It's a little difficult to preach, to speak after reading
such awesome words from the scriptures. In that third chapter, Habakkuk
said, Lord, I heard your speech, your report. I was afraid. Verse 16, he said, when I heard
my inner self tremble. My lips quivered at thy voice.
Rottenness entered into my bones. That's what Daniel said when
he saw the Lord. He said, my comeliness melted
into rottenness. The best I had appeared to be
corruption and rotten when I heard your voice. But we got to speak, so let's
look at this book of Habakkuk. Not much is known about this
man. It's strange. Habakkuk. We do not know his family. We
don't even know the day or the age in which he preached. We don't know. They speculated
about under whose reign he preached, and nobody seems to know. Probably because the prophets
were so unimportant to the people and their message rejected. Like Isaiah said, who hath believed
our report? So no record of Habakkuk and
his ministry. But we're certain of the authority
of the book because the book of Habakkuk is quoted in the
New Testament four times. Four times. in Romans, in Galatians,
and in Hebrews. Habakkuk is quoted. So we're
certain of the authority of his ministry and of his writings. He was the first
who wrote that just shall live by faith. That was Habakkuk. Many people put emphasis upon
the names of these prophets. It may be so, but I'll tell you
his name. I'll tell you what his name means.
It means the Embracer. The Embracer. He did truly embrace
the nation Israel in a tender manner. You'll see this as we
go through this, the writings of Habakkuk, how he loved the
nation Israel, how he loved the people. how he embraced them
as his own children. He assured them all the way through
this book, he assured Israel of God's love for them and God's
mercy toward them in spite of their rebellion, notwithstanding
their captivity. He said, God's mercy is upon
you. He assured the people of the mercy of God. He set forth the promise of the
Messiah's coming. I'll show you several times in
this book where he points to that day when our Lord will come,
the Messiah. And then, all the way through
this book, he exhorted the people to live by faith, persevere,
no matter the circumstances. Believe God. Believe God. believe
God. Like you said in that last two
verses, I read to you, when there's no fruit on the vine, no crops
in the field, no herd in the stall, no oil from the olive,
that I'll trust Him, I'll believe Him. And that is, is that not,
is that not a faithful ministry? exhorting the people to believe
on the mercies of God, to look to the Messiah, and to persevere
in faith. Well, let me introduce you to
Habakkuk. Here are several things you can
write down about this man. Number one, he was a man with
a great burden, a great burden. In verse 1 of chapter 1, turn
to chapter 1, verse 1, the burden which the Habakkuk, the prophet,
did see and feel. He was burdened. Man can't preach
without a burden. Burden for the Word of God, burden
for the glory of God, burden for the sins of the people. Spurgeon
said, if the ministry of the Word is not a burden here, it'll
prove to be a heavy burden at the judgment. And he was burdened
for his generation. They were, like I said, they
didn't even record the man's ministry. He was so insignificant to them,
we don't even know to whom he preached. They were such wicked,
perverse, rebellious people. Listen, Lord, verse 2, O Lord,
how long shall I cry, and you not hear me? even cry unto thee
out of violence, of violence, of the violence around me, violence. And you won't say. Why dost thou show me iniquity,
the iniquity about me, my generation, my people? The iniquity of the
day caused me to behold grievance, spoiling, greed, covetousness,
wickedness, violence are before me, and there are that raise up strife
and contention, and therefore the law is slack, offenders are
not punished, Judgment doth never go forth.
What a day! Violence. No judgment. The wicked doth
compass surround the righteous. Therefore, wrong judgment proceeded. Justice is perverted. Sounds
like our day, doesn't it? In verse 13, Lord, you are of
purer eyes than to behold evil. You cannot look upon iniquity.
Why do you look on this generation? Why do you look upon them that
deal treacherously? Why do you hold your tongue when
the wicked devour the man that's more righteous than he? Oh, he had a burden, didn't he?
Lord, how long am I going to cry and you're not here? Cry out of violence, perversion,
crime. Offenders are not punished. Justice
is perverted. The wicked encompasses the righteous.
Lord, you're holy. Why do you look on this mess?
Why do you tolerate it? Why do you put up with it? Your
pure eyes seem to behold evil. Why do you hold your tongue when it's more wicked than believers? And they devour, they literally
eat up your people, harass them and persecute them and devour
those that are more righteous than they in Christ. Why do you
do that? He had a burden. Secondly, chapter
2, he was not only a man with a
burden, but he was a man of faith. A man of faith. He believed in
the coming Redeemer. He wrote many years before Christ
came. But he told about his coming.
You see, all of these men of God were Christ lovers and believers. Abraham saw my day. Moses wrote
of me. Isaiah, he was wounded for our
transgression. Habakkuk, these men were all
looking for the Messiah, resting, believing in the Messiah, waiting
for the Messiah. And then he says in chapter 2,
verse 1, I'll stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower And
I'll watch to see what he'll say to me. He said, I've been rash to
talk to God this way. Lord, why do you put up with
this mess? Why do you hold your tongue when they compass the
righteous and hate the believers? Why are you putting up with this
stuff? You are purified unto behold evil. I'm going to see
what he's going to say to me and what I shall answer when
I am reproved. I know what's coming. He's going
to rebuke me and reprove me. I've been rash with my mouth."
But he didn't. The Lord answered me and he said,
write the vision. Write what I'm going to show
you. Write what I'm going to say to you. Write what I'm going
to reveal to you. And make it plain upon the tables.
that he who hastens by may run it, may read it. He who runs
may read it. He who hastens by may read it. Every man may see it, read it,
whether he believes it or not. And he who reads it may run with
it. The vision is yet for an appointed
time, not for your time, Hezekiah, or Habakkuk, not for your time,
but for another time. appointed time. In the fullness
of time, God sent his son. Not when we thought he ought
to come and think he ought to come, but when God ordained for
him to come. The vision is yet for an appointed
time, and at the end, at that time, it'll speak, he'll speak,
he'll speak and not lie, no sir. He'll speak and not lie. He's
the faithful witness. God, who spake to our fathers
with the prophets, hath in these days spoken to us by His Son. He'll speak. He'll not lie. There are a lot of lying prophets,
but He'll not lie. He's the great prophet. He's
the faithful witness. He'll come, though it tarry,
seems to tarry to us. It seems to tarry to a backer.
Why are you... Lord, do something. It seems to tarry, but wait for
it, wait for the vision, wait for the coming of the Messiah,
wait for the coming of the Lord. The years are long, but wait
for it, because He'll surely come. He'll surely come, and
He did. He will not tarry. And behold,
there will be two responses to his coming. There will be two
sorts of receptions given to him. Behold, that man whose soul
is lifted up in him is not upright, proud, arrogant, Pharisee. We
will not have this man reign over us. But the just, the justifier, The just for the unjust. Behold
the just one. But the righteous, the believer,
the just, shall live by his faith. Not my faith. His faith. It's his faithfulness. It's his
faith he gave me. He's the author and finisher
of faith. And I live by his faith. By him. Habakkuk was so disturbed over
his day, like many of us over this day. Religions indescribably
warped. Justice is impossible. Violence is the rule rather than
the exception. God with holy eyes permits it
to go on. Lord, why? And he says, I was getting ready
to hear what he'd say to me. I thought he was going to prove
me, rebuke me. But he gave me a promise. He's
coming. And I give you that promise this
morning. He's coming. I believe it soon. I do. He's coming back. And verse 14. The earth shall be filled with
the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk said that. Habakkuk was sitting in a slime
pit, surrounded by a dung hill. Violence and evil and wickedness
on this earth. But he talked about a day. when
the Messiah would come. And in that day, the earth will
be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, the glory of the
Lord, as waters cover the sea. Can you believe that? I do. I do. We look for a new heaven
and new earth. He was a man of vision. The time
is coming when this old world is going to be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of God. Chapter 2, he was a man of worship. A man of worship. He worshipped
God. Let the world do what they will. Let the religious world
go where they will and preach what they will. Leave them alone. I wonder though, listen to Habakkuk. Habakkuk says in verse 18, chapter
2, What profit the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven
him? Why do men make a God that can't hear and can't speak and
can't do? The molten image and the teacher
of lies and the maker of his work trusteth therein to make
dumb idols? Why do they do that? Why do they? Why do they? There is no profit
in the worship of other gods. Somebody said those who make
up their gods trust in themselves, because their gods are their
own creation. If you make gods, what you want
God to be, you're trusting yourself. Because that God's your creation.
In verse 19, Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake! to
the dumb stone! Arise, it shall teach! Isaiah
said, why do you pray to a God that can't hear? Why do you trust a God that can't
say? Why? Tell me why. Behold, it's laid over with gold
and silver. There's no breath at all in the
midst of it. I personally, honestly, condemn
the wearing of crosses. That's an idol. It can't speak. It can't hear. It's polished
brass or gold or silver or big or little or whatever you make
of it. Why do you speak to things like this? Why do you rub it?
Awake, dumb stone! Teach me! Teach me something!
God is Spirit! God is everywhere! Verse 20, the Lord is in His
holy temple. That's not a temple made with
hands. That's more of our idolatry. We build these giant, great buildings. make them as religious looking
as we can make them, as impressive as we can make them, as awesome
as we can make them, as hip as we can make them, as cold as
we can make them. God doesn't dwell in, Paul said
to the people that Athens and temples made with hands, God
is in His holy temple in the heavens. His train fills the
universe. He's in His church, He's in His
Son, He's on His throne, He's in all places. The Lord God is
in His holy temple. God is Spirit. They that worship
Him, worship Him in Spirit, not in form and ceremony and types
and visual aids. Let all the earth keep silence
before Him. Let us stand what He's saying
here. in His holy temple, let us stand
in awe, in reverence, subject to Him, believing Him, trusting
Him, resting in Him, resting, walking with Him. We meet here
on the Lord's Day as a place to preach, to teach, to fellowship,
to worship. But our worship and fellowship
is not confined to the building or to the atmosphere. God's in his holy temple, and
all the earth is silent before him. And then he was a man of perseverance.
Skip down to chapter 3, verse 17. His was the darkest, violent,
pagan day, and yet he believed. Circumstances were against him, and yet he
believed. He said, verse 17, although the
fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, Labor of the olive shall fail.
Field yield no meat. Blocks shall be cut off from
the fold. No herd in the stall." What are we going to do? Listen to what Job said. Job
13. Turn to Job 13. Everything Job had was gone.
his wealth, his family, his health, his friends, his servants, everything. And he said in Job 13, verse
15, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. I will maintain
mine own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation. for a hypocrite shall not come
before him." That's when hypocrisy is certainly revealed. Hypocrisy comes to God during
the time of plenty and prosperity. Faith turns to God in the time
of poverty and trouble. So he says in Habakkuk says in
verse 18, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. All of these things
look like the Lord's deserted us. Looks like He's not blessing
us. Yet I rejoice in the Lord, I'll
joy in the God of my salvation, because the Lord God is my strength.
and you'll make my feet like the feet of a deer." Well, one
other thing about this man, Habakkuk, he was a man of prayer. A man of prayer. So look at chapter
3, verse 1. A prayer of Habakkuk. A man with
a burden, a man of faith, a man of vision and hope. Glory of
God is going to cover this earth. A man of worship. A man of perseverance. Though
he slay me, I'll trust him. And a man of prayer. And he says
in verse 2, chapter 3, O LORD, Jehovah. I told you about that
word LORD, L-O-R-D, with four capital letters, Jehovah. Jehovah,
God my Savior, a just God and a Savior. All who call upon Him
know Him by that name. Jehovah. They call on Him in
Christ. That's Habakkuk here. He's not
calling on Elohim. He's calling on Jehovah. My soul
wants nothing to do with an absolute God. My soul wants nothing to
do with God out of Christ. But, oh, Jehovah, I've heard
your speech. I've heard your report. Isaiah
said, Who hath believed our report? And Micah said, I do. I do. I've heard it. I've heard this
gospel. I've heard it. I heard your report. I heard your speech. Who hath
believed our report? To whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed? He shall grow up before him as
a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground. He hath no form
nor comeliness, no beauty that we should desire him. He was
despised and rejected of men, a man of sours acquainted with
grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him. But he was
wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. The
chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes
we are healed. And I heard that, and I rejoiced. But I was afraid. Listen, I was
afraid. My friends are going to say something
here. I want you to hear me, and hear me well, because this is not the direction that religion
is going in our day. I heard your speech. I heard
your voice, your word, your report. I was afraid." It's not possible that a mortal
man or woman could be thoroughly conscious of the divine presence
of Almighty God and not be afraid. You write that down. And all
of these hook-to-do, charismatic, emotional preachers that are
carrying on, they haven't heard His voice. Because Noah heard His voice
and the Scripture said he moved with fear. Isaiah heard His voice
and he cried, woe is me. Job said, I heard of you. hearing of the ear, now mine
eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself." I repent in sackcloth
and ashes. Jacob met the Lord at Bethel,
and he said, how dreadful is this place. I've seen the Lord. Ezekiel said, when I saw him,
I fell on my face. John said on Patmos, when I heard
him, I fell at his feet. like a dead man. It's not possible for a mortal
man to be honestly, thoroughly conscious of the presence of
God and the voice of God and not be afraid. You can call it
all reverence or fear, but when men and women have been favored
with the truth of God, they're deeply moved. And foolishness and frivolity
is the last thing on their mind. Honest, I'm telling you now. Habakkuk, man with a burden,
man of faith, man of worship, man of perseverance, man of God.
But he said, when I heard God, I was afraid. And I cried, O Lord, Revive thy
work in the midst of the years. I'm your work. We're your work. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourself, it's the gift of God. It's not
of works, lest any man should boast. We're His workmanship.
Lord, revive your work. Refresh your work. Renew your
work. You loved us. You chose us. You
redeemed us. Now refresh us. Encourage us. Encourage us. Revive Thy Word. We're not talking about totally
the conversion of unbelievers, we're talking about the conversion
of believers. Revive us! We're talking about
what Christ said to Peter, when you're converted, Strengthen
your breath. When you get mature and straightened
out in here, then you'll be a strength to other people. That's what
I'm praying, Lord. In the midst of the years, I
don't know what that means. I read everything everybody wrote
on it, and I still don't know what it means. But I do know
what Revive Thy Work means, whenever it is. In the midst of my years,
or these years, or his years. Spurgeon said, Oh Lord, put new
life in us. Thy salvation began with life
in Christ, but the tendency of everything about us today is
to make that life die. Therefore, Lord, quicken us anew. Restore the grace and love and
force and energy of our first love. Revive us. Help us to begin again. shed
abroad Thy love in our hearts, revive Thy Word. Where is the blessedness I knew
when first I saw the Lord? Where is that soul-refreshing
view of Jesus and His Word? What peaceful hours I then enjoyed
How sweet the memory still, but now I find an aching void the
world can never fill. The dearest idol that I have
known, whatever that idol be, Lord, help me to tear it from
the throne and worship only thee. Revive thy work. Listen. In the midst of the years, make
known Make known, make yourself known. Make thyself known to
me. Paul prayed that, oh, that I
might know Christ. He knew him. I want to know him
better, that I might know him. Make yourself known. More of Christ, his person and
word, more of his word, more of His grace, more about Jesus,
what I know, more of His grace to others show, more of His saving
fullness see, more of His love, who died for me, more. Lord,
revive your work and make yourself known. And Lord, in riot, remember mercy. Man of God is asking God when
he walks through the land and tramples under his feet the wickedness,
remember mercy. It's something our generation,
something else our generation refuses to recognize. God's angry. Read this third chapter again.
God's angry with the wicked. God's got a right to be angry. He's got a right to be. And God
one day is going to reveal and display that anger. He gave us
a foretaste of it in the flood. Nothing survived except His chosen. He gave us a foretaste of that
in Sodom. Nothing survived but his chosen. He must be just. He may be merciful. He must punish sin. He may forgive. He must be righteous. He may
be gracious. And that's the reason this man
of God prayed, Lord, in your wrath, remember the mercy that
lifted Noah from the waters. Remember the mercy that took
Israel from Egypt. Remember the mercy that lifted
Lot out of Sodom. Remember the mercy that gave
your son to die. Remember the mercy for which
the dying thief prayed, Lord, remember me. That's his prayer. I've heard
your message, I believe it. But I'm afraid. Lord, revive
thy work. Make yourself known. And when
you walk through this world in judgment, remember me in mercy. I'm not asking for justice. Mercy. When to the cross I turn my eyes
and see God's love to me, O Lamb of God, my sacrifice, I will
remember thee. And when these failing lips grow dumb,
and my mind and memory flee, and you shall in your kingdom
come, O Lord, remember me." I look to the cross and I remember
Him. Now, when you come in judgment,
will you remember me? What a prayer. May God bless
it, our prophet.