Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

The Beginning of a New Study

Habakkuk, the smallest Old Testament book, that sits between Nahum and Zephaniah.

Even though it’s an old book, it’s a timely book.

In many ways it resembles the same struggles we have today.

Where are You God?

Have you ever felt like crying this out?

Have you ever felt like life isn’t fair, or God in particular doesn’t seem fair?

Our World is a Mess, and the Church isn’t much different then the World.

This is the same problem we are going to hear about from Habakkuk.

The main tension in this book: Habakkuk notices that what he sees around him doesn’t match with what he believes.

Background of Habakkuk

One of the 12 Minor Prophets

Minor doesn’t mean minor in importance, rather it means smaller in length.

The Major prophets writings are longer then the minor prophets, not more important.

Habakkuk, not much is known about this Prophet.

We know that he might have been a Temple musician, turned priest, turned prophet.

a prophet meaning one who speaks on behalf of God.

His name means : to embrace, or to wrestle.

Habakkuk pre-dates Book of Daniel.

We know that it was written before 605 because the Chaldeans (a group of Tribes in Assyria who take over and become the Babylonians), whom we are going to read about in a few min.

They didn’t become significant in power until the battle of Carchemish in 605.

By 597 they had captured Jerusalem & taken King Jehoiachin hostage.

This brings us to Daniel’s book.

So Habakkuk pre-dates Daniel and gives us a glimpse into what is going on with the Judea’s before the Babylonian empire takes over.

And what we see is not good news.

Habakkuk cries out to God, asking what on earth is going on with His people.

What is going on with the state of this world.

Why aren’t you helping?

An Oracle

Hebrew = massa’ (Mas-saw’) meaning an utterance, a doom or a burden.

The burden that the prophet Habakkuk saw, meaning it was a vision.

Because of this vision the prophet is crashing into a faith wall, he is struggling to understand why are these things going on?

Habakkuk Crashes Into A Faith Wall

God you don’t seem to be listening!

God you aren’t doing much when you could be!

The Law is not keeping your people focused on you, justice isn’t happening.

What you have put into place, what you are doing doesn’t seem fair!

A Faith Wall

You don’t seem to care.

You aren’t doing much when you could.

What you are doing doesn’t seem fair.

What Habakkuk is seeing doesn’t line up with what he believes, this becomes a very difficult season for his faith.

Many of us have probably felt this way at some point in our lives, where we feel distant from God, and it seems like He isn’t doing anything to fix the issues around us, no matter how hard we cry out to Him, He just doesn’t seem to be there.

Show “faith wall” drawing analogy on white board.

1. Person without Christ but God is working on them.

2. First saved

a. on fire for God

3. Crisis of Belief

a. Go into /become complacent

b.

Get angry and give up on God

c. Continue and trust God through the doubt and trust.

Is it OK to Question God?

Over 1/3 of the Psalms are questioning God

The books of Job and Lamentations question God.

Even Jesus questioned God when He cries out “Why have you forsaken me?”

This is the foundational question in the book of Habakkuk, can faith and doubt co-exist.

The answer to this is yes it can.

The problem isn’t our doubt, or our questions, it’s what we do with them.

God often will not give you the answer you are looking for, He asks us to trust in Him.

God answers Habakkuk’s doubt and lament with an answer that doesn’t make sense.

God Answers

God says: I am not happy with how my people have become and I am going to punish them, by using people worse then them!

Next week we will unpack this passage more, but I want you to understand something.

God will walk you through the valley and bring you out on the other side if you just trust Him.

Closing

God’s answers don’t always make sense, they are not always what we want to hear.

But His answers are just, holy and loving.

Sometimes, we need to go through the valley in order to grow in our faith and trust.

God will take your faith to a place of intimacy, and trust that you never thought was possible if you are willing to go through a season of doubt.

We are going to see Habakkuk go through this season, and learn from him how to live life going through valley’s.

The Big Idea: It’s OK to have doubts, to struggle with what you see not matching what you believe.

God will take you through these seasons in life, but if you persevere and continue to trust God, He will bring your faith to a place you could never have imagined.

This is what the Bible calls living by Faith.

Paul is quoting Habakkuk 2:4.

Learning to live by faith takes perseverance, you have to embrace doubt, fear and unanswered questions.

This is what Habakkuk is going to be shown by God.