HABAKKUK
Twelve Voices #8, The Book of Habakkuk
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Woodland Church
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
AN ANGUISHED PRAYER.
(Habakkuk 1:2–4, NLT) “How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.”
AN UNEXPECTED ANSWER.
(Habakkuk 1:5–7, NLT) “The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands. They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like.”
“THIS CAN’T BE RIGHT,” REPLY TO GOD.
(Habakkuk 1:13, NLT) “But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?”
1. GOD CONTROLS HISTORY.
2. HISTORY FOLLOWS GOD’S PLAN.
3. HISTORY IS ON GOD’S TIMETABLE.
4. HISTORY IS CONTAINED WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
5. GOD’S DELAYS FIT US FOR THE KINGDOM.
(Matthew 24:4–6, NLT) “Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.”
(Habakkuk 2:1–4, NLT) “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint. Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. 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. “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.”
1. STOP AND THINK.
(James 1:19, NLT) “You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”
2. REMIND YOURSELF OF THE BASICS OF FAITH.
(Habakkuk 1:12, NLT) “O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal— surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins.”
3. APPLY THE BASICS OF FAITH.
4. COMMIT THE PROBLEM BY FAITH TO GOD.
5. PERSISTENLY EXPECT GOD’S ANSWER.
(Habakkuk 2:1, NLT) “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint.”
JUSTIFICATION
(Romans 1:17, NLT) “This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
FAITH
(Galatians 3:11, NLT) “So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
DISCIPLESHIP
(Hebrews 10:38, NLT) “And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”
(Joshua 24:15, NLT) “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
HABAKKUK PRAYS …
(Habakkuk 3:1–2, NLT) “This prayer was sung by the prophet Habakkuk: I have heard all about you, Lord. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy.”
1. HABAKKUK PRAYS HUMBLY
(Habakkuk 3:3–4, NLT) “I see God moving across the deserts from Edom, the Holy One coming from Mount Paran. His brilliant splendor fills the heavens, and the earth is filled with his praise. His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is hidden.”
2. HABAKKUK PRAYS WORSHIPFULLY
3. HABAKKUK PRAYS GOD’S WILL
4. HABAKKUK PRAYS TO REMEMBER MERCY
(Luke 18:14, NLT) “I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
REJOICE IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION.
“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!”