Habakkuk - Part 2

The Sovereignty of God and Human Responsibility

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. Habakkuk chapter 1, verse 5. The Lord speaking, look among the nations and watch. Be utterly astounded, for I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.

Verse 6, for indeed I, I am raising up the Chaldeans. So when we talk about the sovereignty of God, what are we talking about? When we say, make comments that God is in control, what do we mean by that?

What we do not mean is that God is in heaven pulling all the strings. Or that God is controlling human beings like robots without any free will. You know, there's a theological term for that. And what is it?

It's called hyper-Calvinism, okay? And we reject that. But listen, God is sovereign. God is sovereign. He is all-powerful. The Lord knows all things. He declares the end from the beginning. He doesn't just know the end from the beginning.

The Bible says He declares the end from the beginning. Isaiah chapter 46, verse 10. And the Lord is able to foreordain events. Acts chapter 2, verse 23, makes it very clear the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was foreordained.

It was predetermined. Revelation chapter 13, verse 8, speaks about the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So all of that is true. What is also true is that man, mankind, was created with what we typically refer to as a free will.

My friend, you have the ability to make up your own mind. You have the power and ability to make your own choices. You have, again, what people call a free will. Now, I think we need to be a little careful about that term, free will.

It does not mean that mankind is morally neutral. You are not morally neutral. Every human being was born with the sinful nature. And without Christ, the Bible teaches that mankind is a slave to sin. And slaves are not free.

So God is sovereign. And yes, man is a volitional creature. Now, the big question is how do you harmonize those two truths? Well, here's the plain truth. You can't, but God can. And if you try to seek out an answer to every question, and this is, I think, one of the problems with theologians, that they try to get answers.

It's not always bad, but they try to get answers to every question. I think some theologians think they have all the answers, which they don't. But let me tell you something. If you insist on harmonizing these two parallel truths, if you will, if you go too far down that path, you will either do violence to the sovereignty of God or to the free will of man.

And we don't want to do either. Just accept the fact that there are many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity. There are many of these teachings that have unresolved tensions. The Trinity, one God in three persons.

The person and nature of Christ, both fully man and fully God. The Scripture, we know it was penned by man, but yet it was inspired by God and it is the Word of God. We can explain these things to a degree, but we cannot fully understand these issues.

And that's part of what makes God so worthy of honor, glory, and praise. Listen, if you are worshiping a God that you fully understand, it's probably an idol. The Lord's ways are unsearchable, unsearchable.

Just when you think you've got everything figured out, he lets you know you don't. Now back to the issue of the Chaldeans. The Lord was going to raise them up to move against the nation of Judah. This was a terrible judgment that was coming.

A lot of horrific things were going to happen. And you can understand why the prophet Habakkuk was so confused and why he wondered about these things. So here's my question to you. Based on everything we just went through, was God going to force the Chaldeans to do this?

Were the Chaldeans a nation full of godly men, merciful leaders who just loved the Jews and wanted to live at peace with all of their neighbors? Until God came along and zapped them and just put this in their heart to go attack Judah?

No, far from it. They were a violent people to begin with, and they did exactly what they wanted to do. You remember the book of Job to help illustrate this. Remember Job, the Lord, and Satan had a wager.

Satan contended that Job only loved and obeyed God because God was so good to him. Take away the blessing and the protection and Job, he will curse you to your face. So to prove Satan wrong, among other things, the Lord gives the devil permission to afflict Job to where he was stricken.

And it was Satan who was doing it. But was God sovereign over that? Of course. And in Job chapter 1, and the reason I brought this up is because this same people group is mentioned in chapter 1 of Job.

The Chaldeans, remember what the Chaldeans did to Job? Job chapter 1 verse 17 says,. While he, that is the servant, was still speaking, another also came to Job and said,. The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword.

And I alone have escaped to tell you. So were the Chaldeans forced to do this? No, the Chaldeans, they did exactly what the Chaldeans love to do. They love to steal. They love to plunder. They love to kill.

Nobody was forcing them to steal Job's livestock. You know what's going on in the world today? God is restraining evil. And when things break out, all he's doing is lifting his restraint. So the Chaldeans, they stole Job's livestock.

They were exercising their will and they were carrying out the desires of their own heart. But at the same time, Satan was orchestrating all of this. And God was sovereign over all of this. Now do we fully understand that and how that all works?

Of course we don't. But we know that God allowed it. God allowed it for a reason. And the only reason we know as much as we do is because God has revealed it to us in his word. And hopefully we can learn something from it just as Job learned something.

And just as Habakkuk will learn something. All of this, okay, all of this should give us insight in what is going on in the world today. You've heard this phrase. Maybe you've said it. God works in mysterious ways.

It should be less of a mystery to us. Okay? So the nation of Judah had once again gone astray. They stopped following the Lord. And the prophet Habakkuk sees all of this and he asked God the first question, Why?

Why are you not chastening the nation? And then the Lord tells him that, Oh, I will, I will just wait and watch. I will punish Judah. And then Habakkuk is shocked to hear how. Habakkuk cannot understand.

And quite frankly, he doesn't like what he hears. But he expresses something very, very important. And we will look at this more closely next time. But let's begin to close with Habakkuk's response in verse 12.

He says to the Lord.

And these are more questions.

Okay.

I was listening to J Vernon McGee and his series through the Bible. Right in five years. I think he went through the Bible and he said about the prophet Habakkuk. He has a question mark for a brain.

I don't know.

I understand what he's saying because he asked a lot of questions. And sometimes asking God questions. He'll put that in your heart to draw you closer to him. But notice what Habakkuk says in verse 12.

Are you not from everlasting? Oh, Lord, my God, my Holy one. Well, that's a question. It's a rhetorical question, but it's still a question. Are you not from everlasting? Oh, Lord, my God, my Holy one.

We shall not die. Now, many people did die in the invasion. But what's Habakkuk doing? He's remembering God's promise. God's promise to Abraham and his descendants. So he knows that God is not going to remove their place completely.

We shall not die. Oh, Lord, you have appointed them for judgment. Oh, rock, you have marked them for correction. And notice it says he marked them for correction. It does not say he marked them for wrath.

There's a difference. Unbelievers experience wrath. Believers experience correction. So in conclusion, Habakkuk's wondering his questions. Habakkuk's confusion is starting to give way to clarity as he expresses his faith in his God.

So let me just leave you with this. When you look around and you just don't understand what's happening. You don't know why God allows things to happen the way they are. Maybe it even looks like things are out of control.

And that little voice that you know better, but it says, is God really in control? You ask your own question. Just know this. He is from everlasting. He has marked his people with correction. That is true.

But we need to do what Habakkuk did and express faith in our God. God's sovereign. He's in control. And we can rest in that. Let's close in prayer. Lord, I'm reminded of what you tell us in your word.

You say, my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways. And my thoughts than your thoughts. Lord, if anyone listening today is wondering why things are the way they are.

If they're wondering why you are allowing certain things to happen. Help them and help us to realize that you are working all things together for good. To them who love you. To them that are the called according to your purpose.

If anyone is unsure after hearing that. If they are among the called. There is only one way to know for certain. As your word tells us that a person confesses with their mouth the Lord Jesus Christ. And they believe in their heart that God has raised him from the dead.

They will be saved. And Lord, if someone has done that. May they be willing to take the next step of getting baptized and joining a good Bible believing church. That they might start living the abundant life that you have planned for them.

Just as you told the nation of Judah. You said, for I know the thoughts that I think toward you.

Says the Lord.

Thoughts of peace and not of evil. To give you a future and a hope. We thank you for your grace. It's in Jesus name.

Amen.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornet Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message. Or if you'd like more information about the ministry. Visit our website. MorrisCornetChurch .com.

We'd love to have you join us. Some Sunday morning.

Here in Leverett.

Until next time. May the grace of God be with you.