Habakkuk Chapter 2 verse 1 to 4

Sermon Notes. Habakkuk Chapter 2 verse 1 to 4

How to trust God through some of the darkest and most difficult days of your life.

Chapter One was all about Habakkuk pouring out his heart to God in a torrent of complaints. And we could identify with Habakkuk as we look out at our world today and sometimes wonder - Lord, where are You? Why don’t You step into this whole brokenness and pain and do something?

Two words that I want us to notice in today’s chapter are the words, WATCH verse 1 and WAIT verse 3.

1: In confusing times like these, we need to listen to God and hear what He is saying to us in our world today v1. Habakkuk knows that he has been complaining bitterly against God and that God is going to come back to him and challenge him, v1, ‘I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what he will say to me and what answer he will give to my complaint.’

Habakkuk is going to the watchtower to position his heart to listen to God. The Watchtower was a place of prayer for the intercessors, Isaiah 62:6-7. It was a place for listening and hearing God speak, a place to gain God’s perspective on the difficulties and troubles of everyday life, down there in the city.

We too desperately need to listen carefully to everything that God is saying to us in these days.

Habakkuk is WATCHING and LISTENING to hear God speaking to him and we are too!

2: In confusing times like these we NEED to WAIT on God’s timing and trust God’s purposes even when life is VERY difficult for us, v2-4.

When Habakkuk listens, guess what? God speaks to him and God will speak to you. First thing God says in verse 2 – ‘Write it down.’ ‘Write down what I’m going to show you, say to you, reveal to you, Habakkuk. Habakkuk must have obeyed God otherwise we wouldn’t have this Book in our Bibles today, 2600+ years later. The second thing that God says is ‘Write it BIG.’ ‘And make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.’ V2 God is saying ‘Write it Big – Billboard size letters, so that everyone out there can get My Message and understand what I am telling you.’

The Babylonians are coming and they are going to bring my judgement down upon my people. Tell everyone that there is a judgement day coming.

Question: Why Does God want Habakkuk to tell everyone about His coming judgement? Answer: So that everybody has a chance to escape, a chance to turn and change the direction of their lives and the way they are living. A chance to take hold of Salvation.

Remember Jonah and the people of Nineveh when Jonah reluctantly told them that the judgement of God was coming, what did they do? ‘Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed! The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on sackcloth to show their sorrow. When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, He changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.’ Jonah 3:4-5 & 10.

God says to Habakkuk v3, ‘This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.’

The return of Jesus is coming, right on God’s timetable, not a second late!

Questions: How do You and I live? Do we, like Habakkuk, really believe this message of God’s coming judgement?

We need to take heed of the loving warnings of God. And we have a Gospel of Good news to proclaim and share with those around us who need to hear it and be rescued.

How are we to live as followers of Jesus in these dark, difficult, bewildering days when it is getting tougher to follow Jesus?

We are to live by trusting Him, by remaining faithful to Him, no matter what happens. He will NOT fail YOU.

2 Peter 3:14, ‘And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight.’

What a way to live as You wait for Jesus to return. Don’t shrink back. Don’t give up. Keep on trusting and following Jesus. You will receive the salvation of your souls. That’s God’s Promise! It will NOT fail!