Great Promise ~ Spiritual Gold (2023)

Dr. Richard L. Strauss
9. June 1974

One of the nagging problems of the Christian life is the repetition of doubt. They can be prompted by the deteriorating world conditions we see around us. They can be prompted by a serious personal crisis. We begin to think: Does God really exist? Does he really know what's going on? Does God Really Care? Can God really change what's going on if He wants to?

From the beginning of mankind, Satan has tried to get God's people to wrestle with questions like these. But the Word of God has given answers to questions like these from the beginning. The Word of God is as relevant to us now as if it were written today.

I want you to look at a believer's experience with doubt. This man, Habakkuk, lived in the 7th century B.C. He wrote this little book with three chapters about his experiences. We know nothing about him except that his name was Habakkuk and he calls himself "the Prophet." He was probably a contemporary of Jeremiah and probably lived just before the Babylonians invaded and destroyed Jerusalem and took Jerusalem and Judah captive.

His little book is in three parts, which generally follow the chapter divisions. The first part is mentioned in chapter 1, verse 1: "the burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw". ThatLastmeans something heavy, something heavy. We'll call it "the problem" today for the sake of alliteration. It goes to the first verse in chapter 2; The chapter division is not very good.

The second part begins in 2:1 and is what Habakkuk calls "the vision." "Write the vision and set it clearly on tablets, so that he that reads it may run" (Habakkuk 2:2). The vision is God's solution to the problem, and this is the prophetic part of the book, so let's call it "the prophecy."

The third part of the book is a prayer. It begins with the first verse of the third chapter, "A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk" (Habakkuk 3:1).

Now that we've seen how the book is organized, let's go back and look at the problem.

1. The problem
(Habakkuk 1:1–2:1)

“O Lord, how long shall I cry and You will not hear? Even shouting at you: 'Violence!' And you will not save. Why are you showing me injustice and making me worry? For plunder and violence are before me, there is strife and strife arises. Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never emerges; the wicked surround the righteous; therefore comes a perverse judgment” (Habakkuk 1:2-4).

Habakkuk sees all sorts of evil in Judah and thinks, "These people are supposed to be God's chosen people and yet they see all this misery that I see." Look at the words he uses:

• Violence: malicious behavior intended to hurt someone
• Injustice: wickedness, worthlessness
• Anger: Suffering caused by one person to another

And plunder, strife and strife. That sounds like the United States today [1974], doesn't it? Just this week in Detroit we witnessed racial confrontations and violence. We've seen baseball fans in Cleveland act like drunk monkeys. Habakkuk reads almost like the morning news.

Verse 4 is about wickedness and perverse judgment. Why does God not do anything? That is Habakkuk's question. He prayed and prayed, but God just didn't seem interested. "Lord, how long will I cry and You won't hear me?" only silence No answers. God interprets God's silence as a lack of care.

Why Doesn't God Judge Sin? Why doesn't God bring his nation back to himself? Many of you pray the same, don't you? God, why aren't you doing anything? Why don't you bringournation back to you?

The prophet is confused and at a loss. Doubts begin to weaken his trust in the Lord. We hear the same accusations today: if there really is a God and he really cares, why doesn't he prevent all this violence and war and poverty and injustice and inequality? Maybe the deists are right: God created this world and then just walked away and abandoned it. He doesn't really care what's going on anymore. Maybe he's even up there laughing at the mess we're in.

Ah, but the Lord gives us an answer in verses 5-11.

"'Look among the nations and observe - be amazed! For I will do a work in your days
what you wouldn't believe even though you were told. For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans [Babylonians], a bitter and hasty people who are marching through the expanses of the earth to possess dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and terrible; their judgment and dignity are of their own” (Habakkuk 1:5-7).

God says, "OK, Habakkuk, I'm going to do something that's going to be so wild you won't even believe it. You complain about the wickedness of your people? I will fix them. I will discipline them. And when I do, it will be so unusual you won't even believe it. I will choose one nation from the many nations on earth. A wild people. A strong man. And I will use this nation called Babylon to discipline your people for their sins.”

Habakkuk says, "Wait. Let's not go overboard here."

“Are you not from eternity, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We won't die.

The idea of ​​this verse seems to be this: Lord, you made a covenant with Abraham that his seed would continue forever. You're not going to destroy us, are you? That's just discipline; that's just correction, Lord, isn't it - not destruction?!

"Your eyes are purer than to see evil, and you cannot see evil. (Habakkuk 1:13).

"Lord, since You cannot look at sin, how is it that You take a sinful people like the Babylonians - who are truly worse than my people Judah - and use them to discipline Your people?"

Isn't that just like us? We complain about a problem and God tells us how He's going to solve it, or at least how it seems He's going to solve it, and then we don't like how He's going to solve it. We think, “Wait a minute, Lord. If I were you, I would do things differently.” Sometimes, instead of dispelling our doubts, we allow Satan to fuel them even more. It seems Habakkuk is more disturbed than he was at first. He's downright desperate; this just doesn't seem like the right way to go. So says Habakkuk in verse 1 of chapter 2:

"I will keep my watch and stand on the wall and watch to see what he will say to me and what I will answer when corrected" (Habakkuk 2:1).

Habakkuk's thoughts tormented him, but he knew what to do. He says, “Lord, I'll wait right here until I get Your solution. I know you have answers to my problems and my doubts, so my eyes are heavenward, my heart is open to your word, and I will not budge until you show me your will in this matter.”

These are very important words: "I will see what He will say to me." They are worthy of being featured in your Bible.

There are many Christians who do not know how to deal with their doubts. You see, doubts will come. You can count on. you are normal; they are natural. Any Christian who tells you that he has never doubted may not be very honest - or maybe he has never had a serious thought in his life. But most who are honest will admit that at some point in their lives they have had some doubts about spiritual things. It is natural to doubt.

But doubts are still Satan's poisonous darts and they must be handled carefully. But many Christians are careless about it. They feed them by sulking and reflecting on how badly God has treated them, or by reading materials that raise further doubts - about questions like the existence of God or the authority of His Word. Other Christians are doubted and spread their poisonous propaganda. They spread their doubts. But that is not what God wants from us.

Habakkuk did with our doubts what God wanted us to do. He brought her to the Lord. He said, "Lord, I'll wait right here until You show me what You have to say." So ask God to give you answers and get into His Word. Read the Bible to see what God will tell you. He'll help you resolve those doubts if you take that kind of attitude and steadfastly await His answer from the Word.

2.The prediction
(Habakkuk 2:2-20)

When Habakkuk decides to wait for God's answer, that answer comes in the form of a prophecy. Revelation is twofold. First, there is the revelation that God will destroy Babylon—the proclamation of the plague upon that nation, which Judah will discipline. Second, there is a blessing promise for believers.

a. The proclamation of rot

Beginning in verse 6, Babylon is ordained five woes. A woe is a warning of sorrow and distress. There are five reasons for God's future judgment on Babylon.

In Habakkuk 2:6-8, God will judge them for their reckless plunder. "Woe to him who multiplies what is not his."

Then in verses 9-11 there is judgment for their insatiable covetousness. "Woe to him that seeks evil gain for his house" (Habakkuk 2:9a).

In verses 12-14 there will be judgment for their slave labor. "Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed, who builds a city through iniquity!" (Habakkuk 2:12).

In verses 15-17 there will be judgment for their immoral treatment of prisoners. "Woe to him who gives his neighbor a drink and presses him to your bottle, even to get him drunk so that you can see his nakedness!" (Habakkuk 2:15). This is a bad thing.

And in verses 18-20 there will be judgment for their idolatrous worship. "Woe to him who says to wood: 'Awaken!' To the still stone, arise” (Habakkuk 2:19a).

Woe to Babylon. You see, while God will use Babylon to discipline His people Judah, Babylon herself will be brought into sorrow and suffering. God's answer to the age-old question of why the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer at their hands is simple: just hang on folks; the wicked will get their justice. Their end will be far worse than the suffering they caused the righteous.

This is God's word to Habakkuk about Babylon. No reason to worry; God is in control. Just wait for the final outcome and God's justice will prevail.

A fellow named Asaph had the same problem as Habakkuk. He describes it in Psalm 73:

“But as for me, my feet almost tripped; my steps almost slipped. For I was envious of the boasters, seeing the prosperity of the ungodly... Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their ends” (Psalm 73:2-3, 17).

As he was in fellowship with the Lord and entered into the Word of the Lord, he understood that the wicked have an end.

“Verily you have put them in slippery places; you have ruined them. Oh, how desolate they are in a moment!

This was good for Asaph to understand that righteousness and justice would prevail. God's answer satisfied Asaph. And God's answer satisfied Habakkuk. And when you have such doubts, my Christian friend, God's Word and God's answer will satisfy you if only you put your trust in Him.

b. The promise of blessing

Now let's look at the great promise in the book of Habakkuk. The promise itself is twofold. The first promise is in verse 4 of Habakkuk 2 and it is the promise of light. The second is in verse 14 and is the promise of triumph.

“Behold, the proud one, his soul is not upright in him; but the righteous shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).

It's the last part of the verse that I want to talk about, "The just shall live by faith." God seems to say something like that. “Yes, Habakkuk, your opinion of the Babylonians is correct. They are proud, self-sufficient, unjust people. And while I use them to discipline Judah, some of the righteous in Judah will suffer along with the sinners, BUT the righteous will not perish like the ungodly, they will live because of their faith, the same faith that makes them righteous secures them The life.

That's a great verse. In fact, the New Testament writers think it's so great that they quote it three times. Twice this verse is used to teach the doctrine of justification by faith. And once it is used to show that faith is the key to a successful Christian life. That's how great the verse is. And both aspects I believe are here.

Turning to Romans, let's look at some verses that probably almost every Christian has memorized:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew and also to the Greek. For in this the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'” (Romans 1:16-17).

Paul teaches us that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, but it must be believed. And faith appropriates this message of the gospel and brings eternal life to the believing heart - forgiveness of sins, the assurance of eternity in God's presence. How does a person become justified and thus find eternal life? By faith.

Paul writes again to the believers in Galatia:

"But that no one is justified by the law before God is evident, for 'the righteous shall live by faith'" (Galatians 3:11).

Keeping the law will never get you to heaven - the New Testament teaches that very clearly - mainly because we cannot keep the law. There is no way we can love the Lord our God with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves. None of us really does. Therefore, we miss God's law and it condemns us. Even when we are condemned, God has made a provision for us to be justified. Justification means being declared righteous. He does it voluntarily through His grace. He did it by sending his Son to die for our sins, and all we have to do is believe in him and trust in his provision, and we are justified: born into the family of God and recipients of the eternal life.

Friend, won't you trust the Lord Jesus as your Savior today if you never did? Will you not enter God's family through God's means, by faith in His Son, so that you may be found here in Habakkuk 2:4 living forever because you have believed God and trusted in His provision for eternal life?

We have eternal life in the here and now, not just in farewell. Eternal life is something that makes us children of God and places us under his care. It assures us that nothing can touch us as children of God, but what He knows is best. Faith in His loving care can help us live joyfully and confidently even in the worst of trials and difficulties. The righteous will live by faith.

Are you down today? Are you feeling down? got the blues Are there problems that bother you that you don't know the answer to?

"Therefore do not throw away your trust, which has great reward. For you need patience so that, after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: 'Just a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not delay. Now the righteous will live by faith, but if anyone turns back, my soul has no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:35-38a).

do you know god Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior? Are you a member of God's family? Then don't despair. Keep believing in God. Don't throw away your trust in the Lord. There is great reward for those who continue to believe and patiently endure to receive that righteous promise of reward. trust him This is how righteous people live. The righteous will live by faith.

But that is not all of God's answer. This promise of light is not everything. Embedded within these five sufferings is another great promise:

"For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14).

If you have read Isaiah 11 you will see a similar statement - almost the same words. This chapter makes it clear that this will happen when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is personally present on the earth.Jesus Christ is coming againto establish his kingdom of righteousness and righteousness and peace. If he does, justice and truth will prevail. And the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. This is the promise of ultimate triumph. It is found throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments.

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: "And you who are afflicted, rest with us." If you have a problem, listen, says Paul. “For it is a righteous thing before God to repay those who trouble you with tribulation, and to give you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus reveals himself with His mighty angels from heaven in flaming fire to take vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-8).

A day of vengeance is coming. Christ is coming back to earth and He will destroy all injustice and put away all sin and right all wrong and reign in righteousness and peace. It may seem in our day that wickedness prevails; it certainly does. This is exactly how it will be in the last days just before the return of our Lord Jesus. The Word of God assures us that Christ will come. "A little while longer and He who comes will come."

He will come and reign, and the knowledge of God's glory will cover the face of the earth. Not today, but one day it will be. We sang about it this morning in a hymn calledThis is my father's world<.“And let me never forget that though injustice often seems so strong, yet God is sovereign. This is my father's world. The fight is not over yet. Jesus who died will be satisfied, and earth and heaven will be one."

God is still in control. He still sits on the throne. Still bringing human history to a triumphant conclusion, Habakkuk adds this great statement to this prophecy in verse 20:

“But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him" (Habakkuk 2:20).

God is really there, friend, and He really is in control. And He is truly bringing human history to a meaningful and triumphant conclusion, despite what appears to be happening. We can rely on this knowledge.

3. The prayer
(Habakkuk 3:1-19)

Now God's answer restores Habakkuk's faith and he bursts out in chapter 3 with a beautiful praise. It's a song that needs to be sung. We know that from the last verse, where it says: “To the head musician. With my stringed instruments" (Habakkuk 3:19b).

This is a beautiful psalm that narrates the mighty acts of God in the past that will foreshadow the mighty acts of God in the future. He's done it before; He will do it again. Look how it begins in verse 2.

“O Lord, I heard your speech and I was afraid; O Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years! Make it known amidst the years; remember in anger the mercy" (Habakkuk 3:2).

The idea seems to be, “Well, here we are, Lord. We have troubles all around us and it will get worse when Babylon comes In the meantime, Lord, we have work to do, much work to be done, and we must live as close to You as we can when we are here and now go to your work your way. So, Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years.”

What a mighty prayer. listen to me If the Church's work begins in this godless, materialistic, immoral, revolutionary world, then it must be revived. It has to come alive. We need what Habakkuk prayed for: we need revival. Believers must confess their sin and stop rationalizing it. You have to start loving each other. Husbands and wives have to put things right. Parents and children have to put things in order. We must openly share our faith with a lost world. We need to start trusting and relying on the Lord in difficult and turbulent situations in our lives and showing the world what faith in Jesus Christ is all about.

We need a revival. We need a stirring of God's Spirit and a filling of God's power. This is revival. And I believe the Church of Jesus Christ needs it in our day - including ours. We must come alive and begin to walk with God as we have never walked before. And when we do that, in our experience, the last three verses of this book will be true.

Habakkuk anticipates the destruction and devastation that the Babylonians will bring:

“Though the fig tree does not blossom, and there is no fruit on the vines; though the work of the olive tree may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there are no more flocks of estates” (Habakkuk 3:17).

Friend, this is the worst thing that can happen. But Habakkuk says:

“But I rejoice in the Lord, I rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; he will make my feet like a deer's feet, and he will make me walk on my high mountains" (Habakkuk 3:18-19).

This is a clause that signifies the ultimate triumph. "Even though it gets bad, I rejoice in the Lord," says Habakkuk. You see, when we truly walk with God - trust Him, believe Him - the changing circumstances of life become less important and we will find our joy in the Lord Himself.

Conclusion

The first time I preached through this book, I was in my study at church and skimmed through these last three verses. And God really burned the reality of it into my soul and showed me that this is the way He wants me to live. No matter how bad it gets, I will find my joy, strength, and satisfaction in the Lord.

As I was studying these three verses, the phone rang. it was my wife She said, "Darling. Are you in a good mood?"

I always know what that means! Something bad happened. I don't always know what it is, but it's mostly car related.

She said: "I pulled up outside the house and ran into the house because of something I forgot and when I got back to the front door the car wasn't there! I ran to the garage thinking maybe I put the car in the garage, but as I ran around it seems like I saw the front of a car sticking out of the woods about a block down the street."

She suggested, "Maybe you'd better come home. I think we should go down together and check it out."

At the time I lived about a hundred yards from this church across from the parking lot. And as I walked home, I repeated to myself, “Though the fig tree may not be in bloom, fruit may still be on the vine... and even though my car is a total wreck, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation."

Well, it wasn't a total wreck, thank goodness. It only had a few dents and could be repaired. But the point is that God is in control and we are to find our joy in Him no matter how bad things get. Maybe you're back with Habakkuk in chapter 1 verse 2.

"O Lord, how long shall I cry and You will not hear?"

"Lord, when will You show me how You work these things out?"

Why not just believe the word of God shown to us from the book of Habakkuk? Just believe it, like Habakkuk 2:4, "The just shall live by faith." And Habakkuk 2:14: “For the earth shall be filled with the glory of the knowledge of the Lord.” And Habakkuk 2:20: “But the Lord is in his holy temple.

Why not believe this promise? And you too will be able to sing with Habakkuk: "Yet I rejoice in the Lord. I rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength."

He will take you from confusion to confidence, from doubt to determination, and from sorrow to joyous song. Why not believe him?

Trust in Jesus as your Savior

If you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, find the message in that obscure Old Testament book: "The just shall live by faith." Why not trust Him today? Why not accept Jesus Christ as your Savior so you can learn to rest in His sovereign care and control over all things? So that you too can fix your eyes on Him daily and find peace, confidence and assurance. It's the only way to live. Here and after.

ContinueLB-2A: Haggai: The Great Task