A CONCERN FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Habakkuk 2:1-6,
3:17-19
Habakkuk 2:1-6
Habakkuk was God's chosen prophet. He knew God would not
tolerate sin for long.
He was frustrated that God had not done anything to put a
stop to Israel
Habakkuk was concerned that Israel
AN ANSWER FROM THE LORD
V:1. " I will stand at my watch and station myself on
the ramparts; I will look to see what
he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint. "
A. It was common for
the prophets of God to seek answers from God for situations they
did not
understand.
1. Like a
watchman on a tower looking for the first sign of an approaching enemy,
Habakkuk
stood watch for an answer form God regarding the sins of Israel
2. Once an enemy
was detected, it was the responsibility of the watchman to inform
the brothers
of the danger.
a. The enemy
of Israel
b. God gave
His prophets advance notice of His judgments.
B. Israel's disobedience was continuous and
getting worst.
1. Habakkuk was
concerned for his people and wanted to
know what God was going
to do to
the nation.
A CALL TO SERVE
V:2. " Then the Lord replied: "Write down the
revelation and make it plain on tablets so
that a herald may
run with it. "
A. The Lord responded
to Habakkuk's prayer.
1. When we pray
to God, we must be patience to wait for an answer from Him.
2. We must expect
that an answer from God comes with more responsibility for
us.
3. Change happens
when we act on the Word of God.
B. Habakkuk was given
two commands from God.
1. Write down the
God's word's on a stone, clay or wooden tablets.
a. You carve
words in stone or wood. This is no small job.
b. The Word
could have been written on a clay tablet and baked in an oven
to
preserve it.
b. God's
commands requires obedient efforts on our part.
c. Make it
plain could mean write in large letters or simple language.
2. The second
command was to spread the Word.
a. Habakkuk
was commanded to get a runner to take God's Word through the
cities.
b. The Church
is a community of God's people committed to serve.
c. There are
some jobs we can do ourselves and some we need the help of other
believers.
d. Habakkuk
was told to write the words of God and get some help to spread the
words
through the cities.
e. The duty
of all believers is to be a witness for Jesus.
V:3. " For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it
speaks of the end and will not prove
false. Though it
linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."
A. A prophecy is an event planned by God that
will take place in a future time.
1. The prophecy
God gave Habakkuk pointed to a future time of the redemption
of Israel
2. Because of
their sins, Israel
3. Israel
4. The
Babylonians would be destroyed in future times.
3. After the
birth and death of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and a
time of
great tribulation, Israel
B. There is an
appointed time when God will carry out His plans for us.
1. Our job is be
patient and trust God to fulfill His promises.
2. God does not
work on our times.
C. God's Word is
true, but will be fulfilled in His time.
2. Biblical
history proves that God fulfills His promises.
a. In the
Garden of Eden, He promise a victory seed.
b. He
promised Abraham at the time when his wife was the beyond child
bearing
age that his descendants would be uncountable.
c. He promise
Israel
3. Some of God's
prophecies have been fulfilled and some are waiting to be
fulfilled.
D. Our problem is
that we don't know God's timing.
1. We should not
try to put God on our time frame.
2. God works in
His own time. We have to trust the Word of God.
HOW TO LIVE
V:4 "See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright
— but the righteous will live by his
faith— "
A. Those who don't know God , live by the ways and
traditions of the world.
1. Those who don't
know God seek every new wind or wave.
2. They are proud
and uplifted.
3. Their desires
are selfish and ungodly.
4. The ungodly are
continuously led astray by the evil in their hearts.
a. The greed
of the unrighteous leads to their downfall.
b. The pride
of the unrighteous causes them to give
credit to themselves
for
God's work.
B. The righteous live
by faith.
1. Christ unselfish
sacrificial love is the model for living for the Christian.
2. The righteous fear God and seek His guidance
and the directions .
3. The righteous
trust in the Word of God.
a. The Word is the manual for living for the righteous.
b. From
generations to generations, the Word never changes.
4. In trouble
times, the Word comforts the righteous.
a. In times of
trouble, the righteous stand on the Word of God.
b. In times of
trouble, the strength of the righteous is his faith.
THE DEGRADED STATE OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS
V:5. Indeed, wine
betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the
grave and like death is never satisfied,
he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples."
A. The unrighteous
are unaware of their ignorance and thinks they knows all.
1. The unrighteous
can never find contentment because their trust is in what they have.
2. The unrighteous man
never has enough because the tempter (Satan) shows him more.
3 The unrighteous invest in things of the world
which fade away in time.
B. The unrighteous can't find peace, because they make
enemies in their quest for more.
1. The Babylonians
were proud in their success over Israel
used them to chastise Israel
2. As a result they
praise their idol gods which angered the true and living God.
a. Their
continuous arrogance was God's plan for their downfall.
3. Evil minds are never satisfied with what they
have and seeks to devour others
which also leads to their downfall.
JOY IN THE MIST OF TROUBLE
Habakkuk 3:17 -
19
V:17-18. " Though the fig tree does not bud and there
are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce
no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."
A. The righteous
rejoice in the Lord in good times and bad times.
1. It is easy to
praise God when everything is good.
a. We can
claim the goodness of the Lord without asking why.
b. It is easy
to say God is good when you are enjoying the good.
2. When things
are going good, we must careful that are praise is not empty.
B. A true test of a
man's faith, is when He praises God when everything is going wrong.
1. A true test of
a man's faith is when he is joyful in the mist of trouble.
2. The Praise of
God when there is no evidence of an answered prayer is genuine.
3. When
unbeliever is asking wh, the faithful say
Why Not.
V:19. " The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my
feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. For the
director of music. On my stringed instruments."
A. When the Lord God
is your strength, you fear no evil, downfall or misery.
1. The just know
that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord.
2. It is the
trials and tribulations of life that strengthen our faith.
3. The Lord will
test our faith to strengthen our weaknesses.
B. When we keep our
focus on the Lord, he takes us higher spiritual insights.
1. When
our focus is on the Lord is on the eternal.
2. When our focus
is on this world it is on the things that are temporal and have no
lasting value.
C. Notice how God
describes the success of a faithful Christian
1. He uses a
deer, a graceful animal.
a. Believers
are covered by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
2. A dear can
move in and out of an area undetected.
a. The faithful
do not have to impress anyone with loud and persuasive language.
b. When the Word
is spoken, it is the Holy Spirit working quietly that does the
conviction
of the truth.
4. A dear is aware
of his surrounding.
a. He can easily detect eminent danger.
b. He
moves swiftly when danger is near ( up to 35 mph).
5. The Holy Spirit
gives the believers insight about his surrounding.
a. God protects
the faithful believer from the dangers that surrounds him.
PUT YOUR TRUST IN THE LORD
Rev. Mitchell, Ass
Pastor of GMBC
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