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Journeying Through Habakkuk May 14, 2018

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Are you overwhelmed by things you can't understand? Do you long to see God intervene? Habakkuk understood that, and he gave us the principle of victory and joy in the midst of trouble.

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JOURNEYING THROUGH HABAKKUK

Every generation is different, and yet the needs of every generation is the same. Every generation needs a spiritual revival in their generation. I hope your heart today is hungry to see a great spiritual awakening in your own life and your family, in your church, and in our world. Because that is the desperate need of this hour. And it was a desperate need, in Habakkuk’s hour as well.

We're journeying through Scripture and in this journey, we've come now to the little Old Testament book known as Habakkuk. It is a fascinating little book. It's only three chapters long, and it is set just before the attack by Babylon. Remember now God's people are about to go into captivity. They've been dealing with lots of enemies. They've been dealing with Edom, the Edomites.

That was the book of Obadiah. They've been dealing with Assyria. And that's the book of Nahum. But they're dealing with Babylon, and this is the nation God chose to bring them into captivity to. And that's the nation that Habakkuk has in view. That's the circumstance that is in the context of this particular book. Now, let me remind you of something.

God often uses wicked men to accomplish his purpose, but in the end, they always get their own judgment. God deals with them. So Edom, Assyria, Babylon, they're not off the hook. Oh no, God's going to deal with him as well. But right now, God is dealing with His own people. Habakkuk’s name means embracer, and it's interesting to me because he has to embrace the reality that his own nation is going into captivity, but there's something greater that he must embrace, and that is, he must embrace the promises of God at low ebb, at a difficult season in his nation.

KEY VERSE

He still has to believe that God is on the throne, that God has everything under control. Now, that's demonstrated in what I believe is the key verse of the book of Habbakuk. It's found in Habakkuk 2:4. See if this sounds familiar. The Bible says, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up, is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith.”

And did you know that verse is famous? Not because it's found in Habakkuk. It's famous because it's repeated three times in the New Testament. That's probably where you've seen it. Romans 1:17. Galatians 3:11. Hebrews 10:38. But the first time it was given was in Habakkuk 2:4.

The key that unlocks the blessing, the key to living in dark days, and the key to seeing revival and spiritual stirring in desperate hours is this key of faith. It unlocks Heaven's door. It brings the blessing. This particular verse becomes the basis for the Church Reformation in history. Habakkuk has even been called the grandfather of the Reformation.

Theme

We need faith as much in this hour as Habakkuk did in his hour. And I believe the great theme of this book is that faith has to govern every area of your life. My life verse is Galatians 2:20, where Paul wrote, “I'm crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Friend, we're all living in the flesh today. If you're breathing right now, you're living in the flesh. But don't just live in the flesh. Live by faith. It's the only way to keep your joy. It's the only way to see God in the midst of the circumstances. Habakkuk has been called by some, the questioning prophet. Someone else called him the “Doubting Thomas” of the Old Testament.

He's even been referred to as the Job of the prophets. But before you're too quick to judge Habakkuk, let me tell you, Habakkuk was a holy man. He was a man who walked with God and had God's heart for his people. He was a man who was just broken over the circumstance that Judah was in, who could not quite understand and wrap his mind around what God was allowing to happen in bringing judgment.

His question was this, Will God right the wrongs? You see, it wasn't just to back personal problems he was dealing with. It was a national problem that Babylon, a wicked nation, was overthrowing God's chosen people, this land of Judah. How could that be a friend? Sometimes when there's no logical answer, you have to acknowledge the spiritual answer.

Features

And the spiritual answer is sometimes only God has the answer. Sometimes you can't figure it all out. You can't put it all on paper. Maybe that's where you're living today. What should you do? My friend, listen to the words. “The just shall live by his faith.” One of the amazing features of the book of the book of Habakkuk is that it opens with a sob.

Literally, it opens with Habakkuk, weeping over the condition of his people. Habakkuk one verse one: “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. Oh Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!” And so, the book begins with a sob. But get this. It ends with a song.

If you come to the end of the book, to Habakkuk chapter three, verse 19, the closing verse says: The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”

Friend, how do you go from a sob to a song? Faith is the bridge between the two. It's why John wrote in the New Testament, “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” Maybe you're brokenhearted. Maybe you're weeping. Maybe you're sobbing. Today, friend, the Lord can put a song back in your heart, if you'll learn today to live by faith in God. We all have our doubts.

We all have our own questions. And as you progress through this book, you're going to see a lot of them. Chapter one begins with those words, the burden. That's faith, sighing. Chapter two reveals a vision, that's faith seeing. And then it ends with chapter three, a prayer, faith singing. Oh, do you see the progression?

We bring our burden to the Lord; we get a fresh glimpse of him. And in the presence of God in the prayer closet, alone with a righteous God, the Lord restores your song. He puts joy back in your heart. He wants to do that for you, today. I think Habakkuk reveals what you do while you're waiting to see what God will do. Habakkuk didn't have all the answers, He just knew God was up to something.

And maybe that's where you're living today. You're waiting to see what God's going to do. What can you do in the meantime? Well, let's do what Habakkuk did. Number one, talk to God about it. It's interesting, but this book opens with a prayer. And then you find prayer all the way through the book.

About two-thirds of the book Habakkuk is a conversation between the writer and God. He did the right thing. Instead of talking to everybody else about his concerns and complaints, he turned that into prayer. He sent his conversation heavenward. We're so apt to talk to everybody else about our problems, but friend, they can't change it.

Only God can talk to God about it. And then, in chapter two, He not only talked to God about it, He waited on the Lord. That's the essence of faith. “The just shall live by his faith.” Wait on God. Go back to what you know for sure. Read the book of Habakkuk and see how he rehearses the very character and nature of God.

Everything around you may be changing, but God is always the same. Wait and give God time to work. And then when you come to chapter three, and I love this, this is the greatest expression of faith. The circumstances haven't changed. Babylon is still threatening, but he chooses to rejoice. He even says in verse 18: “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

And maybe you don't feel like rejoicing today, my friend. Christian joy is not a matter of emotion, it's a matter of will. Choose to rejoice. You exercise your will and your emotions will catch up. Rejoice that God is on the throne, that if he does what you ask him to, or he chooses to do something totally different, that the same God who worked in the past, in your life, and in our land is going to work in the future.

Christ in the Book

You see Christ all through this book. He's the one who justifies by faith. In chapter two, verse 20, he's the Lord in his holy temple, in chapter three, verse 18, he's the God of my salvation. Go back to what you know for sure. What you know for sure is there is a God and you can trust him. “The just shall live by his faith.”

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