~ February 1, 2015 ~
The Choice to Rejoice
Habakkuk 3:17-19
17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
INTRO:
1. Habakkuk name means embracer or wrestler.
What’s a wrestler trying to accomplish? He’s trying to get a grip. He wrestles and struggles with getting a grip and an understanding of the Lord’s ways and judgments concerning the unrighteous in these three chapters.
2. Here is a simple outline of The Book of Habakkuk
A. Chapter 1 - He Wrestles with Mysteries
3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
** Habakkuk is burdened because sees that the unrighteous are never punished and even prosper more than the righteous. So he asks God, “Why?” “How long?”
**The truth is, you and I have questioned the same things and we don’t always understand.
B. Chapter 2 - He Writes the Message
2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
** God did answer Habakkuk and gave him a message to the unrighteous which was, judgment day is coming!
** It is the same message the Lord is delivering today to this unrighteous world – Judgment Day is Coming!!
C. Chapter 3 – He Works his Ministry
Two Ways He Works His Ministry:
1. He Prays.
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.
He responds to the message the Lord gives him, and in his prayer we see FEAR (v-16), FATE (v-17), and FAITH (v-18-19)
2. He Praises.
18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
3. Today we see things around us that Habakkuk faced. We see Cold, Careless, Callous, Criminals who live sinful and unrighteous everyday without any consequences.
4. However, Judgment Day is Coming!
5. What did Habakkuk do? In Chapter 1 He Wept and Wrestled. In Chapter 2 He Watched and Wrote. In Chapter 3 He Worshipped!
6. That’s the message I feel the Lord wants me to deliver to you! Habakkuk made the Choice to Rejoice!
7. No matter what you are looking at that gets you down, you can make the Choice to Rejoice!
BODY – THE CHOICE TO REJOICE!
I. THE EVIDENCE OF SALVATION
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
** Without salvation, you cannot rejoice! Habakkuk could rejoice because there was salvation in his heart despite all the bad things that surrounded him!
** Where Salvation dwells . . .
A. The Spirit is Evident
1. The Spirit of God is Evident
“I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God”
** It is God that causes us to rejoice and have joy despite all the troubles!
2. The Spirit of Grace is Evident
“my salvation.”
** It is Grace that causes us to rejoice and have joy despite all the trials!
B. The Stirring is Evident
** Notice the words “rejoice” and ‘joy” – These words give the idea that something is stirring on the inside of this man!
1. A Celebration is Stirring in Habakkuk!
2. A Cheer is Stirring in Habakkuk!
3. A Contentment is Stirring in Habakkuk!
** Despite all the bad and terrible and troubling things Habakkuk sees, something in him stirred him to make a Choice to Rejoice!
C. The Solace is Evident
**Solace means peace. You cannot rejoice or have joy unless peace dwells in your heart!
1. Notice the Comfort of Peace – It’s relaxing!
2. Notice the Consolation of Peace – It’s relief!
**God’s Salvation causes me to make the choice to rejoice!
II. THE EXISTENCE OF STRUGGLES
A. He Struggled with The Punishment
2 O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid:
** He heard God foretell of the punishment to come, and it made him afraid.
** When we really see and understand the punishment to come, it will cause us to struggle with fear . . .
1. For Our Family
2. For Our Friends
**Nobody wants to think about their family and friends going to hell and living in a lake of fire, but it will happen!
B. He Struggled with The Pain
16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble:
1. Pain that caused him to be Trembling
a. His Belly Trembled (my belly trembled)
b. His Bones Trembled
(rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled)
2. Pain that caused him to be Troubled
**He was trembling about being troubled and wanted “rest in the day of trouble.”
C. He Struggled with The Problems
17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
**Habakkuk knew problems would come.
1. Rot that offered a Perversion, a Poison, and a Pollution. 2. Ruin that offered destruction and decay.
**Great Struggles causes me to make the choice to rejoice!
III. THE EXPERIENCE OF SHOUTING
18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
A. Look at the Decision
1. He Decided to Lift Up His Hands!
“I will rejoice in the LORD”
2. He Decided to Lift Up His Heart!
“I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
B. Look at the Determination
**He said, “I Will.”
1. Despite the Problems I Fear
2. Despite the Pain I Feel
3. Despite the People I Face
4. Despite the Phobias I Fret
**I too have made the Choice to Rejoice! I Will Rejoice!
**Thank God I have a church to go to that is my refuge and my relief from the world and the wicked where I can come and make a Choice to Rejoice every time I come!
**Godly Shouting causes me to make the Choice to Rejoice!
IV. THE EXCELLENCE OF HIS STRENGTH
19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
**Once I make the Choice to Rejoice, God becomes my strength and . . .
A. It Affects My Feet
**Notice - “he will make my feet like hinds' feet,”
Illustration: A hind is a deer, and Habakkuk said the Lord would make his feet like a deer. That intrigued me as to what was so special about a deer’s feet. 1) They have strength in their legs and feet that causes them to run at 40 miles per hour! 2) They have strength in their legs and feet which causes them to jump 10’ high! Habakkuk was saying that when he chooses to rejoice, God strengthens him and it wasn’t a secret that when God strengthen him it was very possible he would run and jump just like a deer!
**Not everybody runs and jumps when they rejoice, but when the Lord strengthens you in your rejoicing, it will be evident!!
**Habakkuk said that running and jumping was of the Lord when the Lord strengthens you to do it!
B. It Affects My Faith
1. His Strength Helps Me To Walk Upon High Places!
“he will make me to walk upon mine high places.”
2. His Strength Helps Me To Walk Upon Holy Places!
**I thank the Lord for some High and Holy places the Lord has allowed me to walk upon and rejoice in on this side of heaven despite the problems, the pain, the people, and the phobias!
**God’s Strength causes me to make the Choice to Rejoice!
CLOSE
**Habakkuk said, “Even though everything falls apart and rots away, I’m making a choice to rejoice, and God will strengthen me and help me through it all!”
1. Will you make the Choice to Rejoice today?
2. Can you rejoice today because there’s evidence of salvation in your heart and life?
3. Despite the struggles of pain, problems, people, panic, and phobias, will you make the choice to rejoice? Habakkuk made that choice! Job made that choice! Will you?
4. When God’s presences gets thick and people start shouting, do you get the strong urge to make the choice to rejoice? If not, you might need to get a check up!
5. Do you desire the Lord’s strength to help you walk in high and holy places? Then make the choice to rejoice!
6. Sometimes folks need to do what Habakkuk did before he made the choice to rejoice – he prayed!
7. How about coming now to this altar and pouring your heart out to God and letting him prepare your heart for rejoicing! You too can leave here today rejoicing in the Lord! he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
INTRO:
1. Habakkuk name means embracer or wrestler.
What’s a wrestler trying to accomplish? He’s trying to get a grip. He wrestles and struggles with getting a grip and an understanding of the Lord’s ways and judgments concerning the unrighteous in these three chapters.
2. Here is a simple outline of The Book of Habakkuk
A. Chapter 1 - He Wrestles with Mysteries
3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
** Habakkuk is burdened because sees that the unrighteous are never punished and even prosper more than the righteous. So he asks God, “Why?” “How long?”
**The truth is, you and I have questioned the same things and we don’t always understand.
B. Chapter 2 - He Writes the Message
2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
** God did answer Habakkuk and gave him a message to the unrighteous which was, judgment day is coming!
** It is the same message the Lord is delivering today to this unrighteous world – Judgment Day is Coming!!
C. Chapter 3 – He Works his Ministry
Two Ways He Works His Ministry:
1. He Prays.
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.
He responds to the message the Lord gives him, and in his prayer we see FEAR (v-16), FATE (v-17), and FAITH (v-18-19)
2. He Praises.
18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
3. Today we see things around us that Habakkuk faced. We see Cold, Careless, Callous, Criminals who live sinful and unrighteous everyday without any consequences.
4. However, Judgment Day is Coming!
5. What did Habakkuk do? In Chapter 1 He Wept and Wrestled. In Chapter 2 He Watched and Wrote. In Chapter 3 He Worshipped!
6. That’s the message I feel the Lord wants me to deliver to you! Habakkuk made the Choice to Rejoice!
7. No matter what you are looking at that gets you down, you can make the Choice to Rejoice!
BODY – THE CHOICE TO REJOICE!
I. THE EVIDENCE OF SALVATION
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
** Without salvation, you cannot rejoice! Habakkuk could rejoice because there was salvation in his heart despite all the bad things that surrounded him!
** Where Salvation dwells . . .
A. The Spirit is Evident
1. The Spirit of God is Evident
“I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God”
** It is God that causes us to rejoice and have joy despite all the troubles!
2. The Spirit of Grace is Evident
“my salvation.”
** It is Grace that causes us to rejoice and have joy despite all the trials!
B. The Stirring is Evident
** Notice the words “rejoice” and ‘joy” – These words give the idea that something is stirring on the inside of this man!
1. A Celebration is Stirring in Habakkuk!
2. A Cheer is Stirring in Habakkuk!
3. A Contentment is Stirring in Habakkuk!
** Despite all the bad and terrible and troubling things Habakkuk sees, something in him stirred him to make a Choice to Rejoice!
C. The Solace is Evident
**Solace means peace. You cannot rejoice or have joy unless peace dwells in your heart!
1. Notice the Comfort of Peace – It’s relaxing!
2. Notice the Consolation of Peace – It’s relief!
**God’s Salvation causes me to make the choice to rejoice!
II. THE EXISTENCE OF STRUGGLES
A. He Struggled with The Punishment
2 O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid:
** He heard God foretell of the punishment to come, and it made him afraid.
** When we really see and understand the punishment to come, it will cause us to struggle with fear . . .
1. For Our Family
2. For Our Friends
**Nobody wants to think about their family and friends going to hell and living in a lake of fire, but it will happen!
B. He Struggled with The Pain
16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble:
1. Pain that caused him to be Trembling
a. His Belly Trembled (my belly trembled)
b. His Bones Trembled
(rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled)
2. Pain that caused him to be Troubled
**He was trembling about being troubled and wanted “rest in the day of trouble.”
C. He Struggled with The Problems
17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
**Habakkuk knew problems would come.
1. Rot that offered a Perversion, a Poison, and a Pollution. 2. Ruin that offered destruction and decay.
**Great Struggles causes me to make the choice to rejoice!
III. THE EXPERIENCE OF SHOUTING
18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
A. Look at the Decision
1. He Decided to Lift Up His Hands!
“I will rejoice in the LORD”
2. He Decided to Lift Up His Heart!
“I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
B. Look at the Determination
**He said, “I Will.”
1. Despite the Problems I Fear
2. Despite the Pain I Feel
3. Despite the People I Face
4. Despite the Phobias I Fret
**I too have made the Choice to Rejoice! I Will Rejoice!
**Thank God I have a church to go to that is my refuge and my relief from the world and the wicked where I can come and make a Choice to Rejoice every time I come!
**Godly Shouting causes me to make the Choice to Rejoice!
IV. THE EXCELLENCE OF HIS STRENGTH
19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
**Once I make the Choice to Rejoice, God becomes my strength and . . .
A. It Affects My Feet
**Notice - “he will make my feet like hinds' feet,”
Illustration: A hind is a deer, and Habakkuk said the Lord would make his feet like a deer. That intrigued me as to what was so special about a deer’s feet. 1) They have strength in their legs and feet that causes them to run at 40 miles per hour! 2) They have strength in their legs and feet which causes them to jump 10’ high! Habakkuk was saying that when he chooses to rejoice, God strengthens him and it wasn’t a secret that when God strengthen him it was very possible he would run and jump just like a deer!
**Not everybody runs and jumps when they rejoice, but when the Lord strengthens you in your rejoicing, it will be evident!!
**Habakkuk said that running and jumping was of the Lord when the Lord strengthens you to do it!
B. It Affects My Faith
1. His Strength Helps Me To Walk Upon High Places!
“he will make me to walk upon mine high places.”
2. His Strength Helps Me To Walk Upon Holy Places!
**I thank the Lord for some High and Holy places the Lord has allowed me to walk upon and rejoice in on this side of heaven despite the problems, the pain, the people, and the phobias!
**God’s Strength causes me to make the Choice to Rejoice!
CLOSE
**Habakkuk said, “Even though everything falls apart and rots away, I’m making a choice to rejoice, and God will strengthen me and help me through it all!”
1. Will you make the Choice to Rejoice today?
2. Can you rejoice today because there’s evidence of salvation in your heart and life?
3. Despite the struggles of pain, problems, people, panic, and phobias, will you make the choice to rejoice? Habakkuk made that choice! Job made that choice! Will you?
4. When God’s presences gets thick and people start shouting, do you get the strong urge to make the choice to rejoice? If not, you might need to get a check up!
5. Do you desire the Lord’s strength to help you walk in high and holy places? Then make the choice to rejoice!
6. Sometimes folks need to do what Habakkuk did before he made the choice to rejoice – he prayed!
7. How about coming now to this altar and pouring your heart out to God and letting him prepare your heart for rejoicing! You too can leave here today rejoicing in the Lord! he will make me to walk upon mine high places.