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Well, I want to invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Habakkuk,
the book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament Minor Prophets.
It may take you a couple of minutes to get there, so take your time,
and we will start a brand new study today.
It's a brand new study in this book that I think is going to be beneficial to us.
From time to time, people will ask me what my favorite book of the Bible is,
and almost always my answer to that question is whatever book I happen to be studying
at the time that I get asked that question.
And this is the same exact case today.
I have found in my personal study of the book of Habakkuk over the last couple of weeks
to be a really fruitful time of study.
It's been actually really fantastic.
I've enjoyed myself in it, and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite books of the Bible.
I don't really know exactly how you're supposed to pronounce the name of this book.
In fact, if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram,
you probably saw earlier this week that I was trying to get some people to help me out with that.
What I've come to determine is that if you are from the United States,
you probably say Habakkuk,
and if you are from anywhere else, you probably say Habakkuk or Habakkuk.
And if you're Jewish, there's some ways in there that I can't even pronounce anyways,
at least in a way that wouldn't be embarrassing to me.
But even though I don't really know how to say it,
you're probably going to hear me say it a few different ways in every sermon.
I really have truly grown to love this book,
and I hope that that will be the case for you as well.
As you will see, this book of the Bible is actually amazingly relatable to us today.
In fact, at any point in history,
this book would have been completely relevant and relatable.
Have you ever cried out to God about a particular condition that you find yourself in
or a particular condition that you notice to be prevalent in the culture?
Maybe the wickedness of our society,
maybe even the wickedness that can often be found within churches
has caused you at some point in your walk with Christ
to cry out to God asking,
why are you allowing this to happen?
Why aren't you doing something about this?
Why are you bringing this particular thing to my life?
Sometimes our questions of that,
of why and how long,
will lead us to question God's love.
Sometimes it will lead us to question God's existence.
And the truth of the matter is,
there's not a person,
not a believer at least,
that will go through their life without at some point
being confronted with those questions.
As we come to understand the Lord more,
and as we understand the scriptures more,
and we understand his control and his sovereignty,
that really can be perplexing
as to why he would allow sin,
why he would allow destruction,
why he would bring things to pass
and seemingly be absent in judgment
or absent in intervening in times
that we really cry out for his help.
Well, you're not alone in those questions.
Habakkuk asks those same questions
as we'll study over the next few weeks.
And in the case of Habakkuk's book,
God's answers actually led to more perplexity for him.
But ultimately, as we see,
he came to understand that God is always right
and that he must be trusted by us.
Let's just read the first verse of the book, would you?
Habakkuk chapter one and verse number one.
It just simply says,
the burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
Now, to understand the context of the book,
I wanna just divide this verse up
into three different categories,
and we're gonna use that to explore
what the Bible says was the context of Judah
during this time.
And the first thing that we look at
is this phrase, the burden,
or the burden in verse number one.
Now, the use of the term burden
in the Old Testament prophetical books is common.
Sometimes it's rendered as oracle,
and the term really refers to a specific revelation from God
that is given through his chosen servant.
Now, these chosen servants are what we refer to as prophets.
And we don't call them prophets
because they had some kind of special power
to protect the future,
but because they were responsible
for delivering the message of God
in regards to a future occurrence.
These people, these servants of God,
were not fortune tellers.
They were preachers.
They were proclaimers of God's message
in regards to the future fulfillment of his covenant.
That would be a positive burden,
a positive prophecy.
Or it was in relation to the demonstration
of God's wrath against sin.
And that would be a negative burden.
Well, here in the case of Habakkuk,
the message is one of judgment against Judah
for their continual idolatry and rebellion towards God.
But our modern understanding of the word burden
is not to be dismissed,
for there truly does exist
a heavy weight of responsibility
in the heart and mind of God's messenger.
This message from God is seen
as a legitimate burden to Habakkuk in two ways.
The first one is this,
that he was burdened by the wickedness of Judah
in the seeming absence of God's judgment.
So when it refers to this prophecy
as the burden of Habakkuk,
we see first that it was because of a burden in his heart
when he stopped and he considered
the sinful condition of the nation.
Now, in the case of Habakkuk,
God chose to introduce his message of judgment
through the real burden of the prophet's heart.
Now, the context of God's words in this book
is set within a specific dialogue
that actually began with Habakkuk crying out to God.
So burdened was Habakkuk about the rampant wickedness of Judah
that he continually cried out to God in prayer because of it.
So this cry of his righteous heart
led to God providing an answer
that Habakkuk was commanded to proclaim to the people.
So since the prophecy itself was initiated
by the prayer of the man,
it is appropriate for the narrative
to be introduced as his burden.
As in other prophecies are set opposite of this
where God comes to a chosen servant
irregardless of his prayer or his condition
and he calls out to them in seeming obscurity
and he just says,
hey, I've got a message, I need you to proclaim it.
In the case of Habakkuk, it didn't happen that way.
God didn't just appear to Habakkuk and say,
hey, I want you to proclaim this message of judgment.
He actually introduces his message
because of Habakkuk's prayer.
And Habakkuk comes to prayer day by day
for how long, we don't know.
It was probably for a pretty long time.
And he cries out to God,
why are you allowing this to happen?
Why are you allowing this sin to continue?
Why aren't you doing something
about the wickedness of the nation?
And it was because of Habakkuk's burden in his heart
that God responded with a message
that he actually ended up having Habakkuk
proclaim to the people.
Now this reveals to us the very nature of Habakkuk's heart.
He was a holy man.
And we know that he was a holy man
because he recognized the sin.
And it's not only that he recognized the sin,
but that he was burdened by the sin.
It wasn't that he was okay or dismissive
of what was going on.
It bothered him that the nation
had turned their backs on God once again.
It bothered him that they were worshiping false gods.
It irritated him that nothing was happening
in regards to the wicked leadership of the nation.
And the truth is, this is the same burden
that we're supposed to carry.
But many of us don't carry this burden
because we've become so desensitized
to the sin around us
that it no longer bothers us
to see the wickedness in our own lives.
It doesn't bother us to see the wickedness in our homes.
It doesn't bother us to see the wickedness
sometimes in our churches.
It doesn't bother us to see the wickedness in our nation.
We've become desensitized to it.
We've become okay with it.
We see that it's there,
but it doesn't bother us all the time.
This was different for Habakkuk.
It irritated his heart.
He was holy before the Lord.
And so he carried with him this burden
over the condition of the nation.
And because of this burden,
he cried out to the Lord.
And because he cried out to the Lord,
the Lord ended up using him
as his chosen servant
in this pronunciation of judgment.
So we see that it's a burden for that reason.
Secondly,
the nature of judgment
in God's message through Habakkuk
means that the actual delivery
of the prophecy itself
would have been a tremendous burden.
No one minds being the bearer of good news.
We get excited to go and tell people good things.
One of the things that I love about Ashlyn
is she loves,
she wants to be the one
to tell everybody everything.
And if there's something dramatic taking place,
she wants to be the one that tells you.
If there's something super exciting
that's taking place,
especially,
she will run through the house
to beat everybody else
for the opportunity
to let me know what has happened.
Nobody minds being the bearer
of good news or exciting news.
But very few people
have the fortitude
to actually be the messengers
of bad news.
Not only is it a burden
to bring devastating news
to another person,
but the wicked people of Israel
were not known
for receiving God's prophets
with submission and kindness.
They often murdered those
that God sent
to deliver his message.
And Habakkuk would have certainly been aware
of the history of the nation
and how they treated God's chosen,
especially as it related
to announcements of judgment.
So being the bearer
of this news of judgment
would have carried with it
a significant burden
for the prophet.
This wasn't something
he would have been pleased in.
It wouldn't have come easy
for him to actually go to the nation
and maybe even to the leadership
of the nation
and say,
because of your sin,
this is the judgment
that God is going to bring your way.
It's no different
to the task that we have,
the burden even that we have
of sharing the gospel
with people today.
Now the gospel is good news.
The word itself means that.
It means good news.
But the gospel,
while being good news,
actually begins
with very bad news.
Before you can proclaim
the gospel truth of salvation
and the love of God
and the gracious mercy
and forgiveness
that he offers
to those who will believe in him,
you have to begin
with the reality
of our sinful condition.
The fact that none of us are good.
None of us are good enough for God.
All of us in our current condition
stand condemned.
No one likes to be told
that they're wrong
and that there's nothing
they can do about it.
No one likes to be told
that they will be excluded
from a blessing
because of the nature
of their heart.
And so as we go
and we carry the burden
of the gospel,
we carry that with the excitement
of God's love,
but we also carry it
with the burden
of sharing the bad news
with people,
the message of judgment.
Because the good news
of the gospel
actually begins
with just that,
a message of judgment.
And the world will not only
reject the message,
but they often will reject
the messenger.
But we are called
to bear this burden.
Just as Habakkuk was called
to bear the burden
of this prophetic judgment,
we as Christians,
every one of us,
we are called
to carry and bear
the burden
of the gospel.
While it is good news,
it is also a message
of judgment.
And we must be willing
to proclaim
that message.
Now this specific prophecy
is dated
somewhere around
600 BC.
And the historical references
within the book
indicate
that the Assyrian empire
that had taken
the northern kingdom
of Israel captive
was now fading
out of view
as this new
powerful regime
of the Babylonian empire
or the Chaldeans
was becoming
the reigning world power.
Now this regime
had not yet
reached Judah
and that's what
we actually see
as a major part
of this prophecy.
That as a part
of God's judgment
or as God's judgment,
He was actually
going to eventually
allow the Babylonians
to make their way
to Judah
and take them captive.
But let's make
a few notes
about the condition
of Judah
that actually led
to Habakkuk
having this burden.
Now 2 Chronicles
chapter 35
tells us that
about the time
that Habakkuk
was writing this
was just a few years
at most
after King Josiah,
what we would refer to
often as the boy king.
it was just
after he had died.
Now King Josiah
was a godly king
and we're going to
come back to that
in just a few minutes
but 2 Chronicles
chapter 35
actually tells us
that at the end
of his life
he made an unwise
decision
by going to
fight against
Pharaoh Necho
when he was actually
trying to fight
against the Assyrians.
God had actually
sent a message
through the Egyptians
that Josiah
and Judah
needed to go back home
they didn't need
to be involved
with this
but he didn't listen
and he ended up
dying on the battlefield.
You can read about that
in 2 Chronicles
chapter 35
but after
the death
of Josiah
we see that
one of his sons
that became known
as Jehoiakim
led the nation
back
to idolatry
and the sinful
atrocities
that always
accompanied
such pagan worship.
Now there's
two passages
in the Old Testament
historical books
that record
the nature
of Jehoiakim's
11 year reign.
Both accounts
only provide
one substantive
verse
that tells us
anything about
what the nature
of Judah
was during
his kingship
and both times
all the writers
felt was necessary
to communicate
was one simple
sentence
that Jehoiakim
did that
which was evil
in the sight
of the Lord.
2 Chronicles
chapter 36
and verse 5
Jehoiakim
was 25 years old
when he began
to reign
he reigned
11 years
in Jerusalem
and he did
that which was evil
in the sight
of the Lord.
2 Kings
chapter 23
and verse 37
and he did
that which was evil
in the sight
of the Lord
according to all
that his fathers
had done.
So wicked
was Jehoiakim's reign
that an entire
11 year span
of history
that ultimately
led to the
captivity of Judah
for 70 years
in Babylon
all that the writers
felt was necessary
to say
was that everything
he did
was evil
in the sight
of the Lord.
There was nothing
righteous
about this king
at all.
He had abandoned
the ways
of his father
Josiah
he had abandoned
the ways
of the godly
kings of Judah
and he had
followed in the
path of the
northern kingdom
of Israel
and he had
re-established
pagan worship
and all of the
atrocities
and moral decay
that came along
with that.
So when Habakkuk
is writing
and he's crying
out to God
in the beginning
of this book
the context
with which he
is writing
is one of
great wickedness
and devastation
an entire nation
seemingly
turning their
back
on the god
that had
chosen them
and saved
them
and provided
for them
time and
time again.
Now it was
nothing but
wickedness
with a wicked
ruler
and Habakkuk
could not
figure out
why god
was allowing
this to
take place.
Jeremiah
chapter 22
tells us
a little bit
more about
Jehoiakim
and it
pronounces a
specific judgment
that was delivered
to him as well.
You can read
about it on
your own
in Jeremiah
22.
This was a
wicked man
and he had
led the
entire nation
into this
vile wickedness
and God
was about
to pour out
an unbelievable
judgment
on this
nation.
But before
Habakkuk
understood
the judgment
that was to
come
he cries
out to the
Lord
so why
why are you
allowing this
to happen?
Why are you
allowing this
to go seemingly
unjudged
and unhindered?
And so we
see the
burden here.
The second
thing that we
notice in
this verse
that's going
to help us
understand a
little bit of
the context
of this book
is this
second phrase
and that is
the burden
which Habakkuk
the prophet
Habakkuk
the prophet
the truth
is that we
really have
no idea
who this
man is.
We don't know
anything about
him except
for what we
can deduce
from our
study of
the book
itself.
We have
no idea
who Habakkuk
is.
No other
portions of
scripture mention
him.
We can only
deduce his
identity based
on what is
revealed to
us in
his book.
But this
is not
uncommon
with the
minor prophets
neither is
it incidental.
Owen
Robertson
said this
like Elijah
as well as
John the
Baptist
Habakkuk
appeared as
a voice
and nothing
more.
He must
be heard
because he
was the
bearer of
God's
message
not because
of what
he was
in himself.
And I find
that to be
very helpful.
Our tendency
is to focus
on an
individual
for their
personality
and accomplishments
rather than
the substance
of what they
say and the
character that
they portray
in their
actions.
Even as
Christians
we can be
guilty of
sacrificing
sound theology
for the
charismatic
personality of
a particular
leader.
We can also
be guilty of
choosing to
covenant with
a church
not on the
basis of the
message that
they preach
but on the
basis of the
programs that
they offer.
We can very
much be shallow
people in
general but even
Christians can
fall guilty to
this.
And so God
doesn't reveal
to us much
about Habakkuk
seemingly so
that we don't
become so
immersed in the
person of the
prophet that we
miss the message
that he was
tasked with
delivering.
God has never
been interested
in the praise
of men.
We do not
heed the
message of
Habakkuk's
burden because
of the credentials
that he bears
but because it
is the message
of the almighty
God.
Again,
we don't
listen to the
words of this
book because of
the credentials
of Habakkuk
but because it
is the message
of God.
And the same
should be the
case with our
church.
Not that you
would be
particularly
enamored with
me in any
way but you
are never to
listen to the
message because
of me.
You are to
listen to the
message because
it is the
word of God.
And if there
comes a time
that I cease to
preach the word
of God and
rely more on
personality and
rely more on
preaching of my
own preferences
and my own
opinions, that's
the moment that
as a church, it
is your
responsibility to
confront me, not
capitulate to the
personality or to
the offerings or
accomplishments that
may come along the
way.
We must not
listen to the
man.
We must listen to
the message that
comes from God.
Well, if the
culture of Judah
during the life of
Habakkuk was so
pervasively wicked,
how is it that he
had developed such
a hatred for sin
and burden for the
nation?
What was it that
kept Habakkuk from
following the same
wicked patterns as
the rest of the
nation?
Now, obviously, a
big part of that
answer is that it
was the work of
God in his life,
but I believe that
the means of God's
work in Habakkuk is
seen in his
upbringing.
Now, while we
don't know his age
at the time of the
writing, we can
determine through our
study of the book
that he was probably
an adult, maybe
even a mature
adult at the time
that he wrote.
Now, because the
reign of Jehoiakim
was so short, it
was only 11 years,
we can deduce that
Habakkuk was raised
predominantly during
the reign of the
godly king, Josiah.
Now, I've already
mentioned the events
surrounding the death
of Josiah, but in
this moment, it's
helpful for us to
understand the nature
of his reign as it
relates to the heart
of Habakkuk.
Now, if there's
nothing else that you
get in this more
informational study
setting up the book
as we study it
together over the
next few weeks, I
want you to pay
attention to this
part.
This part matters
so much, not only
to our understanding
of Habakkuk as an
individual, but how
we can develop this
same burden for
sinfulness in our
own lives.
Now, often referred to
as the boy king,
Josiah ascended to
the throne when he
was only eight years
old.
And by the time he
was 16, he was
leading a nationwide
reform that involved
the utter destruction
of Judah's pagan
worship and idols.
And 2 Chronicles 34
explains how this
reform was being led
by Josiah in the
early years of his
reign.
In fact, I want you
to turn there in your
Bibles.
Would you do that?
Flip over to 2
Chronicles 34.
I want you to see
this.
I'm not going to put
it on the screen
this time.
I actually want you
to see this in your
Bibles.
So 2 Chronicles 34.
And then just stay
there for a little bit
because we're going to
stay in that area of
the Scriptures.
2 Chronicles 34,
verses 3-7 record for
us the nature of this
reform in the early
years of Josiah's
reign.
Look at verse number
3.
For in the eighth year
of his reign, while
he was yet young, he
was only 16,
Josiah began to seek
after the God of
David, his father.
And in the twelfth year,
he began to purge
Judah and Jerusalem
from the high places
and the groves and the
carved images and the
molten images.
And they break down the
altars of Balaam in his
presence, and the images
that were on the high
above them, he cut down.
And the groves and the
carved images and the
molten images, he break in
pieces and made dust of
them and threw them upon
the graves of them that had
sacrificed unto them.
And he burnt the bones of
the priest upon the
altars and cleansed Judah
and Jerusalem.
And so did he in the
cities of Manasseh and
Ephraim and Simeon, even
unto Naphtali, which
their maddox round about.
And when he had broken
down the altars and the
groves and had beaten the
graven images into powder
and cut down all the idols
throughout all the land of
Israel, he returned to
Jerusalem.
Now, between the ages of
16 and 20, Josiah brought
this incredible reform.
But at this point, it's only
reform.
He's going through the
nation, he's going through
Judah, and he's breaking
down the idols, he's trying
to turn the hearts of the
nation back to the God of
David.
He's really just bringing
more of a religious reform,
and he's bringing a
governmental reform and a
civil reform.
It is all with the right
motivation.
He's following after the
God of David, but it's
really nothing more than
reform at this point.
Now, something significant
happens in the 18th year
of Josiah's reign.
When he's about 26 years
old now, he had initiated
the building project to fix
the temple of God that had
fallen into disrepair.
And in the process of this
renovation, when he's 26 years
old, someone finds hidden in
the temple a copy of the
scriptures of the Bible that
had been forsaken for so long
in Judah.
Now, it's unbelievable to think
that, that for years and years,
and even throughout this
reform, Josiah had not yet dug
himself into the scriptures.
He was basing everything up to
that point, as far as we can
gather, off of the tradition
that had been passed down, at
least from the godly kings and
what he knew of David and what
he knew of David's reign.
But for the first time, when
he's 26 years old, they find
the book, they find the
scriptures.
And after reading the Bible,
Josiah led a second wave of
revival that swept across the
land.
For the first few years, it was
just reform.
It was good reform, but it was
reform.
Now that he has been confronted
with the truth of the
scripture, he is leading this
wave in this season of
revival in the land.
And 2 Kings chapter 23 helps
us grasp the significance of
this revival.
I want you to turn there now.
Just flip a few pages back from
where you are in 2 Chronicles
34, and I want you to look
with me at 2 Kings chapter 23.
And the first thing we see here
is Josiah reading the
scriptures, not just to
himself, but he's reading it to
the nation.
Look with me at verse number
1.
And the king sent, and they
gathered unto him all the
elders of Judah and of
Jerusalem.
And the king went up into the
house of the Lord, and all the
men of Judah, and all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem with
him, and the priests and the
prophets, and all the people,
both small and great.
He's gathered everybody
together to preach the word,
is what he's doing.
Now look at the next phrase.
And he read in their ears all
the words of the book of the
covenant, which was found in the
house of the Lord.
Church, this is so important.
This is so significant.
Though the reforms up to that
point were fantastic, and they
were laying the groundwork for
this revival.
They were nothing but reform.
But at the moment that we
confront ourselves with the
truth of the scripture, simple
reform becomes revival.
And true revival that is
spirit-led makes a massive
difference in our lives and in
our homes and in our nation.
And here's what Josiah did.
And the king stood by a pillar
and made a covenant before the
Lord to walk after the Lord and
to keep his commandments and his
testimonies and his statutes.
Now listen, it turns from the
singular to the plural.
With all their heart and all their
soul.
This is the nation he's leading
now.
To perform the words of this
covenant that were written in
this book and all the people
stood to the covenant.
This revival begins with a
commitment to the scriptures.
Revival in your life and in your
home and in your church and in our
nation is not going to come through
the election.
It's going to come through our
commitment to the scriptures.
Reform will do nothing.
It will do nothing for us.
You can try to shape everything up
the way you want to and the
nation can try to cut away some of
the fat of the wickedness and do
what they're going to do.
But without a commitment to the
scriptures, revival will not come.
Josiah started with the
scriptures.
Now the second thing that we
notice in this same chapter,
2 Kings 23, is Josiah dealing
with sin.
And he's dealing with it in a
different way and in an additional
way than what he had done before.
Look with me at verse 4.
And he brought forth out of the
temple of the Lord all the vessels
that were made for Baal, the false
god, and for the grove and for all
the host of heaven.
And he burned them without Jerusalem.
Verse 5.
And he put down the idolatrous
priest.
Verse 6.
And he brought out the grove from
the house of the Lord and burned
it.
Verse 7.
And he break down the house of the
sodomites.
Those were male prostitutes that
were involved in the forms of pagan
worship that accompanied the sin of
the nation.
Verse 8.
And defiled the high places where the
priest had burned incense.
Verse 10.
And he defiled Topheth, which is in
the valley of the children of Hinnom,
that no man might make his son or his
daughter to pass through the fire to
Moloch.
I don't know if you understand what
this worship of Moloch was.
This was an idol that they would have
built and they would have fashioned out
probably some type of metal.
And it had its hands out like this
right here.
Passing through the fire is when they
would take their children and they
would sacrifice them to this idol called
Moloch.
And this Moloch, they would take his
hands and they would heat them up to an
extreme degree and they would take their
children, their babies, and they would
lay them on this heated up idol and they
would sacrifice their children literally
to death on this idol in this pagan
worship.
This wasn't the pagan people of the
nation.
This was the children of Israel.
This was Judah.
This was the godly section, supposedly
godly section of the nation.
And they were literally taking their
children and sacrificing them to Moloch.
And it's really no different than what's
happening to us today in our nation.
People aren't sacrificing their children
to Moloch.
They're sacrificing their children to the
god of self.
And they're not going to a pagan place of
worship and setting their children up on
an idol that's been heated up to a very
high degree.
They're going to the doctor's office and
they're taking a pill or they're having
a doctor literally go into their womb and
destroy and sacrifice their babies to the
god of themselves.
This wickedness in Judah is just as vile as
the wickedness that we see today.
And Josiah, because of the scriptures, not
only goes about this with reform, but he goes
through the nation and he begins to deal with the
specific sins of the nation.
Verse 12, and the altars that were on the top of the
upper chamber of Ahaz, the king beat down.
Verse 13, and the high places, listen, which Solomon,
the king of Israel had built, did the king defile.
This had been around for hundreds of years, even
before the divided kingdom.
Solomon had even led the nation in idolatry.
And it didn't matter to Josiah how historical these idols
and places of worship were.
It didn't matter to Josiah that it was the great king
Solomon that had instituted him or placed him there.
It didn't matter to Josiah how culturally acceptable, how
historically desensitized the nation had become to them.
He was getting rid of every single bit of sin that he could
find in the nation.
Verse 14, and he break in pieces the images and cut down the
groves.
Listen, genuine revival in the heart of a person and in a home
and in a church and in a nation does not come through reform.
It comes first through the commitment to the scriptures.
And out of the commitment to the scriptures comes a repentant
heart that is bent on clearing out every bit of sin in our
lives, no matter how historical that sin is, no matter how
accepted that sin is among everybody else.
It's a commitment to dealing with sin.
And then he leads in worship.
Look at verse 21.
And the king commanded all the people saying, keep the Passover
unto the Lord your God, as it is written in the book of this
covenant.
Surely there was not held such a Passover from the days of the
judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of
Israel, nor the kings of Judah, but in the 18th year of the
king Josiah, wherein the Passover was held to the Lord in
Jerusalem.
He led them in worship.
This is a part of the revival.
But this wasn't a fake worship.
This wasn't an entertainment driven worship.
It was a worship that was so profound and genuine that the
writer tells us that not even in the days of King David was the
Passover celebrated in this way.
And with this type of revival in the hearts of the people.
Now, I say all of that to say that this was the context in which
Habakkuk was raised.
He grew up in this dynamic.
He grew up amongst this kind of revival among God's people.
And it's a reminder to us that true revival is not a scheduled series of
meetings replete with emotionally stirring music and microwave sermons that
have proven to hype up a crowd.
Here's what true revival is.
True revival only comes when God's people first dig into the depths of the
scriptures and come out of their study, taking the action necessary to break down the idols
of their hearts.
Not just the most recent vices that have plagued their lives, but even the historical vices to
which they have grown accustomed to after years and years of spiritual neglect.
True revival involves the genuine worship of our holy God born out of a heart of repentance
and recognition of God's abundant mercy toward us.
Why did Habakkuk carry a burden in his heart and beg for God to judge the sin of the nation?
Why wasn't he desensitized to the wickedness that surrounded him?
Because he had learned long before the scriptures and had committed himself to following the holy
God that does not tolerate the sinfulness of man for very long.
And how will we see the sin of the nation and even the sin of our church with the same sense of
burden as Habakkuk?
It will only come once we seriously and genuinely commit ourselves to the scriptures,
the breaking down of the idols in our hearts and the true worship of our gracious father.
That's the point of pointing back to King Josiah's reign.
Some of us may be wondering, I've never really cried out to God with that kind of burden like Habakkuk did.
And the reason you've never cried out to God in that way is because you've allowed yourselves to neglect the scriptures
and you've become desensitized to the sin of the nation and even to the sin of your own home and to the sin of your own life.
You've allowed the acceptable sins that even sometimes the church will disregard.
You've allowed that to become prevalent in your life.
And the reason you don't carry this burden is because you are not committed to the holiness of God
and understanding his judgment against sin in the way that Habakkuk was acknowledging his holiness and his judgment.
Part of Habakkuk's heart in crying out to God was wondering why God wasn't bringing judgment already.
He was burdened by the sin and he anticipated that God was going to bring another revival through judgment.
And to be honest, we've got one more section of this to discover before we close it out for today.
But I think this is probably a good time wherever you're at to pause the video
and have a time of response to the Lord there.
Is the Bible a dusty old book hidden somewhere in your house?
If you do read it, is it your goal to simply gain knowledge or to actually know and obey God?
Are you reading the scriptures just to try to figure it all out?
Or are you coming with a desire to know the God of the Bible?
That'll make a difference.
Do you read the Bible?
Or is it hidden back in the temple somewhere?
Are you willing to enter an all-out assault against the sin of your life and the sin of your home
and the sin of the church and the sin of the nation?
Do you have a burden over sinfulness?
Or are you desensitized to the acceptable sins of your life?
And as you pause this video in just a moment, it probably would be wise if you're there with your family
to maybe go around and just let's do some serious evaluation of our home.
Are we becoming desensitized to some sinful behavior?
Or at least some behavior that's leading us to sinful practices that maybe we've ignored for a while?
Are we committed to the scriptures as a family?
Are we burdened about the sinfulness not just around us but the sinfulness that's in us?
Is your worship born out of a heart of repentance that genuinely delights in the God of mercy and grace?
I want to encourage you to pause the video now as we'll be doing in my home
and pray and beg God to give you this burden.
To help you be willing to cleanse the sin of your life in the way that Josiah cleansed the sin of the nation.
And that you would commit yourself to the scriptures and to the genuine worship of our God.
Thank you for listening to this sermon made available by Lakeside Bible Church.
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