Sermon "Living By Faith And I Feel No Alarm”

Sermon – “Living by Faith and I Feel No Alarm”

Scripture: Habakkuk 2:2-4 “And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

Hebrews 10:38, 39 “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition.…”

Introduction: Habakkuk was tempted to measure what he believed by what he was experiencing. One day at a funeral, I talked with a former pastor of the AME Zion Church. He named several people in the denomination that I was familiar with by casual association. He talked about how free he was and how the denomination held him back. So, after deciding that his assignment in the denomination was finished, the man had left to start his own ministry.

I asked him, “How was it going?” Several years had passed since the minister had taken the step of faith to start his own organization. But because his new organization hadn’t grown as quickly as he had wished, he had become very discouraged and depressed. As a result of these disappointments, he had begun to question everything he believed about walking by faith. He had even become very bitter and sour toward anyone who claimed to walk in faith. Unfortunately, this minister made the mistake of starting to measure what he believed by what he was experiencing. He kept saying, well at least I am free!

The statement the just shall live by faith is given to the prophet Habakkuk in response to a series of questions he asked God. How can you use the wicked to correct the righteous? How long will you be silent and not answer? How long will you allow evil to persist without acting? Habakkuk's questions were based on a premise: that God is good and that he can't tolerate evil. In other words, Habakkuk's questions were, in a way, statements of his understanding of faith in God. When we question God, we are often asking why he doesn't act in a way that's consistent with who we believe him to be.

God’s response was that the just must live by faith. What is meant by the just shall live by faith? When God says “the just shall live by faith,” He mean that believers are guided and directed by faith in a loving, righteous and trustworthy God, not by their circumstances. Believers act in a manner that is consistent with our faith—not out of a sense of blind obedience but out of a confident and sincere love for our God and for the priceless wisdom He has revealed to His children.

This truth is so important that it was God’s answer to Habakkuk’s confusion, was used in Paul’s response to the Romans and Galatians. The writer of the book of Hebrews was led to repeat it again. It is also a response for the confusion of our present generation. Many are met with the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” “Why did my child get off course?” Why doesn’t God stop these wars and violence?” It seems as if war, violence, discrimination, and injustice is the order of the day. What’s a Christian to do? Christian believers must live by faith. If we do, we will keep making progress as we shine light in the darkness.

At a recent funeral, a pastor friend was eulogizing his second son in seven months, when he kept repeating, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” He said God is Good and God has a good purpose in all of this.” Then, he said, “Farther along, we will know all about it, farther a long we will understand why. Cheer up my brother, live in the sunshine. We will understand it better by and by!”

The writer, Marissa Russell, once said, “As long as you continuously improve, success is inevitable.” I think we faced the challenges of this year by remembering God’s promise of a bright future. We should allow His word to empowered us to believe and hope for a bright future. Many Church leaders are more focused on who to blame for problems in the church rather than finding solutions. Others believe they have no power to change their circumstances. Some are constantly comparing themselves to others instead of focusing on being the best ministry they can. Still other church leaders have become discouraged and have even considered giving up.