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 --> 00:00:17,560 Now, come along. 8 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,440 Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today. 9 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,760 We're going to start our Bible study here this evening. 10 00:00:26,210 --> 00:00:28,930 And actually, we're going to start in conclusion, because what 11 00:00:28,930 --> 00:00:31,690 we're going to do here this evening is follow up with all of 12 00:00:31,690 --> 00:00:34,570 what we talked about in the Book of Habakkuk and conclude the 13 00:00:34,570 --> 00:00:35,530 whole book of Habakkuk. 14 00:00:35,530 --> 00:00:38,050 Habakkuk is only three chapters. 15 00:00:38,610 --> 00:00:42,450 It's a book of the Bible that specifically deals with questions 16 00:00:42,930 --> 00:00:47,850 and how we as believers can properly ask questions to God in 17 00:00:47,850 --> 00:00:51,570 a way that's respectful, honorable, but at the same time authentic. 18 00:00:51,570 --> 00:00:53,890 I think in so many times in our Christian life, we have those 19 00:00:53,890 --> 00:00:57,100 authentic questions, but sometimes we're fearful to ask them 20 00:00:57,100 --> 00:00:58,860 because we don't know how to ask God. 21 00:00:58,860 --> 00:01:01,500 And maybe we've been told it's wrong to ask God questions. 22 00:01:01,740 --> 00:01:04,060 And I don't believe it's wrong to ask God questions. 23 00:01:04,060 --> 00:01:06,340 I do believe it's wrong to question God and his goodness and 24 00:01:06,340 --> 00:01:07,020 his character. 25 00:01:07,500 --> 00:01:10,380 But here in the book of Habakkuk, Habakkuk asks two main 26 00:01:10,380 --> 00:01:10,940 questions. 27 00:01:10,940 --> 00:01:13,860 Number one, God, are you going to ever deal with the sin in the 28 00:01:13,860 --> 00:01:14,100 land? 29 00:01:14,100 --> 00:01:18,220 And God answers, yes, I will deal with it, and I will bring judgment. 30 00:01:18,300 --> 00:01:20,780 And I'm going to bring judgment through the Chaldeans or 31 00:01:20,780 --> 00:01:23,720 the Babylonians and the Habakkuk second question was, God, 32 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:25,040 why are you going to do it that way? 33 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:27,120 And so sometimes that's how we ask God questions. 34 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:28,320 We ask God questions of. 35 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:29,760 Of the nature of God. 36 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:30,000 Are you. 37 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:30,760 Are you paying attention? 38 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:32,080 Do you know what's going on? 39 00:01:32,320 --> 00:01:35,360 And really, truthfully, we should know that he knows what's 40 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:35,760 going on. 41 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:38,480 But sometimes it feels like he doesn't know what's going on. 42 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:41,400 And so in that case, Habakkuk goes, God, do you understand that 43 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:41,840 there's sin? 44 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:43,440 Do you understand that it needs to be judged? 45 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:45,280 And God says, yes, I understand that. 46 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:46,800 And then he gives him an answer. 47 00:01:47,290 --> 00:01:50,010 Then sometimes we question God in why he's doing what he's doing 48 00:01:50,010 --> 00:01:51,610 or how he's doing what he's doing. 49 00:01:52,170 --> 00:01:55,490 And so Habakkuk asks that question, and then God doesn't answer 50 00:01:55,490 --> 00:01:56,090 him right away. 51 00:01:56,410 --> 00:01:59,770 Chapter two, Habakkuk says in verse one, I'm going to Stand upon 52 00:01:59,770 --> 00:02:00,170 my watch. 53 00:02:00,490 --> 00:02:00,890 I'm. 54 00:02:00,890 --> 00:02:03,930 I'm going to wait for God to tell me where I'm wrong. 55 00:02:03,930 --> 00:02:06,170 And he says, I know God's going to answer me, and I know he's 56 00:02:06,170 --> 00:02:06,810 going to reprove me. 57 00:02:06,810 --> 00:02:08,730 I know he's going to tell me that I'm thinking about this the 58 00:02:08,730 --> 00:02:09,210 wrong way. 59 00:02:09,290 --> 00:02:10,610 And ultimately God does. 60 00:02:10,610 --> 00:02:14,100 God does speak to Habakkuk and basically tells Habakkuk, I'm in 61 00:02:14,100 --> 00:02:14,380 control. 62 00:02:14,620 --> 00:02:16,140 I'm God, I'm perfect. 63 00:02:16,140 --> 00:02:16,940 I love you. 64 00:02:17,100 --> 00:02:19,420 But at the same time, I cannot condone sin. 65 00:02:19,420 --> 00:02:22,340 Therefore, I'm going to bring judgment not only to Israel, not 66 00:02:22,340 --> 00:02:24,260 only to Judah, but all those that are in sin. 67 00:02:24,260 --> 00:02:26,220 And that would include the Babylonians. 68 00:02:26,700 --> 00:02:28,660 And so we get to all of that. 69 00:02:28,660 --> 00:02:32,220 And essentially last week, what we looked at was all of these 70 00:02:32,220 --> 00:02:33,380 different elements of. 71 00:02:33,380 --> 00:02:35,340 Of a prideful man. 72 00:02:35,660 --> 00:02:38,620 He says, woe to him that is greedy. 73 00:02:38,620 --> 00:02:40,220 Woe to him that is violent. 74 00:02:40,220 --> 00:02:41,140 Woe to him that. 75 00:02:41,450 --> 00:02:41,650 That. 76 00:02:41,650 --> 00:02:43,930 That is addicted to alcohol. 77 00:02:43,930 --> 00:02:47,370 In this case, he's talking here about drunkenness, and he talks 78 00:02:47,370 --> 00:02:47,930 about that. 79 00:02:48,010 --> 00:02:50,970 And then he goes on and talk about those that are in idolatry. 80 00:02:50,970 --> 00:02:53,690 And then ultimately Habakkuk is going to give a response here. 81 00:02:53,690 --> 00:02:55,290 And that's what we're going to look at here this evening. 82 00:02:55,290 --> 00:02:57,770 We're in chapter three, verse 16. 83 00:02:58,810 --> 00:03:02,170 Habakkuk is starting this chapter with a prayer. 84 00:03:02,170 --> 00:03:03,250 It's actually a song. 85 00:03:03,250 --> 00:03:05,050 It's a song that's a prayer. 86 00:03:05,290 --> 00:03:08,020 And he says, lord, give us revival. 87 00:03:08,020 --> 00:03:12,100 He asked God for revival, and he says, revive your work in. 88 00:03:12,820 --> 00:03:13,740 In our lands. 89 00:03:13,740 --> 00:03:15,380 Revive your work in our hearts. 90 00:03:15,380 --> 00:03:19,140 And we spoke about last week the idea of revival being linked 91 00:03:19,140 --> 00:03:19,860 with repentance. 92 00:03:19,860 --> 00:03:22,420 And I want you to think about those two words and what those words 93 00:03:22,420 --> 00:03:23,299 mean for you. 94 00:03:23,860 --> 00:03:27,300 The word revival just means to bring back to life, to be recharged, 95 00:03:27,620 --> 00:03:28,660 to be renewed. 96 00:03:28,980 --> 00:03:31,980 But also, I think that scripture points directly to the 97 00:03:31,980 --> 00:03:34,830 fact that with that revival comes repentance. 98 00:03:34,830 --> 00:03:38,070 Because literally, repentance means to turn away from something. 99 00:03:38,710 --> 00:03:42,510 And so for us to go the right direction and we're going in the 100 00:03:42,510 --> 00:03:44,750 wrong direction, we have to turn away from the wrong direction 101 00:03:44,750 --> 00:03:45,990 and go that right direction. 102 00:03:46,150 --> 00:03:49,510 And so repentance doesn't mean sinlessness, because sometimes people 103 00:03:49,750 --> 00:03:52,710 think that, man, I repented, but I still went back to sin. 104 00:03:52,710 --> 00:03:54,750 So therefore it must not have been repentance. 105 00:03:54,750 --> 00:03:57,350 Well, repentance just means I'm turning away from something. 106 00:03:57,670 --> 00:04:00,470 But turning away from something also means to turn to something. 107 00:04:00,790 --> 00:04:02,550 So what are we turning to in repentance? 108 00:04:02,550 --> 00:04:05,630 We're turning to the word of God, we're turning to the truth of 109 00:04:05,630 --> 00:04:05,870 God. 110 00:04:05,870 --> 00:04:08,470 We're turning to his way and not our own way. 111 00:04:08,630 --> 00:04:12,430 And so Habakkuk's prayer was for revival, but with revival comes 112 00:04:12,430 --> 00:04:13,190 repentance. 113 00:04:13,670 --> 00:04:16,829 And so at the end of all of this, what essentially Habakkuk is 114 00:04:16,829 --> 00:04:17,350 saying is this. 115 00:04:17,350 --> 00:04:19,590 I don't understand God, why you're doing what you're doing. 116 00:04:20,230 --> 00:04:21,910 Your ways are above my ways. 117 00:04:21,910 --> 00:04:24,830 But I'm going to praise you for who you are and I'm going to 118 00:04:24,830 --> 00:04:27,740 call out for the need for revival in my own heart. 119 00:04:27,740 --> 00:04:29,580 And I think that that's what we have to understand. 120 00:04:30,460 --> 00:04:32,460 There are going to be times where we don't understand the works 121 00:04:32,460 --> 00:04:33,620 of God, the ways of God. 122 00:04:33,620 --> 00:04:35,500 But what we have to say is, lord, help me understand. 123 00:04:35,980 --> 00:04:39,180 But if I don't understand, just give me the concept of how good 124 00:04:39,180 --> 00:04:39,660 you are. 125 00:04:39,740 --> 00:04:42,540 And I need to worship you and I need to rest in your goodness and 126 00:04:42,540 --> 00:04:44,940 I need to have my heart revived to the truth. 127 00:04:45,100 --> 00:04:48,980 And so what we're going to look at this week is the end of the 128 00:04:48,980 --> 00:04:49,260 book. 129 00:04:49,500 --> 00:04:52,300 Basically this is the confession of Habakkuk. 130 00:04:52,300 --> 00:04:55,010 This is his truth, this is his heart. 131 00:04:55,170 --> 00:04:58,050 And he says in verse 16, when I heard, he's saying. 132 00:04:58,290 --> 00:04:58,930 Heard what? 133 00:04:59,090 --> 00:05:02,610 Heard the truth of Habakkuk, basically the truth that God had 134 00:05:02,610 --> 00:05:05,090 given to Habakkuk here in this book to tell to the people. 135 00:05:05,090 --> 00:05:07,890 He says, when I heard this truth, my belly trembled. 136 00:05:08,610 --> 00:05:13,170 And this speaks to the awe inspiring power that God has. 137 00:05:13,650 --> 00:05:18,130 I think all of us have to understand the, the difference between 138 00:05:18,370 --> 00:05:21,890 our power, our human power and the power of God. 139 00:05:21,970 --> 00:05:26,050 Obviously our power can be more than others, but our power is 140 00:05:26,050 --> 00:05:26,530 limited. 141 00:05:26,850 --> 00:05:29,370 But God's power is what we would say, omnipotent. 142 00:05:29,370 --> 00:05:30,290 He's all powerful. 143 00:05:30,610 --> 00:05:34,650 And so he says in the the face of your word, Lord. 144 00:05:34,650 --> 00:05:37,090 My belly trembled, my lips quivered at the voice. 145 00:05:37,890 --> 00:05:41,210 Rottenness entered into my bones and I trembled in myself that 146 00:05:41,210 --> 00:05:43,010 I might rest in the day of trouble. 147 00:05:43,170 --> 00:05:46,980 When he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with 148 00:05:46,980 --> 00:05:47,660 his troops. 149 00:05:48,060 --> 00:05:51,580 And so here in this case, Habakkuk shows the proper response 150 00:05:52,460 --> 00:05:57,580 to the truth of God, the proper response to the power of God. 151 00:05:57,820 --> 00:06:03,180 He recognizes his weakness and it brings him to humility. 152 00:06:03,740 --> 00:06:06,980 And that humility brings him to a place of reliance and confidence 153 00:06:06,980 --> 00:06:07,580 in God. 154 00:06:08,140 --> 00:06:10,220 And I was having a conversation with someone today and 155 00:06:10,220 --> 00:06:12,310 I said, you know what, there's going to be times in our life or 156 00:06:12,310 --> 00:06:16,190 we have to be reminded how we are not in control. 157 00:06:16,830 --> 00:06:19,390 Sometimes we think we're in control even if we're not in control. 158 00:06:19,390 --> 00:06:20,830 Sometimes we think we are in control. 159 00:06:20,990 --> 00:06:23,990 And sometimes what God has to do is bring in a situation in our 160 00:06:23,990 --> 00:06:27,470 life to make us realize very quickly that we were never in control. 161 00:06:28,030 --> 00:06:30,470 And I think that's the reality that we have to understand in our 162 00:06:30,470 --> 00:06:33,670 lives, is that we can try to control and manipulate situations 163 00:06:33,670 --> 00:06:37,150 and circumstances, but at the end of the day, it is God who is 164 00:06:37,150 --> 00:06:37,550 in control. 165 00:06:37,550 --> 00:06:39,540 And, and we have to humble ourselves before him. 166 00:06:39,540 --> 00:06:41,300 We have to recognize that power. 167 00:06:41,620 --> 00:06:45,460 And so Habakkuk shows here, in this case, the proper response to 168 00:06:45,460 --> 00:06:49,580 someone facing the truth of God, the power of God, and then recognizing 169 00:06:49,580 --> 00:06:50,100 the weakness. 170 00:06:50,100 --> 00:06:52,380 And in that weakness, we understand humility. 171 00:06:52,380 --> 00:06:55,620 And in humility, the Bible says we find God's grace. 172 00:06:55,860 --> 00:06:58,100 God gives grace to the humble. 173 00:06:58,580 --> 00:07:00,420 Lot of the proud grace of the humble. 174 00:07:00,740 --> 00:07:02,940 He, he, he pulls down the prideful. 175 00:07:02,940 --> 00:07:04,540 He lifts up those that are humble. 176 00:07:04,540 --> 00:07:07,580 So if we want to find the power of God, if we want to find 177 00:07:07,580 --> 00:07:10,540 the uplifting strength that God brings to us in our life, we 178 00:07:10,540 --> 00:07:12,660 must humble ourselves and recognize that weakness. 179 00:07:12,740 --> 00:07:15,460 And so essentially what Habakkuk is doing is recognizing 180 00:07:15,460 --> 00:07:19,220 his weakness and identifying God's greatness, recognizing God's 181 00:07:19,220 --> 00:07:19,460 great. 182 00:07:19,620 --> 00:07:20,180 Greatness. 183 00:07:20,500 --> 00:07:23,300 And so the prophet remembers that the Babylonians are coming. 184 00:07:23,300 --> 00:07:26,260 He, he knows that the Chaldeans are coming for judgments. 185 00:07:27,220 --> 00:07:31,700 And basically what he says is that, hey, God, this is your work. 186 00:07:32,070 --> 00:07:33,910 I'm submitting myself to your work. 187 00:07:34,390 --> 00:07:36,310 I don't understand it, but I'm submitting. 188 00:07:36,630 --> 00:07:38,150 And sometimes that's the hardest thing to do. 189 00:07:38,150 --> 00:07:40,950 None of us, none of us in our flesh like to submit. 190 00:07:41,590 --> 00:07:42,870 I don't like to submit. 191 00:07:43,110 --> 00:07:44,790 I like to have my way. 192 00:07:44,950 --> 00:07:48,029 But when Habakkuk saying is, lord, this is not my decision, this 193 00:07:48,029 --> 00:07:48,790 is not my plan. 194 00:07:48,790 --> 00:07:51,510 I must submit to this judgment that you are bringing. 195 00:07:52,150 --> 00:07:56,390 And so Habakkuk basically describes the circumstances here 196 00:07:56,390 --> 00:07:57,270 in verse 17. 197 00:07:57,950 --> 00:08:00,630 He says, this is the circumstance that Israel is going 198 00:08:00,630 --> 00:08:01,030 to face. 199 00:08:01,030 --> 00:08:03,390 And some of us might characterize our life at certain 200 00:08:03,390 --> 00:08:04,750 periods with this description. 201 00:08:05,070 --> 00:08:08,110 He says, although the fig tree shall not blossom. 202 00:08:08,990 --> 00:08:11,870 And so he's, he's very picture picturesque here. 203 00:08:12,350 --> 00:08:15,070 Hebrew literature is very poetic. 204 00:08:15,150 --> 00:08:18,030 And so here what he's doing is he's trying to paint a picture of 205 00:08:18,510 --> 00:08:22,270 fruitful fruitfulness in contrast to unfruitfulness, emptiness 206 00:08:22,350 --> 00:08:26,590 in comparison to, um, all the blessings that a lot of people thought 207 00:08:26,590 --> 00:08:29,630 that was equated with the power of God, the blessing of God, 208 00:08:29,630 --> 00:08:30,430 the love of God. 209 00:08:30,510 --> 00:08:32,110 So, so what I mean by that is this. 210 00:08:32,110 --> 00:08:34,790 There's a lot of people that think that God only loves those that 211 00:08:34,790 --> 00:08:35,470 are fruitful. 212 00:08:35,790 --> 00:08:37,870 God only loves those that are successful. 213 00:08:37,950 --> 00:08:41,070 God only loves those that have profitable things in their life. 214 00:08:41,070 --> 00:08:42,910 That's a sign that God loves them. 215 00:08:42,910 --> 00:08:46,510 But what he's saying here is that, hey, though the fig tree shall 216 00:08:46,510 --> 00:08:49,070 not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines. 217 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:51,560 The labor of the olive oil shall fail. 218 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,920 The field shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the 219 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:58,600 fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. 220 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:00,840 That sounds like a pretty bleak picture there. 221 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,000 Basically, they're left with nothing. 222 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:07,040 They're left with nothing beneficial on the material side of 223 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:07,320 things. 224 00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:10,440 No fig tree blossoming, no fruit on the vines. 225 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:12,640 The labor of the olive oil fails. 226 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:15,400 The fields have no meat, the flocks will be cut off. 227 00:09:15,650 --> 00:09:17,010 There's no herd in the stalls. 228 00:09:17,090 --> 00:09:20,410 That was all equated with material blessing back then, right? 229 00:09:20,410 --> 00:09:20,930 Back then. 230 00:09:20,930 --> 00:09:24,130 Material blessing was, we have fruit on the trees, we have animals 231 00:09:24,130 --> 00:09:27,810 in the fields, we have all of our flocks coming together, and everything 232 00:09:27,890 --> 00:09:29,570 is the way that we expected to be. 233 00:09:29,570 --> 00:09:33,330 He says, when things are not the way that we expect them to be. 234 00:09:34,370 --> 00:09:34,730 What? 235 00:09:34,730 --> 00:09:35,050 What? 236 00:09:35,050 --> 00:09:36,130 What does he say he will do? 237 00:09:36,130 --> 00:09:36,690 Verse 18. 238 00:09:37,250 --> 00:09:43,340 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, he says, with all of those 239 00:09:43,420 --> 00:09:47,860 bad circumstances happening around me, all the things that the 240 00:09:47,860 --> 00:09:50,260 world would say would be that God had forgotten about you. 241 00:09:50,260 --> 00:09:54,380 He says, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. 242 00:09:54,380 --> 00:09:56,660 And he gives his reason why he rejoices here. 243 00:09:56,660 --> 00:09:58,460 It's not because there's fruit on the trees. 244 00:09:58,460 --> 00:10:01,500 It's not because everything is the way that he expected to be. 245 00:10:01,740 --> 00:10:05,420 He says, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 246 00:10:05,420 --> 00:10:07,350 He finds his joy. 247 00:10:07,590 --> 00:10:09,510 He finds his satisfaction. 248 00:10:09,750 --> 00:10:13,230 He finds everything, his peace, in the fact that he has a 249 00:10:13,230 --> 00:10:16,150 God who cares about him and loves him and saves him. 250 00:10:17,110 --> 00:10:21,270 And so Habakkuk saw that there was going to be emptiness coming, 251 00:10:21,270 --> 00:10:22,550 there was going to be pain coming. 252 00:10:22,950 --> 00:10:26,390 And in the midst of complete loss, what does he say here? 253 00:10:26,630 --> 00:10:28,710 He says, I can still rejoice in the Lord. 254 00:10:28,710 --> 00:10:32,230 This is where we should be as believers. 255 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:33,720 It's not where we all are. 256 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:35,920 It's not where necessarily we want to be. 257 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:40,960 But the truth is, in many cases, Christians equate things with 258 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:41,760 God's love. 259 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:44,680 If I have this, God must love me. 260 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:46,800 If I don't have this, God must not love me. 261 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:49,600 And in the case of Habakkuk, he's saying here, it doesn't matter 262 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,840 what I have in my field, it doesn't matter what I have in my 263 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:53,320 bank account. 264 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,440 It doesn't matter what my health is. 265 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:56,720 God still loves me. 266 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,040 Why because he has given me salvation. 267 00:10:59,670 --> 00:11:03,950 And so at the core of this, his satisfaction is in his relationship 268 00:11:03,950 --> 00:11:04,630 with God. 269 00:11:05,350 --> 00:11:06,710 And I can tell you there's. 270 00:11:06,870 --> 00:11:10,390 There's a whole book written about this in the book of Ecclesiastes, 271 00:11:10,710 --> 00:11:13,350 that the things of this world will eventually run out. 272 00:11:14,150 --> 00:11:15,950 Vanity of vanities, emptiness. 273 00:11:15,950 --> 00:11:18,950 And so Solomon, of all the guys in the world who had everything, 274 00:11:20,310 --> 00:11:23,070 and he gives his testimony at the end, Solomon didn't say, well, 275 00:11:23,070 --> 00:11:23,670 hey, you know what? 276 00:11:23,670 --> 00:11:26,320 All those things that I had, that was worth it. 277 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:27,600 It was amazing. 278 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:28,800 It was a great life. 279 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:29,800 No, what does Solomon say? 280 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:31,840 He says all of those things were empty. 281 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,320 All of those things were empty in sight of what God had told me 282 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,080 to do and the wisdom of God and the blessings of God. 283 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:41,120 And so I think all of us have run down that rabbit trail at some 284 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,040 point in our lives, trying to find things and gain things and say, 285 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:46,000 well, God must love me if he brings me this. 286 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:48,800 And I'm going to tell you that there's going to be times in your 287 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:49,760 life, and you know this. 288 00:11:50,490 --> 00:11:53,010 You've lived long enough on this earth to know that there are 289 00:11:53,010 --> 00:11:55,090 gonna be times in your life where you ask God for something and 290 00:11:55,090 --> 00:11:56,570 he doesn't give you what you want. 291 00:11:57,130 --> 00:12:00,370 He doesn't give you the circumstance that you were hoping 292 00:12:00,370 --> 00:12:00,730 for. 293 00:12:01,290 --> 00:12:03,370 And that doesn't mean that God has stopped loving you. 294 00:12:03,370 --> 00:12:06,169 It just means that God has a bigger plan, he has a bigger purpose, 295 00:12:06,169 --> 00:12:08,890 and that at the end of the day, we can all say, and. 296 00:12:08,890 --> 00:12:10,570 And I hope that this is our testimony. 297 00:12:11,290 --> 00:12:11,610 When. 298 00:12:11,610 --> 00:12:16,090 When I'm in complete and utter loss, when I feel broken and empty 299 00:12:16,650 --> 00:12:16,850 and. 300 00:12:16,850 --> 00:12:21,370 And darkness is covering me in my circumstance, I can still rejoice. 301 00:12:22,010 --> 00:12:25,770 He says, I will have joy in the God of my salvation. 302 00:12:26,890 --> 00:12:28,650 So Habakkuk here is not just. 303 00:12:28,810 --> 00:12:31,330 I think a lot of times people in this world practice what's called 304 00:12:31,330 --> 00:12:32,689 the power of positive thinking. 305 00:12:32,689 --> 00:12:34,970 I think there's like a whole book about that and the whole way 306 00:12:34,970 --> 00:12:35,610 of thinking. 307 00:12:35,930 --> 00:12:38,090 I don't think it's just like, positive thinking. 308 00:12:38,330 --> 00:12:40,890 Like, hey, just spin everything in a good slight. 309 00:12:40,970 --> 00:12:42,330 You know, if you came to me because. 310 00:12:42,330 --> 00:12:44,250 Because this is sometimes how Christians act. 311 00:12:44,530 --> 00:12:46,450 At least I've seen this and I've tried to do this with people. 312 00:12:46,530 --> 00:12:48,570 They've come up to me and they said, hey, I'm really going through 313 00:12:48,570 --> 00:12:49,250 this hardship. 314 00:12:49,250 --> 00:12:50,650 And I try to think of a way that. 315 00:12:50,650 --> 00:12:52,450 That can spin around to be something good in their life. 316 00:12:53,010 --> 00:12:55,050 Like, well, you know, all things work together for good. 317 00:12:55,050 --> 00:12:57,410 So, you know, you lost your loved one because this person's going 318 00:12:57,410 --> 00:12:58,050 to come to Christ. 319 00:12:58,210 --> 00:13:01,490 But what happens when we don't go back and see the reason why? 320 00:13:01,890 --> 00:13:04,890 You know, I wish we could have a reason for everything that God 321 00:13:04,890 --> 00:13:07,330 allows in our life, but we don't always have that. 322 00:13:07,410 --> 00:13:09,370 So I don't think he's just saying, like, hey, spin everything 323 00:13:09,370 --> 00:13:10,530 in the positive light here. 324 00:13:11,610 --> 00:13:11,770 I. 325 00:13:11,770 --> 00:13:16,570 I think what he's trying to teach us is that God is greater than 326 00:13:16,570 --> 00:13:18,730 anything we have or that we lose in our life. 327 00:13:19,290 --> 00:13:22,370 To, to know God is the greatest gift that we could ever 328 00:13:22,370 --> 00:13:22,530 have. 329 00:13:22,530 --> 00:13:25,450 And I've said this before, and this is harder to practice than. 330 00:13:25,450 --> 00:13:30,570 Than just profess, but if God took away everything that we have 331 00:13:30,570 --> 00:13:34,570 materially in this world, we would still have Him. 332 00:13:34,650 --> 00:13:35,930 And the Bible says that's enough. 333 00:13:35,930 --> 00:13:36,970 Now, will he do that? 334 00:13:36,970 --> 00:13:37,570 Probably not. 335 00:13:37,570 --> 00:13:41,400 Most of us have more than what we've ever needed in our life where 336 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:42,320 we live in excess. 337 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:44,160 But the idea here is this. 338 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:44,400 The. 339 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:48,160 The spirit of our rejoicing cannot be found just in the things 340 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,120 that we have, but in who we have as our Savior. 341 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:53,760 And so in this case, I. 342 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:58,080 I believe that Habakkuk is essentially talking about the same 343 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,240 principle that we see in Philippians chapter four. 344 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:04,320 And we don't have time to go through the whole book of Philippians, 345 00:14:04,770 --> 00:14:07,410 but a good parallel passage is read through Philippians chapter 346 00:14:07,410 --> 00:14:09,250 four and Habakkuk chapter three. 347 00:14:09,570 --> 00:14:12,370 Because we have a guy named Paul in Philippians chapter four 348 00:14:12,610 --> 00:14:14,970 who gets the verse number four in chapter four. 349 00:14:14,970 --> 00:14:16,690 And he says, rejoice in the Lord always. 350 00:14:16,770 --> 00:14:18,130 And again I say, rejoice. 351 00:14:19,250 --> 00:14:23,370 And some of you that have been following our act study, I've seen 352 00:14:23,370 --> 00:14:27,170 a similar thought, that Paul does not wrap up his joy in the Lord 353 00:14:27,170 --> 00:14:31,150 with what's going on around, even though we can be joyful about 354 00:14:31,150 --> 00:14:31,430 things. 355 00:14:31,430 --> 00:14:34,270 I mean, I know for, for me, some of the most joyful times in 356 00:14:34,270 --> 00:14:38,230 my life were obviously the day I got married, the day that my Ch. 357 00:14:38,230 --> 00:14:39,990 The days that were my children were born. 358 00:14:39,990 --> 00:14:41,030 Those are exciting days. 359 00:14:41,030 --> 00:14:42,390 And we should celebrate those things. 360 00:14:42,390 --> 00:14:43,830 And God gives us beautiful things. 361 00:14:43,830 --> 00:14:45,270 Every good gift comes from God. 362 00:14:45,350 --> 00:14:48,990 So I'm not preaching that everyone has to be in spiritual poverty. 363 00:14:48,990 --> 00:14:49,710 I'm not saying that. 364 00:14:49,710 --> 00:14:53,550 But what I am saying is that if we wrap up everything in our relationship 365 00:14:53,550 --> 00:14:56,440 with God to the things that he has given us, instead of thinking 366 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,520 about just the fact that we have him, we miss the point of this 367 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:00,120 Christian walk. 368 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:00,360 We. 369 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:02,320 We miss the point of being a disciple for Christ. 370 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:04,120 So will God give us things? 371 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:04,360 Yes. 372 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:05,640 He gives us above and beyond. 373 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:07,840 We know that God loves us and he loves his children. 374 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:09,000 But. 375 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,440 But we also have to understand that Paul, when he wrote Philippians 376 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:14,880 chapter four, was not in the best of situations. 377 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:16,400 He was in prison. 378 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:17,240 He. 379 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,080 He was being persecuted for what he believed. 380 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:21,680 And so he says, rejoice in the Lord always. 381 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:25,870 And again I say, rejoice, and then say, how could Paul say that 382 00:15:26,030 --> 00:15:26,390 one? 383 00:15:26,390 --> 00:15:32,270 Verse six, Be careful or anxious for nothing, but in everything. 384 00:15:32,270 --> 00:15:35,110 By prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto 385 00:15:35,110 --> 00:15:35,470 God. 386 00:15:35,470 --> 00:15:39,150 So Paul says, you want to know how to have that joy in the midst 387 00:15:39,150 --> 00:15:40,030 of difficulty. 388 00:15:40,430 --> 00:15:41,550 Bring everything to God. 389 00:15:42,030 --> 00:15:45,630 Bring everything to him with prayer and supplication and thanksgiving. 390 00:15:45,630 --> 00:15:48,630 Let your requests be made known unto God with thanksgiving, 391 00:15:48,630 --> 00:15:51,190 with thankfulness, having a heart of gratitude, having a heart 392 00:15:51,190 --> 00:15:51,790 of humility. 393 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,680 And then he says in verse seven that let your request be made 394 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:56,280 known to God. 395 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:57,040 And that what does that bring? 396 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:59,640 That brings the peace of God which passes all understanding. 397 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:04,520 So it's the joy of God, which Nehemiah says, the joy of the Lord 398 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:04,800 is. 399 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:05,480 Is my strength. 400 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:06,760 That's Nehemiah 8, 10. 401 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:11,640 And then we see that in the case of the joy, this real substantial 402 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:15,200 joy in Christ, what does that bring that brings peace in the peace 403 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,520 of God which passes all understanding, Rule your hearts and 404 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:18,680 minds in Christ Jesus. 405 00:16:19,330 --> 00:16:22,810 And so it is essentially knowing Jesus, knowing the joy that 406 00:16:22,810 --> 00:16:24,930 he brings, knowing the peace that he brings. 407 00:16:25,170 --> 00:16:26,010 And it's really good. 408 00:16:26,010 --> 00:16:28,370 If you want to tie all this together, you can look at Galatians, 409 00:16:28,370 --> 00:16:30,770 chapter 5, verses 22 and 23. 410 00:16:31,250 --> 00:16:33,890 This is not a pitch for the Bible study this summer, but we're 411 00:16:33,890 --> 00:16:35,810 going to be saying, the fruits, the fruit of the Spirit. 412 00:16:35,810 --> 00:16:38,850 Now, the fruits of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, which. 413 00:16:38,850 --> 00:16:40,450 There's elements of the fruit of the Spirit. 414 00:16:40,450 --> 00:16:43,290 And you have love, which starts the fruit of the Spirit, but 415 00:16:43,290 --> 00:16:45,890 then you have two that follow that are connected together. 416 00:16:46,380 --> 00:16:48,140 Love, joy, peace. 417 00:16:49,020 --> 00:16:52,820 So to be a Christian means to live in the love of Christ, but it 418 00:16:52,820 --> 00:16:55,460 also means to live in the joy of Christ, which also means live 419 00:16:55,460 --> 00:16:56,220 in the peace of Christ. 420 00:16:56,220 --> 00:16:59,260 And again, there's more of the elements of the fruit of the Spirit 421 00:16:59,260 --> 00:17:00,780 that we could study for another time. 422 00:17:00,860 --> 00:17:03,220 But in this case, what Habakkuk says is that you can have 423 00:17:03,220 --> 00:17:04,780 joy in the midst of emptiness. 424 00:17:04,780 --> 00:17:06,660 And so then we get to verse 19. 425 00:17:06,660 --> 00:17:08,940 This is essentially his testimony. 426 00:17:08,940 --> 00:17:09,180 Here. 427 00:17:09,180 --> 00:17:10,780 He says, this is where I stand. 428 00:17:12,310 --> 00:17:15,590 In emptiness I will rejoice in. 429 00:17:15,590 --> 00:17:16,630 In emptiness. 430 00:17:16,950 --> 00:17:20,390 I will have the joy of the Lord in the fact that he is my Savior. 431 00:17:20,630 --> 00:17:24,990 And then he says, the Lord God is my strength, so tied to that joy 432 00:17:24,990 --> 00:17:27,110 is the strength, which is exactly what we see in the book of 433 00:17:27,110 --> 00:17:27,550 Nehemiah. 434 00:17:27,550 --> 00:17:29,590 The joy of the Lord is my strength. 435 00:17:30,390 --> 00:17:34,070 And so Habakkuk here, in this case, I don't think that Habakkuk 436 00:17:34,070 --> 00:17:39,000 could say these words in verse 19 in when he was in chapter one. 437 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:41,680 I don't know about you, but there's some times in my life where 438 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:42,400 I feel like I'm. 439 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:43,480 I'm Habakkuking. 440 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:44,080 Chapter one. 441 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:45,600 Lord, why, Lord? 442 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:46,200 I don't understand. 443 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,000 Lord, this is, this is not the way that I would do this. 444 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:51,640 And then sometimes I feel like I'm Habakkuk in chapter two. 445 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:52,360 Lord, I'm waiting. 446 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:53,479 Why? 447 00:17:53,479 --> 00:17:54,920 Why am I thinking the way that I'm thinking? 448 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:55,680 Change my mind. 449 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:56,680 Show me the difference. 450 00:17:57,080 --> 00:18:01,600 But then I think that as we grow and mature and understand and 451 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:05,200 see God, we're able to worship him in chapter three, right? 452 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:06,360 The first few verses. 453 00:18:06,750 --> 00:18:08,910 And then we're able to recognize the power of God and the 454 00:18:08,910 --> 00:18:11,310 judgment of God, and we're able to recognize our humility. 455 00:18:11,550 --> 00:18:15,310 And then we can say in verse 19, the Lord God is my strength. 456 00:18:17,310 --> 00:18:17,630 So. 457 00:18:17,630 --> 00:18:21,070 So I believe Habakkuk could properly declare this after he prays 458 00:18:21,070 --> 00:18:22,030 the prayer of faith. 459 00:18:22,030 --> 00:18:24,110 You're not able to say this without faith. 460 00:18:25,150 --> 00:18:27,070 This is Habakkuk's confidence. 461 00:18:28,430 --> 00:18:32,910 So if you could break up Habakkuk into basically two categories, 462 00:18:33,340 --> 00:18:35,100 you have Habakkuk's confusion. 463 00:18:36,300 --> 00:18:38,500 Well, let's break it up into three categories because pastors 464 00:18:38,500 --> 00:18:39,740 like to do three alliteration. 465 00:18:39,740 --> 00:18:40,860 Three, three point alliteration. 466 00:18:40,860 --> 00:18:44,860 So you have his confusion, his clarity and his confidence. 467 00:18:45,100 --> 00:18:46,180 Think about it that way. 468 00:18:46,180 --> 00:18:47,580 So he starts with confusion. 469 00:18:47,900 --> 00:18:49,100 I don't know God, why. 470 00:18:49,340 --> 00:18:50,780 God gives him clarity. 471 00:18:50,860 --> 00:18:53,180 And in that clarity comes confidence in God. 472 00:18:53,500 --> 00:18:56,940 Not confidence in himself, not confidence in his king, not confidence 473 00:18:56,940 --> 00:18:59,940 in his country, but confidence in his, in the Lord. 474 00:19:00,180 --> 00:19:03,780 And so for us there is that season sometimes of confusion. 475 00:19:03,860 --> 00:19:08,300 But when we seek God with all of our hearts, and the Bible says 476 00:19:08,300 --> 00:19:11,100 if we seek him in faith, he is a rewarder of them that diligently 477 00:19:11,100 --> 00:19:11,500 seek him. 478 00:19:11,500 --> 00:19:13,940 That's Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6. 479 00:19:14,580 --> 00:19:19,860 In that confusion, then comes that faith, and then that faith brings 480 00:19:19,860 --> 00:19:20,340 clarity. 481 00:19:20,340 --> 00:19:22,100 God gives us clarity to the situation. 482 00:19:22,100 --> 00:19:24,900 He might not give us the answers, but he gives us the clarity. 483 00:19:25,130 --> 00:19:27,090 And in that clarity, then comes the confidence. 484 00:19:27,090 --> 00:19:29,370 And I've broken down that word confidence before. 485 00:19:29,930 --> 00:19:34,970 It's two words, con with vide, faith, to live with faith, to live 486 00:19:34,970 --> 00:19:35,770 with confidence. 487 00:19:36,170 --> 00:19:39,090 And so I see here Habakkuk living a life of confidence, living 488 00:19:39,090 --> 00:19:39,850 A life of faith. 489 00:19:40,650 --> 00:19:45,090 And so he can do that because he has trusted in the right object 490 00:19:45,090 --> 00:19:45,770 of faith. 491 00:19:46,650 --> 00:19:48,850 If you don't trust in the right object of faith, you're not 492 00:19:48,850 --> 00:19:51,250 able to sit there with confidence. 493 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:56,080 Because if, like, for example, you know, if I told you, hey, you 494 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:58,400 know, bring all of your problems to me, I'll handle all of 495 00:19:58,400 --> 00:19:58,880 your problems. 496 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:00,520 I'll take care of everything for you. 497 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:02,640 I have all of your answers, okay? 498 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:07,240 That can only last in a way that's helpful for so long, until 499 00:20:07,319 --> 00:20:10,640 I've run out of wisdom, I've run out of strength, I've run out 500 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:11,280 of resources. 501 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:15,880 And so me being the object of faith would only take you so far. 502 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:17,840 It would only bring you so much confidence. 503 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:19,900 And for some people, they might say, I don't have a lot of 504 00:20:19,900 --> 00:20:20,860 confidence in you on that. 505 00:20:21,420 --> 00:20:23,180 You know, for example, like, let's say. 506 00:20:23,180 --> 00:20:23,900 Let's say you. 507 00:20:24,140 --> 00:20:25,940 You say, pastor, I've got a big issue at my house. 508 00:20:25,940 --> 00:20:30,100 I need you to repair my back porch collapsed in, and I need you 509 00:20:30,100 --> 00:20:32,220 to come over and build that for me, okay? 510 00:20:32,220 --> 00:20:34,780 You would only have confidence in me for a short amount of time 511 00:20:34,860 --> 00:20:37,380 until you started seeing me pull out the tools and look at things 512 00:20:37,380 --> 00:20:37,940 and go, I'm. 513 00:20:37,940 --> 00:20:39,020 I'm totally confused, right? 514 00:20:39,500 --> 00:20:41,780 But if you brought someone over from the church that knew exactly 515 00:20:41,780 --> 00:20:44,140 what they were doing, they knew exactly where to go, you would 516 00:20:44,140 --> 00:20:45,740 say, I've got a lot more confidence in that person. 517 00:20:46,220 --> 00:20:48,900 So, so it was the object of faith that brought you more faith. 518 00:20:48,900 --> 00:20:52,180 And so in this case with Christ, we as Christians can put 519 00:20:52,180 --> 00:20:54,940 our faith in all the wrong places, but those objects of faith 520 00:20:54,940 --> 00:20:56,220 are eventually going to crumble. 521 00:20:56,220 --> 00:20:58,700 But the object of faith of Christ will never crumble. 522 00:20:58,860 --> 00:21:00,260 And so he says, hey, I. 523 00:21:00,260 --> 00:21:02,060 I can have strength in the Lord. 524 00:21:02,540 --> 00:21:03,100 And then he. 525 00:21:03,100 --> 00:21:04,500 He gives this awesome analogy. 526 00:21:04,500 --> 00:21:09,900 He says, he will make my feet like hinds feet or, or deer's feet, 527 00:21:10,380 --> 00:21:15,500 and he will make me to walk upon mine high places to the chief 528 00:21:15,500 --> 00:21:17,140 singer of my stringed instrument. 529 00:21:17,140 --> 00:21:19,860 So he closes out the song with, with that statement. 530 00:21:20,020 --> 00:21:22,980 But he gives this really interesting analogy here at the very 531 00:21:22,980 --> 00:21:23,180 end. 532 00:21:23,180 --> 00:21:26,540 He says, God's going to make me like a deer walking through the 533 00:21:26,540 --> 00:21:28,660 high places, running through the high places. 534 00:21:29,300 --> 00:21:31,860 And so I, in this case, I. 535 00:21:31,860 --> 00:21:35,540 I have a picture when, when I was in Israel, they have these. 536 00:21:35,540 --> 00:21:37,980 They're not deer, but they're called ibex. 537 00:21:37,980 --> 00:21:39,380 And they look similar to deer. 538 00:21:40,170 --> 00:21:41,210 And they're kind of like goats. 539 00:21:41,210 --> 00:21:42,250 So they're like mountain goats. 540 00:21:42,250 --> 00:21:46,050 And we were walking through this place called Eni, which was 541 00:21:46,050 --> 00:21:51,130 a Place that David fled, saw and hid there for a while. 542 00:21:51,290 --> 00:21:53,210 And when we're in Engetti, we just looked up. 543 00:21:53,210 --> 00:21:54,210 And I'm. 544 00:21:54,210 --> 00:21:57,490 I'm an animal person, so I'm always looking for animals no matter 545 00:21:57,490 --> 00:21:58,010 where I am. 546 00:21:58,010 --> 00:21:59,290 Like, Micah and I are the same. 547 00:21:59,290 --> 00:22:01,770 We, like, go out and we're like, exploring, trying to find animals. 548 00:22:01,850 --> 00:22:04,250 So the very first thing I saw at Eneti has nothing to do with what 549 00:22:04,250 --> 00:22:05,930 I'm about to tell you, but you might find it interesting. 550 00:22:06,490 --> 00:22:08,970 There's like this little, like, gopher monkey looking thing 551 00:22:08,970 --> 00:22:10,810 sitting up on the top of this one branch. 552 00:22:10,890 --> 00:22:12,930 And I'm looking at that, I'm like, I have no clue what this is, 553 00:22:12,930 --> 00:22:14,650 but I'm gonna take a picture of it and look it up later. 554 00:22:14,730 --> 00:22:16,410 Found out it's something called a hyrax. 555 00:22:16,650 --> 00:22:18,290 Interesting little creature. 556 00:22:18,290 --> 00:22:20,170 If you want to see a picture, I have it on my phone. 557 00:22:20,250 --> 00:22:22,930 But then there's these ibexes, and they're like, on the side of 558 00:22:22,930 --> 00:22:23,450 the mountain. 559 00:22:23,850 --> 00:22:26,090 Like, literally, the mountain's like this. 560 00:22:26,090 --> 00:22:27,890 It's like a cliff, and they're just standing on it. 561 00:22:27,890 --> 00:22:29,170 I'm like, how are they standing up there? 562 00:22:29,170 --> 00:22:31,690 And their little hooves are just planted in there, and they're 563 00:22:31,690 --> 00:22:34,040 just running around the mountains on the side of the mountains, 564 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:34,320 and they. 565 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:35,840 They don't stumble, they don't fall. 566 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,200 And I'm like, if that was me up there, I'd fall to my. 567 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:40,400 To my demise right there, right off the bat. 568 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:41,120 And. 569 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:43,240 And I thought about that, and I thought about this passage of scripture, 570 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:46,520 like, how those animals are able just to be able to navigate 571 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:50,160 that tough terrain so easily without even a second thought. 572 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:51,280 It's in their nature. 573 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:53,640 And I believe that's what he's talking about here. 574 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:57,040 He's talking about this idea that as a believer, though the terrain 575 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:01,740 around us can be rough and difficult and treacherous, we can 576 00:23:01,740 --> 00:23:04,540 have that confidence when we're taking a step in the Lord's 577 00:23:04,540 --> 00:23:04,820 will. 578 00:23:04,820 --> 00:23:05,540 And that's where. 579 00:23:05,540 --> 00:23:06,260 Where I see that. 580 00:23:06,260 --> 00:23:06,980 And actually, when. 581 00:23:06,980 --> 00:23:10,260 When we were pulling out of the parking lot, there's this tree. 582 00:23:10,660 --> 00:23:12,620 And I thought I was seeing things. 583 00:23:12,620 --> 00:23:14,100 I mean, it was really hot that day. 584 00:23:14,260 --> 00:23:19,180 And I looked out and I saw a goat, one of these ibexes in the 585 00:23:19,180 --> 00:23:19,460 tree. 586 00:23:19,460 --> 00:23:20,460 And I thought I was dreaming. 587 00:23:20,460 --> 00:23:23,820 I'm like, that I didn't think that a goat would be up in the top 588 00:23:23,820 --> 00:23:24,300 of the tree. 589 00:23:24,300 --> 00:23:25,980 And I asked the guy, he's like, yeah, that's good. 590 00:23:25,980 --> 00:23:27,060 So I had to take a picture of that. 591 00:23:27,260 --> 00:23:28,180 He was up in the tree. 592 00:23:28,180 --> 00:23:29,540 So it's pretty neat to See that? 593 00:23:29,540 --> 00:23:32,940 But I, at the end of the day, I thought about the idea there of 594 00:23:33,260 --> 00:23:36,700 how God can guide our steps even in difficult places. 595 00:23:37,260 --> 00:23:41,380 The Bible says in Psalm 119, 105, thy word is a lamp unto my feet 596 00:23:41,380 --> 00:23:42,620 and a light into my path. 597 00:23:43,099 --> 00:23:46,060 And when we're following the will of God, he's able to set forth 598 00:23:46,060 --> 00:23:49,340 for us even in difficult places, a sure foundation. 599 00:23:49,580 --> 00:23:53,260 And we might slip, we might stumble, but we'll never fall. 600 00:23:53,940 --> 00:23:58,580 The Bible says though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, 601 00:23:58,740 --> 00:24:00,580 for the Lord upholds him with his hand. 602 00:24:00,980 --> 00:24:06,420 And so I see that as a big contrast, even though it's only three 603 00:24:06,660 --> 00:24:10,180 chapters in Habakkuk, you see Habakkuk at the very beginning going, 604 00:24:10,900 --> 00:24:12,740 why does thou show me iniquity? 605 00:24:14,100 --> 00:24:17,940 And he is basically asking God all these questions and he has no 606 00:24:17,940 --> 00:24:18,420 clarity. 607 00:24:18,580 --> 00:24:21,260 But at the end, we see him completely confident in the Lord's 608 00:24:21,260 --> 00:24:21,700 strength. 609 00:24:22,070 --> 00:24:24,470 And I think that's the path that we can all take in our lives. 610 00:24:25,110 --> 00:24:29,150 I know that there are many people, including myself, that have 611 00:24:29,150 --> 00:24:30,470 fallen into that. 612 00:24:30,630 --> 00:24:33,710 That dark place of not understanding why God has to do the 613 00:24:33,710 --> 00:24:34,390 things that he does. 614 00:24:35,670 --> 00:24:37,709 And, you know, in our humanity, we. 615 00:24:37,709 --> 00:24:40,070 We fall short of understanding his ways. 616 00:24:40,710 --> 00:24:44,310 But we can at, at the end go, lord, I'm going to rejoice in you. 617 00:24:44,630 --> 00:24:46,950 I'm going to have joy because you've given me salvation. 618 00:24:46,950 --> 00:24:48,710 And because of that, you are my strength. 619 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:49,960 You are my guide. 620 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:54,280 And so I've really, I've really seen a lot through the book 621 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,480 of Habakkuk that can help us, I think, when it comes to those difficult 622 00:24:57,480 --> 00:24:58,360 things in our life. 623 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,120 And I wish I could tell you that things are. 624 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:01,800 Are easy. 625 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:04,200 But we all know that life is not easy. 626 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:06,120 Life's not easy for anybody. 627 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:07,080 You know, I. 628 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:09,080 I think that sometimes we think that only Christians have it 629 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:10,600 difficult, but the world has it difficult. 630 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:14,120 The only difference between us and someone who's in the world that 631 00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:16,180 has no faith is, is that they're going through these things 632 00:25:16,180 --> 00:25:19,020 with no hope, and they're trying to find hope in wrong places. 633 00:25:19,340 --> 00:25:22,540 But we as Christians are not going to necessarily avoid the struggles, 634 00:25:22,540 --> 00:25:25,620 but we have someone that's going to go with it through us and 635 00:25:25,620 --> 00:25:28,700 guide us and protect us and give us hope and real, substantial 636 00:25:28,700 --> 00:25:29,020 hope. 637 00:25:29,420 --> 00:25:32,980 And so I wanted to go through the hood book of Habakkuk. 638 00:25:32,980 --> 00:25:36,020 And the reason why the book of Habakkuk kind of tied together with 639 00:25:36,020 --> 00:25:37,940 what we were studying is because we were basically going through 640 00:25:37,940 --> 00:25:38,700 questions, right? 641 00:25:38,700 --> 00:25:40,940 And a bunch of people ask a bunch of questions and I didn't have 642 00:25:40,940 --> 00:25:43,670 the answers for all of them, but I thought that Habakkuk will 643 00:25:43,670 --> 00:25:47,070 be a good study to look at when it comes to asking questions. 644 00:25:47,230 --> 00:25:49,310 Asking good questions, asking good questions are. 645 00:25:49,470 --> 00:25:50,670 Is a really good thing. 646 00:25:50,750 --> 00:25:53,950 And I think God, as a pastor, I appreciate good questions. 647 00:25:54,110 --> 00:25:56,190 I love when people ask me questions about the Bible. 648 00:25:56,190 --> 00:25:57,470 Like, it is not a bother. 649 00:25:57,470 --> 00:26:00,430 I want to, like, I don't like some questions. 650 00:26:00,670 --> 00:26:03,230 Like, you know, I don't like when people ask me questions about 651 00:26:03,230 --> 00:26:04,190 things I don't know about. 652 00:26:04,990 --> 00:26:06,510 Like, like I have no interest in. 653 00:26:06,510 --> 00:26:06,870 Okay. 654 00:26:06,870 --> 00:26:07,670 That's like, not my thing. 655 00:26:07,670 --> 00:26:08,320 Okay, okay. 656 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:10,520 But if you're going to come and talk to me about the Bible, I 657 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:11,000 love questions. 658 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,480 I don't have all the answers, but I love questions. 659 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:19,320 And I think that if I, as just a lowly pastor, have a joy in hearing 660 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:21,480 questions, authentic, real questions. 661 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:24,440 How much more does God, our Heavenly Father, enjoy us asking 662 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:26,320 true questions to say, lord, why? 663 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:27,000 I want to know. 664 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:28,040 I want to know your way. 665 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:29,320 And he might say, you might not understand. 666 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,720 I love when my kids ask me questions, but sometimes they don't. 667 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:32,720 They don't get an answer. 668 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:34,880 Sometimes it's just because I'm your dad and that's the way it 669 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:35,200 goes. 670 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:38,280 And sometimes we do have times where we talk about those answers. 671 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,840 But if my child is running to the road and there's a car coming 672 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:45,400 and I say, son, stop. 673 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:47,160 And he turns around and goes, why? 674 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:49,880 I'm not going to sit there and go, because, son, if you go any further, 675 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:51,360 there's going to be this and there's going to be this. 676 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:54,480 I might not have the time or the disposition to give him all of 677 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:55,000 the answers. 678 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:56,520 It might be an emergency situation. 679 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,120 I'm not going to give you the answer for this because I'm your 680 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:00,440 father and I love you. 681 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:02,930 But there's going to be other times where we talk and we go through 682 00:27:02,930 --> 00:27:03,210 those things. 683 00:27:03,210 --> 00:27:05,850 And so that's how God, I think, deals with us as a perfect 684 00:27:05,850 --> 00:27:06,610 heavenly father. 685 00:27:06,930 --> 00:27:09,690 And so I hope that it's been a good study for you at whatever piece 686 00:27:09,690 --> 00:27:10,530 you've been in on. 687 00:27:10,930 --> 00:27:12,330 Even if tonight's you only night. 688 00:27:12,330 --> 00:27:14,810 I hope that it's been a time that maybe has spurred you to say, 689 00:27:14,810 --> 00:27:16,969 you know what, I might want to go back and read the book of Habakkuk 690 00:27:16,969 --> 00:27:20,330 when I've got more questions to look at, a highlight and a theme 691 00:27:20,330 --> 00:27:22,850 that I can see and frame in in my own mind. 692 00:27:23,490 --> 00:27:26,930 So I've had some questions about where we are going next. 693 00:27:27,010 --> 00:27:31,740 And we, we have tried to tackle a lot of different things 694 00:27:32,860 --> 00:27:34,340 in our Wednesday night series. 695 00:27:34,340 --> 00:27:39,580 But what we are going to go to next is, is I've had some people 696 00:27:39,580 --> 00:27:42,300 come to me over the years and say, I don't. 697 00:27:42,460 --> 00:27:46,900 I'm wrestling with my assurance of salvation because of 698 00:27:46,900 --> 00:27:47,380 this reason. 699 00:27:47,380 --> 00:27:49,020 I, I don't really know if. 700 00:27:49,660 --> 00:27:51,940 Not if I'm not saved, but I just don't feel saved. 701 00:27:51,940 --> 00:27:53,900 I don't feel like God is, is. 702 00:27:53,900 --> 00:27:56,290 Is working in my life the way that he used to. 703 00:27:56,290 --> 00:27:58,130 And I just have a lot of confusion about that. 704 00:27:58,690 --> 00:28:01,650 So the book of the Bible that I tell people to read, when it comes 705 00:28:01,650 --> 00:28:03,810 to that and getting clarity on that, is First John. 706 00:28:04,210 --> 00:28:07,730 First John is a book written to Christians to explain to Christians 707 00:28:07,730 --> 00:28:09,170 what it means to be a Christian. 708 00:28:09,570 --> 00:28:13,490 And there's a lot of really good teachings within the book of 709 00:28:13,490 --> 00:28:14,130 First John. 710 00:28:14,530 --> 00:28:17,130 And I think that it'll be a blessing for us. 711 00:28:17,130 --> 00:28:19,090 It's not a long book of the Bible. 712 00:28:19,330 --> 00:28:20,770 It's only five chapters. 713 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,200 Uh, but we're going to do a study in First John and we're going 714 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:23,360 to. 715 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:25,400 We're going to look at what it means to be a believer. 716 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:28,920 Because it's one thing to say that we believe. 717 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,160 It's another thing to live like we believe. 718 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,360 And so if you've ever struggled with that, or if you know 719 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:36,880 people that might be struggling with the concept of, like, 720 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:37,880 well, am I a Christian? 721 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:39,160 Am I a believer? 722 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:41,960 Well, we don't just say, well, did you say this prayer? 723 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:43,160 Did you repeat after me? 724 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:47,040 We, we look at Scripture and we say truly, Truly and truly. 725 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,280 At the core of all of this, the thing that makes us a Christian 726 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:50,920 is belief. 727 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:51,360 Faith. 728 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:52,160 Right. 729 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:53,600 But I can't. 730 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,160 I, I can't look into your heart and mind and see faith. 731 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:58,720 And so what, what we need to do is we need to understand that 732 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:01,200 real faith produces real things. 733 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:03,280 And it doesn't mean we're going to be perfect in that. 734 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:06,040 But there is that standard that God has set for us that we are 735 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:06,800 to strive for. 736 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:08,880 And so we're going to look at First John. 737 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,280 We're going to talk about a lot of different things that I think 738 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:18,620 will help us when it comes to identifying clarity when we are living 739 00:29:18,620 --> 00:29:21,260 our lives as believers and helping other people to see it as 740 00:29:21,260 --> 00:29:21,540 well. 741 00:29:21,940 --> 00:29:23,580 So First John, we'll be back in that. 742 00:29:23,580 --> 00:29:25,940 So I know that some people want to know what we're studying 743 00:29:25,940 --> 00:29:26,260 next. 744 00:29:26,740 --> 00:29:28,980 So for the next foreseeable future, that's where we're going 745 00:29:28,980 --> 00:29:30,980 to be, Lord willing, unless something changes. 746 00:29:31,140 --> 00:29:33,300 Well, I appreciate your attention here this evening. 747 00:29:33,300 --> 00:29:39,900 I know that it's It's a lot to go through if you hear people asking 748 00:29:39,900 --> 00:29:41,860 questions about God, and sometimes it's a it's a difficult 749 00:29:41,860 --> 00:29:42,500 thing to deal with. 750 00:29:42,500 --> 00:29:44,180 But I'm glad that we're able to talk about it. 751 00:29:45,470 --> 00:29:47,950 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 752 00:29:47,950 --> 00:29:48,590 podcast. 753 00:29:48,830 --> 00:29:51,150 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 754 00:29:51,790 --> 00:29:54,150 If you would like to find out more information about our church 755 00:29:54,150 --> 00:29:57,550 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 756 00:29:57,870 --> 00:30:00,350 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 757 00:30:01,150 --> 00:30:05,670 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 758 00:30:05,670 --> 00:30:09,730 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and subscribe. 759 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:12,840 Follow along for future podcast and updates. 760 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:14,520 Thank you so much. 761 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:15,480 God Bless. 762 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:17,000 Have a wonderful day.