U.S. Army Chaplain (MAJ) Ken Harris, Jr.
Fort Stewart, Georgia 31314
PENTECOSTAL HIGH PRAISE HOMILY
Scripture References: Psalm 34:19 (Many are the afflictions are the righteous, but the LORD shall deliver them from them all); Hebrews 11:1-7 (The Parade of The Heroes of Faith); Ps. 30:5; Habakkuk 2: 1-4
I. ANNOUNCE THE PERICOPE: Hebrews 11:1-2,6; Habakkuk 2:1-4
II. THE LARGER CONTEXT:
NOW, before we begin, allow me to share with you some HISTORICAL TRUES REGARDING THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK. IN THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK WE DISCOVER THAT THE PROPHET’S NAME MEANS “EMBRACER,” NOT IN THE ROMANTIC SENSE, BUT IN A COMFORTING SENSE. AS A RESULT, THIS IS A GREAT BOOK OF COMFORT. COMFORT IN PROBABLY THE MOST DISTRESSING PROBLEM THAT HUMAN BEINGS HAVE TO FACE: THE GREAT QUESTION OF WHY GOD ALLOWS CERTAIN THINGS TO HAPPEN.
MOREOVER, HABAKUK LIVED IN THE CHALDEAN PERIOD, DURING THE REIGN OF JEHOIAKIM - KING OF JUDAH ,.. WHO WAS EVENTUALLY TURNED OVER INTO THE HANDS OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR … KING OF BABYLON.
THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK IS COMPOSED OF A DIALOGUE IN TWO CYCLES, … BETWEEN THE PROPHET AND GOD, RAISING THE QUESTION OF THE LORD’S JUST GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD. THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS ARE COMPOSED OF A CONVERSATION THAT OCCUREED BETWEEN THE PROPHET AND GOD, WHILE CHAPTER THREE CONSIST OF HABAKKUK’S PRAYER.
III. THE SMALLER CONTEXT:
NOW, IN OUR PARTICULAR TEXT, THIS AFTERNOON, HABAKKUK SHARES WITH US INFORMATION REGARDING THE FIRST CYCLE. IN FACT, IT IS HERE THAT HABAKKUK PROTESTS THAT GOD NEITHTER HEARS NOR ACTS, … AND THEREBY NEGATES LAW AND JUSTICE.
IV. READ THE PERICOPE: HEBREWS 11:1-2,6; HABAKKUK 2:1-4
V. READ THE TEXT: HABAKKUK 2:4B (… but the just shall live by his faith).
PURPOSE: To encourage the hearers to hold on to their faith in God, even when it looks like God isn’t moving on their behalf.
VI. SERMONIC THEME: “… THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH”
****************TAKE 5 BEATS****************
MOVE 1: (OBSERVATION - The things that I see)
The things that I see sometimes threaten my faith.
a. babies dying before having an opportunity to live ….
b. young beautiful saints of God being diagnosed with terminal illnesses
c. innocent people being victimized by crime and criminal perpetration
d. ungodly acts of injustice in the educational arena that we entrust our children to …. I can’t always prevent myself from reacting emotionally.
e. sometimes, WHAT I SEE, causes me to get choked-up with tears
f. sometimes, WHAT I SEE, causes me to fall on bended knees and cry out to God in prayer
g. And then there are those times when, WHAT I SEE causes me to question God ... The fact of the matter is, I am sometimes baffled by the silence of God.
h. For you see, I think God should move like this or like that … but never should God be silence
i. If God isn’t moving so I can personally see him, or hear from him in the midst of these
circumstances…
j. then, in my opinion, God is silent …
****************TAKE 5 BEATS****************
MOVE 2: (CIRCUMSTANCES like these were responsible for HABAKKUK accusing God of being Silence)
a. but … God responded to Habakkuk by saying, Habakkuk, I’M NOT SILENT ,
b. … THE PROBLEM IS … YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO RECOGNIZED MY ANSWER.
c. because, even as we speak, I am moving …
d. For you see … I’ve heard your cry …. And I’ve been listening to your prayers concerning THE UNGODLY ASSYRIANS of NINEVAH ….and I’m moving … even now….
e. for I am preparing to raise up a nation of people …
f. these people are called the Chaldeans/Babylonians …
****************TAKE 5 BEATS**************
MOVE 3: (REASONING)
a. ( my brothers and sisters… if Habakkuk thought he had problems in the beginning … he really has
problems now…)
b. In the beginning, he was puzzled by God’s strange silence, …
c. but when he heard how God was moving … he couldn’t understand that either…
d. there’s no wonder why the great poet … William Cowper … once said, “God moves in a mysterious
way, his wonders to perform”
****************TAKE 5 BEATS****************
MOVE 4: (SO ….WHAT DO YOU DO)
a. … when it looks like God is inactive, and when (like Habakkuk) you find
out he’s moving, …
b. … you also learn that he’s moving in a way that seems totally unbelieveable…to you?
c. Instead of the situation appearing to get better … it looks like it’s going to get worse …
d. (In fact, you were batting in the minor leagues, but NOW you have MAJOR LEAGUE PROBLEMS)
****************TAKE 5 BEATS****************
MOVE 5: FIRST, STOP AND THINK.
a. Do not react emotionally to the problem. Do not let panic grip you, or some terrible fear come over you.
b. Think about the CHARACTER OF GOD, restate to yourself the basic things you know about God.
c. don’t try to solve the problem immediately. Back away from it and begin with God.
d. then take what you know about the Character of God, and allow it to bear on (or influence) THE PROBLEM.
e. Finally, if you have not come to an answer, … leave it with FAITH IN GOD, AND ASK HIM TO SHOW IT TO YOU.
f. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT Habakkuk does …He leaves the problem with God … He says, I don’t understand what’s happening, BUT THAT’S OKAY … BECAUSE GOD IS MIGHTIER THAN I.
****************TAKE 5 BEATS****************
CELEBRATION: ….So, I’ll just wait for God to reveal it to me…(Habakkuk 2:2-4)
….THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH ….
That rather eccentric philosopher and nature lover of New England in the last century, Henry David Thoreau, once said, "If I seem to walk out of step with others, it is because I am listening to another drum beat." That is an exact description of faith: Christians
walk as though listening to another drum beat.
Faith commences with "things hoped for," that is, it starts with a sense of discontent.
You can never have much faith unless you are dissatisfied with the way you are now,
and are longing for something better. That is its first note. If you do not feel dissatisfied
with the way you are, it will be impossible for you to exercise any faith.
