"HABAKKUK’S POWERFUL PRAYER" Habakkuk 3
INTRO – Life is full of questions, isn’t it? Some questions are unimportant. Others have life-changing, life-altering implications. And then there are those questions that sound relatively unimportant, but definitely have life-changing implications. Like when your wife asks you, “Does this dress make me look fat?” Sounds innocent enough, but definitely has some life-altering implications and consequences!
The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk had some questions that he was struggling with as he lived and ministered some 600 years before Christ. Let me give you a little b’ground on this contemporary of Nahum, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah. He was one of the minor prophets – minor only b/c of length of book. Minor prophets include 12 books from Hosea to Malachi. Major prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
Babylonian King Neb. had defeated Egypt and was about to attack Judah, which is something that Jeremiah had said would happen. Hab’s basic questions stemmed from his confusion as to why God would allow a wicked nation like Babylon to conquer His people. Hab knew that the nation of Judah was in a state of rapid deterioration with corrupt, wicked leaders who would not enforce laws and would ignore them. Knew that God could not ignore the sins of these leaders. But he was really struggling with the fact that God was going to allow the godless Babylonians to conquer the Jews to chasten and discipline His people. This just didn’t seem right to Hab.
Hab’s name means “to embrace” or “to wrestle.” In his short book, he does both. He wrestles w/ God concerning the problem of how a holy God could use a wicked nation like Babylon to chasten the people of Judah; and then by faith, he embraces God and clings to His promises. Hab also wrestles with the spiritual decline of the nation and why God wasn’t doing something about it.
I’m sure there are folks here today who’ve wrestled with God. I’m sure there have been times when circumstances of life have caused questions to arise in your heart that have gone unanswered, times when your faith has been shaken and it seemed that God just wasn’t coming through. Hab’s powerful prayer in chapter 3 will help us when we find ourselves in times of uncertainty and insecurity. There is nothing wrong with having the questions. There is nothing sinful about having a faith that is shaken or wavering a bit. We just need to make sure that, like Hab., we turn to the Lord and trust Him for the answers, no matter what shape or form those answers take.
As we look at Hab. 3, we find 4 faith-building expressions that will encourage and strengthen us today:
I. A STATEMENT OF STRENGTH – v. 2a
A. When our faith is being shaken by things we don’t understand, we need to go back and remember some of those foundational things about our God that we do understand.
i. May not understand why evil people prosper.
ii. May not understand why godly people suffer.
iii. May not understand why our prayers seem to go unanswered.
B. Those are the times when we need to quickly get back to the basics and remember who God is; remember what He has done for us; remember what He has promised to us.
C. Hab. had heard of the “fame” of God.
i. He had heard of God’s deeds, God’s power, God’s strength.
ii. One reason why it is so important that we share our testimony of God’s work in our lives. It encourages others. Helps them in their times of struggle.
iii. Hab. had heard of God’s fame.
1. Ps. 44:1-3 – “We have heard w/ our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago. With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our fathers; you crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish. It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.”
D. Hab. stood in awe of the deeds of the Lord.
E. We need to remember all that God has done in the past. Need to remember His deeds. Need to be awestruck once again! Need to make our own statement of His strength and power and work in our lives.
i. How long has it been since you took the time to ponder and meditate on the fame and awesome deeds of God?
1. In your life?
2. In your family’s life?
3. In creation?
4. In this church?
II. A REQUEST FOR REVIVAL – v. 2b
A. Hab’s meditation on the fame and awesome deeds of the Lord led him to make a heartfelt, passionate request of his Lord – “Do those deeds in our day, Lord.”
i. “Growing Churches” magazine – FBC, Inola, OK.
ii. Not jealous of this church, but want God to do something like that here!
B. We know He has the power and ability to do it. But are we willing to pay the price for Him to do it? Do we really want a true, Spirit-led revival to come to our church?
i. Means we will have to change.
ii. Means we will have to sacrifice.
iii. Means we will have to get outside our comfort zone.
iv. Do we really want to make this same request?
III. A GLIMPSE OF GOD’S GLORY – v. 3-15
A. God gave Hab. a vision of His glory in a way that any of us are unlikely to see.
i. This type of appearance of God is known as a theophany. It is a manifestation of God and was common in the Old Testament.
ii. The reason for His appearing like this, which was most of the time accompanied by major upheavals in nature – fire, wind, flood, earthquakes, etc. – was to tread down His foes and deliver His people.
B. Though we most likely will not have a theophany experience like Hab., we can still use his experience to gain a glimpse of God’s glory and know that the same God who did these things is the God we serve today.
i. God came in splendor – v. 3-5
ii. God stood in power – v. 6-7
iii. God marched in victory – v. 8-15
C. “In this hymn, Hab. describes his God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus X. He is the God of glory who reveals His glory in creation and in history. He is the living God who makes the dead idols of the nations look ridiculous. He is the God of power who can command land and sea, heaven and earth, and therefore, He is the God of victory who leads His people in triumph.” (Wiersbe, Be Amazed, pg. 133)
IV. A FOUNDATION OF FAITH – v. 16-19
A. This passage is one of the most profound statements of faith found in Scripture.
i. Hab. faced the frightening prospect that his nation was about to be invaded by a terrible enemy.
ii. Knew that many people would be killed. Many more would be taken into exile.
iii. The land will be ruined, and Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed.
iv. Yet he tells God that he will trust Him no matter what!
B. External signs are not the foundation of our faith – v. 17
i. Can’t rely on outward indicators for our faith.
ii. “We live by faith and not by sight” – 2 Cor. 5:7
iii. Hab. couldn’t rejoice in his circumstances, but he could rejoice in His God.
C. When we focus on God and not our circumstances, the result is worship! – v. 18-19
i. He is our Lord!
ii. He is our Savior in whom we can be joyful no matter what our outward circumstances.
iii. He is our strength!
iv. He enables us to get out of the valley and on to greater heights with Him.
D. Story of Texan who went to church in a cathedral in England. Amazed at how quiet and reserved everyone was. All of a sudden he heard the minister say something he really liked. Let out a good strong, “Amen!” Everyone turned and looked at him. Usher rushed down aisle – “Sir, you must not talk out loud!” “But I’ve got religion.” “Well, you certainly didn’t get it here!”
i. When our focus is on God and not on our circumstances, we’ll still be able to worship.
ii. Still be able to respond to God’s touch upon our hearts.
iii. Still be able to say “Amen” even when the external signs say to be quiet, there’s nothing to shout about.
iv. As Christians, we always have something to shout about!
CONCLUSION – We will all have those times in our lives when our faith is being shaken, when we have questions that seem to go unanswered. Habakkuk teaches us that even when everything points toward giving up on God, that’s when we need to focus on Him even more.
