We want everything done as quickly as possible!!!
We do not want it TODAY we want it YESTERDAY!
This is true in the PHYSICAL WORLD and in the SPIRITUAL WORLD!
Illus: In this fast paced society we can get our oil changed in 15 minutes.
• Remember the old cook stoves when we had to put the
(1)Wood in the stove,
(2)Light a fire and
(3)Wait for the stove to get hot enough to cook on?
Now in a matter of seconds we can turn a knob
And have all the heat we need to cook with.
• We used to raise our own food in the garden and can it for the winter. Now we can open a can of food and have it on the table in minutes.
• We used to perk our coffee, but now we have heaters to heat our water and when we put the instant coffee in the cup, we immediately have a warm cup of coffee.
• We used to grow our potatoes, and then we had to pick the potatoes, wash them, and peel them. Now we can open a carton of instant potatoes and have them in a matter of minutes.
• Remember the wringer washers? We now have washing machines that automatically rinse the clothes and spin the water out of them.
• Ladies no longer have to hang their clothes on a clothesline. We have dryers that dry them in minutes.
All these things are good. But this society has created a people that want everything immediately.
Illus: In the past, when a young couple got married, they understood it would take a lifetime to acquire the material things their parents had. Now, they are not willing to wait; they want everything right away!
Illus: Someone said, “The only people I know that have a lot of patients are doctors.”
In this fast paced society we live in, we still have some things that require that we WAIT!
• We find ourselves having to wait in the long lines at Walmart.
• We find ourselves at red lights that seem to take forever to change.
• We find ourselves at train crossings that require we sit there with nothing to do but look at the train as it passes before us.
Illus: Some people in the liberal churches DEMAND A SERMONETTE FROM A PREACHERETTE, SO THEY CAN GO INTO THE KITCHENETTE TO SMOKE A CIGARETTE!
HOWEVER, in this fast paced society, we Christians need to understand that we can not rush God! But that does not keep people from trying!
But God is not going to allow us to rush Him just because we are in a hurry!
Illus: God answers every prayer: GOD ANSWERS EVERY PRAYER one of three ways:
• Yes
• No
• WAIT
The Christian life requires a lot of patience. If we are going to live it the way God intends for us to live it, we need to learn to relax and WAIT UPON THE LORD.
In Isa. 40:31, we read, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Let’s look at the Book of Habakkuk so we can learn some things about God in the book of Habakkuk:
• It is the 35th book of the Old Testament.
• It contains 3 chapters
• It contains 56 verses
• It contains 1,476 words
• It contains 12 questions
• It contains 1 command
• It contains no promises
But to learn more things about the book of Habakkuk we need to consider-
I. THE MAN
What do we know about the prophet Habakkuk?
We know that Habakkuk was different from other prophets.
HOW IS HE DIFFERENT?
• The other prophets carried a message from God.
• Habakkuk carries a message to God.
In the first two chapters of Habakkuk he registers two complaints.
(1) HE COMPLAINS ABOUT THE EVIL THAT IS TAKING PLACE IN HIS SOCIET
Look at Hab. 1:1-4, we read, “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.”
The prophet Habakkuk saw injustice, violence and evil, and he could not understand how God was allowing this to take place.
• HE SAID HOW LONG BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING?
• In this way of thinking he was saying, there is nothing that God cannot do, so WHY WAS THIS HAPPENING?
God answered him, but he did not get the answer that he was hoping to receive.
God told him that He was going to raise up the Babylonians, a ruthless nation, to punish Judah.
This brought on his second complaint.
(2) HE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE MOST WICKED PUNISHING THE WICKED
Look at Hab. 1:12 we read, “Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
This is mind-boggling for us!!!
Why would God use the WICKED people to punish the WICKED?
God has used all kinds of things to carry out His will.
• With Samson God used the jawbone of an ass to kill a thousand Philistines.
• With Noah’s age God used a flood.
• In Numbers 22 God made a donkey to talk.
We have to keep in mind that Judah was God’s people, and God was punishing His people for their sins.
That does not mean that down the road Babylonians would not be punished.
Habakkuk was a skeptic prophet. He looked around at his society, he looked upward to God, he raises his hands, and he offers his complaints.
Habakkuk loved God and wanted to see God’s holiness vindicated.
We see THE MAN and -
II. THE MESSAGE
HE DEALS WITH THE SUBJECT OF WAITING…
Which is not always easy to do!
How do you feel about having to wait?
If you are like me, you don’t like to wait.
• I don’t enjoy standing in long lines at Wal Mart.
• If you have ever been to an amusement park in the summertime? Talk about having to wait. Some of them still have little signs that are such an encouragement to as you stand in line. It would say something like: “from here, the wait is 30 minutes.”
• I don’t like to wait to be served.
• I don’t like to wait on someone.
• I don’t like to wait on something.
And so, one of my greatest struggles in the Christian life is to wait upon the Lord!
But yet, God tells me to wait on Him
But there is a blessing in waiting on the Lord!!!
Isaiah 40:31 but they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
And so, in this sermon we are going to have to address one of the major decisions of our Christian life.
We may live in a world of INSTANT THIS AND INSTANT THAT but when it comes to the spiritual world GOD
OFTEN TELLS US WE NEED LEARN TO WAIT.
But is difficult at times…isn’t it!!!
Illus: I think about about the airliner making its way from New York to San Francisco.
• One of the engines caught fire. The captain came on the speaker system, calmly reassuring his passengers that the fire would soon be out.
• Besides, the plane could fly as well with three engines as with four.
• Unfortunately, a second engine burst into flames.
• Once again, the captain assured the passengers that two engines were sufficient.
• Then a third engine was suddenly ablaze.
• There was only silence from the front of the plane. Soon the captain appeared in the cabin with a parachute on his back. As he opened the exit door, he said calmly to the passengers “You folks wait right here, "Don’t anyone panic, I’m going for help. And out he jumped.”
Habakkuk is living in an evil society that is filled with sin. He wants God to do something about it but seem to him HE IS CONCERN ABOUT THIS SINFUL NATION, BUT GOD IS NOT!
In Hab. 1:2-4, we read, “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! Even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
God’s people must learn to wait upon the Lord.
Waiting is not necessarily a waste of time.
Waiting on God means that we have faith that God is still on His throne.
One definition of waiting is, “To stay in place with expectation.”
• We would not wait at a red light if we did not think it would eventually turn green.
• We would not wait for a train if we did not expect it to finally come to an end.
• And listen, we would not wait on the Lord if we did not expect He would eventually intervene.
God’s People must learn the blessing in waiting upon the Lord.
HOW CAN YOU ENJOY LIFE AND BE A GOOD WITNESS FOR THE LORD IS YOU ARE ALWAYS APPREHENSIVE?
Illus: Suppose you had back surgery, which can be very painful. However, after you have back surgery you have to go through that time of recovering from the surgery. It takes weeks and weeks, and you wonder if you will ever get back to normal again. That time period of waiting is very important.
When we face the trials of life, it can be very painful. But many times as we face these things spiritually, we have to go through a time of spiritual recovery. THAT IS NOT WASTED TIME. THIS IS VALUABLE TIME!
Perhaps you have been praying for a:
• Loved ones to be saved and now you are saying, HOW LONG O LORD?
• Perhaps for someone to mature as a Christian and now you are praying, HOW LONG O LORD?
• Perhaps you have been praying for Church growth and now you find yourself praying, HOW LONG O LORD?
We need to quit treating God like He is our hired servant and we expect him to jump at the SNAP OF A FINGER.
God has His own time when He does things!
God does not operate with that TIMEX WATCH on your wrist, remember ONE DAY with God IS AS A THOUSAND YEARS.
Isaiah 55:8-9 for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Learn to relax in life and WAIT ON THE LORD!!!
• We may not understand why evil people prosper
• We may not understand why godly people suffer
• We may not understand why our prayers seem to go unanswered
Those are the times when we need to relax and wait on God.
It is always a blessing to pray and God answers our prayers immediately.
Isaiah 65: 24 “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” – Isaiah 65:24 (KJV)
Let me share with how you can know your prayers will be answered…When your prayers are anchored in Scripture,
Sometimes our prayers are answered after we are dead.
• Some parents have prayed for a wayward child and they died God saved them and used them to do great things for Him.
• Some pastors have labored hard to build a church for the Lord and after they died God used the next pastor to reap the harvest of his labor.
• Some have prayed for God to heal a loved one and God does heal them after they have died and gone to be with the Lord.
But the labor we do for the Lord we are to relax and wait on the Lord and in His due time He will answer those prayers.
Conclusion:
The Book of Habakkuk starts with two complaints but ends with one praise.
In the Book of Habakkuk we have looked at:
I. THE MAN
II. THE MESSAGE
