Intro: Tonight starting a 6 wk series in
the book of Habakkuk – Name means Wrestler – Hab. – was a man who WRESTLED W/
GOD !!!
When I was in High school I played sports – but one sport I
wasn’t real interested in doing was wrestling
A)
Just didn’t like the little suits they wore -
B)
But there was one Wrestler – I really admired – Daniel
Thomas – He wanted to be an Olympian
1)
Boy did he train hard – This guy had – Rock Solid Body – 0 % body fat –
C)
He was always running –doing sit ups / lifting and
training – worked harder than any one I know
1)
Yes
there were many times I thought – I wish I had his body –
D)
But I didn’t want to do the work
Since then there have been times when I have looked at another believer –
thought –
A)I wish that I had their walk – I wish I had their depth I
wish that I knew the Lord – like them
B)
But at the same time – I have wondered would I really have wanted to go thru
what they have gone thru
1)
See
– Most great men & women of God have had their Period
of Wrestling w/ God
A)Moses Wrestled w/ God’s will in the desert
B)
David wrestled w/ God’s timing as a fugitive –
1)
We go could
on & on. – Men who wrestled w/ what God was doing in their lives – but came
out the better for it
C) I think God likes the heart of the
wrestler – the person who is willing to be real –
1)
The
person who isn’t going to get comfortable – who isn’t going to settle for the
Status quo
D)
The Person who hungers for – God’s heart / God’s will / Who wants to Know – God
what are you doing !!
E)
Habakkuk was such an individual – This book gives us a Unique Dialogue between
this man & God
1)
Not
so much a Message to the People – but an interaction between a man & His
God
Hab 1:1-2
The burden which the prophet
Habakkuk saw.
O LORD, how long shall I cry,
And You will not hear?
Even cry out to
You,"Violence!"
And You will not save.
Habakkuk was writing during a time after
the nation of Israel had experienced a Revival under the reign of KING JOSIAH
A)
But the Revival is now only a distant memory – Immorality was rampant – current
king was wicked
B)
And Hab. Is Crying out to God – But he feels like his
cries are falling on deaf ears
1)
In
fact the 2nd time that he uses the word – cry in v.2 it is really
the word Scream-
C) Lord how long will I cry & you don’t hear – How long
will I scream you will not save
Have you ever felt that way – Prayers
were not penetrating the ceiling –
A)Lord
why aren’t you listening ? Yes we can feel that way – but the truth is He is
the God who Hears
B)
In fact – He hears everything – More than we want – Harsh
words / Crabby attitude
1)
He hears it all !!!!! / Most of
all God hears when His People PRAY
C)
Our Problem too often is we pray – but we don’t wait for the result – God you have 10 minutes / 2hrs
1)
God you have 3 days - …… I will do it myself
D)
We don’t wait for God we get out ahead of God & fall right on our faces –
Distraught
Perhaps Hab. had spent days or months
preaching & calling the people to repentance / to no Avail
A)You
who are parents have gone thru this – you talk to your kids – In one ear out
the other
B)
You find yourself exasperated – what am I going to do w/ this Child – I don’t
know what to do!!!
1) I am at the end of my Rope God says – It is about time
C)
First Youth
Pastor –rough group – Peter – Holiness – Little impact
1)
I
was wrestling w/ the Lord – I was wrestling w/ my Calling - Lord I can’t reach them – I CAN
D)
See wrestling w/ the Lord can be a good thing – if it brings us to the end of
ourselves
1)
Jacobs
– need to become an Israel tonight
E)
So Hab. Is here crying out to God
Hab
1:3-4
3 Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are
before me;
There is strife, and contention
arises.
4 Therefore the law is
powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the
righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment
proceeds.
We could say the same thing – Our Justice
system is in Shambles – Criminals have more rights than the people they have
hurt
19-year-old Carl Truman of
Los Angeles won $74,000 and
medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a
Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice there was
someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal
his neighbor's hub caps.
Terrence Dickson of Bristol,
Pennsylvania, was leaving a
house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He
was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener
was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter
the house because the door connecting the house and garage
locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation,
and Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight
days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large
bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation
caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000.
Merv
Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago
motor home. On his first trip home, having driven onto the freeway, he set the
cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers
seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not
surprisingly, the R.V. left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the
owner's manual that he couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded him
$1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on
the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons
buying their recreation vehicles.
Or consider the fact that the average
convicted killer in the US justice system will spend 22 yrs in the legal
procedures costing tax payers 1.8 million dollars – before they are ever executed
A)Our
justice system isn’t working – There aren’t enough jails for all the criminals
1)
Back out on the streets – which is one reason why the suicide rate
for Police officers is 4 times that of the General public
B)
The police
are out manned / Out gunned / & trying to function in a system that doesn’t
work – Frustrated
C)
That is how Habakkuk felt – How long Lord – How Long ? Wait
1)
We
could say the same thing – How Long Lord
D)
Why does He wait ? 2 Peter 3 – Not willing that any should perish – but all
come to repentance
1) That is why He waits – that is why He allows things
to get worse – He is waiting for more to repent
"Look among the nations and watch --
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
God says to Hab . Don’t accuse me of
not working – I am working behind the scenes – if you could see it it would
blow your mind
A)That
is God’s word to some of you tonight – You feel like He isn’t doing anything –
B)
But if you could only see – what He is doing – How He is orchestrating things
on your behalf
1)
You
wouldn’t be able to contain yourself
C)
What He is doing is different than you thought – but way better than you could
ever imagine
1)
Sue vs. Denise
Jer 29:11- For I know
the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not
of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Isa
55: 8 "For My thoughts are not your
thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD.
9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
D)
God would seek to remind us tonight – I am always working – never sleep – never
rest –
1)
You
may not understand what I am doing right now – but just watch & see
E)
Well now the Lord is going to Let Hab. In on what He is doing a bit here RD V.6-11
God says I am going to bring the
Babylonians down to judge Israel – Now Hab is really Perplexed
Now
at this point Habakkuk is going to question the Lord’s decision based upon 3
arguments
A)1st
v.12 & V. 13 – The Holiness of God { Read
B)What Hab is saying here is Lord we might be bad – but they are worse – How can you use
them to Judge us?
C)
It doesn’t seem right in Character w/ your Holiness that you would use the
Wicked to judge us
Habakkuk’s 2nd Argument is
based upon the Helplessness of the People Rd v.14-15
A)Hab’s
pt. Judah could never survive an attack from the savage
Babylonians.
B)To
the Babylonians, life was cheap, and prisoners
of war were expendable.
1)
People were like fish to be hooked or sea creatures to be trapped.
C)How
could God allow His weak people to be invaded by such a heartless and ruthless
nation?
3RD Argument was based on the
Haughtiness of the Babylonians v.16-17
A)The prophet’s third approach was to point out the way the
Babylonians lived and worshiped.
B) Their god was power and they trusted in their mighty military
machine (“their net,” )
1)
They were arrogant,
self Confident & Merciless
C) so How could God
honor them by giving them a victory over Judah?
What Hab. needed to remember – is that
for 40 yrs the Prophet Jeremiah warned the people of Judah
A)And
begged them to turn back to God, but they refused to listen. { THIS WOULD GET THEIR ATTENTION
Now Hab. doesn’t get an answer to those
arguments here in Ch. 1 – He is just wrestling
A)So
first Hab. is wrestling because He feels like God isn’t doing anything –
B)
Then he is wrestling because of what God is going to do
D)
I think the biggest challenge to our faith is in those times when – we don’t
understand what God is doing
1) Early in the Ministry: Beach – Airplane / waves
Trust me – Wait on me
Ch. 2 That is what Habakkuk does – he
goes from wondering & wrestling to waiting & watching
A)Results
in Vision & Direction – Look at next week
B) Tonight that is where we want to be –
Lord Wait & watch – Cling to you – Hold fast to you – wait on you
1) realign my heart tonight w/ Yours – trusting you love
me – Know what is best / Have the best