1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,160 Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:25,640 I'm going to just really look at verse number two here this evening. 10 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,420 We might jump a few verses ahead, but verse two is our main 11 00:00:29,580 --> 00:00:31,180 text here this evening. 12 00:00:31,340 --> 00:00:33,500 And what I want us to understand is this is the proper 13 00:00:33,580 --> 00:00:36,140 response to God's every. 14 00:00:36,300 --> 00:00:38,380 To the answer to everything that God gives us. 15 00:00:39,020 --> 00:00:40,780 Sometimes God's going to give us a clear answer. 16 00:00:40,780 --> 00:00:43,020 Sometimes God's going to give us a complete answer. 17 00:00:43,020 --> 00:00:45,020 Sometimes God's not going to answer us at all. 18 00:00:45,420 --> 00:00:48,500 But nonetheless, this is the proper response to any action of 19 00:00:48,500 --> 00:00:49,820 God, and that is worship. 20 00:00:49,980 --> 00:00:51,220 He is worthy of our worship. 21 00:00:51,220 --> 00:00:52,460 He is worthy of our praise. 22 00:00:52,620 --> 00:00:55,380 We have to go back to what we know about God and his goodness and 23 00:00:55,380 --> 00:00:58,270 his love and his grace and his forgiveness and say, lord, even though 24 00:00:58,270 --> 00:01:01,790 I don't understand your ways, your ways are beyond my ways, but 25 00:01:01,790 --> 00:01:03,270 I'm going to worship you in that. 26 00:01:03,270 --> 00:01:04,750 And that is what he is doing here. 27 00:01:04,750 --> 00:01:08,750 So Habakkuk is worshiping through the difficulty, he's worshiping 28 00:01:08,750 --> 00:01:09,990 through the confusion. 29 00:01:09,990 --> 00:01:12,950 He's worshiping through even in some cases, doubt. 30 00:01:13,270 --> 00:01:16,030 But ultimately he gains confidence through this worship. 31 00:01:16,030 --> 00:01:18,470 And that's what we're going to see happen here in chapter three. 32 00:01:18,790 --> 00:01:19,990 He starts with worship. 33 00:01:19,990 --> 00:01:21,510 He ends with confidence in God. 34 00:01:21,670 --> 00:01:24,430 And really, that's all we really want to be as Christians is 35 00:01:24,430 --> 00:01:26,110 those who can lead live in faith. 36 00:01:26,110 --> 00:01:29,830 That word, confidence is a word that is basically broken down 37 00:01:29,830 --> 00:01:30,470 into two. 38 00:01:30,470 --> 00:01:33,910 Two words, con with fide faith. 39 00:01:34,070 --> 00:01:36,230 So living in confidence means living with faith. 40 00:01:36,230 --> 00:01:38,950 And so living with faith is important to what we're going to 41 00:01:38,950 --> 00:01:39,990 talk about here this evening. 42 00:01:40,070 --> 00:01:41,830 And so verse number two says this. 43 00:01:41,830 --> 00:01:44,350 Oh, Lord, I have heard thy speech. 44 00:01:44,350 --> 00:01:45,910 He says, lord, I have heard you. 45 00:01:46,150 --> 00:01:47,030 I'm listening. 46 00:01:47,670 --> 00:01:50,310 I don't understand everything, but I heard you. 47 00:01:50,550 --> 00:01:53,750 And I think sometimes that's important for us to utter with our 48 00:01:53,750 --> 00:01:57,370 voice, to admit that we know what God is saying, even though we 49 00:01:57,370 --> 00:02:00,290 might not understand it, even though we might not in some cases 50 00:02:00,290 --> 00:02:02,210 agree, we hear you, Lord. 51 00:02:02,610 --> 00:02:06,650 And he says, what was his response to hearing the speech of 52 00:02:06,650 --> 00:02:06,970 God? 53 00:02:06,970 --> 00:02:09,730 Hearing the word of God, he was afraid. 54 00:02:10,290 --> 00:02:10,609 And. 55 00:02:10,609 --> 00:02:11,770 And a lot of times we. 56 00:02:11,770 --> 00:02:15,490 We kind of water down the truth of the importance of fearing 57 00:02:15,490 --> 00:02:15,890 God. 58 00:02:16,370 --> 00:02:20,890 There is a healthy fear that we are supposed to have in the presence 59 00:02:20,890 --> 00:02:22,740 of God, in the word of God. 60 00:02:22,740 --> 00:02:24,860 Now it's not a fear of condemnation. 61 00:02:25,660 --> 00:02:30,020 It's a fear of this awe inspiring respect for the Lord and 62 00:02:30,020 --> 00:02:34,260 fearing his power, and fearing his majesty and fearing his holiness. 63 00:02:34,260 --> 00:02:37,619 And you can look at many occasions when individuals came face 64 00:02:37,619 --> 00:02:39,180 to face with God, so to speak. 65 00:02:39,500 --> 00:02:40,580 Think about Isaiah. 66 00:02:40,580 --> 00:02:44,500 In Isaiah chapter 6, he says, Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean 67 00:02:44,500 --> 00:02:44,940 lips. 68 00:02:44,940 --> 00:02:48,730 There, there was an awe inspiring nature to experiencing 69 00:02:48,730 --> 00:02:49,050 God. 70 00:02:49,050 --> 00:02:51,330 And I think that's something that we have lost in our society 71 00:02:51,330 --> 00:02:51,690 today. 72 00:02:52,090 --> 00:02:55,410 The, the modern church has lost that awe and respect of who 73 00:02:55,410 --> 00:02:56,810 God is and what he has done. 74 00:02:56,890 --> 00:03:00,410 And so the first step of Habakkuk's journey here in worship 75 00:03:00,410 --> 00:03:03,210 is he recognizes the power of God. 76 00:03:03,370 --> 00:03:06,410 He recognizes the infinite nature of God. 77 00:03:06,570 --> 00:03:08,570 He recognizes the judgment of God. 78 00:03:08,570 --> 00:03:10,410 He recognizes the truth of God. 79 00:03:10,570 --> 00:03:13,330 And anytime we're going to get to a place of revival, because that's 80 00:03:13,330 --> 00:03:14,170 really what he. 81 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:15,280 He's praying for here. 82 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:16,760 He's praying for revival. 83 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,600 Anytime we get to a place of revival, it must start with worship. 84 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:22,880 It must start with a recognition of our failures. 85 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:24,800 And really the word for that is repentance. 86 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,520 And so it's a recognition of our sin. 87 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,680 And in the recognition of our sin, we repent of that sin. 88 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,840 We turn away from the wrongdoing or the wrong thinking 89 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,200 and come to a place of revival or renewal in our hearts. 90 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:38,600 And so that's what he's praying for here. 91 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,420 He says, revive thy work. 92 00:03:42,140 --> 00:03:43,660 In the midst of the years. 93 00:03:44,620 --> 00:03:47,900 It's important that he says here, revive your work, God. 94 00:03:47,980 --> 00:03:51,860 He doesn't say revive my work, even though it would have implication 95 00:03:51,860 --> 00:03:53,180 that his work would be revived. 96 00:03:53,180 --> 00:03:55,660 He essentially says, revive your work in us. 97 00:03:55,900 --> 00:03:59,460 And so Habakkuk is simply praying for revival in the hearts 98 00:03:59,460 --> 00:04:02,060 of the people of Israel and in his own life. 99 00:04:02,540 --> 00:04:07,040 He knew that God had once worked with those people and there 100 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,400 was a time when they had responded to the truth of God. 101 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:11,320 And Habakkuk desired to see that again. 102 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:13,880 And I believe that's a prayer that we all should have within the 103 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:14,680 church today. 104 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:15,480 Revival. 105 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:16,880 Revival in our hearts. 106 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:18,280 Revival in the church's heart. 107 00:04:18,280 --> 00:04:21,480 Revival in our community's heart, Revival in the world's heart. 108 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:23,680 And so that's what Habakkuk is asking for here. 109 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,600 He's pleading to the Lord for this revival. 110 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:28,400 And with revival comes repentance. 111 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,720 With revival comes a recognition of our inadequacy before 112 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:32,120 God. 113 00:04:32,730 --> 00:04:35,050 So he's praying for that revival to happen. 114 00:04:35,050 --> 00:04:37,890 Now a lot of times people think Revival is just, hey, we have 115 00:04:37,890 --> 00:04:41,410 a special service, we have a special speaker, we have a lot of 116 00:04:41,410 --> 00:04:41,930 excitement. 117 00:04:41,930 --> 00:04:43,370 We might even have special food. 118 00:04:43,450 --> 00:04:46,650 And that's when we all come together and that revival just organically 119 00:04:46,650 --> 00:04:47,090 happens. 120 00:04:47,090 --> 00:04:49,970 But the Bible says that revival starts in our own heart. 121 00:04:49,970 --> 00:04:52,730 It starts with a repentance, a turning away from something. 122 00:04:53,050 --> 00:04:55,290 We're not going to have revival if we want to grip onto the 123 00:04:55,290 --> 00:04:56,490 sins that we love so much. 124 00:04:56,650 --> 00:04:58,850 We're not going to have revival if we're not willing to change 125 00:04:58,850 --> 00:05:00,130 the areas that we need to change. 126 00:05:00,130 --> 00:05:03,120 And as the Holy Spirit convicts, as the Holy Spirit prods 127 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:04,600 us, we have to be ready to move. 128 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:07,400 And that's what Habakkuk is praying for, for soft hearts, for 129 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,160 broken hearts, so that there can be changes, so that there can 130 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:12,280 be revival in the hearts of the people. 131 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:18,200 And so the prayer of Habakkuk shows that revival is not a work 132 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:18,760 of man. 133 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,480 It is a work of God, because he doesn't say, here, Lord, help 134 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,400 us all to be revived, and then we can come find you. 135 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,080 It starts with that brokenness before God. 136 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:29,080 It's a work of God. 137 00:05:29,180 --> 00:05:32,580 Revival is always a work of God, not a work of man, just as salvation 138 00:05:32,580 --> 00:05:36,060 is a work of God and not a work of man, just as spiritual growth 139 00:05:36,060 --> 00:05:38,060 is a work of God and not a work of man. 140 00:05:38,060 --> 00:05:40,620 Now, I'm not preaching determinism, but what I am teaching 141 00:05:40,780 --> 00:05:44,060 is that we cannot have true spiritual growth, we cannot have 142 00:05:44,060 --> 00:05:48,140 true salvation, we cannot have true revival without God's power 143 00:05:48,140 --> 00:05:49,420 working in our midst. 144 00:05:49,740 --> 00:05:50,700 And so there's something. 145 00:05:51,180 --> 00:05:55,070 There's only one thing that man must do for revival, and that 146 00:05:55,070 --> 00:05:59,270 is plead to God for that revival in faith to a dear person 147 00:05:59,270 --> 00:06:00,070 here just recently. 148 00:06:00,070 --> 00:06:01,670 And obviously we pray. 149 00:06:02,310 --> 00:06:05,390 But we're not just called to sit in a room and pray and never 150 00:06:05,390 --> 00:06:06,390 take action, right? 151 00:06:06,470 --> 00:06:10,550 Taking action is the proof of our faith and our prayers. 152 00:06:11,350 --> 00:06:14,390 Taking action in our life is having faith that God will provide, 153 00:06:14,470 --> 00:06:17,830 that God will lead, that God will course correct. 154 00:06:17,830 --> 00:06:18,830 He will change us. 155 00:06:18,830 --> 00:06:21,210 And so faith is this, Lord, I believe. 156 00:06:22,090 --> 00:06:25,610 And now I'm going to believe it so much that I'm going to act 157 00:06:25,610 --> 00:06:26,050 upon it. 158 00:06:26,050 --> 00:06:28,770 And that's what we see here with Habakkuk's heart. 159 00:06:28,770 --> 00:06:31,210 Even though we know the heart of the people doesn't necessarily 160 00:06:31,210 --> 00:06:33,650 change, we know that even though there. 161 00:06:33,650 --> 00:06:37,650 There is a sense of revival in the nation of Israel, specifically 162 00:06:37,650 --> 00:06:41,170 with Judah, and it's delayed, judgment is delayed, we know that 163 00:06:41,170 --> 00:06:43,530 ultimately judgment does come to that nation. 164 00:06:44,250 --> 00:06:45,810 So notice, notice a prayer there. 165 00:06:45,810 --> 00:06:47,130 He says, revive your work. 166 00:06:48,620 --> 00:06:50,140 Revive Your work, Lord. 167 00:06:50,140 --> 00:06:53,220 And so it's asking God to work in our life, and then it's a willingness 168 00:06:53,220 --> 00:06:54,380 to allow God to work. 169 00:06:54,620 --> 00:06:58,820 Sometimes we ask God for something, and we're not willing 170 00:06:58,820 --> 00:06:59,540 to work with him. 171 00:06:59,540 --> 00:07:01,140 We say, lord, guide my heart. 172 00:07:01,140 --> 00:07:02,220 And he guides us to something. 173 00:07:02,220 --> 00:07:03,420 And we go, yeah, but not that. 174 00:07:04,220 --> 00:07:05,740 Please, please, not there, Lord. 175 00:07:05,740 --> 00:07:07,220 Lord, give me something to do in the church. 176 00:07:07,220 --> 00:07:09,940 And then something's revealed to us, and we go, well, that's not 177 00:07:09,940 --> 00:07:10,700 what I wanted. 178 00:07:11,420 --> 00:07:14,390 So it's a willingness to say, lord, use me. 179 00:07:14,390 --> 00:07:17,830 And then when he is willing to use us, are we willing to be a part 180 00:07:17,830 --> 00:07:18,070 of that? 181 00:07:18,070 --> 00:07:20,390 Are we willing to be partners with him? 182 00:07:20,390 --> 00:07:23,190 And so this is a corporate prayer for the people, but this is 183 00:07:23,190 --> 00:07:25,750 a personal prayer in the life of Habakkuk. 184 00:07:25,750 --> 00:07:25,950 So. 185 00:07:25,950 --> 00:07:29,750 So revival is corporate, but it starts on the individual side 186 00:07:29,750 --> 00:07:31,870 of things, in the individual way, in a heart of. 187 00:07:31,950 --> 00:07:33,230 Of man and the heart of. 188 00:07:33,230 --> 00:07:33,710 Of women. 189 00:07:33,790 --> 00:07:37,710 So he says, revive thy work in the midst of the years. 190 00:07:37,790 --> 00:07:39,790 In the midst of the years, make known. 191 00:07:40,770 --> 00:07:40,930 So. 192 00:07:40,930 --> 00:07:41,770 So what is he saying here? 193 00:07:41,770 --> 00:07:44,410 He says, lord, make yourself known to us. 194 00:07:44,410 --> 00:07:47,010 And there's some elements of revival that we have to check. 195 00:07:47,170 --> 00:07:49,890 First and foremost, when we're looking at revival, we have to check. 196 00:07:49,890 --> 00:07:55,250 We have to check the word of God is my life, is the way that I'm 197 00:07:55,250 --> 00:07:59,410 thinking, is the way that I'm acting, is the way that I'm responding, 198 00:07:59,410 --> 00:08:00,690 aligned to the word of God. 199 00:08:00,770 --> 00:08:04,490 I want you to see a passage of scripture that points directly to 200 00:08:04,490 --> 00:08:07,880 that, and I think it's important for us to see. 201 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:09,000 This is in Psalm 19. 202 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:14,720 If we want revival to happen in our midst, if we want revival 203 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,560 to happen in our own lives and our families, in our country, what 204 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:18,760 is. 205 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:20,000 What is the starting place for that? 206 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,800 Well, we say faith, which is true, but faith in what? 207 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:25,160 Well, faith in God. 208 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:28,200 But how do we know what God has promised us? 209 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:32,999 Well, the Bible says in Psalm 19, verse number seven, something 210 00:08:32,999 --> 00:08:33,839 very important here. 211 00:08:33,839 --> 00:08:38,039 And the Bible tells us that it is the word of God that brings us 212 00:08:38,039 --> 00:08:39,759 the truth to check our lives with. 213 00:08:39,999 --> 00:08:44,119 So the Bible tells us very clearly that if our life is not aligning 214 00:08:44,119 --> 00:08:46,999 with the word of God, we cannot have that revival. 215 00:08:46,999 --> 00:08:50,439 We cannot have that growth because we're fighting against God's 216 00:08:50,439 --> 00:08:51,039 will in our life. 217 00:08:51,039 --> 00:08:54,799 And so the Bible says in Psalm 19, the law of the Lord or the word 218 00:08:54,799 --> 00:08:56,639 of God, the law of the Lord is perfect. 219 00:08:57,279 --> 00:09:00,550 Converting the soul, the testimony of the Lord is sure making 220 00:09:00,550 --> 00:09:00,870 wise. 221 00:09:00,870 --> 00:09:01,910 The simple meaning this. 222 00:09:01,990 --> 00:09:04,710 It is the word of the Lord that converts the soul. 223 00:09:04,710 --> 00:09:07,510 It's the word of the Lord that revives the heart. 224 00:09:07,510 --> 00:09:11,150 There's another passage of Scripture, not in Psalm 19, but in 225 00:09:11,150 --> 00:09:15,470 Psalm 119 that speaks to scripture being the guide for our 226 00:09:15,470 --> 00:09:15,750 life. 227 00:09:15,750 --> 00:09:18,830 And I would encourage you, if you have time, read through Psalm 228 00:09:18,830 --> 00:09:19,270 119. 229 00:09:19,270 --> 00:09:19,990 It's a great. 230 00:09:20,150 --> 00:09:23,070 It's a great chapter dealing with the importance of the Word of 231 00:09:23,070 --> 00:09:23,910 God in our life. 232 00:09:24,300 --> 00:09:25,980 And there's a lot of verses that we could go to. 233 00:09:25,980 --> 00:09:27,500 But most of you know this verse. 234 00:09:27,580 --> 00:09:29,260 Psalm 119, 105. 235 00:09:29,980 --> 00:09:33,420 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. 236 00:09:34,300 --> 00:09:36,940 I mean, I could point out so many verses in Psalm 119. 237 00:09:36,940 --> 00:09:41,460 You could, you could look at Psalm 119, and you could look at 238 00:09:41,460 --> 00:09:44,220 verse, verse 5. 239 00:09:44,220 --> 00:09:45,540 This is the theme for our. 240 00:09:45,540 --> 00:09:47,260 Our children's ministry at our church. 241 00:09:47,340 --> 00:09:50,220 Oh, that my ways were directed to keep thy statues. 242 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:52,400 You go down to verse number 11. 243 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:55,200 Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against 244 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:55,640 thee. 245 00:09:56,280 --> 00:10:00,240 And so without the word of God, we are not able to have, or 246 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:03,040 at least understand revival and the direction that we need to 247 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:03,440 go with that. 248 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,759 And so to understand revival is to understand the Word of God 249 00:10:06,759 --> 00:10:08,360 and to believe in the word of God. 250 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:09,000 And. 251 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,360 And so I think that that's an important thing to check in our lives. 252 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:12,800 When it comes to revival. 253 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:15,960 We need to check the Word of God in, in our conduct of our life, 254 00:10:16,750 --> 00:10:18,750 our private conduct, our public conduct. 255 00:10:18,750 --> 00:10:21,870 But then another thing we need to look at is, is we need to look 256 00:10:21,870 --> 00:10:24,190 at how we're talking to people, our conversation. 257 00:10:25,470 --> 00:10:29,550 You know, a lot of times we think that we're acting biblical. 258 00:10:29,710 --> 00:10:32,389 We think like we're acting like Christians, but many times we 259 00:10:32,389 --> 00:10:36,430 don't actually think about or hear ourselves talking in the conversations 260 00:10:36,430 --> 00:10:37,070 that we're having. 261 00:10:37,630 --> 00:10:39,710 And I'm not just talking about filthy conversation. 262 00:10:39,710 --> 00:10:42,710 I mean, obviously that would be indicative of a person that's 263 00:10:42,710 --> 00:10:44,430 not willing to have revival in their hearts. 264 00:10:44,650 --> 00:10:46,610 But I'm talking about conversations that are just empty, 265 00:10:46,610 --> 00:10:47,610 vain, worthless. 266 00:10:47,850 --> 00:10:49,010 And the Bible speaks of that. 267 00:10:49,010 --> 00:10:51,250 The Bible talks about our conversations being seasoned with 268 00:10:51,250 --> 00:10:55,530 grace and salt and, and being able to edify others and talk about 269 00:10:55,530 --> 00:10:56,130 Jesus Christ. 270 00:10:56,130 --> 00:10:58,490 Are we willing to talk about Jesus Christ to other people around 271 00:10:58,490 --> 00:10:58,810 us? 272 00:10:59,050 --> 00:11:01,290 Are we willing to edify the saints around us? 273 00:11:01,770 --> 00:11:02,090 So. 274 00:11:02,090 --> 00:11:03,050 So we need to check our. 275 00:11:03,050 --> 00:11:03,650 Our actions. 276 00:11:03,650 --> 00:11:05,850 We need to check our conversations, our. 277 00:11:05,850 --> 00:11:06,250 Our talk. 278 00:11:06,250 --> 00:11:09,610 And we need to check who we're associating with. 279 00:11:10,100 --> 00:11:13,660 I mean, obviously there are times in our life that we need to 280 00:11:13,660 --> 00:11:16,740 make separations to get to a place in Our life where we can focus 281 00:11:16,740 --> 00:11:19,460 our attention upon the Lord, our hearts upon the Lord. 282 00:11:19,620 --> 00:11:23,940 And so here Bak is asking God, hey, make yourself known to us. 283 00:11:24,340 --> 00:11:26,100 Well, how does God make himself known to us? 284 00:11:26,100 --> 00:11:29,700 He makes himself known to us by his word and by the guidance of 285 00:11:29,700 --> 00:11:33,620 the Holy Spirit and ultimately by the application of the Holy Spirit. 286 00:11:34,020 --> 00:11:35,380 So the Holy Spirit convicts our heart. 287 00:11:35,950 --> 00:11:36,830 What are we going to do? 288 00:11:36,910 --> 00:11:38,110 Are we going to reject it? 289 00:11:38,670 --> 00:11:41,870 The Bible says that you can basically stiff arm the Holy Spirit. 290 00:11:41,870 --> 00:11:44,590 You can, you can have a seared conscience by grieving the Holy Spirit, 291 00:11:44,590 --> 00:11:46,390 by, by rejecting the Holy Spirit. 292 00:11:46,390 --> 00:11:48,270 The Bible calls it quenching the Holy Spirit. 293 00:11:48,910 --> 00:11:50,150 And so what I would say is this. 294 00:11:50,150 --> 00:11:54,990 Be open and ready to change your life if the Holy Spirit calls 295 00:11:54,990 --> 00:11:55,790 you to do so. 296 00:11:56,830 --> 00:12:00,110 So a lot of times a preacher will get up and preach a message, 297 00:12:00,110 --> 00:12:03,380 or a teacher will get up and teach a lesson, or we'll watch a 298 00:12:03,380 --> 00:12:07,020 video, or we'll read a book and something will speak to us. 299 00:12:07,020 --> 00:12:10,420 We'll say, you know what, I know that that's something that I 300 00:12:10,420 --> 00:12:11,260 need to change in my life. 301 00:12:11,260 --> 00:12:14,260 But a lot of times we're really good at talking ourselves 302 00:12:14,260 --> 00:12:15,500 out of making that change. 303 00:12:16,060 --> 00:12:19,060 And what I would say here this evening is make sure that you are 304 00:12:19,060 --> 00:12:20,700 still sensitive to the Holy Spirit. 305 00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:24,740 Don't allow yourself to callous that call from the Holy Spirit 306 00:12:24,740 --> 00:12:26,860 and reject that conviction. 307 00:12:27,020 --> 00:12:28,830 And, and so that's really what we're talking about when it comes 308 00:12:28,830 --> 00:12:32,190 to revival, allowing the Holy Spirit to direct us and really be 309 00:12:32,190 --> 00:12:34,230 honestly inspecting your own life. 310 00:12:35,190 --> 00:12:37,790 You know, I, I know for me, sometimes the most difficult thing 311 00:12:37,790 --> 00:12:40,230 is to evaluate what I'm doing to. 312 00:12:40,230 --> 00:12:43,430 To evaluate my decisions, to evaluate my sermons. 313 00:12:44,390 --> 00:12:46,550 How many of you don't like to hear your own voice? 314 00:12:46,550 --> 00:12:48,550 Like, when you're like, you hear your voice recording, you're 315 00:12:48,550 --> 00:12:50,230 like, oh, that's a terrible thing to listen to. 316 00:12:50,550 --> 00:12:51,310 That's how I am. 317 00:12:51,310 --> 00:12:53,590 But I, sometimes I have to go back and listen to what I'm saying 318 00:12:53,590 --> 00:12:56,420 because I want to make sure that I'm preaching the right things. 319 00:12:56,420 --> 00:12:58,020 And that's the idea for me. 320 00:12:58,100 --> 00:13:00,420 Sometimes when I evaluate what I'm saying, I'm like, did I really 321 00:13:00,420 --> 00:13:00,940 sound like that? 322 00:13:00,940 --> 00:13:02,260 Did I really say that at all? 323 00:13:02,580 --> 00:13:03,620 That's embarrassing. 324 00:13:03,620 --> 00:13:05,940 And so the truth of the matter is, is that sometimes in our life 325 00:13:05,940 --> 00:13:08,540 when we do inspect ourselves, it is, it is. 326 00:13:08,540 --> 00:13:11,780 Sometimes it's not as nice as we think it's going to be. 327 00:13:11,860 --> 00:13:14,260 And sometimes if we're not honest with ourselves, we're able 328 00:13:14,260 --> 00:13:15,780 to sugarcoat our issues. 329 00:13:16,100 --> 00:13:18,980 But what we need to do is be fully clear and transparent before 330 00:13:18,980 --> 00:13:20,820 the Lord and saying, lord, search me. 331 00:13:21,050 --> 00:13:22,370 And we, we know what David says. 332 00:13:22,370 --> 00:13:25,810 He says, search me, oh God, know my heart, try me and know my 333 00:13:25,810 --> 00:13:26,130 thoughts. 334 00:13:26,130 --> 00:13:28,970 See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. 335 00:13:29,610 --> 00:13:32,210 And I know a while back I challenged the church to think about 336 00:13:32,210 --> 00:13:34,890 that prayer and say, is that a prayer that I'm willing to pray before 337 00:13:34,890 --> 00:13:35,330 the Lord. 338 00:13:35,330 --> 00:13:36,970 He already knows your heart, by the way. 339 00:13:37,450 --> 00:13:39,970 You don't have to give him permission, but it's the reality 340 00:13:39,970 --> 00:13:43,090 of submitting to him and saying, lord, as you search me, tell 341 00:13:43,090 --> 00:13:45,050 me, and I'm willing to hear, and I'm willing to change. 342 00:13:45,450 --> 00:13:48,740 So I think that's another aspect of a revival that we need 343 00:13:48,740 --> 00:13:49,180 to think about. 344 00:13:49,180 --> 00:13:54,980 Another one is, is in the book of Psalms, Psalm 51, verse 10. 345 00:13:56,420 --> 00:13:59,660 Just had a conversation this week about how important Psalm 51 346 00:13:59,660 --> 00:13:59,900 is. 347 00:13:59,900 --> 00:14:03,540 Because if, if you know the context of Psalm 51, David has just 348 00:14:03,540 --> 00:14:07,340 been exposed in the most egregious sin. 349 00:14:07,340 --> 00:14:09,060 I mean, he's at his most vulnerable point. 350 00:14:09,060 --> 00:14:09,620 He's. 351 00:14:09,620 --> 00:14:13,860 He's laid out before God and essentially saying, lord, I have 352 00:14:13,860 --> 00:14:14,500 made a mistake. 353 00:14:14,500 --> 00:14:15,660 I've sinned against you. 354 00:14:16,140 --> 00:14:20,380 And it says in, in verse number 10, this, this is his prayer. 355 00:14:22,460 --> 00:14:25,260 And, and I think that this is something that all of us need to 356 00:14:25,260 --> 00:14:28,460 come to in our life as, as a prayer. 357 00:14:28,860 --> 00:14:30,780 And, and I think this is a prayer revival. 358 00:14:31,100 --> 00:14:35,620 And, and I know that so many of us will say maybe verbally that 359 00:14:35,620 --> 00:14:38,740 we want revival, but sometimes revival is a difficult thing because 360 00:14:38,740 --> 00:14:39,420 we have to. 361 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:43,120 We have to cleanse ourselves with the power of God with the, with 362 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:44,960 the Spirit to move away from something. 363 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,440 So he says in verse 10 of Psalm 51, Create in me a clean heart, 364 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:49,080 O God. 365 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:51,720 Renew a right spirit within me. 366 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:54,200 Renew a right spirit within me. 367 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,440 And then in verse 12, he says, restore unto me. 368 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,640 Revival is as well, sometimes as Christians, we have lost the joy 369 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:01,480 of our salvation. 370 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:06,800 And what, what a tragedy that is, that a Christian cannot have 371 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:08,190 joy, right? 372 00:15:08,190 --> 00:15:10,550 The Bible says that we should be characterized by joy. 373 00:15:10,550 --> 00:15:12,990 The Bible says one of the elements of the fruit of the Spirit 374 00:15:12,990 --> 00:15:13,630 is joy. 375 00:15:13,710 --> 00:15:16,830 So for a Christian not able to have joy is. 376 00:15:16,830 --> 00:15:17,230 Is. 377 00:15:17,230 --> 00:15:21,350 Is really at this case in time an opportunity for us to recognize 378 00:15:21,350 --> 00:15:22,830 that there is something wrong. 379 00:15:23,389 --> 00:15:24,990 Like if I go in, like if I'm. 380 00:15:24,990 --> 00:15:26,990 I don't know how many of you have ever had a. 381 00:15:27,070 --> 00:15:30,990 A situation in your life physically that you didn't know exactly 382 00:15:30,990 --> 00:15:33,430 what was wrong, but you knew something was wrong. 383 00:15:33,430 --> 00:15:35,690 You just, like, like something doesn't seem right. 384 00:15:36,010 --> 00:15:37,290 Something isn't adding up. 385 00:15:37,690 --> 00:15:40,370 This is something new in my life that has not been around, that 386 00:15:40,370 --> 00:15:41,610 I know is not normal. 387 00:15:41,770 --> 00:15:44,050 And therefore, you go to the doctor and you explain, here are 388 00:15:44,050 --> 00:15:44,610 my symptoms. 389 00:15:44,610 --> 00:15:47,850 And the doctor goes, well, okay, if you don't have this happening 390 00:15:47,850 --> 00:15:50,090 or you are having this happen, that might be this. 391 00:15:50,650 --> 00:15:52,890 It's the same case when it comes to inspecting our own life 392 00:15:52,890 --> 00:15:53,530 as Christians. 393 00:15:54,330 --> 00:15:56,250 You know, I'm struggling. 394 00:15:56,730 --> 00:15:57,930 I don't have joy. 395 00:15:58,490 --> 00:16:00,090 I know I'm supposed to have joy. 396 00:16:00,090 --> 00:16:00,730 What's wrong? 397 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,680 Well, it's not just that you're having a bad day if you're 398 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,600 a Christian and chronically you're not able to find joy. 399 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:07,800 There is an issue there. 400 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:09,680 It might be unrepentant sin. 401 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:13,280 It might be a thing that has happened to you that has harmed you 402 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,040 and has stunted your spiritual growth. 403 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:17,960 Maybe it's a hurt from somebody else, and we're holding 404 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:19,400 bitterness in from that hurt. 405 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:23,200 But ultimately, at the end of the day, we cannot blame anyone else 406 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:24,120 for stealing our joy. 407 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:25,680 What does David say there? 408 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:27,960 He says, renew thy right spirit with me. 409 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:29,640 Renew the joy of my salvation. 410 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:29,890 Renew. 411 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:31,480 Restore that joy of my salvation. 412 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,080 So one of the beautiful things of revival is that restoring of joy. 413 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,400 Now, that doesn't mean that we walk around as happy, go lucky people 414 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:41,760 and are in denial of the issues around us. 415 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:42,840 That's not what the Bible says. 416 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:44,920 The Bible does say there is a time for crying. 417 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:47,160 The Bible does say there's a time for mourning. 418 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:48,040 There. 419 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:50,240 There are times and seasons of. 420 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:53,960 Of heaviness and brokenness and times where we do need to lament. 421 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:55,000 Think about David. 422 00:16:55,570 --> 00:16:57,970 Okay, yes, he confessed his sin before the Lord. 423 00:16:59,170 --> 00:17:02,250 He got right with God after his sin with Bathsheba. 424 00:17:02,250 --> 00:17:05,090 But there were still consequences, as you well know. 425 00:17:05,250 --> 00:17:07,170 The Lord took his son, right? 426 00:17:07,170 --> 00:17:07,650 His child. 427 00:17:08,290 --> 00:17:09,290 And David mourned. 428 00:17:09,290 --> 00:17:11,409 And there was a time in David's life where he mourned, but 429 00:17:11,409 --> 00:17:14,730 then he got up and he says, okay, I'm not going to stay in that 430 00:17:14,730 --> 00:17:15,090 season. 431 00:17:15,730 --> 00:17:17,570 And so there are going to be seasons of brokenness. 432 00:17:17,570 --> 00:17:20,010 There's going to be seasons of sadness, there's going to be seasons 433 00:17:20,010 --> 00:17:20,770 of confusion. 434 00:17:21,020 --> 00:17:23,300 But the Bible says that should not be what we are characterized 435 00:17:23,300 --> 00:17:23,660 by. 436 00:17:23,820 --> 00:17:26,700 And so in revival is the joy that. 437 00:17:26,700 --> 00:17:30,820 That consistent joy and joy is really having contentment in the 438 00:17:30,820 --> 00:17:32,940 midst of difficult circumstances. 439 00:17:33,660 --> 00:17:33,980 Right? 440 00:17:33,980 --> 00:17:35,420 We know that even Paul. 441 00:17:36,300 --> 00:17:37,340 Paul wrote the. 442 00:17:37,340 --> 00:17:39,940 The book of Galatians, right, with the inspiration of the Holy 443 00:17:39,940 --> 00:17:40,220 Spirit. 444 00:17:40,220 --> 00:17:41,700 But Paul wrote the book of Galatians. 445 00:17:41,700 --> 00:17:43,060 Paul wrote the book of Philippians. 446 00:17:43,060 --> 00:17:45,900 And in both of those cases, in the book of Galatians, he's talking 447 00:17:45,900 --> 00:17:46,660 about the fruit of the Spirit. 448 00:17:46,660 --> 00:17:48,540 And he says, okay, one of the elements of the fruit of the Spirit 449 00:17:48,540 --> 00:17:49,020 is joy. 450 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:53,320 And then we see that in the book of Philippians, which is specifically 451 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,200 a prison epistle of Paul, he says, rejoice in the Lord always. 452 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:57,440 And again, I say, rejoice. 453 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,920 Now is Paul saying, hey, as Christians, we need to rejoice when 454 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:01,840 everything's going well? 455 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,480 No, he's saying, rejoice all the time in everything. 456 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:09,160 And so Habakkuk is saying, lord, restore that with us. 457 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:10,400 Make yourself known. 458 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:15,330 And then he really tells us at the end of verse two, really, how 459 00:18:15,330 --> 00:18:16,770 we can have this revival. 460 00:18:16,770 --> 00:18:19,970 He says, in wrath or. 461 00:18:19,970 --> 00:18:21,930 Or in judgments, in your wrath. 462 00:18:21,930 --> 00:18:23,930 Which, by the way, we talked about this on Sunday morning, if 463 00:18:23,930 --> 00:18:24,570 you weren't here. 464 00:18:24,890 --> 00:18:26,930 God's wrath is not a bad thing. 465 00:18:26,930 --> 00:18:28,530 God's wrath is actually a good thing. 466 00:18:28,530 --> 00:18:28,810 Why? 467 00:18:28,810 --> 00:18:30,090 Because it's holy wrath. 468 00:18:30,649 --> 00:18:31,450 It's the like. 469 00:18:31,450 --> 00:18:37,370 It's like when we are upset or angry at sin. 470 00:18:38,330 --> 00:18:41,410 So as I, I believe, okay, some people don't agree with me on this, 471 00:18:41,410 --> 00:18:41,620 but. 472 00:18:41,690 --> 00:18:42,650 But I believe Christians. 473 00:18:42,810 --> 00:18:44,850 I think I can quote the scripture in the book of Ephesians, 474 00:18:44,850 --> 00:18:46,650 be angry and sin not. 475 00:18:46,890 --> 00:18:50,170 Okay, so there's a time and a place for Christians to be angry 476 00:18:50,170 --> 00:18:51,130 and not sin. 477 00:18:51,370 --> 00:18:55,970 Now, I'm going to venture to say that most of us, 99% of the time, 478 00:18:55,970 --> 00:18:59,250 when we're angry, or maybe 99.9%, he's saying, in wrath, in 479 00:18:59,250 --> 00:19:00,970 your wrath, which we all deserve. 480 00:19:02,250 --> 00:19:08,130 So revival is a recognition of our guilt prior to salvation, after 481 00:19:08,130 --> 00:19:08,530 salvation. 482 00:19:08,530 --> 00:19:10,730 I think we all need to recognize what we've been saved from. 483 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:13,920 And, and a lot of times people will say this. 484 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:17,360 They'll say, pastor, you don't need to talk to people about sin. 485 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,320 You just need to talk to them about the good things, about salvation. 486 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,840 And I, I get their heart because, you know, I understand what 487 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,000 they're trying to say is like, just having heaven is enough. 488 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,520 But a lot of times people do not want to get help unless they 489 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:31,440 realize that they need help. 490 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:34,080 And so we need to preach about sin. 491 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:35,840 We need to preach about God's wrath. 492 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:39,990 We need to point out things that God does not like that God is 493 00:19:39,990 --> 00:19:42,030 against, that God does not condone. 494 00:19:42,030 --> 00:19:44,550 And so therefore, what is Habakkuk saying here at the end of 495 00:19:44,550 --> 00:19:44,950 verse two? 496 00:19:44,950 --> 00:19:49,030 He says, in your wrath, which is righteous, in your wrath, which 497 00:19:49,030 --> 00:19:53,710 is totally justified, in your wrath, which we all deserve, have 498 00:19:54,190 --> 00:19:58,350 or remember mercy, he's pleading with God for mercy. 499 00:19:58,350 --> 00:20:01,230 And I think that's really what revival is, is, Lord, we need your 500 00:20:01,230 --> 00:20:03,000 mercy, we need your grace. 501 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:08,240 And so Habakkuk pray, knowing very well that none of us reserve, 502 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:12,560 none of us deserve revival, none of us deserve salvation, none 503 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:15,760 of us deserve God's grace, none of us deserve anything good. 504 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:17,640 But what does he do? 505 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:22,880 He says, please, Lord, remember, remember us in mercy. 506 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:24,480 So the idea is this. 507 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,760 He's saying, lord, I know that we are wrong. 508 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:29,080 I know that we have sinned. 509 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:30,720 I know that we deserve your judgment. 510 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,120 But in the midst of your holiness, in the midst of your justice, 511 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,080 have mercy upon us and send revival to us. 512 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:39,240 And I think that's the prayer that we need to have. 513 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:40,920 And it's a desperation prayer. 514 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:44,480 And, you know, the truth is, in many cases we don't get desperate 515 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:48,760 as Christians where we're too comfortable with our surroundings, 516 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:50,760 that we don't get to that place of desperation. 517 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:55,120 And sometimes it takes something very difficult and very 518 00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:59,370 challenging and very, in some cases hurtful for us to get to that 519 00:20:59,370 --> 00:21:01,250 place of desperation to call out to the Lord. 520 00:21:01,970 --> 00:21:05,370 And my plea with you this evening, my plea with my own, my 521 00:21:05,370 --> 00:21:08,530 own spiritual walk, is that don't allow it to get to that. 522 00:21:09,010 --> 00:21:11,810 Don't allow it to get to that, to understand your desperation. 523 00:21:12,850 --> 00:21:15,770 You know, there's a lot of people that don't understand that 524 00:21:15,770 --> 00:21:17,730 they need to change until they get to rock bottom. 525 00:21:18,130 --> 00:21:21,010 Don't get to rock bottom before you realize that that's the 526 00:21:21,010 --> 00:21:24,090 really, really the need and the, and the desperation that we 527 00:21:24,090 --> 00:21:27,880 have in, in knowing that we are failures, knowing that we are 528 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:29,240 falling short of the glory of God. 529 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,760 And ultimately that we need God and his mercy. 530 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:32,240 We, we. 531 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:33,800 We are desperate, need of it. 532 00:21:34,120 --> 00:21:39,000 I can tell you on, on a few occasions in my life, I've hit that 533 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:40,719 point to where I was pleading with God. 534 00:21:40,719 --> 00:21:41,640 I needed him. 535 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:43,800 There was no formality in that prayer. 536 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,720 There, There wasn't this point of like, well, Lord, if it be your 537 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:52,170 will, and, and you have your good, know, good grace upon me today, 538 00:21:52,170 --> 00:21:54,330 can you please get a chance? 539 00:21:54,410 --> 00:21:55,770 Can you please help me in this? 540 00:21:55,930 --> 00:21:59,930 Some of us have realized that there have been moments in our life 541 00:21:59,930 --> 00:22:02,370 where we don't have that opportunity to come in and give all 542 00:22:02,370 --> 00:22:03,890 those disclaimers to our prayer. 543 00:22:03,890 --> 00:22:06,650 We just call out to God and say, lord, I need you. 544 00:22:06,809 --> 00:22:09,570 And we might not even be able to articulate the exact wording what 545 00:22:09,570 --> 00:22:12,570 we need, but we know that God already already knows that sometimes 546 00:22:12,570 --> 00:22:15,850 in our life we need to just be desperate and call out to God and, 547 00:22:15,850 --> 00:22:17,370 and Know that, hey, you know what? 548 00:22:17,740 --> 00:22:20,820 It's okay to come to the Father boldly before the throne of 549 00:22:20,820 --> 00:22:23,860 grace and to ask him for those things, to plead with him for those 550 00:22:23,860 --> 00:22:25,100 things, not demand those things. 551 00:22:25,260 --> 00:22:28,020 By the way, there are some people that demand that God does 552 00:22:28,020 --> 00:22:28,780 things in their life. 553 00:22:29,180 --> 00:22:31,980 They say, lord, you know, basically that, that they are the 554 00:22:31,980 --> 00:22:32,540 Lord of God. 555 00:22:32,540 --> 00:22:33,980 Basically, Lord, you better do this. 556 00:22:33,980 --> 00:22:35,420 You know, we're claiming your promises. 557 00:22:35,420 --> 00:22:38,020 And the truth is, is that we have to be very careful with that. 558 00:22:38,020 --> 00:22:40,540 We can claim the promises of God, but we don't deserve the promises 559 00:22:40,540 --> 00:22:41,100 of God. 560 00:22:41,500 --> 00:22:44,420 And so it's asking, pleading with him, knowing that he does not 561 00:22:44,420 --> 00:22:45,180 have to answer us. 562 00:22:45,470 --> 00:22:47,190 And that's what Habakkuk is doing there. 563 00:22:47,190 --> 00:22:48,510 The spirit of his prayer is this. 564 00:22:48,910 --> 00:22:50,110 Lord, remember me. 565 00:22:50,830 --> 00:22:54,190 And so he's asking for God's mercy. 566 00:22:54,430 --> 00:22:56,030 He's asking for God's revival. 567 00:22:56,110 --> 00:22:58,990 And I think that's something that we, we have to come to in our 568 00:22:58,990 --> 00:23:01,310 life, in our church and in our world today. 569 00:23:01,550 --> 00:23:06,030 Now, from then on, we do know that at this point in time, Habakkuk 570 00:23:06,030 --> 00:23:12,190 from, from verse 3 all the way down to verse 15, Habakkuk is recognizing 571 00:23:12,190 --> 00:23:15,430 the power of God and the presence of God with his people. 572 00:23:16,150 --> 00:23:19,390 Now, we're not going to go all into that here this evening because 573 00:23:19,390 --> 00:23:21,030 we're going to talk a little bit more about revival. 574 00:23:21,750 --> 00:23:24,710 But, but this is the, this is the outline for us. 575 00:23:24,710 --> 00:23:27,550 When we get to a place where we don't understand what to do, we 576 00:23:27,550 --> 00:23:30,110 don't turn our backs against God because. 577 00:23:30,110 --> 00:23:32,150 Because that's sometimes what happens in our human nature. 578 00:23:32,630 --> 00:23:34,150 Lord, I've asked you two questions. 579 00:23:35,350 --> 00:23:37,190 You gave me two answers I didn't want to hear. 580 00:23:37,670 --> 00:23:39,430 So therefore, I don't really want to. 581 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:40,960 I don't want to pursue you anymore. 582 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:42,760 I'm actually going to recoil. 583 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:44,000 I'm actually going to pull back. 584 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:45,360 You've heard this before. 585 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:48,280 I used to go to church, but I had some things happen in my life. 586 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:49,440 And you know what? 587 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:50,280 Me and church aren't. 588 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,200 Are, you know, compatible anymore. 589 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:53,760 Me and God aren't compatible anymore. 590 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,960 That's not a proper response to a hardship. 591 00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:59,280 A proper response to hardship is, I need God more. 592 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:00,680 I need to cling to him more. 593 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:02,400 And I understand the difficulty in that. 594 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,880 I understand the difficulty when things don't make sense. 595 00:24:05,610 --> 00:24:09,290 And, and I wish I could give everybody the answers to their questions. 596 00:24:09,770 --> 00:24:12,610 But at the end of the day, the right answer is, lord, I need you. 597 00:24:12,610 --> 00:24:16,090 I need to recognize your power, your grace, your forgiveness. 598 00:24:16,490 --> 00:24:17,530 And so he goes on. 599 00:24:17,530 --> 00:24:19,850 And one of the Things I love that he says in verse three. 600 00:24:19,850 --> 00:24:23,090 We'll touch on it just here, because it's a recognition of the 601 00:24:23,090 --> 00:24:24,090 holiness of God. 602 00:24:24,410 --> 00:24:29,050 God came from Timon and the Holy One from Mount Paran Selah. 603 00:24:29,530 --> 00:24:32,530 His glory covered the heavens and the earth was full of his praise. 604 00:24:32,530 --> 00:24:37,230 And so he immediately starts recognizing the characteristics of 605 00:24:37,230 --> 00:24:37,590 God. 606 00:24:37,670 --> 00:24:41,350 So he pleads with God for what he wants for the people. 607 00:24:41,590 --> 00:24:45,070 But then there's that still that recognition of the characteristic 608 00:24:45,070 --> 00:24:48,950 of God, his holiness, his power, his glory. 609 00:24:49,590 --> 00:24:51,390 The earth was full of his praise. 610 00:24:51,390 --> 00:24:53,430 It's a recognition of all these attributes. 611 00:24:53,430 --> 00:24:54,070 Verse 4. 612 00:24:54,150 --> 00:24:56,390 And his brightness was as the light. 613 00:24:56,470 --> 00:24:59,990 So he recognizes the brightness or the glory of God. 614 00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:04,100 And, and so ultimately he just walks through this whole aspect of 615 00:25:04,100 --> 00:25:05,380 the characteristics of God. 616 00:25:05,460 --> 00:25:09,300 And I, I believe something very interesting here. 617 00:25:09,300 --> 00:25:09,540 He. 618 00:25:09,540 --> 00:25:14,380 He gets down to a point where he recognizes that ultimately it 619 00:25:14,380 --> 00:25:16,820 is God who's going to have the verse 13. 620 00:25:16,980 --> 00:25:19,380 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people. 621 00:25:19,540 --> 00:25:22,780 He recognizes that really God is the only one who can save. 622 00:25:22,780 --> 00:25:25,220 And we see where that salvation comes from. 623 00:25:25,950 --> 00:25:29,350 And he says, thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, 624 00:25:29,350 --> 00:25:31,950 even for the salvation with Thine anointed. 625 00:25:33,230 --> 00:25:39,870 Now, Habakkuk here is recognizing the salvation that God 626 00:25:39,870 --> 00:25:40,510 is promising. 627 00:25:40,510 --> 00:25:43,790 He recognizes that salvation can only come through the anointed 628 00:25:43,790 --> 00:25:44,110 One. 629 00:25:44,590 --> 00:25:48,110 Now, some commentators argue about this, but I believe he's speaking 630 00:25:48,110 --> 00:25:50,670 specifically about Jesus, the anointed Messiah that is to come. 631 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:53,920 And, and we know that ultimately our salvation is only 632 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:54,520 through Jesus. 633 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:57,360 And I had some opportunities to talk to some people recently that 634 00:25:57,360 --> 00:25:59,160 have no understanding of who Jesus is. 635 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:01,920 And you would think, like, they can live in America and not 636 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:03,360 have a recognition of who Jesus is. 637 00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:05,320 That, that is a common thing more and more today. 638 00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:08,400 And it was, it was really neat. 639 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:09,120 They asked the question. 640 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:10,440 And I love questions, by the way. 641 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:14,600 Anytime someone wants to ask a question, don't ever fear like, pastor 642 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:15,720 might not have time for that. 643 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:17,120 That's what I like to do. 644 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:17,760 I like questions. 645 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:18,600 And the question was this. 646 00:26:18,770 --> 00:26:19,890 What is the story of the Bible? 647 00:26:19,890 --> 00:26:20,730 What's the Bible about? 648 00:26:20,730 --> 00:26:21,730 They had no clue. 649 00:26:22,050 --> 00:26:23,170 What's the Bible about? 650 00:26:23,650 --> 00:26:24,810 And I could have said a lot of things. 651 00:26:24,810 --> 00:26:26,370 I could have said, well, it's this, this, this. 652 00:26:26,610 --> 00:26:27,930 And you know what the answer is? 653 00:26:27,930 --> 00:26:28,490 This, the b. 654 00:26:28,490 --> 00:26:29,570 The story of Jesus. 655 00:26:29,890 --> 00:26:37,530 It's a story of Jesus and who he is, what he has done and why we 656 00:26:37,530 --> 00:26:38,010 need Him. 657 00:26:38,010 --> 00:26:39,090 It's a story of redemption. 658 00:26:39,090 --> 00:26:40,330 It's a story of, of. 659 00:26:40,330 --> 00:26:42,610 Of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation. 660 00:26:42,930 --> 00:26:44,690 Now, are there other people in the stories? 661 00:26:44,690 --> 00:26:46,760 Yes, there's Old Testament prophets. 662 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:47,800 What are the prophets doing? 663 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:49,480 They're proclaiming the one that is to come. 664 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,680 Okay, there, there's the epistles, how do we live our life? 665 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:55,400 But it's about how to follow Jesus. 666 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,840 It's, it's all about ultimately the story of Jesus, and 667 00:26:58,840 --> 00:26:59,600 He is our Savior. 668 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:02,960 And so I love that how there I, and I explained it this way. 669 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,920 There's a scarlet thread from Genesis 1:1 all the way to the end. 670 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:09,480 There's a scarlet thread of Jesus Christ throughout all scripture. 671 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:10,120 And you can see Him. 672 00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:12,920 If you understand that perspective, you can see that all 673 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:13,440 the way through. 674 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,280 And I love how it says here in verse 13, thou wound is the head 675 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:20,600 out of the house of the wicked by discovering the foundation unto 676 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:21,120 the neck. 677 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:24,800 And I believe this is speaking specifically to the complete victory 678 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:26,560 that Jesus has over the enemy. 679 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:32,000 We know that the enemy crushes the heel of the Messiah, but ultimately 680 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,400 the Messiah crushes the head of the serpent and the seed of the 681 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:36,960 woman is the ultimate victor. 682 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:38,320 And then we are more than conquerors. 683 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:41,190 And so here in the book of Habakkuk, which a lot of people don't 684 00:27:41,190 --> 00:27:44,790 think that Jesus or the Gospel can be identified in a lot of the 685 00:27:44,790 --> 00:27:48,110 Old Testament books, folks, the Gospel is, is throughout the 686 00:27:48,110 --> 00:27:48,630 whole Bible. 687 00:27:48,630 --> 00:27:50,150 And we see that all happening there. 688 00:27:50,470 --> 00:27:52,550 And, and so you can see that all the way through. 689 00:27:52,550 --> 00:27:54,470 We're not going to finish out here tonight. 690 00:27:54,950 --> 00:27:57,670 All of this next week will conclude the book of Habakkuk. 691 00:27:57,990 --> 00:28:00,390 But he essentially gets to the very end. 692 00:28:00,390 --> 00:28:01,990 And I'll give you a little bit of a. 693 00:28:01,990 --> 00:28:03,430 A preface the next week. 694 00:28:03,670 --> 00:28:06,950 He basically know, he recognizes God's strength. 695 00:28:07,910 --> 00:28:10,990 And he basically says, lord, you can be trusted in anything. 696 00:28:10,990 --> 00:28:11,790 I can trust you. 697 00:28:11,790 --> 00:28:12,630 I can have confidence. 698 00:28:13,590 --> 00:28:16,230 And I can tell you here this evening, you might not understand 699 00:28:17,110 --> 00:28:18,350 why God's doing something. 700 00:28:18,350 --> 00:28:19,910 You might not have all the answers. 701 00:28:19,910 --> 00:28:21,070 You might ask him questions. 702 00:28:21,070 --> 00:28:23,910 And remember we talked about at the very beginning how to ask 703 00:28:23,910 --> 00:28:28,070 God biblically, how to ask him questions properly. 704 00:28:28,390 --> 00:28:31,990 You do it with authentic truths. 705 00:28:32,790 --> 00:28:34,150 Truly, Lord, I don't understand. 706 00:28:34,870 --> 00:28:36,230 But you never question him. 707 00:28:36,470 --> 00:28:38,830 You're allowed to question God, but you're not allowed to question 708 00:28:38,830 --> 00:28:39,590 his character. 709 00:28:39,990 --> 00:28:42,670 And so I would think that that's something that we can all 710 00:28:42,670 --> 00:28:43,390 learn through this. 711 00:28:43,390 --> 00:28:47,470 And ultimately we get to a place at the end where as a true 712 00:28:47,470 --> 00:28:52,630 believer in the Lord, we honor him, we worship him, and we rest 713 00:28:52,630 --> 00:28:53,510 in his confidence. 714 00:28:53,510 --> 00:28:55,630 And so next week, we're going to talk about how we can rest in 715 00:28:55,630 --> 00:28:58,430 the confidence of God even if we don't get the answers that we 716 00:28:58,430 --> 00:28:58,790 want. 717 00:28:59,910 --> 00:29:04,750 And I can tell you in my life, just transparently I praise the Lord 718 00:29:04,750 --> 00:29:06,990 louder when he gives me what I'm expecting. 719 00:29:07,070 --> 00:29:08,110 I'm just going to be honest. 720 00:29:08,110 --> 00:29:12,750 I remember the most recent time where I was calling out to God 721 00:29:12,750 --> 00:29:17,150 was when our son was born, when Silas was born. 722 00:29:18,190 --> 00:29:19,230 I had the most real. 723 00:29:19,710 --> 00:29:22,830 That from that point on, I'll never doubt him, I'll never question 724 00:29:22,830 --> 00:29:23,230 him. 725 00:29:23,870 --> 00:29:25,070 It is real to me. 726 00:29:25,310 --> 00:29:27,430 And I've understood that lesson a lot more now. 727 00:29:27,430 --> 00:29:30,280 But you know, there will be a time probably where I need to go 728 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:34,360 back and appeal to the revival of my spirit, the revival of, of 729 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:35,520 the heart of God in my life. 730 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:37,120 And so all of us need that revival. 731 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:43,280 Revival is not just for the person who is, is in the drugs or, 732 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:47,040 or out outside of the family of God or in jail. 733 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:47,680 Okay? 734 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:49,440 Revival is for everybody. 735 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:52,320 Every believer needs revival at some point in their life. 736 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:55,040 And I think that's all of us have to recognize that it's not just 737 00:29:55,420 --> 00:29:56,140 for that person. 738 00:29:56,460 --> 00:29:59,060 Because I used to, when I grew up in the, and the pastor got up 739 00:29:59,060 --> 00:30:01,660 or the evangelist got up and preached a hard message on revival, 740 00:30:01,660 --> 00:30:03,900 you know what I would always do, I wonder who he's preaching to. 741 00:30:04,060 --> 00:30:04,620 Not me. 742 00:30:04,620 --> 00:30:05,980 I, I don't need that much revival. 743 00:30:05,980 --> 00:30:06,660 I'm, I'm okay. 744 00:30:06,660 --> 00:30:07,340 I'm a good person. 745 00:30:07,580 --> 00:30:10,500 And the truth is, is that all of us need to recognize at some point 746 00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:12,860 in time that when that person's preaching, I'm not going 747 00:30:12,860 --> 00:30:15,420 to be concerned about, hey, I wonder if so and so heard that message. 748 00:30:15,420 --> 00:30:16,140 They need that. 749 00:30:16,860 --> 00:30:18,300 What, what can I get from this? 750 00:30:18,780 --> 00:30:20,780 And then sometimes on the flip side of that, sometimes you have 751 00:30:20,780 --> 00:30:24,610 a preacher preaching and you go, who, who told him about my personal 752 00:30:24,610 --> 00:30:25,010 life? 753 00:30:25,330 --> 00:30:27,210 I remember there was times like that for me. 754 00:30:27,210 --> 00:30:29,770 I'm like, I know that my parents were telling this preacher 755 00:30:29,770 --> 00:30:32,290 about what I was doing last week because he's right on the dot. 756 00:30:32,290 --> 00:30:33,010 Maybe they did. 757 00:30:33,010 --> 00:30:35,210 But the truth is sometimes that's how the Holy Spirit speaks 758 00:30:35,210 --> 00:30:35,650 as well. 759 00:30:35,650 --> 00:30:36,530 It's pointed. 760 00:30:36,610 --> 00:30:37,850 And he and he. 761 00:30:37,850 --> 00:30:40,890 And he convicts us, he convicts us of where we are and where 762 00:30:40,890 --> 00:30:41,650 we need to change. 763 00:30:42,450 --> 00:30:44,610 And so have a soft heart. 764 00:30:45,250 --> 00:30:49,490 You know, a lot of times we harden our hearts because of whatever 765 00:30:49,490 --> 00:30:49,810 reason. 766 00:30:50,310 --> 00:30:53,910 But, but a soft heart, a soft heart is able to be molded. 767 00:30:54,150 --> 00:30:58,350 And the Bible speaks In Romans, chapter 12 of Not Being conformed 768 00:30:58,350 --> 00:31:01,230 to this world, but being transformed by the renewing of our 769 00:31:01,230 --> 00:31:01,510 mind. 770 00:31:02,630 --> 00:31:04,910 And, and that's not just talking about a one time thing at 771 00:31:04,910 --> 00:31:08,230 salvation, my mind was renewed at salvation. 772 00:31:08,230 --> 00:31:10,390 But the Bible says that that's a daily process. 773 00:31:10,390 --> 00:31:13,150 We need to have our minds renewed and our hearts renewed in 774 00:31:13,150 --> 00:31:13,990 the truth of God. 775 00:31:13,990 --> 00:31:15,550 And that goes back to the Word of God. 776 00:31:15,550 --> 00:31:19,810 So how can we know what God wants from us if we aren't understanding 777 00:31:19,810 --> 00:31:20,770 his letter to us? 778 00:31:20,770 --> 00:31:23,690 And I would encourage you to get deep into the Word of God. 779 00:31:23,930 --> 00:31:24,930 Love the Word of God. 780 00:31:24,930 --> 00:31:26,090 Love the things of God. 781 00:31:26,490 --> 00:31:29,890 And it is the most amazing thing that you can do is just be 782 00:31:29,890 --> 00:31:30,850 walking in the will of God. 783 00:31:30,850 --> 00:31:34,650 I can tell you over and over again, God confirms in my heart that 784 00:31:36,090 --> 00:31:37,850 the will of God is the best place to be. 785 00:31:37,850 --> 00:31:38,850 It's the safest place to be. 786 00:31:38,850 --> 00:31:40,330 It's the most joyful place to be. 787 00:31:40,490 --> 00:31:42,810 And continue searching after that. 788 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:46,160 For you might be the will of God is, what am I going to do tomorrow? 789 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:48,320 For some of you, it might be, what am I going to do tonight? 790 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,160 But ultimately, the Word of God will never lead you away from 791 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:57,800 the will of God and continue to seek after what he calls for you. 792 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,480 So revival doesn't have to happen once a year. 793 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:03,920 I grew up in the church that we had our spring revival and our 794 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:06,320 fall revival, and we had to just wait for those revivals. 795 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:10,360 I really want to revive, but I'll just have to wait till the special 796 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:11,200 speaker comes in. 797 00:32:11,380 --> 00:32:13,460 Folks, you don't need a special speaker to have revival. 798 00:32:13,460 --> 00:32:15,700 You don't even have to have a preacher preaching for revival. 799 00:32:17,140 --> 00:32:18,540 Revival is a work of God. 800 00:32:18,540 --> 00:32:19,860 So you got to have God in your heart. 801 00:32:20,580 --> 00:32:23,940 The Holy Spirit's indwelling you, Holy Spirit speaking to you, 802 00:32:24,180 --> 00:32:25,620 the Word of God leading you. 803 00:32:26,100 --> 00:32:27,300 That's enough for revival. 804 00:32:27,460 --> 00:32:29,100 And so you don't need to have a special service. 805 00:32:29,100 --> 00:32:32,020 Revival can happen in your home, can happen in your car, it 806 00:32:32,020 --> 00:32:32,820 can happen anywhere. 807 00:32:32,820 --> 00:32:34,900 And I encourage you to seek after that in your life. 808 00:32:34,900 --> 00:32:37,860 And I hope that, that we all can have revival together. 809 00:32:37,860 --> 00:32:38,460 Because you know what? 810 00:32:38,460 --> 00:32:39,620 Revival is contagious. 811 00:32:41,670 --> 00:32:45,750 Studying some things in history about the Great Awakening, 812 00:32:45,830 --> 00:32:47,990 and some of you might know a little bit about the history of the 813 00:32:47,990 --> 00:32:48,590 Great Awakening. 814 00:32:48,590 --> 00:32:52,550 There was a huge revival in our country and around the world, 815 00:32:53,030 --> 00:32:54,710 or at least in Europe. 816 00:32:54,790 --> 00:32:57,470 And sometimes we forget about that. 817 00:32:57,470 --> 00:32:58,870 I got caught talking about that. 818 00:32:58,870 --> 00:32:59,990 I was like, you know what? 819 00:33:01,590 --> 00:33:04,710 We were struggling with things 20 years ago, and we never thought 820 00:33:04,710 --> 00:33:08,240 that 20, 30 years ago we'd be dealing with things today that we're 821 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:10,920 dealing with today and 20, 30 years from now, what are we going 822 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:11,520 to be dealing with? 823 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:15,040 And the truth is, is that left undone, Our culture will continue 824 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:16,480 to erode. 825 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:21,040 But do we still believe that God can have a revival in the hearts 826 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:22,400 of man today. 827 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:23,600 I believe it. 828 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:25,120 I believe God can change the hearts. 829 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:29,000 I don't think we're destined for, you know, ultimately the Bible 830 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:31,800 says things will get worse and worse, but, you know, I don't know. 831 00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:32,320 I just. 832 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:35,660 I believe that God has us seeking after revival, and I think 833 00:33:35,660 --> 00:33:38,620 we can change those things around us, and I think we can change 834 00:33:38,620 --> 00:33:39,420 it through the gospel. 835 00:33:39,420 --> 00:33:41,980 So just be praying about how that can happen in your life, how 836 00:33:41,980 --> 00:33:44,340 that can happen in my life, how that can happen with the lives 837 00:33:44,340 --> 00:33:45,340 of those around us. 838 00:33:46,780 --> 00:33:49,420 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 839 00:33:49,420 --> 00:33:49,980 podcast. 840 00:33:50,300 --> 00:33:52,620 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 841 00:33:53,260 --> 00:33:55,540 If you would like to find out more information about our church 842 00:33:55,540 --> 00:33:59,830 or this sermon, you can find us@middletown baptistchurch.org or 843 00:33:59,910 --> 00:34:01,910 find us on Facebook or YouTube. 844 00:34:02,630 --> 00:34:07,510 You can also email me directly at Josh massaroiddletownbaptistchurch.com 845 00:34:07,990 --> 00:34:11,550 if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 846 00:34:11,550 --> 00:34:14,310 along for future podcast and updates. 847 00:34:14,950 --> 00:34:15,990 Thank you so much. 848 00:34:16,150 --> 00:34:16,870 God bless. 849 00:34:17,190 --> 00:34:18,470 Have a wonderful day.