Not the God I Thought: In the Good Company of Habakkuk--The Connection with Jesus

Hundreds of years after Habakkuk, wickedness and injustice still flourished in Jerusalem. The temple, now personified by Jesus, was threatened once again. While some accepted the man from Nazareth as the Son of God, most rejected him as a rebel. Betrayed by one of his closest friends, publicly ridiculed as a drunk and glutton, falsely accused by the religious authorities, beaten, broken, and ultimately killed, from all appearances, evil had triumphed. The disciples wondered why God was silent as they hid. Where was God? How could he let the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer? 

Three days later, the tomb was empty. The resurrection of Jesus is God’s own proclamation that he is not far, that he is always in control, and that evil will never triumph. At Pentecost, the people of God are gathered as the church. As more churches are planted throughout the world, the apostle Paul writes letters to admonish and encourage. At the heart of his letters is a call to live a life of faith, not works. Paul appeals to the 600 year old book of Habakkuk , arguing that righteousness—from Abraham to Habakkuk— has always been from faith.

(Click Here to read the Book of Habakkuk)

"For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” 

- Romans 1:17

"...who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father..." 

- Galatians 1:4

"Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, 

because “the righteous will live by faith.” 

- Galatians 3:11

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

- Hebrews 11:1

"For we live by faith, not by sight." 

- 2 Corinthians 5:7

“The righteous will live by faith.” 

- Romans 1:17b 

Not the God I Thought: In the Good Company of Habakkuk -- Key Verses

Author:

Habakkuk

Audience:
The People of Judah

 Date:
About 605 BC

Theme:
Habakkuk expresses his perplexity that wickedness and oppression are rampant in Judah, yet God does nothing. After God speaks, Habakkuk responds with a confession of faith.

Key Verses:
"How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save." - Habakkuk 1:2

"Look at the nations and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if I told you." - Habakkuk 1:5

"Oh, Lord are you not from everlasting? God, Holy One, we will not die.” - Habakkuk 1:12

"See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright—but the righteous will live by his faith." - Habakkuk 2:2-4

"The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him." - Habakkuk 2:20

"Lord, I have heard of your fame; I am in awe of your deeds. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath be merciful.: - Habakkuk 3:2

"The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He enables me to go on the heights." - Habakkuk 3:19
 
(Click here to read the entire Book of Habakkuk)
 

Not the God I Thought: The Good Company of Habakkuk--The Role of the Prophet

A prophet is an “authorized spokesman”. The “prophet” proclaimed the message given to him by God; he spoke in God’s name and by his authority. What the prophet says is not of man but of God.

Future-telling was only a small part of the prophet’s message. As God’s spokesman, their message can be seen in a three-fold function they had among the people of God:

First, they were preachers. Prophets expounded and interpreted the Mosaic Law. As they proclaimed the Word of God, they would admonish, reprove, denounce sin, call to repentance, or bring consolation and pardon. In this capacity, their role is that of a prosecuting attorney.

Second, they were predictors. In addition to preaching, prophets announced judgment, deliverance, and events relating to the Messiah and His kingdom. Predicting the future was never intended merely to satisfy curiosity, but was designed to demonstrate that God knows the future, and to give revelation. The failure of a prediction to be fulfilled would identify the speaker as a false prophet.

Third, they were watchmen. Prophets served over the people of Israel, practically and symbolically. In practical terms, they warned against poor political decisions, idolatry, false worship, and the error of religiosity. The lives of the prophets serve as symbolic images of God’s relationship with his people. Not only were they watchmen for God, but they were watched by God.

(Click Here to read the Book of Habakkuk)

Not the God I Thought: In the Good Company of Habakkuk -- Theology of Habakkuk

Habakkuk addressed Judah during a time when the kingdom was rife with corruption, and the rising power of Babylon would soon issue destruction on the city. Habakkuk offers an honest assessment as he wonders out loud where God is. Habakkuk’s hard questions and God’s harder responses cause us to think deeply about the sovereignty of our God:

Why do the wicked prosper?
Habakkuk is frustrated with injustice. At the heart of his cry is a desire that many of us have, for Jesus to come and make things right.

Why do the righteous suffer?
The New Testament writers assume that suffering comes with a life of faith. Peter, Paul, and James all encourage Christians to expect suffering, to learn in suffering, and to consider it joy. If our lives are going to look anything like Jesus’, then we can expect to suffer.

What is God’s relationship to evil?
As we consider God’s relationship with evil, we must never come to a point where we think all men are not responsible for the evil they commit, or that God takes pleasure in evil. How God’s sovereignty works with sin toward His glory is nearly impossible to understand. Romans 8.28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”, and so goes the mystery as we try to understand evil as one of those things God purposes.

How now shall we live?
Walking in faith is the very antithesis of walking by sight. No matter how difficult the circumstances, we believe. Those who live by faith actively trust in God’s promises, affirm God’s goodness, and live in submission to God’s sovereignty. This echoes the words of Job who, after losing everything, declared, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21)

(Click Here to read the Book of Habakkuk)

Not the God I Thought: In the Good Company of Habakkuk

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. - Deuteronomy 6:20-21 

Habakkuk is by far the most significant of the Minor Prophets.  Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted three times in the New Testament. Paul’s reference in his letters to the Galatians and Romans both changed the life of a monk named Martin Luther and ignited a Reformation. In other words, this ancient letter has great meaning for us today.

Before we can ask what an obscure book like Habakkuk might mean for us today, we must understand what it meant for its original audience. Our tendency is to first ask how the text applies to us now, usually without discovering how it applied in context to the time and people “back then”. Reading Scripture without context is dangerous as it can lead to a total misunderstanding of God’s Word. Habakkuk serves as a smaller part of the larger story of redemption.

So, we must begin our story with Moses who led God’s people in the first chapter of their redemption. From tribes of slaves to a nation of soldiers, eventually God’s people were divided and conquered by godless men. In these final days of the southern kingdom (Judah), Habakkuk writes. He is overwhelmed by the injustice and corruption experienced by God’s own people; all while evil men prosper. Habakkuk complains to God who appears to be silently ignoring all of it...

(Click Here to read the Book of Habakkuk)

The Book of Habakkuk

Some of us didn’t have a clue that a book called Habakkuk existed, and now that we do, we’re not sure if we’re even pronouncing the name right. But, there it is, tucked in between the equally obscure books of Nahum and Zephaniah, unlikely that we would have ever found it. You’re probably wondering why we chose it.   

Some people dismiss the minor prophets as outdated and irrelevant. Instead of delving into these books, some choose to spend their time in more practical books like James. What they fail to realize is that Habakkuk is part of the foundation of the faith that James so plainly fleshes out. Habakkuk is one of the smallest, yet most powerful books in the Old Testament. It has inspired some of the most influential leaders in the history of the Christian faith. 

Personally, I love Habakkuk. I love his raw and honest heart. My prayer is that we will walk by faith and not by sight; that our confidence will not be found in our circumstances, but that in every circumstance we will be found resting in the sovereignty of God. We know that weird, strange, scary, and even evil things happen all around us. Sometimes the God we have isn’t the God we thought we would have. Together we can see, as God counsels Habakkuk, what it might look like for PoC to fully realize a trusting relationship with our loving and all-powerful God. 

Let’s Keep Talking About Jesus, 

Pastor Todd


(Click here to read Habakkuk.)

Open Up the Floodgates - A Letter from Pastor Todd

Dear PoC Family,

Have you ever met someone who suffered from spiritual constipation? They refuse to release free-flowing blessings to others, instead choosing to constantly display the gross discomfort of a backed-up soul. It’s hard to watch. Sad, really. I see it most often after a service or an event when the “reviews” come in or when the smart and necessary “evaluation” is asked for from the planning team. There are those on every team that will address the issues that needed corrected or tweaked, but only after they encourage, build-up, praise and appropriately call a good day a good day as if to say, “Sure, there are some minor things we need to fix, but first, let me bless you generously with my words.” Then there are others who quite obviously enjoy addressing the bad, taking great delight in their ability to spot what they truly believe can only be seen by their specialized and trained eye, yet you won’t find any blessing or praise before, during, or after the critique. Painful, because you can see the discomfort. You can actually witness the shifting in their seat as spoken blessings are desperately trying to crawl out of their mouth only to be washed down with a stoic and determined swallow of refusal and a steely-eyed glare. Everything about their posture says, “I could bless you with my words if I wanted to . . . but . . . I don’t want to.” They become known as someone who can’t bless with words.

Why do you think we refuse to bless others? What underlying selfishness or jealousy, fear or disloyalty, insecurity or uncertainty is behind our tight-lipped, tight-fisted, tight-wad insistence to hoard away and keep for ourselves all that our Dad has given? We forget that blessings weren’t meant to be kept in a barrel. They were made to flow through a pipe. As conduits of Dad’s loving-kindness we can enjoy the true joy that comes from generously giving like heroes with our . . .

 - Words of blessing. Lord, who do you want me to bless with my words today?
- Acts of service. Lord, what can I do to serve others today?
- Gifts of thanksgiving. Lord, what can I give to show my gratitude and appreciation for someone else today?

When I was a children’s pastor I took some kids on a trip from Nashville, TN to Myrtle Beach, SC. One of the boys that was on the trip suffered from a common childhood preference for his own home toilet rather than using unfamiliar “johns”. The trouble with this brilliant mindset is that when you are away from home for days on end, you’re gonna have to eventually cave to that preference . . . at some point. I remember a delightfully awkward moment while we were driving. He came to the front of the van and said, “Pastor Todd, I don’t know what’s wrong. My stomach hurts.” I looked around and saw that he did indeed look quite green. Worse, the poor boy was in that awkward pre-teen stage of life where anything a parent says is mortifying and as fate would have it, his mother was a chaperone on the trip. It doesn’t say much about me, but I took great pleasure in seeing the horror on this little man’s face as his mom asked the obvious and necessary, but no-less embarrassing question loud enough for all of his friends to hear, “Well, Honey, when’s the last time you had a BM?”

Awesome! Classic! Gross - necessary question. Giggles all around.

PoC, when’s the last time you had a mighty movement of blessings? I don’t want our church to be featured on some gross television program about hoarders. I want our church, starting with me, to be known for the sweet aroma of praise and giving, rather than the fowl stank of . . . well, a great great clog in the system. Because . . . we were made to recirculate all of Dad’s blessings so that all of our brothers and sisters (lost and found) can come to find their identity as His kids.

This week we’re going to have a blast (snicker . . .) as we explore our next Holy Currency: Bless. Plan to join us now. Invite all you can. Come ready to be a blessing.

Lord, open up the floodgates. We want to see YOU.

Your pastors are praying for you.

Give Like Heroes,

Pastor Todd

P.S. Not to be too gross, but this one time, my uncle took chocolate Ex-lax to school and passed it out to everyone like it was candy. Yeah . . . it got things movin’. I wonder what the spiritual equivalent to Ex-lax might be? We need some ‘o dat!!

It's Time To Eat, Regularly - A Message from Pastor Todd

Dear PoC Family,

When you think about it, “irregularity” is a funny word.  Ok, so maybe you shouldn’t think about it for very long.  It is, however, a word that’s been on my mind a lot lately.  No, not for personal reasons, though now you’re wondering.  But, for spiritual reasons . . . Kingdom reasons . . . PoC reasons.  Let me explain . . .

In Acts 2: 44-47, we see the result of “regularity”.  “All the believers kept meeting together, and they shared everything with each other.  From time to time, they sold their property and other possessions and distributed the money to anyone who needed it.  The believers had a single purpose and went to the temple every day.  They were joyful and humble as they ate at each other’s homes and shared their food.  At the same time, they praised God and had the good will of all the people.  Every day the Lord saved people, and they were added to the group.”

One of the problems that we can have with a sermon series like the one we are in presently is that as we go through the list of the 6 Holy currencies (Story, Listen, Eat, Bless, Celebrate, and Recreate) that “Dad” has given us to recirculate His blessings to all of His children (both lost and found) is that it can feel a lot like a “word of the day” calendar.  It highlights a word for that day or even that week, but before you know it you move on to another word, another day, another week.  Our minds move on so quickly.  It’s not a recipe for regularity.  It feels more occasional than regular.  The currencies aren’t meant to be a weekly focus, but are intended to be a collection of tools that are regularly added to our daily rhythms.

I think one of the reasons that so many believers experience such an up-and-down relationship with Jesus and enjoy such infrequent joy and effectiveness in ministry is because of irregular patterns and rhythms in their spiritual walk.  There was a day when the church met together daily (that’s cool) and even in my lifetime, I remember the church meeting multiple times during the week.  I know you would agree that meeting together in each other’s homes and on the temple courts (wherever we “hang out”) would be one of the most powerful secrets to helping believers be more regularly “on point” regarding our mission and purpose, our calling and focus.    

I wonder how long it took before “all the believers” began to feel and live out the “do something” urgency that we read in Acts 2.  I, for one, need time to “get my head around” big changes and “missional living” is a very big change.  I think God has given PoC our combined stories along with this 8-week sermon series along with our 6-week Sunday night “conversation” so that we can all get our heads around missional living.  If we are not careful, this sermon series will come and go along with “the conversation”.  Because of this, we need to add “doing something” to our consideration, conversation and contemplation.  In other words, we need to “do something” WHILE we are getting our head around it.

That’s why I’m writing today.  This week we will be learning that God has given us the Holy Currency of Eating:  Regularly eat meals with others as a way of inviting them into the family of God.  Why?  Because eating meals with others not only shows care and inclusiveness, but the meals themselves embody love in community.  They put flesh on the phrase “You’re welcome here anytime.”  Meals turn outsiders into family.  I want us to get our head around this rhythm.  I want us to do something while we are getting our head around it.  Make plans now to open your home and/or you schedule to others this week.  It’s time to eat.

Finally, there are three ways the New Testament completes the sentence, “The Son of Man came . . .”:

1. The Son of Man (came not) to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many”.
2. The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
3. The Son of Man came eating and drinking.

Consider this:  the first two are statements of purpose answering the question, “Why did Jesus come?”  He came to serve, to give life as a ransom, to seek and to save the lost.  But the third statement is a statement of method.  HOW did Jesus come?  He came eating and drinking.  His “excess” of food and “excess” of grace are linked.  Jesus did not go around merely talking about eating and drinking:  He went around eating and drinking.  Jesus ate with others – a lot – regularly!

Can’t wait to see you Sunday.  Your Pastors Are Praying For You,

Pastor Todd

jtoddkeller@pointofchange.org

3098269944