For I am going to
do something you would not believe, even
if you were told. 6 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and
impetuous people, who sweep across the whole seize dwelling places not their
own.
A. God’s justice seems to go against the
grain.
1. Instead of a swift punishment of a
few, is a punishment that affect
Nations around the world.
2. In this pandemic, God shows us that
He is no respecter of person.
3. The old, the young, the rich, the
poor, all races and nationalities
Are affected the same around
the world.
B. Only God could allow a virus to
spread across continents and bodies of
Waters that separate us to bring us all together.
1. This virus is ruthless and cannot be
contained.
2. It mutates and changes and keeps
doctors and scientist.
Working to control it.
3. This virus forces us to see that we
are more alike than different.
WITH GOD WHO
CAN STAND AGAINST US
V: 7 They
are a feared and dreaded people; are a law to promote
their own honor. 8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves
at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They
fly like a vulture swooping to devour; 9 they all come bent on violence. Their
hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. 10 They
deride kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; they
build earthen ramps and capture them.
A. God created an invisible enemy that
fills the air with the power to
To being down nations, shut down economies and force us
To hide behind mask.
1. Death looms in the air across the
world.
2. We are fearful of going to church to
worship the God that
Created us.
3. There is no place to hide. No place
to go where this killer
Virus is not present.
4. God reminds us as powerful as we
think we are, we are not
Omnipotent (All
Powerful).
5. As smart as we think we are, we are
not omniscience (Know Everything).
6. We have the internet that allows to
connect to everywhere
All the time, but we are not
omnipresent (Everywhere all the time).
7. God reminds us that He is all we need
and more.
B. God reminds us that personal worship
brings Him into our lives
Along with His protection, provisions, grace and mercy.
1. He reminds us that our prayers are
heard by Him and acted
Upon to affect the entire
universe.
2. God reminds us that while the virus
is invasive, that it has
No power over believers
and can be wiped from the face of
The earth in a moment.
3. While violence is spreading across
America at an alarming rate.
It can be stopped by
prayer.
James 5:16
Confess your faults one
to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
4. What the Lord is telling us is that
our prayers are important to
The lives of others in
need.
a. He is waiting on us to pray so others
can get well.
b. Our prayers are powerful and
effective.
SUMMARY
How does
God get us involved in the struggles of the world?
He burden
us.
THE
BURDEN OF ENLIGHTENMENT
THE
BURDEN OF PRAYER
THE
BURDEN OF UNEQUAL JUSTICE
THE
BURDEN OF DISCIPLINE
THE HOPE
OF VICTORY
Based on
the text
Are you
grieved by the loss lives of people you don’t know?
Do you
have any responsibility?
What can
you do?
Rev. M.
Mitchell
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