Habakkuk part 3 - “God’s Answer Too Complaint’s”
Thesis: When we complain to God we do need to share our thoughts and concerns but once we are done we then must wait-listen-learn-trust and be quiet once God has answered.
Video Illustration: From the movie Bruce Almighty. – It’s the scene were he wrecks his vehicle and starts complaining to God about his circumstances in life.
Scripture Text: Habakkuk 2: 1-20
The Holy Bible, New International Version
Habakkuk 2:1 (NIV)
1 I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
Habakkuk 2:2 (NIV)
2Then the LORD replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.
Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV)
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:4 (NIV)
4 “See, he is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous will live by his faith—
Habakkuk 2:5 (NIV)
5 indeed, wine betrays him;
he is arrogant and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied,
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captive all the peoples.
Habakkuk 2:6 (NIV)
6“Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
and makes himself wealthy by extortion!
How long must this go on?’
Habakkuk 2:7 (NIV)
7 Will not your debtors suddenly arise?
Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then you will become their victim.
Habakkuk 2:8 (NIV)
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you.
For you have shed man’s blood;
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
Habakkuk 2:9 (NIV)
9 “Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain
to set his nest on high,
to escape the clutches of ruin!
Habakkuk 2:10 (NIV)
10 You have plotted the ruin of many peoples,
shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.
Habakkuk 2:11 (NIV)
11 The stones of the wall will cry out,
and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
Habakkuk 2:12 (NIV)
12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
and establishes a town by crime!
Habakkuk 2:13 (NIV)
13 Has not the LORD Almighty determined
that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,
that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
Habakkuk 2:14 (NIV)
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
as the waters cover the sea.
Habakkuk 2:15 (NIV)
15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors,
pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies.
Habakkuk 2:16 (NIV)
16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory.
Now it is your turn! Drink and be exposed!
The cup from the LORD’S right hand is coming around to you,
and disgrace will cover your glory.
Habakkuk 2:17 (NIV)
17 The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
and your destruction of animals will terrify you.
For you have shed man’s blood;
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
Habakkuk 2:18 (NIV)
18 “Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it?
Or an image that teaches lies?
For he who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he makes idols that cannot speak.
Habakkuk 2:19 (NIV)
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’
Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’
Can it give guidance?
It is covered with gold and silver;
there is no breath in it.
Habakkuk 2:20 (NIV)
20 But the LORD is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him.”
Introduction:
Quest gives us some more insight about our prophet Habakkuk when they state:
Habakkuk, whose name means wrestler, grappled with God about questions still relevant today:
*How can a just God ignore injustice?
*Why does God allow the wicked to prosper?
* And how can a good God use evil to accomplish his purposes? Habakkuk struggled to understand how God works…”pg. 1293
Pastor Bryan Ness notes this about Gods Response to Habakkuk in Chapter 2. He states,
“How does God answer? Reading God’s response, it seems He doesn’t answer Habakkuk’s why questions. He in essence states:
1. God essentially tells Habakkuk, “I’m not going to answer your questions right now, just tell the people what I’ve told you is going to happen.”
2. Then, almost as if God is nudging Habakkuk a little, He says “The just shall live by faith.”
3. In other words, trust me Habakkuk, I know what I’m doing.
4. The faith that strengthened Habakkuk and all the holy and the just in those days of deep trial was the same faith that sustains God’s people today. In the darkest hours, under circumstances the most forbidding, the Christian believer may keep his soul stayed upon the source of all light and power. Day by day, through faith in God, his hope and courage may be renewed. "The just shall live by his faith." PK 386-387
God then proceeds to recount the various sinful acts that mankind is guilty of and finishes with a well known statement that is often taken out of context. Read Habakkuk 2:20. But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”
1. God is reminding Habakkuk that God is right where he belongs. He has not hidden himself from Judah.
2. He is also saying that He knows what He is doing, so Habakkuk can now keep quiet and stop arguing.” (From Sermoncentral.com- message)
I read the thoughts of this pastor on our chapter today and I thought how true. God did not answer all of Habakkuk’s why questions. He did not answer the time question, “How Long?” He did not answer why he was silent. He simply spoke to our prophet and told him to write down what He said and to listen to it and to learn from it. He also commissioned Habakkuk to share these thoughts with the others around him and even to us today. Then the shocker at the end of the message is God tells Habakkuk to “Shut up!”
Wow I’m sure in Habakkuk’s position he was floored. I’m sure the answer that God gave him was not what he expected. But it was what Habakkuk needed to hear and it’s the message we need to hear today. So what was the message he received from God in our now famous book?
T.S. – The first thing Habakkuk learned was this….
I. WAIT for His answer
a. Waiting rooms always teach us lessons of life
i. Patience is grown
1. Waiting rooms are designed to make us wait
2. Patience is a virtue
a. Patience:
1. Is the ability to sit back and wait for an expected outcome without experiencing anxiety, tension, or frustration.
2. Is the ability let go of your need for immediate gratification and be willing to wait.
3. Patience is the trait that displays tolerance, compassion, understanding, and acceptance toward those who are slower than you in developing maturity, emotional freedom, and coping abilities.
4. Patience is the ability to remain calm in the midst of turmoil because you know God is in control.
b. Romans 12:12: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
i. A young man, a Christian, went to an older believer to ask for prayer. "Will you please pray that I may be more patient?" he asked. The aged saint agreed. They knelt together and the man began to pray, "Lord, send this young man tribulation in the morning; send this young man tribulation in the afternoon; send this young man...." At that point the young Christian blurted out, "No, no, I didn’t ask you to pray for tribulation. I wanted you to pray for patience." "Ah," responded the wise Christian, "it’s through tribulation that we learn patience." Contributed to Sermon Central by: Phil Mellar
c. 2 Cor. 6: 4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
d. Gal. 5:22-25: 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
e. Col. 3:12-14: 12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
ii. Knowledge is expanded in waiting rooms:
1. I usually read something that impacts me in waiting rooms
2. I usually have a chance to observe others and learn something about human behavior in waiting rooms
3. I sometimes hear God speaking to me in the waiting room.
4. HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT KNOWLEDGE?
There’s a story about a proud young man who came to Socrates asking for knowledge. He walked up to the muscular philosopher and said, “O great Socrates, I come to you for knowledge.”
Socrates recognized a pompous numbskull when he saw one. He led the young man through the streets, to the sea, and chest deep into water. Then he asked, “What do you want?”
“Knowledge, O wise Socrates,” said the young man with a smile.
Socrates put his strong hands on the man’s shoulders and pushed him under. Thirty seconds later Socrates let him up. “What do you want?” he asked again.
“Wisdom,” the young man sputtered, “O great and wise Socrates.”
Socrates crunched him under again. Thirty seconds passed, thirty-five. Forty. Socrates let him up. The man was gasping. “What do you want, young man?”
Between heavy, heaving breaths the fellow wheezed, “Knowledge, O wise and wonderful …”
Socrates jammed him under again. Forty seconds passed. Fifty. “What do you want?”
“Air!” he screeched. “I need air!”
“When you want knowledge as you have just wanted air, then you will have knowledge.”
M. Littleton in Moody Monthly, June, 1989, p. 29
Contributed to Sermon Central by: Donnie Martin
b. Truth is if we learn the art of waiting – or should I say the discipline of waiting then when God’s answer comes -- we will be ready for it!
i. Why- because we have been waiting in expectancy for it.
c. Waiting room experiences also bring opportunity for us. So we should use them for positive purposes.
i. Mark Connelly shares, “This past week I was getting my oil changed and I had a chance to present the gospel to the guy in the waiting room with me. For me, waiting rooms are the best places for evangelism because the people are sitting there with nothing to do. The oil change waiting room has been particularly fruitful for me, and it assures me that at a minimum I’m going to personally share the gospel every 3,000 miles.” Contributed to Sermoncentral.com by: Mark Connelly
T.S. – The second lesson our Prophet learned from this situation in his life was…
II. LISTEN to it and LEARN from it
a. Once we have received God’s answer to our complaint’s in life we must listen to what He is saying to us.
i. So how well do you listen to God? --- A HEARING TEST
Here’s a test to see if you listen well…
1. A bicycle can’t stand on its own because it is two-tired.
2. What’s the definition of a will? (It’s a dead giveaway).
3. In democracy it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism it’s your count that votes.
4. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
5. A lot of money is tainted. It taint yours and it taint mine.
6. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
7. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
8. Once you’ve seen one shopping centre you’ve seen a mall.
9. When an actress saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she’d dye.
10. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.
11. Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeet.
You won’t get the joke unless you listen well and take time to digest the info. It’s not that kids don’t listen, it is rather they don’t listen well. In one ear, out the other. It is same with adults too! Too many things complicate and compete for our ears.
Contributed to Sermon central by : Andrew Chan
ii. Best way to listen is to learn to write down what’s being said to you. So start writing down God’s answers to your concerns like Habakkuk did.
1. We are not to cover our ears because we don’t like the answer
2. We are not to hide our eyes and look away
iii. The Lord will not always answer the way we want Him too.
1. We need to learn to be open minded in our everyday life.
a. MOMENTS OF THE MIRACLE
Frederick Buechner, Presbyterian minister and novelist, has been writing about it all his life.
"The sacred moments, the moments of miracle, are often the everyday moments, the moments which, if we do not look with more than our eyes or listen with more than our ears reveal only. . .a gardener, a stranger coming down the road behind us, a meal like any other meal. But if we look with our hearts, if we listen with all our being and imagination. . . what we may see is Jesus himself."
SOURCE: The Magnificent Defeat, p.87-88.
Contributed by: Raoul Comninos
2. We need to learn to be submissive to God and not try to be the judge of God
3. We need to be willing to do things God’s way
b. The key is are you teachable when God speaks to you?
i. The Lord has a very clear picture of what He is doing in my life and this world’s life and we need to learn what that is.
1. The truth is He knows all
2. The truth is He sees all
3. The truth is He is in full control
4. The truth is I only have a fragmented view of God’s plan and purpose for circumstances surrounding my life.
c. Habakkuk learned as he listened to God’s response to him. He heard that the prideful are not in the upright position and they will be knocked down one day because of there prideful ways.
i. He learned that the, “The righteous will live by faith.”
1. This reminded him and us that we will not always understand or know why God does things the way he does.
a. But we are to trust Him any ways.
ii. He learned that greed will never satisfy a person.
1. Greedy people always want more and are never content and it will destroy their lives.
d. Make sure you listen to the woes in His message so you know what not to do:
i. Woe to those who extort and steal from others
1. They will be judged even by their own victims
ii. Woe to those who do things to destroy others and topple them so that they can prosper.
1. They will shame their house and forfeit their lives.
2. This message is still a woe to executives like the ones at Enron.
iii. Woe to those who build empires with bloodshed
1. They will become nothing in the course of history.
2. They will gain nothing for their crimes but only God’s judgment.
iv. Woe to those who seek to get their neighbors drunk or high so they can then take advantage of them.
1. They will find shame and no glory
2. They will be judged by God’s right hand and it will shame them in front of the Universe.
3. Disgrace is going to expose them and it will destroy them.
v. Woe to them who form their own idols and worship them
1. They will deceive themselves and listen to lies.
2. They will receive no guidance and wander aimlessly in this life.
3. There is no life in idols only death.
4. If you saw the movie with Tom Hanks entitled Cast Away, you know who Wilson is. Wilson is a volleyball which floated ashore in a package after the FedEx plane, in which Hanks was riding, crashed into the sea during a bad storm. Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a fast-paced FedEx executive who gets stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific after his plane crashes, with little chance for survival. In trying to survive, he tries to start a fire with a sharp stick and cuts his hand severely. In anger, he takes the volleyball and throws it as hard as he can. When it lands he sees that his bloody hand has made an imprint which looks like a fiery head. With his finger he fashions a face in the blood — an idol, if you will. He talks to his new friend. You could even say he prays to Wilson as he attempts to make a fire. All through the film he communicates with this volleyball, asking his help and currying his friendship. The interesting thing is that nowhere in the film does Tom Hanks every talk to God. He prays to the volleyball, but never to God. Now, you have to ask yourself why he has more trust in a volleyball than God. But then you have to ask why other people trust in all kinds of things rather than God. They will talk to their friends. They will call Dr. Laura. They will read a self-help book. But they will not come to Jesus. Maybe the key word here is “self-help.” We have more trust in self-help than God’s help.
Contributed to Sermon Central by: Rodney Buchanan
T.S. - The third lesson our struggler with God learned was …
III. TRUST Him and BE QUIET
a. Understand that God is in control from his throne and He has everything under control.
i. Therefore we really should be silent before him and not complain about what we think He should or should not be doing.
1. Truth is we need to quit being arm chair quarterbacks.
b. Habakkuk learned that, “The righteous will live by faith.” In other words trust the Lord and do not doubt his word and then relax.
i. Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams that He will not stand by us.” — Oswald Chambers
ii.THOUGH TIME MAY BE TOUGH
AND THE ROAD REAL ROUGH
JUST BELIEVE
THOUGH YOU’VE CRIED MANY TEARS
AND WAITED MANY YEARS
JUST BELIEVE
IF GOD SAID HE WILL
THEN JUST BE STILL
AND BELIEVE
FOR GOD WILL TRULY DO
WHAT HE PROMISED YOU
IF YOU JUST BELIEVE
JUST BELIEVE IN HIS WORD
TRUST IN WHAT YOU’VE HEARD
JUST BELIEVE
IF YOUR HEART IS BROKEN
RECALL WHAT HE’S SPOKEN
AND JUST BELIEVE
FOR GOD CANNOT LIE
SO DON’T ASK WHY
JUST BELIEVE
LET FEAR FADE AWAY
LET YOUR SOUL JUST SAY
I BELIEVE
Contributed to Sermon Central by: Joel Vicente
1. Habakkuk after his moment is reminded by the Lord that He knows what He is doing. We also need to learn this lesson well because we ourselves will not always understand or know why God does things the way He does. Or even why God may be silent for a while in our life but he is still there- He is still with us and he knows what He is doing with our lives.
2. Illustration: I love the commercial where a daddy takes his little girl to a public pool with the purpose of teaching her how to dive off the diving board. Maybe you’ve seen it, I think it is advertising Kodak or something. And so there they are, the day begins with them both having high hopes of a successful diving experience, but then as she climbs the tall ladder, and as she inches her way out to the end of the diving board and looks down... the fear of the unknown grips her and she just stands there at the end of the board staring down and then at her father, and then down again. Her father pleads with her to jump, tells her it will be okay, but she just stands there paralyzed with fear, unable to trust her father.
- And so often we stand in the same place. At the end of our line, looking into the great unknown, wanting to go forward, wanting to jump... but fear seizes us, and doubts cloud us. And that is when we must trust in the Living God, the All knowing God... the God who is worthy of our trust in each and every situation. And when we learn to trust in the midst of the Great Unknown, then our trust in God will grow.
- And so finally, as the day moves closer to an end, the cute little girl takes a leap of faith. Finally, she learned to trust. And when she came up out of the water, filled with sheer joy and exhilaration. She turned to her father and said....
"Let’s Do It Again Daddy." Contributed to Sermon Central by: Damien Spikereit
c. We need to learn to trust God in spite of the circumstances and the storms that blow through in life. Then we must also learn the discipline of being quiet as we wait on God to fulfill his word.
i. Scientists hypothesize that if time travel were possible and we could go back 1000 years, one of the things that would shock us most would be the silence. Think about it. All the background noise of our modern world: television, telephones, radios, cars, planes, refrigerators...none of which existed a thousand years ago. Some even hypothesize that for modern man that silence would be deafening. Because we are surrounded by voices: on TV, on the radio, on the Internet: all telling us what we need to know, how to be saved, how to find peace, how to be happy. You know I struggle with that as a preacher. When I tell people that we have what they need to know, how to be saved, how to find peace, how to be happy, am I just another voice among thousands? How can you know who to trust? Who really has the truth? Well, Jesus tells us not to listen to the voices of this world. He tells us that his sheep listen to his voice. What Jesus did and said quietly drowns out all other voices. Because it isn’t what some 21st century preacher says that’s important, but rather what our eternal God and Savior, our 21st century shepherd, tells us in his Word.
(Source unknown) Contributed to Sermon Central by: Jason Duncan
Conclusion:
Summary of the message from God to Habakkuk to us today:
1. Wait for his answer to your concerns in life
2. Listen to his answer and learn from what He has said to you
3. Trust what God has said and quiet down there is no need to panic or to be afraid because God is in control.
The Road of Life
At first I saw God as my observer, my judge,
keeping track of the things I did wrong,
so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die.
He was out there sort of like a president.
I recognized his picture when I saw it, but I really didn’t know Him.
But later on, when I met Christ,
It seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride,
but it was a tandem bike,
and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal.
I don’t know when it was that he suggested
that we change places,
but life has not been the same since.
When I had control,
I knew the way.; It was rather boring,
but predictable...
It was the shortest distance between two points.
But when he took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts,
up mountains, and through rocky places
at breakneck speeds,
It was all I could do to hang on!
And even though it seemed like madness,
All He said was ’Pedal’.
I worried and was anxious and I asked,
’Where are you taking me?’
He laughed and didn’t answer,
and I started to learn to trust.
I forgot my boring life
and entered into the adventure.
And when I’d say, ’I’m scared,’
He’d lean back and touch my hand.
He took me to people with gifts that I needed,
gifts of healing, acceptance and joy.
They gave me gifts to take on my journey,
my Lord’s and mine.
And we were off again.
He said, ’Give the gifts away;
they’re extra baggage, too much weight.’
So I did, to the people we met,
and I found that in giving I received,
and still our burden was light.
I did not trust Him, at first, To be in control of my life.
I thought He’d wreck it; but he knows bike secrets,
knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.
And I am learning to shut up and pedal
in the strangest places,
and I’m beginning to enjoy the view
and the cool breeze on my face
with my delightful constant companion
Jesus Christ.
And when I’m sure I just can’t do anymore,
He just smiles and says....’Pedal.’
-Author unknown
Contributed to Sermon Central by: Rick Stacy
Altar call: Play the DVD “I Will Sing” challenge the congregation to look at their complaints in life to God and wait-listen-learn-trust and be quiet as he assures them all is well and will be well as they put their lives into His hands.
