Text: Habakkuk 3 verses 17-19
Sermon – The faith to persevere.
Habakkuk, his name probably means ‘one who embraces or clings’
lived in Judah towards the end of Josiah’s reign (640-609BC)
and his prophecies are generally dated a little before or after
the battle of Carchemish in 605
when Egyptian forces, which had earlier gone to the aid of the last Assyrian king,
were routed by the Babylonians under Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar
and were pursued as far as the Egyptian border.
Habakkuk was a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah
and like Jeremiah probably lived to see the initial fulfillment of his prophecy
when Jerusalem was attacked by the Babylonians in 597BC.
The short book of Habakkuk is only 3 chapters
and is different from other prophets
in that it contains a dialogue between the prophet and God.
In the first 2 chapters Habakkuk argues with God;
he complains that God’s ways are unfathomable, if not unjust.
Habakkuk was perplexed that wickedness, strife and opposition
were rampant in Judah
and God seemed to be doing nothing about it.
Don’t we feel the same, about corrupt politicians, corrupt bankers,
policemen taking bribes,
criminals who seem to be treated lightly by the courts?
Then, when God tells the prophet that He IS preparing to do something about it
by using the ‘ruthless Babylonians’ (Hab 1:6),
Habakkuk’s perplexity only increases.
He asks himself, and God, how can God, Who is pure and holy,
use an impure and unholy force
to punish those who were supposed to be God’s chosen people?
And that is the important thing:
the Jews were supposed to believe and behave
as if they were God’s chosen people, but they didn’t,
so God intended to use a human agency against them to chastise them
and bring them to their senses,
so that they would repent and return to Him.
Jeremiah is called a ‘Prophet of doom’
because he predicted the fall of Jerusalem and the exile,
but Habakkuk is regarded as ‘ a prophet of comfort’;
not because he gave a ‘softer’ message,
but because his writings were intended to strengthen and support the people,
to prevent them from despairing of the coming of the Messiah, Christ,
however strangely or badly things may go in the short term.
He calls on the people to persevere in the faith;
not to look at circumstances
or be put off by opposition;
and not to believe the lies of the devil
that God does not know what is happening,
or worse still, that He does not care.
We live in times that are far from perfect
and if we are honest
we will confess that WE are not perfect either,
so Habakkuk prompts us to ask:
What do you and I have to do to please God?
What can you and I do to make sure we have a place in Heaven?
What do you and I have to do to get our sins forgiven?
The answer to these questions is:
You and I cannot do anything;
Why? Because you and I could never do enough.
There is nothing you or I or any other human being
could ever do which could cause us to say to God:
‘I deserve your grace; I deserve eternal life; I deserve a resurrection body’.
So what do you and I need to do or have, to please God?
The answer is ‘FAITH’.
As the writer of Hebrews put it in chapter 11 verse 6:
“Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God”;
not just hard or difficult, but impossible!
According to the Bible, and as Martin Luther made clear in the 16th century,
like Abraham, or like any saint of God, we are justified by faith,
and only by faith, trust in the living and almighty God.
The Gospel, the good news, is that although we are sinners,
and in no way deserving a place in heaven,
because of our faith, God regards us, treats us, as righteous,
and as His children for all eternity.
We all know too well from experience that faith does not protect us from attacks,
illness, unemployment, opposition and even persecution;
in fact the more we want to be close to God,
the more the devil will throw his wicked missiles at us;
but faith sees us through them.
The Old Testament is not only Law, rules and commandments;
it also contains Gospel, the message of grace,
for in Habakkuk 2:1-5, as also in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:10-11
and in Hebrews 10:38
we get the same important message:
“The righteous shall live by faith”;
What FAITH actually is, is described in Hebrews 11:1
It is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction that things that cannot be seen with our physical eyes,
really do exist, like air, like wind, like love,
AND God.
In Genesis 22 we see how by faith Abraham
who was prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac if God should require it,
was counted righteous by God,
and what God did for him, He does for us,
if by faith we take God at His word
and trust Him every day of our physical lives;
and for where we will spend eternity.
Having faith does not mean that life will be a bed of roses,
but that all things, good or bad, work out right in the end.
This is what the prophet Habakkuk was getting at in chapter 3 verses 17-19
So, how does anyone obtain FAITH?
It cannot be worked up and it cannot be earned or deserved
because it is a gift of God,
but according to Romans 10:17 it comes by hearing the Word of God,
and this is why Christians are commanded to spread it,
because if the Gospel is not preached, spoken about, shared,
then how else will anyone hear it
and come to Christ for forgiveness and eternal life.
What is the effect of FAITH?
In Ephesians 6:16 St Paul describes it as a SHIELD
with which we will be able to put out the flaming missiles of the Evil One.
Without faith we are at the mercy of the devil
who gets a kick out of tormenting people generally
as they are creations of the God he despises,
and Christians in particular because they are the ones
destined or predestined for eternal life
while he faces the certainty of eternal punishment in the Pit prepared for him.
Faith gives us the strength to tell him to get lost;
saying 'Get thee behind me, Satan', leave me alone.
Circumstances cause us to ask questions;
faith assures us that God has the answers.
How important is FAITH?
Very important, according to many scriptures; here are 6:
John 3:36 – we cannot be saved without it
Romans 5:1 – we cannot have peace with God without it
Romans 10:1-4 – we are made righteous by it
James 1:6 – we cannot pray without it
1 Peter 1:8 – we cannot have joy without it
1 John 5:4 – we cannot live a victorious life without it.
What sort of things were accomplished through FAITH?
Abel worshipped by faith
Enoch walked by faith
Noah worked by it.
Abraham travelled far and lived by faith
Moses walked through the waters by faith
Joshua fought and defeated many enemies by it.
Gideon conquered by faith
David governed by faith
Daniel closed the mouths of lions by it.
The Roman Centurion had his servant healed by faith,
the widow of Nain had her dead son returned to her by faith
Paul taught by faith
and Stephen died by faith, making him the first Christian martyr.
By faith all these people and millions more
were patient in suffering
courageous in battle
made strong in their weakness
and victorious in the face of defeat.
They were all more than conquerors by faith
and it is only by faith, not by our works,
that we can be saved and victorious in our daily lives
By faith in the all-knowing, ever-present, and all-powerful Jesus Christ
the Son of God,
we can be victorious over all the powers of evil
in this world and in the spirit realm
that seeks to put us down and destroy us.
In Matthew’s Gospel chapter 17:20 Jesus said faith
even as small as a mustard seed
is enough to get a sinner into the Kingdom of Heaven,
so, in closing, let us thank God for the faith that we have,
and let us ask Him for more,
or at least enough to meet the challenges and situations that lie ahead,
and especially for the faith to believe that the promises contained in the Bible;
the promises of forgiveness, love, grace, and eternal life,
are true, are for today, and are for us.
We who could never be righteous by our own works or actions;
but who are righteous in God’s eyes
because we have received and live by
His gift of faith.
Amen
