← ArchiveB2StartSunday, September 2, 2018DateSeptember 2, 2018Speaker—Text—Passages in this sermonHabakkuk 31:16Isaiah 631:34Revelation 191:34TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00Music playing. Music playing.0:30Music playing. And I would always, when he preached through Habakkuk, I would yell out from the pew.1:00So it is Habakkuk, not tobacco. So if anyone here of you are like me, I'm sure I didn't embarrass my parents at all as a child. Habakkuk chapter 3 this morning. In 1861, early in the Civil War, a lady named Julia Howell wrote a song in response to the calamity and the destruction that she was witnessing all around.1:20And what she did, she found solace in the Word of God and she would mirror Isaiah 63, the judgment of the Lord with Revelation 19, the coming of Jesus Christ. And for her, finding rescue in Jesus helped her confront the difficulty of war and devastation all around.1:48And you might be familiar with some of the famous lyrics that she penned during this war. It begins this way. My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. He has trampled out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loosed the faithful lightning of his terrible swift sword.2:18His truth is marching on. Another verse says this. He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat. He is sifting out the hearts of men before the judgment seat. Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer him. Be jubilant, my feet. Our God is marching on.2:48And the chorus says this. Glory, glory, hallelujah. Glory, glory, hallelujah. Glory, glory, hallelujah. His truth is marching on. In the midst of immeasurable suffering, Julia pens these immortal words.3:13Words that we still sing. And we don't know the tune that Habakkuk is humming in chapter 3. If you look at verse 1, it says, A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk according to Shikionot. Anyone want to guess what that tune is? We don't know. Even scholars debate that. We do know this in the Psalms. That is used over in the Psalms of lament to describe a situation that has gone terribly wrong and needs to be fixed.3:43That's where Habakkuk finds himself. I know Habakkuk precedes Julia by thousands of years. But I wonder if, as Habakkuk is praying this prayer, in the back of his mind he's humming. I watched this week as a pastor.4:08I have had emails, Facebook posts of men and women in this church who have walked through calamity and destruction.4:36Who have lost spouses. Who have lost children. And whatever the Lord is doing in our church for the last four weeks in Habakkuk, He has ripped the band-aid off of our wounds and has poured forth His grace in us. Habakkuk meets us in our tragedy.5:06So today is the final message in a sermon series called Finding Faith in Trying Times. But today's message is simply entitled Confidence in the Face of Calamity. Let's read together and keep that tune. Glory, glory, glory, hallelujah. In the back of your mind as we read, beginning in verse 16 together. Habakkuk, the prophet, writes, I heard and trembled within.5:34My lips quivered at the sound. Rottenness entered my bones. I trembled where I stood. Now I must quietly wait for the day of distress to come against the people invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, He has trampled out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.6:04Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no fruit. Though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls. Yet, I will celebrate in my God. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk says, The Lord, my Lord, is my strength.6:34He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights. For the choir director on stringed instruments. Father, we cannot walk difficult roads by ourself. And Lord, we declare with confidence this morning that we will not walk difficult roads alone.6:55Lord, today we commit our steps to you. Father, where there is judgment, remind us that your wrath might last for the night, but your joy comes in the morning. Your favor lasts for a lifetime. Lord, where those are here with us today that are walking in sin, convict them through your Holy Spirit that they might run to your throne and find mercy.7:21Lord, where there is hurt and bitterness and difficulty and struggle. Strengthen us as only you can that we might be able to declare today. The Lord, our God, is our strength. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen.7:50And amen. I have three thoughts from the word of God this morning. And we will end with a confident hymn and prayer of faith. If you say, well, where is all this coming from? Go back this afternoon after you take your Sunday nap and read Habakkuk. It will take you 10, 20 minutes. More than likely, you'll read it through tears because this is a man who has walked through major tragedy. And he is pouring out his heart before God. And if that is where you are today, you are not alone. And we can declare with confidence that he is the one that we need.8:21So first, look at verse 16. How do we walk with confidence in difficult times? We see first a trembling response. Verse 16. Four times in this chapter, trembling is mentioned.8:35In verse 2, in verse 2, in verse 7, in verse 16, the prophet trembles before an awesome God.8:56Now we use the word awesome like, that's awesome. No, awesome means that you are in awe of something that is grand and spectacular. What is coming down the prophetic word of God to this prophet? The judgment of God. And Habakkuk knows that it's coming.9:25He knows that when there is sin, that God always responds justly and appropriately to sin. God will not ignore your sin. And he will not ignore your sin because he loves you and because he is God. Someone that loves you will not ignore destruction that is facing you in your life. So we respond by trembling. And this is a series and the last of a dialogue between the prophet and the Lord.9:53Chapter 1, the prophet prays and he says, I will wait. Lord, how long do I wait? And God answers. Chapter 2, the Habakkuk, the prophet prays again. And he begins in chapter 2, I will stand at the ramparts. I will stand and wait, God. And the Lord answers. And here is the third question in prayer.10:21What is going on in Habakkuk's heart? As he's praying and God is answering, something is working in his soul. That's the power of prayer. It's the same power that our Lord and Savior in the garden can say, Lord, take this cup from me. But not as I will. But Lord, your will be done. That's the power of the Lord working in our life.10:48It's almost as Habakkuk is understanding that the Lord has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never sound retreat. Habakkuk's not praying. Lord, make it stop. Your judgment. Just ignore what you said. Lord, we weren't that bad. Just ignore. Don't judge your people like you said you were going to judge us. No, Habakkuk says this. God, I know you're going to judge. And what you say and what you declare will not happen. So, Lord, I'm waiting.11:18And I do so with trembling. You look at the picture in verse 12 or verse 16. Sorry. I hear and I tremble. It's almost as if his lip is quivering, waiting on the judgment of God. We must respond to our sin with trembling. I think that's the problem with the church today. I'm not pointing fingers at other churches. We are the church. If you know Christ, if you have committed your life by faith in Christ alone, you are the11:43church. When we leave here shortly, this is no longer the church. It's an empty facility. And when we show up and declare the goodness of the Lord together, it becomes the church. Because we, where two or more are gathered, there the presence of the Lord is also. That's his promise for us. But I think one of the problems for the church today is we don't respond to our sin with trembling. We have created a God in our image according to our likeness.12:14And we create a God who is all emotion and nothing else. We create a God who is only love. And of course, a loving God created in our image would not judge our sin. Because when you judge, that's not loving. That's foolishness. That's ridiculous. And you don't even, we don't live our life by that way. Every time I go to the doctor, you know what I'm asking him to do or her?12:41Judge me. I'm sick. And judge me in a way that you lead me to health. Judge me. Doctor, you have taken the Hippocratic oath. Judge me because you care. If you really care, you'll tell me what is wrong that I might find healing and restoration. But when it comes to God, we don't want that, do we? We want God to ignore our sin.13:10John Calvin says it this way. This exhortation here in chapter 3 is necessary for us in the present day. We see how inclined we are by nature to indifference. When God brings before us our sin and he sets before us wrath, we are not moved. And when we entertain any fear, it soon vanishes. That is a horrific lie of Satan.13:38For us to ignore the wrath of God, to ignore hell. God's judgment is always just in our life. When was the last time that you actually looked at your sin and responded with trembling? When was the last time you looked deep in your soul? I believe it was two days ago for our 10 days of prayer. Day 6 or day 5 is the psalm that says, Lord, search me. Know my inner thoughts.14:09Lord, see if there's anything impure and lead me in the path of everlasting. You know what I did when I read that? I closed it and said, Lord, I don't want you to do that. Just being honest. Because when I look at my heart, it's not a pretty picture. We need to tremble at our sin. We need to be devastated at our sin because it is a holy assault against God. You say, well, we're not that bad, Pastor.14:38No, you are. We are. And I'm telling you that because that's the most loving thing I could tell you. It would be like the doctor looking at me and saying, you know, you have a fatal disease. But you know what? Let's fix your pinky toe. Let's ignore the major issue. We are deeply depraved. Scripture says that the heart of man does wicked at all times.15:06Calvin continues, we cannot truly from the heart repent unless our sins become displeasing to us. And the hatred of sin proceeds, listen to this, from the fear of God. You will not hate your sins until you fear the Lord. And I believe Habakkuk is looking at a holy God and he's saying, God, I despise our rebellion. God, and I sit and I tremble because you are just and you will not ignore.15:33When's the last time you've trembled at your sin? If you are here today and you say, it's no big deal. God will forgive me in the end. I have time. You don't fear God. And without fearing the Lord, without repentance of sin, there is no forgiveness of sin. Those who tremble at the grandeur and the holiness of God. A trembling response.16:05Secondly, we see this. Look in verse 17. Because of God's grace, those who tremble can trust. Those who tremble can trust. Verse 17. Though the fig tree does not bud. That's not a good thing, by the way. And though there is no fruit on the vines. That's not good. Though the olive crop fails, it's getting worse. And there is no fields that produce food.16:33Though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls. Let's stop here. Habakkuk is setting up a situation where he says, God, if everything that I love and everything that gives me security goes away, I will trust in you. I will trust in you. See, he has confidence. What is confidence? Confidence is belief that you can rely on someone.17:01But you can't rely on someone if you don't know the someone. And what a glorious picture of confidence in Habakkuk. That he looks and says, God, if you take away this and this and this and this and this and this and this, God, I'm going to trust you. God, I have trembled at your holiness. God, I will trust you not for what you give me. American church, we need to hear this. Because we often come to God because of what he can give us, not because of who he is.17:29And if that's the way that we perceive the Lord, that is idolatry. That is not worship. God is not Santa Claus. Parents, I'll let you kind of unravel that at home. I'll just leave it there. Right? He is not Saint Nicholas. God is not the one that we just come to when we want good stuff. No, God is the one that we come to with confidence to say, God, when we have nothing, I will trust in you.17:59God, I will do so because you are faithful and you are true. Why this strange shift? Why the strange shift by this prophet? He goes from a complaining prophet to now this peculiar faith. Look at verse 17 really quick with me. Let me walk through what this means. Some of you don't have figs at home. Some of you don't have cows and sheep and llamas.18:29If you're in the Andes, they herd llamas. By the way, if you can eat llama, I've had it personally and it is good. As many of you don't have fruits on the vine or grape vineyards. So this is what Habakkuk is saying in verse 17. Figs were served as a delicacy in Israel. But the loss of a fig tree in a delicacy would not necessarily be a hardship.18:56If you went home and you lost all of your chocolate forever, you might think that that's devastation, but it's an inconvenience. Secondly, he says this, if there are no fruit on the vines, grapes provided daily drink for the people of God. But the loss of the fruit of the vine would be deprivation, but it would not be catastrophic.19:22So God, we're losing our luxuries, but hey, things are still pretty good. Next, he says, if the olive crop fails, the olive crop, on the other hand, produced oil for cooking and oil for the lamps. And so if we lose our means to see in the evening, and even for Israel, if we lose our means of lighting the temple, God, we will still trust in you.19:53He says also that the flocks disappear, although the fields produce no food. So the grain, barley, and wheat were staples in Israel. So now, even the staples are being taken away. He says this, if there are no flocks in the pen. You see, sheep and cattle made up most of the wealth in Palestine. And often that the sheep and the goats would be the food, the protein source, the meat for those in Palestine.20:19So no grain, no drink, no figs, no luxuries. And now, Lord, we're losing our protein source. And then lastly, God, if there are no herds in the stalls. You see, cattle were rarely eaten in Israel, but they were the main source of agriculture.20:39They were the tractors, although we don't even have a way of producing food. What is going on here in Habakkuk? In light of the worst circumstances and growing severity, Habakkuk chooses to turn his eyes upon the Lord.21:01In the face of the worst situation that he can imagine, he is saying, God, I will turn my eyes upon Jesus and look full in his wonderful face. The things of the world will grow strangely pale in the light of his glory and grace. What a trusting plea from this prophet.21:31You see, this is what the Puritans call the severe mercies of God. And this is something that we struggle with. In the Western church, we are so wealthy. We are so people of comfort that when our comforts go away, we say, God, what are you doing? Where are the figs? God, this is devastating. The chocolate has disappeared.22:00And the steak is no more. We have brothers and sisters around the world right now that have chosen to worship knowing that they might forfeit their life because of their faith. And we do not get it. We do not understand. The Puritans called this the severe mercies of God. Samuel Rutherford once said this,22:28Our little time of suffering is not worthy of our night's welcome home to heaven. Our moments of suffering are not even worth like the first moments welcome in heaven. What a glorious thought to say, Lord, we might suffer, but it's not even going to compare to the first time that you welcome us home in Christ Jesus. You see, often in the greatest suffering comes the greatest plea of trust.22:58The Pilgrim's Progress is the second most printed English book ever. Number one would be the Bible. Do you know where the Pilgrim's Progress was penned? In jail at John Bunyan for 12 years. And he left a wife and a blind daughter that he could not take care of.23:24And they told him this, We will let you, we will release you from jail if you quit preaching. All you have to do is stop preaching. You can worship, just stop preaching. He said, I will not. I will not stop proclaiming in confidence that God is sovereign and that He is what we need. The severe mercies of our Lord. Not only John Bunyan, but David Brainerd dropped out of Yale because he had a sickness.23:55We now know that he was spitting blood and was probably tuberculosis. And so because he had to quit school, he decided to become a missionary to the Delaware Indians. And he poured forth his life for the sake of those who did not know Jesus. Why would I tell you these things? Because often the greatest trust springs from the deepest tragedies. Oftentimes the greatest trust springs from the deepest tragedies.24:26And we have had people in our church this year that have committed their life to Jesus Christ. Springing forth from the greatest tragedies that you could ever imagine. And we would say praise be to God for His faithfulness. When all else fails, look at verse 18. A trembling response, a trembling response, a trusting plea.24:58And then if everything falls apart, yet I will celebrate the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Exclamation point. The next verse. The Lord, my Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like those of the deer. He enables me to walk on mountain heights.25:26In light of all this, how does a man of God go from complaining to rejoicing? What has changed? Not much. If anything has changed, I would say things have gotten worse. Everything is systematically failing. The Habakkuk, the prophet, the man of God. And he looks to the heavens and says what? Yet, I will celebrate.25:56Church, this is a response the world does not understand. And it's a response in our flesh. It doesn't make sense. You're telling me that the fig tree is not budding and the olive crop has failed and there is no fruit on the vine. And all the grain is gone. There's nothing to eat. And the sheep have run this way and the goats have run this way. And the cows that we use for agriculture, they're not even there.26:25Habakkuk, you have nothing. And you have every reason to cry out to God and curse him. And Habakkuk says, yes. I will celebrate. What is he celebrating? I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. How can a man do this?26:52How can a mere mortal look at the face of tragedy and say, God, I will rejoice? Because he enjoyed the divine person more than he enjoyed earthly possessions. Habakkuk knew his heavenly father. And he says, God, if I have nothing, there is one thing I have.27:22God, I have you. My eyes have seen the glory. And because they have seen the glory. Lord, when the vintage is trampled. When the grapes of wrath are coming because of my sin. Glory. Glory. Hallelujah. This is a triumphant confidence.27:52So I simply ask, do you enjoy the person of God more than you enjoy what he can give you? If you are hoping in the God that's much like Santa Claus, there will be a day when your toys are taken. Where is your hope then? There will be a day when everything that you hold on to is gone.28:19Many years ago, early August, I moved to New Orleans in 2005. I didn't realize that on the 29th of that same month, two weeks later, that a bad woman named Katrina would hit. And this hurricane, you know, they're big and they're scary, but they pass quickly.28:45And so I took what I wanted for the weekend and went to Baton Rouge, not realizing three months later, I would go back to my apartment. And not knowing that six months later, we would be one of the few and first people to move back into New Orleans and seeing the devastation where hundreds and thousands of people lost their life. And hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed and hearing the tragic story of people who had committed suicide because they lost everything that they held dear and they didn't have hope.29:11And I wish I could have sat with them and said, I understand I'm with you. But if we lose everything we can declare, yet we will celebrate the Lord. It's not about our stuff. It's about our Savior.29:41And so we have nothing. If you know Jesus, you have everything. You have everything. This is the confidence that we have in Jesus Christ. Look at verse 19. The prophet says, the Lord, my Lord, is my strength. This is the only time outside of the Psalms that these words, the Lord, my Lord, Yahweh, Adonai are used back to back. You know what Habakkuk is doing?30:10This is the strongest name that he can declare of the Lord. It's almost like he finds the strongest confidence that he has and says, God, I've lost everything, but here's my chips. Lord, my Lord, my Lord, my Lord, I trust in you. It's almost as if he looks at the enemy. He says, you can take it all. But I have one trump card that you can't take away.30:35He is my strength. And he will make my feet like the feet of the deer. He will make me walk when I tremble. And what we have here at the conclusion of Habakkuk is the answer to 2, 4. The answer to chapter 2, verse 4. Look at what Habakkuk says. This was last week. He's looking at this impending destruction.31:03And he looks and says, the Babylonians, the Chaldeans, their ego is inflated. He is without integrity, but the righteous one will live by faith. Habakkuk concludes, it says, God, because of a life of faith, I will confidently trust in you. God, I tremble at my sin. I tremble at my judgment.31:32God, I'm trusting you when I don't know how I can trust. And Lord, I will triumphantly put my confidence in you. Because I believe in the promises of God. The righteous will live by faith. Oh, Lord, our Lord, you are our strength. You will able us to walk. You will make our feet like the deer. We will celebrate in you. We will rejoice in the Lord of our salvation.32:01On January 28, 1945, World War II was groaning to a close. And the Japanese troops had pulled back most of their infantry from the Philippines. Because they knew that the war was closing and that their defeat was imminent. And there was a Japanese prisoner of war camp near Kabanatuan in the Philippines.32:27Most of these prisoners had walked through the infamous Bataan Death March. And they were in awful conditions. Physically starving, emotionally destroyed. And before the rangers arrived, the guards had pulled back. And on this island, there were very few guards left. But the prisoners did not know how many remained.32:55And as they were deliberating whether they were free or not, this American ranger infantry swooped in and invaded the prison camp. And what we have is a fascinating response by these prisoners of war. Over 500 prisoners of war. The men did not quite know what to make of their freedom. One of the most interesting facts is a man named prisoner Captain Bank.33:25Captain Burt Bank. You see, he was struggling with blindness because of a vitamin deficiency. He could not see the rescuers. And when they came in and said, Hey, we're going to deliver you. He knew that that was also a tactic of the enemy. He knew that these could be Japanese guards asking them to run. And they were going to shoot them and kill them as they ran from the prison.33:55So he refused to budge. Finally, a soldier walked up to Officer Bank. And he grabbed his arm. And he said, What's wrong with you? Don't you understand you're free? You see, Officer Bank was from Alabama. And when he heard the familiar southern draw of this army ranger,34:21something in his mind clicked. And a smile formed on his lips. He got up and he walked out of that prison. He understood in that moment that he was going to begin his journey of freedom. You see, this is what Habakkuk understands. And so I ask you right now, do you want to be free? Here is the truth and the power we see in Jesus Christ.34:52Roma says this, That if you have put your faith in Jesus, there is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. What condemnation? None. If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, what condemnation is reserved for you? None. The full measure of God's wrath towards you was poured out on Jesus Christ.35:20Which is why I tremble at my sin. Because Jesus took that for us. And we respond with a trembling plea. We say, God, Oh, what a glorious salvation. If you know Christ, why are you staying in the prison? He has opened up the doors. You can't do anything right now to make God love you more.35:49I know we think about this in religious terms. We say, Well, God, if I just become good enough, then you'll love me. He says, No. One, you're not good. You're not even semi-good. You're bad. And you can't be semi-good. And you say, Well, that's a horrible news. No, it is liberating. Because Jesus Christ died for us in our worst condition. And he has opened the gates of the prison. And he grabs our arm and says,36:19Josh, there is now no condemnation. What are you waiting for? You're free. You're free. He says, I don't love you because you do. He says, I don't love you less because you do bad. God loves us because Jesus Christ lived a sinless life for guilty sinners. And he walked a suffering road to the cross. He was mocked. He was spit upon.36:48He took nails in his hands and his feet. He died on the cross screaming out at the end. My God, my God, why are you forsaking me? God, why are you pouring out your wrath? And the response was because of Josh. Because of you. Because Jesus, you're the only one that can open the doors of the prison. And if you are in Christ, enjoy the freedom that only God can bring.37:16May we not be entangled with stuff. The Savior set us free. Maybe you're here today and for the first time, you're thinking, God, I know that I'm a sinner. And I know if I died right now today, that you are a just judge and I will be appropriately punished eternally for my sin. God will not ignore your sin. And by the way, he knows your sin before you even know it.37:45And he is offering you mercy and redemption. If you run to the throne of Christ and throw yourself at the foot of the cross and say, God, I am guilty. And I respond with trembling. And God will respond with mercy and he will say this. You are guilty. But in Christ, you are righteous. You are righteous and you are forgiven.38:13And the gates of the prison are open. How do we respond in face of extreme difficulty? A trembling plea. A trusting confidence in God. Yet, I will celebrate in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. If you have not put your trust in Jesus Christ today,38:43we invite you to do that. As we pray right now, we have a time of response. Right where you sit, by faith alone in Christ alone is the only answer. There is only one name under heaven by which men can be saved. And right where you sit, you can pray a prayer of faith. God, I believe in your son for the first time. I know that I am guilty. And I believe that you will put my guilt upon your son. You will forgive me and that he will purify me.39:10That's you today. You can claim the promise of God that there is therefore now, what church there is now, no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. God, if we lose everything, we have you. We will trust and rejoice in the Lord, the God of our salvation. Let's pray.Next in B2Start →Sunday, September 9, 2018
