Thank you for taking the time to read the Weekend Sermon. I am thankful to the Lord that we didn't get the big snowstorm in my area. Please pray for those who are experiencing the bad winter weather right now. I hope that all of you are doing well.
For the past few weeks, we have been studying what the book of Habakkuk has to teach us. We have explored various themes and ideas through the first two chapters of the book. In today's message, we will finish our study by looking at what we can learn from chapter 3.
Chapter 3 of Habakkuk is actually a Psalm. Habakkuk starts out by giving praise to the Lord for His might and for His power. The prophet praises the Lord for His ability to do all things. The Lord is the creator and the sustainer of all that there is. The Lord is the one who has the power to bring judgment on those who do wrong, and He has the power to reward those who do what He wants them to do in this world.
In the context of the time in which Habakkuk was writing, the prophet was giving praise to the Lord for who He is and for what He has done even though Habakkuk knew that God was going to use the Babylonians to bring judgment upon the people of Israel. As we have learned, Habakkuk didn't understand all that the Lord was doing, but in spite of this, the prophet praised the Lord and believed that all would ultimately be done in accordance with the good will of God.
Habakkuk fully expresses this in Chapter 3 verses 17-18 that read, "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."
These verses have great application for us today. There are going to be times in everyone's life when bad things happen. It doesn't matter if you are a Christian or a non-Christian. We are living in a world that is messed up and will be messed up until the day that Jesus returns and makes all things new. Because we live in this fallen world, bad things happen even to good people.
During the hard times in life, it can become easy to get upset with the Lord. We are often tempted during times of difficulty to turn away from the Lord and not follow Him and trust in Him in the same way that we did when everything was going along well. The test of our faith is when we can still praise the Lord and give Him glory even when things aren't going the way we planned nor the way that we would like.
Even though we may be facing difficult times in our lives, we do not need to be discouraged. We know that as believers in Jesus Christ, we have the victory over all in the end through the Lord Jesus. Paul puts it this way in II Corinthians 4: 8-9 where he says, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing, persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed."
Paul is telling us that even when it seems that things are as bad as they can be, we still have strength through the Lord Jesus to keep going. He will see us through now, and we will be with Him in the place that He has prepared for all eternity if we place our lives in His hands.
Habakkuk puts it like this in verse 19, "The Sovereign Lord is my strength, He makes my feet like the feet of the deer, He enables me to tread on the heights." In other words, the Lord gives us strength not to fall even in the hardest and most difficult times in our lives. God is our strength. He is the one who gives us the power and the peace in our hearts to make it when it seems that we can't go on.
I don't know what you might be facing today. You may be going through a really hard time, and you don't know how you are going to get through. Pray today and ask Jesus to be your strength in your times of hardship. Ask Him to be with you in a special way. Ask Him to help you to find the solution to your difficulty. Keep praising the Lord and keep believing that He loves you. No matter what bad thing happens to us in this life, we know that ultimately we will be with Jesus forever. He will wipe every tear from our eyes, and we will be at peace forever and forever. Amen.
Prayer Requests
I want to thank everyone for their prayers. I am feeling a little better, and I am very thankful that I was able to get to work and not be stuck in the snow.
Please pray for those in Kentucky who are going through such a hard time. They've had the bad tornadoes, and now there is an ice storm there. Pray that the people will get the help and the aid that they need.
Continue to pray for Tonga. That little country needs a lot of help right now.
Pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. Pray that those who are sick will make a quick recovery.
Let us all keep praying for peace in the world. Pray for peace in Ukraine. Continue praying for Syria, Yemen, Chad, Ethiopia and Somalia.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let's pray for those who live in China and Sierra Leone. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, I will post the sermon on Friday. I think that I will start a new series, but I am not sure quite yet. I will post the verses on Monday, and I hope to have a review midweek. May God bless you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment