WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:18.879 Great. Good evening, everyone. I'm really excited about this series. I know Habakkuk might feel a little bit random. Alistair alluded to the fact that it might be a slightly difficult book to find, but I hope that the next three weeks are a real blessing to you as we spend some time in this book. Before we dive in, why don't we pray together? Let me pray. 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:42.820 Heavenly Father, we ask for your help this evening as we come to your word, as we come with many questions. Lord, we pray that you would be with us, that you would be helping us to understand. Lord, would you speak through me this evening? In Jesus' name. Amen. 00:00:42.820 --> 00:01:00.079 So I want you to imagine with me to picture yourself in 1939. You're on a boat. It's a smallish sort of boat, and you're in the English Channel because you're on your way to World War II. You're on your way to fight at the front in France. 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:18.439 But you can't think about that now because your smallish sort of boat is sort of sinking. There's a storm thrashing all around you. Huge waves, gale force winds, relentless sideways rain. It looks like the end might come for you before you even land in France, before you even get to the war. 00:01:18.439 --> 00:01:40.159 Might be quite hard to picture yourself there. Difficult to imagine. But I wonder how you might react in a situation like that. You know yourself better than I do. Maybe you're the sort of person that would panic, take your army hat off and hopelessly start bailing water out of your ship. Maybe you're the sort of person who would dive into the sea and try and swim back to Dover. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:52.780 Maybe you're the sort of person who would just curl up into a ball and do nothing, frozen, terrified. Maybe you're the sort of person who'd be in denial, just really pretending that everything was okay, even though it wasn't. 00:01:53.819 --> 00:02:06.560 That's a pretty stark illustration, I think. But the truth is that life can feel a little bit like that, can't it? Like a bit of a storm. How do we respond in the storms of life? 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:20.840 Because if we're honest, the world that we live in, it's a bit of a mess. You just have to look at the news and see there's war, there's violence. In fact, I'm sure we don't even need to look at the news to know this in our own lives. 00:02:21.819 --> 00:02:34.340 There's just buckets of injustice in the world that we live in. I'm sure we can all think of a particular person in our lives, maybe in our pasts, or a group of people, or a specific injustice 00:02:34.340 --> 00:02:47.960 that has really made your mess. Aren't we asking, whether we believe in God or not this evening, aren't we asking, what is he doing in all of this? 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:59.580 If he is supposed to be loving and good and powerful and just, then why does the world, why does life feel like such a mess? 00:02:59.580 --> 00:03:06.200 That's really our question this evening, but it's also going to be our question over the next three evenings. 00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:11.340 It's this, how do we have faith even in the mess? 00:03:12.480 --> 00:03:18.180 Let's dive into our text this evening, just as we get our bearings, and have a look at verse one with me. 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:24.580 The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received. So what are we coming to here? 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:29.260 Well, that word translated prophecy, it really just means message or burden. 00:03:29.420 --> 00:03:35.540 This is the burden that God has placed on Habakkuk's heart about the injustice of the world around him. 00:03:35.700 --> 00:03:40.120 But it's quite unlike some of the maybe more familiar prophetic books in this genre, 00:03:40.160 --> 00:03:42.680 because it's not addressed to a particular people. 00:03:43.740 --> 00:03:47.860 Instead, this book, it takes the form of a conversation between Habakkuk and God. 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:49.580 Maybe you picked up on that in the reading. 00:03:49.580 --> 00:03:53.880 Habakkuk sort of asks God a question, and then God responds. 00:03:54.200 --> 00:03:56.100 We'll see next week, the same thing happens again. 00:03:56.200 --> 00:03:58.680 He asks a second question, and God responds. 00:03:58.980 --> 00:04:03.420 And then in the final chapter, Habakkuk responds himself with this wonderful song. 00:04:04.740 --> 00:04:09.939 And we'll see as we go through that these questions that Habakkuk asks are incredibly specific, actually. 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:14.600 Specific to the situation of a prophet in 7th century Judah. 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:24.939 But his specific questions, they're also incredibly timeless, because at their heart, they're still the questions that we're asking today. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:28.339 So what was Habakkuk's world like? 00:04:28.420 --> 00:04:29.839 Well, a bit of potted history. 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:32.079 Israel was the northern kingdom. 00:04:32.339 --> 00:04:36.459 They had been conquered and carried off into exile by the Assyrian Empire. 00:04:36.579 --> 00:04:37.240 Big crisis. 00:04:37.240 --> 00:04:46.100 And for Judah, the southern kingdom, that was followed by a century of bad kings, idol worship and violence. 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:48.920 Until along comes King Josiah. 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:52.759 Josiah was a good king in a line of really bad kings. 00:04:52.900 --> 00:04:57.019 And there's something of a revival under King Josiah. 00:04:57.400 --> 00:05:01.060 The nation of Judah returns to worship the one true God. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:04.439 But then Josiah dies in battle. 00:05:04.819 --> 00:05:06.120 One son replaces him. 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:07.560 He only lasts a couple of months. 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:11.199 But then his other son, Jehoiakim, becomes king. 00:05:12.019 --> 00:05:13.180 And he's awful. 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:17.480 In fact, he reversed all the good that his father Josiah had done. 00:05:17.860 --> 00:05:21.620 There is a return to violence, to faithlessness. 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:27.439 That's the sort of context then that Habakkuk asks this question in. 00:05:28.139 --> 00:05:33.879 In the sort of violence and faithlessness and mess with the memory of a good king. 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:39.100 He's a faithful prophet calling out to God in a messy world. 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:46.480 And in some ways, I think that being a Christian in Scotland today might feel a little bit like being a prophet in Judah. 00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:52.500 Certainly it can feel as though the church is slowly or maybe not so slowly dying. 00:05:54.120 --> 00:05:58.939 Easy to lament a decline in what we would see as true Christian spirituality. 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:03.699 To look at the waning Christian influence in this country. 00:06:03.699 --> 00:06:07.439 To watch the powers of lawlessness and injustice. 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:15.540 Now, I have to say at this point that virtually every generation of Christian history has felt a bit like that. 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:18.639 Like a faithful minority in a messy world. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:20.379 But it is certainly true today. 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:24.879 And so we might feel a bit like Habakkuk as he asks his first question. 00:06:25.060 --> 00:06:27.539 Calling out in a messy world. 00:06:28.599 --> 00:06:30.240 So here's our first point then. 00:06:30.719 --> 00:06:32.300 It's an honest question. 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:35.079 A really honest question that Habakkuk asks. 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:36.159 See in verse 2. 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:40.360 How long, Lord, must I call for help? 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:41.600 But you do not listen. 00:06:41.960 --> 00:06:43.880 Or cry out to you violence. 00:06:44.760 --> 00:06:46.400 But you do not save. 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:49.160 It's an honest question. 00:06:50.420 --> 00:06:53.580 But notice Habakkuk isn't doubting God's existence. 00:06:54.700 --> 00:06:56.060 Or even who God is. 00:06:56.140 --> 00:06:57.660 He calls him Lord. 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:01.460 It's a name that points to all that God has done. 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:03.500 Raising up for himself a people. 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:05.759 Rescuing them out of slavery in Egypt. 00:07:05.939 --> 00:07:07.439 Bringing them into the promised land. 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:10.500 It is this God to whom he prays. 00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:15.819 And notice too that he doesn't doubt that God is going to do something. 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:21.620 It's God's timing, not his character, that Habakkuk questions here. 00:07:22.420 --> 00:07:25.800 He is desperate to see God's justice done. 00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:26.620 How long? 00:07:28.220 --> 00:07:29.720 And yet it seems no answer. 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:32.720 He's been calling out about the violence of this King Jehoiakim. 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:33.320 Jehoiakim. 00:07:33.460 --> 00:07:34.140 How long? 00:07:35.140 --> 00:07:37.800 See in verse 3 the kind of thing that he's talking about. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:39.020 The injustice. 00:07:39.700 --> 00:07:41.000 The wrongdoing. 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:43.520 The destruction and violence. 00:07:43.740 --> 00:07:45.380 And strife and conflict. 00:07:46.780 --> 00:07:48.200 And so he just honestly asks. 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:50.980 How long until you're going to do justice, Lord? 00:07:51.280 --> 00:07:53.080 Aren't we asking that question today? 00:07:53.140 --> 00:07:53.840 How long? 00:07:55.700 --> 00:07:58.000 What are you going to do about our messy world? 00:07:58.000 --> 00:07:58.199 God. 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:04.600 But Habakkuk isn't denying that God is a God of justice. 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:08.600 Because it is God's justice that Habakkuk is concerned with. 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:11.980 You see in verse 4 he says the law is paralyzed. 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:18.079 That's the law given by God to help his people live wisely in the world. 00:08:18.420 --> 00:08:21.379 Under these kings, under Jehoiakim, under the wicked, 00:08:21.980 --> 00:08:23.600 that law is not allowed to function. 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:26.080 And so justice never prevails. 00:08:26.280 --> 00:08:27.520 Justice is perverted. 00:08:28.400 --> 00:08:31.300 And so just like us, Habakkuk is on the boat. 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:32.460 He's in the storm. 00:08:33.100 --> 00:08:35.440 There's injustice all around him. 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:40.779 It's worth saying at this stage that if you look at the world that we live in, 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:44.320 and if you see the injustice and it bothers you, 00:08:44.800 --> 00:08:49.779 that the mess, you know, as women continue to be trafficked into sex slavery, 00:08:49.779 --> 00:08:52.799 as war continues to rage, 00:08:52.860 --> 00:08:57.220 as vulnerable minorities all over the world are exploited and persecuted, 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:00.919 if you see that this is the sort of world that we live in, 00:09:00.980 --> 00:09:03.480 and it bothers you, and it should bother you, 00:09:03.899 --> 00:09:07.059 if that's you, but you don't believe in this God, 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:09.480 then you have to ask yourself, 00:09:09.579 --> 00:09:12.639 where are you getting your idea of justice from in the first place? 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:18.620 Because without God, Richard Dawkins puts it like this on the screen, 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:24.259 in a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replications, 00:09:24.379 --> 00:09:26.620 in other words, in a world without God, 00:09:27.559 --> 00:09:29.039 some people are going to get lucky, 00:09:29.179 --> 00:09:30.779 and some people are going to get hurt, 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:33.720 and we won't find any rhyme or reason to it. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:36.659 DNA neither knows nor cares. 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:38.840 DNA just is. 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:41.660 And we dance to the music. 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:46.620 If there is no rhyme or reason, 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:50.519 if everything really is just left to chance, 00:09:51.060 --> 00:09:55.300 then why do each of us in this room feel as though there should be justice? 00:09:57.500 --> 00:10:00.580 Why do we cry out for justice in the first place? 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:07.080 Well, let me suggest that it's only because that is the character of the God of the universe. 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:10.120 And especially in this country today, 00:10:10.220 --> 00:10:12.759 it is only because the influence of his son, 00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:15.120 the son that we believe in, 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:18.379 over the last 2,000 years. 00:10:19.240 --> 00:10:21.360 If you're keen to think a bit more about that, 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:22.080 do grab me after. 00:10:22.160 --> 00:10:24.660 I've got a really good book recommendation for you here. 00:10:24.780 --> 00:10:25.540 I read it this summer. 00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:26.139 It's excellent. 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:30.020 But it really is true that what we believe about justice in this country 00:10:30.020 --> 00:10:33.080 is rooted in the Christian faith. 00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:39.940 But for now, as we consider what to do in the midst of all this mess, 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:42.220 what can we learn from Habakkuk's question? 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:45.740 A bit like being in a small, 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:47.960 smallish sort of ship in a storm, 00:10:48.040 --> 00:10:50.520 I think the temptation is basically twofold. 00:10:50.700 --> 00:10:53.480 Our first instinct might be to bury our head in the sand. 00:10:53.940 --> 00:10:56.600 In other words, to simply ignore the depths of injustice, 00:10:56.600 --> 00:10:59.840 to deny that the problem is really that bad, 00:11:00.040 --> 00:11:03.080 to keep on living our comfortable lives 00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:06.279 and refusing to actually get involved in the mess at all. 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:09.240 I guess that's like pretending there is no storm 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:12.259 or curling up into the hull of the ship terrified. 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.399 On the other hand, we might do the opposite, right? 00:11:16.420 --> 00:11:17.519 We might be the kind of person 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:19.379 who's trying to fix it all ourselves. 00:11:20.019 --> 00:11:22.740 Our instinct, it might be to throw ourselves headfirst 00:11:22.740 --> 00:11:25.680 into every justice fighting cause we can get our teeth into. 00:11:26.940 --> 00:11:31.740 But doing that faithlessly or in prayerlessness 00:11:31.740 --> 00:11:35.299 is failing to recognize who God is, 00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:38.759 failing to recognize what he has said about his justice 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:40.799 and then becoming self-reliant, 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:45.200 believing that we are capable of bringing his justice on our own. 00:11:46.220 --> 00:11:49.419 You do that, you will very quickly become discouraged 00:11:49.419 --> 00:11:52.399 at our inability to have any real impact. 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:56.879 It's like trying to bail water from a ship in a storm 00:11:56.879 --> 00:11:58.259 with an army hat. 00:11:59.819 --> 00:12:01.539 And so instead, this evening, 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:03.419 would we learn from this honest prayer? 00:12:04.259 --> 00:12:05.799 Knowing who God is, 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:09.139 knowing that he is a God who is perfectly just, 00:12:09.620 --> 00:12:11.759 a God who has displayed his character 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:13.399 through the history of his people, 00:12:13.839 --> 00:12:17.679 who has promised ultimately to prove his justice finally, 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:21.039 would we know that this is who God is 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:22.419 and plead with him, 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:24.059 your kingdom come, 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:28.159 that his justice would be done? 00:12:29.379 --> 00:12:31.779 We'll return to this over the coming weeks, 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:33.019 but before we do, 00:12:33.839 --> 00:12:36.479 let's just have a look at the surprising promise of justice. 00:12:36.599 --> 00:12:38.419 And it is a surprising promise here 00:12:38.419 --> 00:12:40.939 that God gives Habakkuk. 00:12:42.039 --> 00:12:43.500 See in verse five, 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:46.879 look at the nations and watch 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:48.639 and be utterly amazed 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:51.519 for I'm going to do something in your days 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:53.080 that you would not believe 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:55.080 even if you were told. 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:58.240 What's God going to do about it? 00:12:58.320 --> 00:12:59.820 Well, something so surprising 00:12:59.820 --> 00:13:01.340 that Habakkuk would be amazed 00:13:01.340 --> 00:13:03.200 that he'd scarcely believe it. 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:05.500 It's something coming from the nations. 00:13:05.659 --> 00:13:06.860 In verse six, he says, 00:13:06.940 --> 00:13:09.279 I am raising up the Babylonians. 00:13:09.820 --> 00:13:11.820 Your translation may have the Chaldeans. 00:13:11.820 --> 00:13:13.020 But these guys, 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:14.820 the Babylonians or the Chaldeans, 00:13:14.980 --> 00:13:16.940 their empire had been and gone. 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:19.420 A thousand years before Habakkuk's day, 00:13:19.540 --> 00:13:21.540 the Babylonian empire was the superpower. 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:24.280 They had long since been squashed. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.180 But the Babylonians or the Chaldeans 00:13:27.180 --> 00:13:29.640 apparently were going to rise up once more. 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:31.540 That's surprising to Habakkuk. 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:33.640 What about the Assyrian empire? 00:13:33.740 --> 00:13:35.300 Those guys who had just wiped out 00:13:35.300 --> 00:13:36.080 the northern kingdom. 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:38.400 They were the big bad guys. 00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:39.760 Surely it would be them. 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:42.419 But there's a new kid on the block. 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:44.939 Indeed, as we keep reading in verse six, 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:47.419 they sweep across the whole earth 00:13:47.419 --> 00:13:49.740 to seize a dwelling not their own. 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:51.360 There's a certain inevitability 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:52.439 about what is coming. 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:54.840 And so no wonder they are a feared 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:56.200 and dreaded people. 00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:58.019 Maybe you can imagine the feeling. 00:13:58.539 --> 00:14:01.539 Seeing an empire gathering on the horizon, 00:14:01.779 --> 00:14:03.980 knowing that they're coming for your nation. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:06.279 I wonder it might have been a bit like that 00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:07.340 for the people of Ukraine. 00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:10.000 I suspect the other countries in Eastern Europe 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:11.780 right now might feel a little bit like this. 00:14:11.940 --> 00:14:13.220 Fear and dread. 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:15.100 The imagery is terrifying. 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:17.280 Have a look at verse eight. 00:14:17.780 --> 00:14:19.940 Their horses are swifter than leopards, 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:21.920 fiercer than wolves at dusk. 00:14:21.980 --> 00:14:23.780 Their cavalry gallops headlong. 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:25.639 Their horses come from afar. 00:14:25.740 --> 00:14:28.800 They fly like an eagle swooping to devour. 00:14:28.980 --> 00:14:30.899 The Babylonians and their horses 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:33.180 are compared to the most brutal predators. 00:14:33.179 --> 00:14:36.539 They are fast and fierce and ferocious. 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:40.599 They advance in verse nine like the desert wind 00:14:40.599 --> 00:14:43.620 and gather prisoners like sand. 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:47.199 What grain of sand would stand a chance 00:14:47.199 --> 00:14:48.479 against the whipping wind? 00:14:49.719 --> 00:14:53.059 It's a picture of an army gathering up prisoners with ease. 00:14:53.839 --> 00:14:56.359 They mock kings, scoff at rulers, 00:14:56.939 --> 00:14:58.919 laugh at fortified cities. 00:14:59.579 --> 00:15:02.039 In some ways, I think this image is even more brutal. 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:05.120 This sort of foreboding laughter is terrifying. 00:15:05.899 --> 00:15:08.219 Babylon is like the bully in the playground. 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:10.819 And this little kid finally stands up to him 00:15:10.819 --> 00:15:12.579 and the bully just laughs. 00:15:13.599 --> 00:15:14.879 We all know what's coming next. 00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:16.639 He just sort of swipes the kid aside, 00:15:16.779 --> 00:15:18.719 moving on to his next victim, 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:20.899 just as the Babylonian does in verse 11. 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:24.159 They sweep past like the wind and go on. 00:15:25.439 --> 00:15:27.159 This is what's coming, God says. 00:15:27.379 --> 00:15:28.439 It's brutal. 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:29.960 It's terrifying. 00:15:31.160 --> 00:15:35.860 But look back in verse six and see the real surprise. 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:39.800 It is God who is raising them up. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:44.860 They're simply his instrument carrying out his justice. 00:15:45.540 --> 00:15:48.260 That's surprising enough just as a plain fact. 00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:51.060 But more than that, notice in verse seven, 00:15:51.780 --> 00:15:55.560 they are a law unto themselves and promote their own honor. 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:58.859 We begin to get a note of irony here. 00:15:59.239 --> 00:16:00.799 If you look back at verse four, 00:16:01.419 --> 00:16:03.699 the law is paralyzed for God's people. 00:16:04.699 --> 00:16:07.819 But now those who God is raising up to bring justice, 00:16:07.959 --> 00:16:09.019 well, they're lawless too. 00:16:10.099 --> 00:16:11.819 And just like the people of Judah, 00:16:11.959 --> 00:16:13.819 the people Habakkuk is complaining about, 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:16.599 see in verse nine, the Babylonians come, 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:18.439 they come intent on violence. 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:20.559 It's just the way that Judah was described. 00:16:21.619 --> 00:16:24.199 Worse than that, it is their own honor that they promote. 00:16:24.200 --> 00:16:28.660 If God's people are being judged for their faithlessness, 00:16:28.980 --> 00:16:31.020 their inability to promote God's honor, 00:16:31.420 --> 00:16:34.180 well, these people aren't interested in promoting God's honor at all. 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:36.860 No, see at the end of verse 11, 00:16:37.560 --> 00:16:39.580 their own strength is their God. 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:42.080 They're totally self-reliant. 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:46.020 Actually, this is a pretty unusual thing in the ancient world, 00:16:46.020 --> 00:16:49.540 where basically every nation has their own gods, 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:51.379 gods external to themselves, 00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:54.840 national gods and fertility gods and especially gods of war. 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:58.080 But this people, the Babylonian people, 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:00.000 as it's described here, 00:17:00.100 --> 00:17:01.620 they are so self-reliant, 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:04.779 so self-absorbed that their own strength is their God. 00:17:05.660 --> 00:17:07.779 Isn't that the ultimate idolatry? 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:09.839 And actually, 00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:11.720 not only is that the ultimate idolatry, 00:17:11.799 --> 00:17:13.180 but isn't it the most universal? 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:17.320 To rely on our own efforts in life. 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:19.940 So easy to fall into, 00:17:20.019 --> 00:17:22.060 whether you're a Christian here this evening or not, 00:17:22.620 --> 00:17:25.240 to be fundamentally self-reliant. 00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:29.460 Even sort of specifically Christianly self-reliant, 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:31.460 I think, relying on my own good deeds 00:17:31.460 --> 00:17:34.519 or my devotion or my growth in whatever area. 00:17:35.360 --> 00:17:35.880 But really, 00:17:36.019 --> 00:17:40.580 that reliance is a denial of the God who created us. 00:17:40.579 --> 00:17:41.839 It's idolatry. 00:17:43.699 --> 00:17:45.619 We'll see in all of this, 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:47.720 how the Babylonians are described. 00:17:48.679 --> 00:17:50.259 Essentially in verse 11, 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:52.500 guilty people. 00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:55.039 These people, 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:58.179 the people that God is raising up to judge Judah, 00:17:58.799 --> 00:17:58.980 well, 00:17:59.019 --> 00:18:00.799 they're just as bad as Judah themselves. 00:18:01.699 --> 00:18:03.799 It's as though God is saying on your small boat 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:04.939 in the midst of the storm, 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:06.720 here's how I'm going to fix your mess. 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:08.600 I'm going to send an even bigger storm. 00:18:09.620 --> 00:18:11.339 It's a surprising justice. 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:14.240 And it begs the question, 00:18:14.360 --> 00:18:16.000 if justice is really to be done, 00:18:16.500 --> 00:18:18.579 then surely God's got to judge them too. 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:20.180 It's a good question. 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:21.240 Well, 00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:22.220 if you come back next week, 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:23.620 you'll see that's exactly the question 00:18:23.620 --> 00:18:25.440 that Habakkuk asks next. 00:18:25.940 --> 00:18:26.860 But for now, 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:28.539 what do we do with this? 00:18:29.120 --> 00:18:30.640 Because we remain at sea. 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:31.480 The storm, 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:32.160 it rages. 00:18:32.360 --> 00:18:33.720 This is the world that we live in. 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:34.579 It's a mess. 00:18:35.740 --> 00:18:38.240 And how does this surprising promise of justice 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:41.740 help us to have faith in the mess today? 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:44.519 There's a temptation here 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:46.519 to think about today's events, 00:18:46.519 --> 00:18:47.160 I think, 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:48.720 and to think about how they 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:50.860 might be God's judgment like this. 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:52.380 Right? 00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:54.240 People have said how COVID might be that, 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:56.299 how war in Europe, 00:18:56.480 --> 00:18:58.059 or rising energy prices, 00:18:58.220 --> 00:18:59.120 or global warming, 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:00.339 or whatever it is, 00:19:00.660 --> 00:19:03.039 is God judging his people. 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:04.920 And that the book of Habakkuk 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:06.720 is there to point to those events, 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:09.039 to draw straight lines 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:10.399 from Old Testament prophecy 00:19:10.399 --> 00:19:11.799 to today like that. 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:13.879 But that is not what the Bible 00:19:13.879 --> 00:19:15.159 is encouraging us to do. 00:19:16.019 --> 00:19:18.519 We know that God used the Babylonians 00:19:18.519 --> 00:19:20.039 to judge his people like this. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:21.379 He promises to do it. 00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:23.119 The Bible says that it happens, 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:25.659 and history confirms it. 00:19:26.500 --> 00:19:27.859 But that does not mean 00:19:27.859 --> 00:19:29.920 that we can point to anything today 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:31.060 and say that it's definitely 00:19:31.060 --> 00:19:32.660 God's justice on a wicked people 00:19:32.660 --> 00:19:34.259 as the fulfillment of what he's saying 00:19:34.259 --> 00:19:35.720 in Habakkuk chapter one. 00:19:36.560 --> 00:19:37.740 It might be that, 00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:40.340 but we cannot say confidently 00:19:40.340 --> 00:19:41.800 that we know that it is. 00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:43.759 And even if we could, 00:19:43.820 --> 00:19:44.720 that's not the point 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:45.900 of this Bible prophecy. 00:19:46.660 --> 00:19:48.300 Instead, it points 00:19:48.300 --> 00:19:50.279 to an even greater 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:52.440 surprising promise of justice. 00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:55.700 As we look at the messy world 00:19:55.700 --> 00:19:56.620 that we live in, 00:19:56.900 --> 00:19:58.160 and as we desire 00:19:58.160 --> 00:19:59.660 that justice would be done, 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:02.100 I think the key question really is, 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:04.120 why is the world such a mess? 00:20:04.860 --> 00:20:06.440 Who makes the world messy? 00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:09.900 If we answer that question, 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:11.559 we then have another question, 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:13.080 what would justice look like? 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:16.759 You might lay the blame 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:17.840 at God's feet. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:19.959 If he is the creator 00:20:19.959 --> 00:20:21.639 and he made the rules, 00:20:22.059 --> 00:20:23.359 and if he's all-powerful, 00:20:23.439 --> 00:20:24.679 then surely it's his fault. 00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:27.619 If the rules are being broken, 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:28.599 then why shouldn't he 00:20:28.599 --> 00:20:30.199 just do something about it? 00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:33.259 But could the blame lie elsewhere? 00:20:34.359 --> 00:20:35.659 Let me illustrate it like this. 00:20:35.699 --> 00:20:37.179 During the COVID pandemic, 00:20:37.299 --> 00:20:38.119 during lockdown, 00:20:38.259 --> 00:20:39.659 if I broke the rules, 00:20:39.959 --> 00:20:41.240 some unessential travel 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:42.000 to go to the beach 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:43.099 for a barbecue with my friends, 00:20:43.099 --> 00:20:45.099 or seven people gathering 00:20:45.099 --> 00:20:46.339 when only six were allowed, 00:20:46.339 --> 00:20:48.899 who would be to blame? 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:52.220 Me for breaking the rules, 00:20:52.579 --> 00:20:54.240 or the government 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:55.639 for failing to enforce them? 00:20:57.839 --> 00:20:59.959 God created us with free will, 00:21:00.419 --> 00:21:01.879 the freedom to choose 00:21:01.879 --> 00:21:03.299 between right and wrong. 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:05.139 We are not robots. 00:21:05.259 --> 00:21:07.279 We are capable of making real decisions 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:08.879 with profound consequences. 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:11.919 Who then is to blame 00:21:11.919 --> 00:21:13.899 for the injustice of this world? 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:15.779 Well, the Bible is clear about that. 00:21:16.339 --> 00:21:17.139 I am. 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:19.480 And you are. 00:21:20.639 --> 00:21:21.699 The Bible teaches 00:21:21.699 --> 00:21:23.519 that God created a perfect world 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:24.539 without injustice, 00:21:25.579 --> 00:21:27.459 and that human rebellion 00:21:27.459 --> 00:21:28.480 against God 00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:29.599 is what ruined it. 00:21:30.459 --> 00:21:31.740 As our relationship 00:21:31.740 --> 00:21:32.879 with God was broken, 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:34.240 as our relationship 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:35.039 with each other, 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:35.939 and our relationship 00:21:35.939 --> 00:21:37.179 with the created world, 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:38.319 isn't that just describing 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:40.419 the mess that we live in? 00:21:40.420 --> 00:21:43.980 And so in this sort of world, 00:21:44.380 --> 00:21:46.720 what does justice look like? 00:21:47.539 --> 00:21:49.640 Well, come to Acts chapter 13 with me. 00:21:49.700 --> 00:21:50.440 It's on the screen. 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:52.740 Here Paul is preaching 00:21:52.740 --> 00:21:54.039 to the Jews at the synagogue, 00:21:54.039 --> 00:21:56.759 and he retells Israel's story, 00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:59.720 how Israel was consistently unfaithful 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:00.500 to her God, 00:22:00.600 --> 00:22:02.480 and then ultimately Paul shows 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:04.400 how Jesus is the solution. 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:06.540 And he concludes, 00:22:06.540 --> 00:22:08.920 Let it be known to you, 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:09.800 therefore, brothers, 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:11.800 that through this man, 00:22:11.900 --> 00:22:12.720 that is Jesus, 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:14.920 forgiveness of sins 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:16.360 is proclaimed to you. 00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:18.060 And by him, 00:22:18.120 --> 00:22:19.360 everyone who believes 00:22:19.360 --> 00:22:21.300 is freed from everything 00:22:21.300 --> 00:22:23.140 from which you could not be freed 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:24.600 by the law of Moses. 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:28.279 Here is the surprising justice of God. 00:22:28.699 --> 00:22:29.679 For God's people, 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:32.459 for the Jews in the first century 00:22:32.459 --> 00:22:33.559 when Jesus was around, 00:22:33.740 --> 00:22:35.240 justice had been simple. 00:22:35.740 --> 00:22:37.199 It was provided in the law, 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:38.219 the law of Moses. 00:22:38.419 --> 00:22:38.959 Follow that, 00:22:39.079 --> 00:22:40.619 and justice would be complete. 00:22:42.099 --> 00:22:43.299 And built into that law 00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:44.299 was the promise, of course, 00:22:44.339 --> 00:22:45.839 of forgiveness through sacrifice. 00:22:46.659 --> 00:22:48.139 But it didn't work 00:22:48.139 --> 00:22:49.980 because the people 00:22:49.980 --> 00:22:51.219 didn't follow the law. 00:22:52.179 --> 00:22:52.959 We've seen that 00:22:52.959 --> 00:22:54.279 in Habakkuk already. 00:22:54.599 --> 00:22:55.959 And the sacrifices 00:22:55.959 --> 00:22:58.039 had to be continually made. 00:22:58.599 --> 00:22:59.779 It wasn't a mistake 00:22:59.779 --> 00:23:00.740 that it didn't work. 00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:01.719 The whole point of it 00:23:01.719 --> 00:23:02.899 was to point to this 00:23:02.899 --> 00:23:05.179 surprising justice of God, 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:06.740 that one day 00:23:06.740 --> 00:23:08.779 he would do it for us. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:10.639 It's the once 00:23:10.639 --> 00:23:11.539 and for all time 00:23:11.539 --> 00:23:13.000 sacrifice of Jesus. 00:23:14.059 --> 00:23:14.659 And notice, 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:16.579 God uses guilty people 00:23:16.579 --> 00:23:18.059 to carry out that justice. 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:20.240 Just like the promise 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:21.039 in Habakkuk, 00:23:21.179 --> 00:23:22.259 this is the surprising 00:23:22.259 --> 00:23:23.259 justice of the cross. 00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:24.480 As God comes down 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:25.559 in the person of Jesus 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:26.720 and he's crucified, 00:23:27.339 --> 00:23:28.059 nailed to the cross 00:23:28.059 --> 00:23:28.599 by who? 00:23:30.140 --> 00:23:31.119 Nailed to the cross 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:31.920 by the Romans, 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:33.660 by an idolatrous, 00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:35.220 violent empire, 00:23:35.539 --> 00:23:37.160 an empire that the New Testament 00:23:37.160 --> 00:23:38.539 calls Babylon. 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:41.200 And in that moment, 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:42.839 he took the guilt 00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:43.420 of the world 00:23:43.420 --> 00:23:44.200 on his shoulders. 00:23:45.420 --> 00:23:45.900 Why? 00:23:45.900 --> 00:23:47.560 Well, it's as we read 00:23:47.560 --> 00:23:48.320 in Romans 3 00:23:48.320 --> 00:23:49.640 earlier in our service. 00:23:50.120 --> 00:23:51.519 He did it to demonstrate 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:52.340 his righteousness 00:23:52.340 --> 00:23:53.660 at the present time 00:23:53.660 --> 00:23:55.640 so as to be just 00:23:55.640 --> 00:23:58.280 and the one who justifies 00:23:58.280 --> 00:23:59.700 those who have faith 00:23:59.700 --> 00:24:00.380 in Jesus. 00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:03.160 So that all those 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:04.580 who have faith in him, 00:24:05.400 --> 00:24:07.080 seeing that we are guilty, 00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:08.220 that we contribute 00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:08.960 to the mess, 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:09.800 that there is mess 00:24:09.800 --> 00:24:10.840 in our hearts, 00:24:11.600 --> 00:24:12.660 faith in this mess 00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:13.420 is knowing 00:24:13.420 --> 00:24:14.200 that God 00:24:14.200 --> 00:24:15.580 is just 00:24:15.580 --> 00:24:16.380 in Jesus. 00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:18.640 Knowing that justice 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:20.180 has been satisfied 00:24:20.180 --> 00:24:21.519 in Jesus 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:23.019 and knowing 00:24:23.019 --> 00:24:23.940 that we 00:24:23.940 --> 00:24:25.380 have been justified 00:24:25.380 --> 00:24:26.960 in Jesus. 00:24:28.340 --> 00:24:29.259 And that is 00:24:29.259 --> 00:24:30.900 a surprising justice. 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:32.560 As Paul continues 00:24:32.560 --> 00:24:34.000 in Acts chapter 13, 00:24:34.100 --> 00:24:35.480 he quotes from Habakkuk. 00:24:35.600 --> 00:24:36.560 It's at the bottom there. 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:38.279 I am doing 00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:40.119 a work in your days, 00:24:40.379 --> 00:24:41.500 a work that you 00:24:41.500 --> 00:24:42.519 will not believe 00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:43.799 even if no one 00:24:43.799 --> 00:24:44.519 tells you. 00:24:46.019 --> 00:24:47.299 This is the surprising 00:24:47.299 --> 00:24:48.279 justice of God, 00:24:48.379 --> 00:24:49.179 so surprising 00:24:49.179 --> 00:24:49.859 that the Jews 00:24:49.859 --> 00:24:50.819 that Paul is talking 00:24:50.819 --> 00:24:51.480 to here 00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:53.019 would hardly believe. 00:24:54.700 --> 00:24:55.419 And this is where 00:24:55.419 --> 00:24:56.599 we've got to start 00:24:56.599 --> 00:24:58.700 for faith in the mess. 00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:00.639 It's not a complete answer, 00:25:00.819 --> 00:25:01.480 not yet, 00:25:02.159 --> 00:25:03.359 but it's a start. 00:25:04.639 --> 00:25:05.659 William Thomas, 00:25:05.660 --> 00:25:07.320 he's often known 00:25:07.320 --> 00:25:08.519 as Staffordshire Tom, 00:25:09.120 --> 00:25:09.920 was drunk, 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:10.480 as usual. 00:25:10.800 --> 00:25:11.440 He was sat 00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:12.500 in his normal seat 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:13.660 in the working men's club 00:25:13.660 --> 00:25:14.480 in Aberavon 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:15.900 in the Welsh Valleys 00:25:15.900 --> 00:25:17.000 or South Wales, 00:25:17.220 --> 00:25:18.820 and even the other regulars 00:25:18.820 --> 00:25:19.320 had learned 00:25:19.320 --> 00:25:20.240 to avoid him 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:22.080 because it was his habit 00:25:22.080 --> 00:25:22.920 to complain. 00:25:23.740 --> 00:25:24.740 He'd spent a lifetime 00:25:24.740 --> 00:25:25.540 in the mines 00:25:25.540 --> 00:25:26.860 on low wages, 00:25:27.259 --> 00:25:28.259 awful conditions. 00:25:28.820 --> 00:25:29.980 He was well acquainted 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:31.200 with injustice. 00:25:32.700 --> 00:25:33.740 And when he got drunk, 00:25:33.820 --> 00:25:34.980 he was very quick 00:25:34.980 --> 00:25:36.620 to share his opinions 00:25:36.620 --> 00:25:38.279 about the mess of life, 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:40.319 about the mess of the world 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:41.160 around him. 00:25:42.059 --> 00:25:43.579 And so as you might imagine, 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:45.259 he sat there feeling lonely, 00:25:45.779 --> 00:25:46.059 hopeless, 00:25:46.339 --> 00:25:47.000 and depressed, 00:25:47.339 --> 00:25:48.579 staring into his pint. 00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:49.759 And there were lots 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:50.519 of little groups, 00:25:50.620 --> 00:25:51.880 just threes and fours 00:25:51.880 --> 00:25:53.019 at the tables around him, 00:25:53.120 --> 00:25:53.779 chatting away, 00:25:54.079 --> 00:25:54.900 and he couldn't help 00:25:54.900 --> 00:25:55.579 but overhear 00:25:55.579 --> 00:25:56.539 one conversation. 00:25:57.480 --> 00:25:58.440 He caught the words 00:25:58.440 --> 00:26:00.140 preacher and church, 00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:01.519 and he was just about ready 00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:02.319 to switch off 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:03.000 when he heard 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:04.299 this sentence. 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:05.879 Yes, 00:26:05.960 --> 00:26:06.539 the man said 00:26:06.539 --> 00:26:07.559 no one was hopeless. 00:26:08.460 --> 00:26:10.000 He said there was hope 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:11.299 for everybody. 00:26:12.740 --> 00:26:14.139 Bill's mouth fell open, 00:26:14.259 --> 00:26:15.799 his eyes bulged wide. 00:26:16.399 --> 00:26:17.139 He thought to himself, 00:26:17.240 --> 00:26:18.000 if there's hope 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:18.779 for everybody, 00:26:19.319 --> 00:26:20.480 then there's hope 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:21.079 for me. 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:23.139 And he went 00:26:23.139 --> 00:26:23.980 to that church 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:24.859 and he discovered 00:26:24.859 --> 00:26:26.000 hope 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:27.039 in the faith 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:27.579 of the gospel 00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:28.639 of Jesus Christ. 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:28.759 Christ. 00:26:30.320 --> 00:26:31.080 And so let me 00:26:31.080 --> 00:26:31.720 take you back 00:26:31.720 --> 00:26:32.600 to that smallish 00:26:32.600 --> 00:26:33.640 boat in the storm. 00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:35.940 Whatever your instinct, 00:26:36.460 --> 00:26:37.980 whether you get to work 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:39.100 or bury your head, 00:26:39.740 --> 00:26:41.360 Habakkuk would encourage us, 00:26:41.860 --> 00:26:43.380 knowing who God is, 00:26:44.060 --> 00:26:44.940 knowing that he is 00:26:44.940 --> 00:26:45.840 a God of justice, 00:26:45.840 --> 00:26:46.920 he would encourage us 00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:47.820 to ask honestly, 00:26:47.940 --> 00:26:48.720 how long? 00:26:50.620 --> 00:26:51.420 But he would also 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:52.060 encourage us 00:26:52.060 --> 00:26:53.780 to see God's promise, 00:26:54.820 --> 00:26:55.580 a promise of 00:26:55.580 --> 00:26:57.060 surprising justice. 00:26:57.059 --> 00:26:59.159 It might and it should 00:26:59.159 --> 00:27:00.500 leave us with questions 00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:01.299 about ultimate 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:02.519 and eternal justice. 00:27:02.659 --> 00:27:03.259 We'll come to that 00:27:03.259 --> 00:27:03.980 next week. 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:05.819 But for now, 00:27:06.139 --> 00:27:07.259 see the surprising 00:27:07.259 --> 00:27:08.659 justice of the cross. 00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:10.859 Let's start there, 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:12.019 acknowledging that 00:27:12.019 --> 00:27:13.200 even in this mess, 00:27:13.399 --> 00:27:14.339 acknowledging together 00:27:14.339 --> 00:27:15.319 that we desperately 00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:16.480 need the hope 00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:17.379 of this faith. 00:27:18.700 --> 00:27:19.179 Friends, 00:27:19.259 --> 00:27:20.099 in all of the mess 00:27:20.099 --> 00:27:20.599 of the world, 00:27:20.659 --> 00:27:21.259 in all of the mess 00:27:21.259 --> 00:27:22.159 that we have caused, 00:27:22.220 --> 00:27:23.679 in the mess of our own hearts, 00:27:23.899 --> 00:27:24.839 there is hope. 00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:26.839 Hope in the faith 00:27:26.839 --> 00:27:27.379 of the gospel, 00:27:27.619 --> 00:27:28.779 hope in Jesus. 00:27:29.639 --> 00:27:30.939 Even in all our questions, 00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:32.599 let's start there. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:35.899 Let me pray. 00:27:41.059 --> 00:27:41.859 Heavenly Father, 00:27:41.959 --> 00:27:43.000 we come to you 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:43.539 this evening 00:27:43.539 --> 00:27:44.679 and we cry out 00:27:44.679 --> 00:27:45.599 with Habakkuk. 00:27:46.359 --> 00:27:47.220 How long? 00:27:49.459 --> 00:27:51.000 We look at the injustice 00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:52.599 of the world we live in 00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:53.879 and we ask, 00:27:54.039 --> 00:27:54.119 Lord, 00:27:54.179 --> 00:27:55.000 that your justice 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:55.879 would be done. 00:27:58.240 --> 00:27:59.259 And in the meantime, 00:27:59.480 --> 00:27:59.619 Lord, 00:27:59.639 --> 00:28:00.779 would you comfort us 00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:01.759 in this mess? 00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:05.339 Would you be with us 00:28:05.339 --> 00:28:06.259 by your Spirit? 00:28:08.759 --> 00:28:09.899 And as we consider 00:28:09.899 --> 00:28:11.299 the ways that we have, 00:28:11.419 --> 00:28:12.439 the ways that we do 00:28:12.439 --> 00:28:13.899 contribute to injustice, 00:28:14.899 --> 00:28:17.619 Lord, 00:28:17.679 --> 00:28:18.879 we thank you so much 00:28:18.879 --> 00:28:19.740 for what you've done 00:28:19.740 --> 00:28:20.379 in Jesus. 00:28:20.380 --> 00:28:24.220 being both just 00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:26.200 and the justifier, 00:28:27.040 --> 00:28:28.800 that we might be justified. 00:28:30.280 --> 00:28:31.520 In Jesus' name, 00:28:32.380 --> 00:28:32.660 Amen.