When Life Doesn't Make Sense | Chris Baselice | Habakkuk 1

It's easy to believe, it's not so easy to trust. You see, trust is believing that I'm safer and more secure when God is in charge, not me. I'll say that again, because some of you need to like, take that to heart. Trust is believing that I'm safer and more secure when God is in charge, not me. That even when life is difficult, even when God is not answering you the way that you like Him to, and it doesn't make sense, you could trust that God is still in control and His ways are always better than yours. Say always, always. And trusting God is difficult for people like me, because one of my greatest idols in life is control. I am most at peace when I'm in control. And what God will often do is He will bring trials and tragedy and pain into your life, and He will kind of rock things and shake things that you have put your trust in that aren't Him. Some of you, some of you, you believe in God, but your trust is in your- ♪ Psalm 34 verse three says glorify the Lord of me ♪ ♪ Let us exalt His name together ♪ ♪ We're gonna do that this morning singing songs ♪ ♪ To our heavenly Father ♪ ♪ Here we go ♪ ♪ He shames every idol ♪ ♪ He rains without a rival ♪ ♪ He goes by the name of Jehovah ♪ ♪ Jehovah ♪ ♪ He speaks into nothing ♪

♪ And darkness goes around ♪ ♪ He goes by the name of Jehovah ♪ ♪ Jehovah ♪ ♪ Jehovah ♪ ♪ Call the name ♪ ♪ Call the name ♪ ♪ Call the name ♪ ♪ Jehovah ♪ ♪ All our praise ♪ ♪ All our praise ♪ ♪ All our praise ♪ ♪ Belongs to Him ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ ♪ His foes will be silenced ♪ ♪ He's fighting for Zion ♪ ♪ There's no other God who I ♪ ♪ To hold up, to hold up ♪ ♪ His Son never tires ♪ ♪ His eyes are like wider ♪ ♪ There's no other God who I ♪ ♪ To hold up, to hold up ♪ ♪ Call the name, call the name ♪ ♪ Call the name, to hold up ♪ ♪ All our praise, all our praise ♪ ♪ All our praise belongs to Him ♪ ♪ Call the name, to hold up ♪ ♪ Call the name, to hold up ♪ ♪ All our praise, all our praise ♪ ♪ All our praise we lost to Him ♪

♪ All the glory and praise is Your ♪ ♪ To over least He fights your battles ♪ ♪ To over least He fights your battles ♪ ♪ To over least He fights your battles ♪ ♪ To over least He fights your battles ♪ ♪ To over least He fights your battles ♪ ♪ To overch our armies with me ♪ ♪ To over our body and your body ♪ ♪ To overch our own B.O.P. ♪ ♪ To over least He fights your battles ♪ ♪ To overch our armies with me ♪ ♪ To over our body and your body ♪ ♪ To overch our own B.O.P. ♪ ♪ To overch our own B.O.P. ♪ ♪ To over least He fights your battles ♪ (upbeat music) (singing in foreign language) (upbeat music) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) - That is truly what he does and who he is a mentor. He is healer. He is provider. He is peace.

Oh Lord, yes you are. Thank you, God, that's who you are. And that's the one we call on. It's you who can do the impossible. Thank you, Lord. Psalm 18, David says this about the Lord. He says, "I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From his temple, he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears." Isn't it incredible to know that when we speak to him, he listens, and he cares about it all. Nothing is too small that he doesn't care about, and that he's in the detail of. So as we continue to call on him this morning, maybe you are in distress. Maybe you're feeling hopeless today. Maybe you're on the mountain top, and you just want to praise him and thank him. I would encourage you to remember that when you sing to him, even now, he hears. And he loves to hear his kids talk to him. And I want to encourage us to, as we sing this, we're going to sing, "I need you, Lord." You're the rock. I'm standing on your faithfulness. I need you. Sometimes when we need to posture ourselves even a little differently in worship, to raise our hands and surrender to him and say,

"I need you, not more of me. I need more of you, God." So at any point, I would encourage you, raise your hands to him. As a surrender that God, you are the one that can have my life. You're the one that can do the impossible. You're the one that I look to and call on. 'Cause he's the same God of all these people that he is to us today. Amen. Amen. (gentle music) ♪ Who where I have come true ♪ ♪ I'm calling on the God of Jacob ♪ ♪ Whose love endures through generations ♪ ♪ I know that you will keep your blood on me ♪ ♪ I'm calling on the God of Moses ♪ ♪ The one who opened up your child ♪ ♪ I need you now to do the same thing for me ♪ ♪ You can, oh, let's tell him ♪ ♪ Oh God, my God, I need you ♪ ♪ Oh God, my God, I need you now ♪ ♪ How I need you now ♪ On your faithfulness. I'm calling on the God of Mary. I'm calling on the God of Mary. Come on, let's declare this a meaning. I know with you all things are possible. I'm calling on the God of David.

Who made a shepherd boy courageous. I may not face good life, but I've got my home giant. Oh God, my God, I need you. Oh God, my God, I need you now. Oh God, I need you now. Oh God, oh rock, the ages. I'm standing on your faithfulness. On your faithfulness. Oh God, my God, I need you. Oh God, my God, I need you now. Oh God, my God, I need you now. Oh rock, oh rock, the ages. I'm standing on your faithfulness. On your faithfulness. You're the one we looked. You hear our cry. You heard your children. You hear your children now. You are the same God. You are the same God. You answered this path. And you will answer. You are the same God. You are the same God. You were providing them. You are providing now. You are the same God. You are the same God. You moved in power. And God moved in power now.

You are the same God. You are the same God. You are a healer then. You are a healer now. You are the same God. You are the same God. You are a savior then. You are a savior now. You are the same God. You are the same God. You are the same God. Oh God, my God, I need you now. I need you now. You are the angel. You are the one we stand on. Stand me on your faithfulness. On your faithfulness. Oh God, my God, I need you. Oh God, my God, I need you now. Oh God, oh God, I need you now. Oh God, oh God, I need you now. Oh God, my God, I need you now. Oh God, oh God, I need you now. Oh God, oh God, I need you now. Thank you, Jesus. Jesus, you are the same yesterday and today and forever. You are always. You are God, my God, I need you now. Oh God, my God, I need you now. Oh God, my God, I need you now.

Oh God, my God, I need you now. Let's continue to worship the only one who's worthy. [music] All the saints in angels They bow before your throne All the elders cast Dear grounds before the lair Of God and sin You were the love at all You were the love at all For from you are all things And to you are all things You deserve the glory [music] All the saints and angels They bow before your throne And all the elders cast Dear grounds before the lair Of God and sin You were the love at all You were the love at all For from you are all things And to you are all things You deserve the glory You were worthy You were worthy of it all You were worthy of it all For from you are all things And to you are all things You deserve the glory

[music] Jesus did deserve all the glory [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] You were worthy of it all For from you are all things And to you are all things You deserve the glory You were worthy You were worthy of it all You were worthy of it all For from you are all things And to you are all things You deserve the glory - Yes Lord, yes Lord, you are worthy of every ounce that we have to give to you God. You are a good God full of mercy and grace God. You are worthy of it all God. You're worthy of our life. You're worthy of our worship. You're worthy of our adoration because you are God and you are a good God. We love you.

And we thank you for meeting us here this morning God. Thank you for every person in this room that you have brought here today. God, I pray that each of us, our ears would be open, our hearts would be softened to hear your word and what you have placed for us to hear today. That when we leave this place that we're changed, when we leave this place, we're more aware of who you are and who we are created to be in your image. And we just wanna say thank you. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for choosing us. And thank you for being a good, good father and a good God. And Jesus mighty name. And all God's people say amen. (audience applauding) - So I'm almost 50 now. So I think I'm old enough to start saying this phrase, like when I was young, you ever say that? Older people, yeah, okay. When I was young, and I was thinking when I was young, and I was like in high school, and I wanted to go like on a trip with some friends, and we were gonna go to a place that we had never been before, we had to use this thing, it was this piece of paper, it was called a map. And I don't know if you've ever used a map before, okay? And it's got all these crazy lines on it, it's got all the roads listed, and you had to figure out where you were on this map, and then you had to choose

the best way to get to your destination. No one's helping you with this, this is a map. And then I remember going into college, and this new thing came out on the internet. It was called MapQuest, and you go online, and you kind of type in where you were starting, and then you would type in the destination where you wanted to get to, and it would print you out 100-page report. And you would take that 100-page report in your car, and it would tell you like directions, like turn-by-turn, and four miles you're gonna make this turn, and it was great, it was a great help, but today what do we have? GPS, right? Little built-in GPS into our phone, it's like this great gift. This living map that actually gives you like turn-by-turn instructions, it speaks to you, it's like magic. It's in your pocket, it's amazing. And I can remember when I first started using the GPS, and I would put in a destination that I kind of knew where I was going. In fact, I'd been there multiple times, and I don't know if this was ever happening, you put your address into the GPS, and you're headed in that direction, and for some reason it tells you to go away that you've never been before. Has that ever happened to you?

It's like, oh, get off at this exit, and you're like, get off at this exit. My exit's not for four more miles. What are you talking about? This is weird, this doesn't make sense, and so often I would ignore those prompts, and in about five minutes I would find myself in gridlock traffic because there were an accident stuck for an hour. Here's the point. Sometimes your GPS won't make sense, and that's only because your GPS knows things that you don't know, and it can see things that you can't see. And as we will see today in the first chapter of Habakkuk, sometimes, and you know this if you're a Christian, sometimes God's ways don't make sense, and in the same way with the GPS, it's only because God knows things that you don't know, and he can see things that you don't see. But if you trust your GPS, I hope that you're much more apt to trust God because he is more trustworthy, amen? And so before we get into Habakkuk chapter one, I just wanna give you some history of Israel. I think most of us know the first king of Israel, Saul, not a great king, and then King David steps in. You guys remember that? And then who steps in after King David? Only three people know.

Solomon, David's son Solomon steps in as king. It goes okay, but after King Solomon, the nation of Israel actually divides into two separate kingdoms. The northern kingdom keeps the name Israel, and the southern kingdom takes the name of Judah. Now 100 years before Habakkuk, something was going on. God was speaking to the northern kingdom of Israel, and he was trying to get their attention because they were involved in deliberate sin and idolatry. And so what God would do is send prophets to them. Over and over and over. Hey guys, you're going down the wrong path, you're sinning, God wants you to turn. And they would listen maybe for a little bit, then they would go right back to their sin. And so what did God do? He sent discipline by sending the Assyrians to come in and really destroy much of them and take them into captivity. Fast forward 100 years. Now the southern kingdom Judah was following. and God once again in his kindness would send prophets to them. Repent. Don't do this. You're going down a bad path, but they refused. Enter the prophet Habakkuk. And if you're here last weekend, you know that Habakkuk's name means to wrestle. His prophet will receive a prophecy of impending discipline. And what we will see today is kind of this wrestling match between God and his prophet, a back and forth conversation, a struggle focusing mostly on the sovereignty of God. Say sovereignty. Sovereignty just means that God is in control of all things all the time. So there's this struggle in the prophet's mind of God's sovereignty and the evil that he sees

going on. If God is all-powerful and all-loving, why is there so much evil going on around me? Have you ever had that struggle? I mean, have you ever had this thing where your theology, what you know about God, doesn't line up with your experience? Wait a minute, God's all-loving, he's all-powerful, and yet I'm suffering terribly. That's the struggle that we will see the prophet Habakkuk engage in today. So look with me Habakkuk chapter 1 verse 1. The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received. How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen or cry out to you violence, but you do not save. Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing, destruction, and violence are before me. There's strife and conflict abounds. Therefore, the law is paralyzed, injustice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous so that justice is perverted. So here's the question I would pose to you guys today. What should we do as Christians when life doesn't make sense? What do we do when life doesn't make sense? Well, the first point, if you're a no-taker is this, it's simply this. Pray to God. When life doesn't make sense, pray to God. In Habakkuk he receives this vision, this prophecy. Some of your translations say, "A burden." And what is his burden? He's looking around and he sees injustice and violence and lawlessness and wickedness and sin, and it becomes a burden for him where it's crushing him. How many of you guys were here last week for Vision Weekend? Any of you? Okay. You know, we're in the middle of this two-year journey called from one generation to the next, and at the foundation of this journey. The heart of it is a burden. We showed you the kind of last week, this acronym ARM, where we advocate for the vulnerable and we desire to raise the next generation and mobilize mission leaders. And this week, we're going to see kind of that A aspect of ARM in Habakkuk chapter 1, because just like back then, we look around. And I hope, I hope you see it, that there is brokenness in our community, that there is sin and lawlessness, and as the church, not a church, as the church, we should be burdened in reaching out to help those battling addiction, experiencing homelessness. And I hope that something's sturdy in you last week. And if it didn't, if last week was just, "Oh, it's Vision Weekend." This is what we do. Can we get back on to like a Bible study of Habakkuk? I pray that you begin to pray. God, give me a burden, because so often, I don't know if you would even be willing to admit, we are so self-centered. We are so worried about ourselves. "Oh yeah, I know there's addiction out there, and there's homelessness, but someone else will handle that." No, God calls us to handle that church. And so if that didn't move you last week, I'm giving you homework. Does

anyone want homework? Too bad, you're getting it. Pray for a burden, for the brokenness around you. And that's what we see in Habakkuk in response to his burden. What does he do? He prays. He prays. It's kind of in the form of a few questions. And then the first thing he does is he questioned God's timing. How long, Lord? How long? I keep praying. I keep asking you for help, but it feels like you're not even listening. You're not answering. This just doesn't make sense. Now, apparently, Habakkuk had been praying to God and asking him for help for quite some time, and God was not answering him. I think most of us know and understand that as Christians we will experience difficult days. Do you guys know that? Don't ever believe the lie. Hey, follow Jesus. You'll always be healthy. You'll always be wealthy. Everything will be perfect. Rainbows and butterflies. That's a lie. As Christians we expect difficult days, And those difficult months become difficult years. And you keep praying and crying out and nothing is changing. How long, Lord? I want you to know that that is not a unique experience to you, but it is a very common experience for all Christians. Psalm 13 verse 1, the psalmist cries out, how long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? And so for some of you, you're experiencing this. You're single, and you want to be married, and you've been praying, God, please, please bring that person. Please. And yet, you're still single. You're married, and you guys have been longing for children and how difficult it was to see people appear this morning, celebrating this great gift, and you're struggling because you're still waiting. How long, Lord, you've been struggling with anxiety and depression months, and you're going to counselors, and you're trying all this stuff, and you're praying,

but still, you're struggling. How long, Lord, you raised your kids in the church, and yet, at some point, they kind of went left, and they're so far from God, and you're praying, and you're fasting, and it's just getting worse. How long, Lord? You went to college, and you got this degree. You had all these plans. You thought you were going to get out and get the perfect job that lined right up with your degree, and yet, you're still jobless. How long, Lord? You're in a difficult marriage, and you've done it all. You've taken the classes, and you've gone to counseling, and you've prayed, and yet still, nothing's changed. How long, Lord? This is what Habakkuk is feeling. He questions God's timing, and then he questions God's tolerance. Why are you letting this happen? I thought you were good. Why have you abandoned us? Were you're chosen people? And all I see, all I see around me is injustice, destruction, violence, strife, and conflict. The culture is collapsing, society is crumbling, immorality, idol worship, greed, corruption. It's everywhere. Why are you letting this happen? Your law has been so corrupted.

It's not even being obeyed by your own people. The leaders are corrupt and wicked. Sin is everywhere, and you aren't doing anything. I hope you feel the weight of this burden that this man feels. You ever ask God why he's letting something happen in your life? Something so painful, so difficult, so unjust. It makes you feel so out of control, seems to have no possible solution, and you ask why. And what makes those situations even more difficult is that you know, that if God wanted to, he could fix it in an instant, couldn't he? But he hasn't. Why are you letting this happen? It just doesn't make sense. And here's what I want you to see about Habakkuk, in the midst of all of this that's happening around him. God's silence, ongoing pain and injustice, nothing seems to be making any sense for him. He never considers walking away from God. Instead, he draws near to God and he keeps praying. How should we respond when life doesn't make sense, when God's not answering our prayers, when he seems to be tolerating evil and wickedness around us? How should we respond? We pray. Christians pray bold and honest prayers. We call out to the only one who can do anything about it. Do you believe in the power of prayer? Do you really? Does your life show evidence of that? Please don't answer.

You know, I know there's a prayer group that happens here at this church on Wednesdays. And I would think in a church this size, thousands of people every weekend, that that thing would be packed out with how many people say, yeah, we believe in the power of prayer. And yet so often when things get hard, sometimes prayer is the last thing we do. Try to figure things out on our own and we panic and we get all anxious. And we should be a people that when life doesn't make sense, we pray, amen? Philippians 4, 6 and 7, most of you know this, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And then the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. It is by prayer that we lay hold of the promises of God. It is by prayer that we lay hold of the peace that passes understanding, strength in your weakness, wisdom when you don't know what to do, hope when things feel hopeless. he says, "We have not, because we ask not." Prayerlessness is rampant in the church. And I got to say this because I know this is not, you know, my campus and I -- sometimes at our campus, I'm like, I'm like, "Hey, guys, I just want to make sure you know I'm not mad at you. I'm not mad at you.

I am burdened for you, and I am jealous for you." That so many come to church, and we listen, and we yes, and we amen, and we underline, and we take notes, but we are not doers of the word, we are hearers of the word, and we are deceiving ourselves. And I am burdened for you to walk in the promises of our God and our King. And I know that for many of you, you're in a situation, or you're about to be in a situation that don't make sense, and the first thing we should do is pray. That's where the power is. And let me give you a warning that we can see it right here, as much as prayer has to be our first response. It's not always a quick fix to your problems. God doesn't always answer your prayers the first time around. How many of you guys know that? That's why Jesus says in Luke 18, it says that then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Keep praying. That's what Habakkuk does. Life doesn't make sense. He prays, and he keeps praying. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Amen? Verse 5, God responds, look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed. For I'm going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians that ruthless

and impetuous people who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings, not their own. They are feared, indreaded people. They are a law to themselves and promote their own honor. Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their calvary gallops headlong, their horsemen from afar. They fly like an eagle, swooping to devour, and they come intent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities by building earthen ramps and capture them. Then they sweep past like the wind and go on. Guilty people whose own strength is their God. Stop right there. What should we do when life doesn't make sense? One, we pray to God. Two, we trust in God. We trust in God. God responds to the prayer of Habakkuk. And he says, you want an answer? Look and watch and be amazed. And Habakkuk's probably thinking, all right, it's about time, let's go. Some relief, finally, but he doesn't get the answer he's looking for. No, no, God says, you won't be able to understand

what I'm doing even if I told you. Remember that famous court scene, Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise? You want the truth? You can't handle the truth. That's what's going on right here. Habakkuk, what's going on? Tell me what's going on. He's like, you want to know what's going on? You want to know what I'm going to do to fix all this? I'll tell you, but you won't even be able to understand it. And God explains his plan. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to raise up the Babylonians. I'm going to raise up this powerful nation with a powerful army. And he goes on to describe all the ways and how powerful they are, how destructive they are. He says, not only are they powerful, they are evil. And here's what God's plan is. God is going to send the Babylonian army, like a mighty wind to bring justice and judgment. Say justice and judgment. That's important to bring justice and judgment upon God's own people for their sin. That's God's solution. That's God's plan. And you got to be thinking, this can't be right. I mean, imagine hearing this today.

We're crying out to God because all the things we see around us, all the injustice, all the sin. And he says, all right, here's what I'm going to do. Here's how I'm going to fix it. Here's how I'm going to bring justice and judgment upon all the sin. I'm going to raise up al-Qaeda to come against my church. What? You're going to use an evil terrorist group to bring justice and judgment on your own people. Just sit with that for a second so you can feel this. It doesn't make sense. You're going to use evil to defeat evil. He says, this is unjust. They're worse than we are. It's violent. And you're going to bring justice and judgment from that. Can we talk about peace-loving, hippie Jesus for a little bit? Didn't we just sing? You are the same God? He is the same God. He has not changed. God has always been holy, and he cannot tolerate sin. The only difference for us now is that he made a way for unholy people to draw near to a holy God through his son Jesus. So we don't face that wrath anymore. But he is the same God. And know this before this. Listen to this.

God had warned them for 23 straight years through the prophet Jeremiah to repent. How patient is God? If I'm God, I'm giving you maybe three weeks tops, 23 years? In Exodus, Moses says, "I want to see your glory. I want to see more of who you are." And God passes in front of him. Listen how God describes himself in Exodus 34. He passed in front of Moses proclaiming, "The Lord the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." How good is our God? Compassionate, gracious, slow to anger. Our God is patient, but know this, his patience will run out. And some of you, some of you right now, you're in a circumstance, in a situation that doesn't make sense because you have refused to repent of your sin. And he has sent many prophets and many messengers from up here on this platform or podcasts that you listen to or friends who have tried to check you and say, "What are you doing? Repent, stop." But you've continued in your own way. And now you're in this situation and you don't understand, and our God is a good father and good fathers discipline their children. And that's what he was doing here with Habakkuk and the nation of Judah, and this is probably what he's doing in some of our lives today. And you're like, "Okay, I get it, I get it." But couldn't he have done it differently? I mean, this don't make sense to my mind. Remember what he told him, "You won't believe it even if I told you." He says, "It won't make sense to your little mind even if I told you." I'm not saying that. God said it. So don't get mad at me.

One of the most important things you need to know as a Christian is that God will often do things that will not make sense to you. I've shared this story here before. My son Elijah, when he was like 10 years old, he got very passionate about justice. And I knew that because he would often say to me, "That's not fair." See, I was 30 at that time, into his little 10-year-old mind, my ways and my rules and my discipline, it didn't make sense to his little mind. He was leaning on his own understanding. And so when things would happen that were difficult, he would say, "That's not fair, just like Habakkuk, just like us. We can't judge God's ways by our own wisdom and understanding because God's ways are higher than ours." If the gap between me and my son at that time was 30 years, okay? What's the gap between us and God? Infinite. So you must assume that there will be times in your life when difficult things are happening that won't make sense to you, but it's all going according to plan. Listen to Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9, God says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways, my ways," declares the Lord, "as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." And this is why we find the wisdom and proverbs that most of you know, Proverbs 3 verses 5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." So often when things don't make sense, we try to lean on our own understanding, but it don't make sense. Proverbs says, "No, don't lean on your own understanding because God's ways are higher than your ways." No, trust in God, and you can trust that even when things don't make sense, God has a plan. Amen? See, God was doing something more than disciplining his people. What are he was going to do?

He was going to use the Babylonians to capture some of the Jews from Judea, and he was going to bring them into their own country, scatter them all throughout Rome, and those Jews that would stay there, they would set up synagogues. And as they set up synagogues, there would be Gentiles who would come and hear about the God of the Jews, and they would come to know and believe in him, and some would hear and not really be open to it, kind of just go their own way. And then in the book of Acts, when you see these early apostles and missionaries begin to go out and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time, do you know who these Gentiles who had been exposed to God through these synagogues from this dispersion of God's discipline. God was doing something. And not only that at the same time, God was using the Babylonians to bring judgment on Judah. He was also working in a young man's life named Daniel. Have you heard of Daniel? He was working in this young man's life in his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Anyone named their kids that? You've never seen a child dedication. This is my kid, Shadrach. Anyway, he's working in these young men. Why? And he's preserving their testimony of integrity in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation so that you and I have something to look at today. You see, there was no way for Habakkuk to know that God was gonna be doing all those things. He could not see or know those things, but God could. God was at work, even though Habakkuk couldn't see it,

even though it didn't make sense to him. It wasn't the way he would have wanted it to go, yet he chose still. Even though it didn't make sense, Habakkuk chose to trust God. How do I know? Look at verse 12, "Lord, are you not from everlasting?" Listen to the way he refers to God. "My God, my holy one, you will never die. You Lord have appointed them to execute judgment. You, my rock, have ordained them to punish." You still don't make sense, but you're still my God. And you're still my rock. And you are still my holy one. He chooses to trust even when it doesn't make sense. God was at work and listened to me, Christian. God is still at work today in your life. Even when it doesn't make sense. And you are surrounded by and submerged in pain and suffering, even when you can't see it and even when it don't make sense. I heard this thing a long time ago, I repeated a lot. The Christians don't tell lies, they sing them. We love to sing even when I don't see it, you're working. Like we love that. We love that. Hands up, yeah. But then we get out there and then life don't make sense. And then we're not really trusting those lyrics anymore.

No, when life don't make sense, you have to make a choice to trust God. When things don't make sense, we have to pray, but we also must trust Him. And what you need to understand is that there's a difference in believing in God and trusting God. Did you know that? A huge difference. For example, you know, I believe that if I were to jump out of a plane with a parachute strapped to my back and I pull the cord, this parachute's gonna pop out and I'm gonna float safely to the ground. I believe that, do I trust that? Absolutely not. But once I do that, it's gonna be a faulty parachute. I'm gone. And so I will never jump out of a plane with a parachute. I believe that it would work, but I don't trust it. So I'll never take the leap of faith. Do you follow me? And many, many of you believe that God is all powerful and all loving and trustworthy. You believe it, but you don't trust it. It's easy to believe. It's not so easy to trust. You see, trust is believing that I'm safer and more secure when God is in charge, not me.

I'll say that again, some of you need to take that to heart. Trust is believing that I'm safer and more secure when God is in charge, not me. That even when life is difficult, even when God is not answering you the way that you like Him to and it doesn't make sense, you could trust that God is still in control and His ways are always better than yours. Say always. Always. And trusting God is difficult for people like me because one of my greatest idols in life is control. I am most at peace when I'm in control. And what God will often do is He will bring trials and tragedy and pain into your life and He will kind of rock things and shake things that you have put your trust in that aren't Him. Some of you, some of you, you believe in God, but your trust is in your money. And you feel safe as long as there's a certain amount of money in the bank and all your investments are going well. Some of you, your trust is in your health. Yeah, man, I got my personal high rep this week, man. I'm jacked, I feel great.

Or you ran a marathon like, whoo, you're sick. I don't know why you're doing that. (congregation laughing) And then God's like, "All right, I'm gonna take away your health." Why would you do that? That doesn't make sense because you're putting your trust in something that's not me. You're putting your trust in your family, your spouse, your kids. I'm gonna take that away. And just like my son, when he's 10, that's not fair. No, you don't understand my ways. You're trusting something that's not me. And I need you to put your trust in me because those things will let you down. (audience applauding) I just want you to start to think, what is it in your life right now? This painful situation that you can't fix. It don't make sense. Could it be he's trying to teach you how to trust in him? And here's the thing, trust don't happen automatically. You gotta choose to put your trust in God. Psalm 56 verse three, when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. It's a choice, you will not always understand God's ways

but you can always trust him, amen? Now watch how Habakkuk responds, verse 12. Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my holy one, you will never die. You Lord have appointed them to execute judgment. You my rock, my rock have ordained them to punish. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil. You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler. The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks. He catches them in his net. He gathers them up in his dragnet and so he rejoices in his glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and he burns incense to his dragnet. For by his net, he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy? And then chapter two, verse one, I will stand in my watch, station myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what he will say to me and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Stop there. So when life don't make sense, we pray to God.

We trust in God and lastly, thirdly, we wait on God. Habakkukkukkukkukk is answer but it wasn't the answer he was looking for and so he keeps praying more questions and he's like, I get it, you're my God, you're my rock. But I thought, I thought you were holy. I thought you were perfect and righteous and pure. Like you couldn't even look on sin. So this still isn't computing. Like how can you tolerate the wickedness of the Babylonians and let them just keep on destroying people that are more righteous than them? This doesn't make sense to me. There are sinful people. The cure is worse than the disease. And then he has a final question, are you gonna let this just keep happening? When is this gonna end? Will you let the Babylonians continue to conquer nations and destroy people or will you ever punish them? And so he's like, you know what? I need to wait for an answer on this. I've prayed, I trust, but I need to wait. And so he goes away by himself up into a tower to get some perspective and he waits on the Lord because he knows that God is good and God will answer. So he's like, I'm gonna wait, I'm gonna wait. And how do we wait today practically? How do we get alone in a tower if you will, get high enough to get some perspective on things?

You must, you must have daily time alone with Jesus. You must, it is not optional. And listen, you make time for things that are important, right? Yeah? As I often like, kid around like, I hope you all brushed your teeth this morning. You woke up early enough to make time to brush your teeth and your neighbor is super grateful for that. You need to make time for Jesus. And how do you get kind of like elevation to get perspective, this word? See God's word is truth and God's truth gives you perspective on all the things that you're experiencing around your life. Sometimes we are so led by what we see and what we feel and not by what we know to be true. So we've got to get into the word and we've got to get by ourselves and we've got to be willing to wait. Why? Because God's timing is not our, like our own. One of the most frustrating things about God to me is that he is notoriously slow. 'Cause he's outside of time, you know that, right? He's not in time, he's outside of time. So he's like, I'm in no rush. And I'm like, no, no, no, I want it now. And he's like, no, you're gonna have to wait. Psalm 27 verses 13 and 14, I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord and the land of the living. So wait on the Lord and be of good courage

and he shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say on the Lord. We, there's gonna be so many times that we have to wait on the Lord. I would have lost heart, but I believed that I would see the goodness of God not in heaven. You guys know that a day is coming when there'll be no more suffering, no more pain, no more sickness. Praise God, right? That day is coming. But he said, no, I believe I'm gonna see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. But it ain't gonna come like that. I gotta wait on him. And what is the goodness of the Lord? You guys know Romans 828, that God works all things together for? What is the good? See, the problem is that we've got this mindset of, you know what the good is? God's gonna answer all my prayers just the way I want it in the timing that I want it. He's gonna heal and he's gonna move and he's gonna save and he's gonna redeem and he's gonna do it just the way that I want it. That is not the good. What is the best thing that could ever happen to you in your life? That you become more and more like Jesus?

Listen, this is so important for that verse because I think we misunderstand it. The good, the good that God says I will take all those broken things happening around you, all those things that don't make sense and I will work it together for good. I will actually use it to make you more like my son and there's nothing better than that. And some of you, you're waiting and you're losing hope and you're losing heart and you need to know, it may not turn out the way that you want it to or the way that you think it should, but you have to be reminded that God is in control and his ways are better. And if you wait on the Lord, you will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And I love, I just, I love Habakkuk. He never considers walking away from God. He's like, you know, I believe in a God who lets bad things happen. He's basically saying that. Habakkuk is being real and honest with God. He's wrestling with him, but in the end, he chooses to trust him and to wait on the answer. Now here's the thing about all of this. This would not be the last time that God would bring about justice and judgment on sin by means of injustice and violence. Let me say that to you again.

Habakkuk in this moment in history would not be the last time that God would bring about justice and judgment on sin by means of injustice and violence. It would be 600 years later. You see, 600 years later, he didn't send the Babylonians or the Assyrians. 600 years later, he sent his son, Jesus, who lived a perfect life and was completely innocent. And yet God willed that he die a sacrificial death on a cross meant for criminals. And you know what happened on that cross? Justice was served and judgment was poured out. In the same way that God was doing it here, justice and judgment. But in a way that didn't really make sense, God would do 600 years later. You see, Habakkuk was right. God is holy, do you know that? Our God is a holy God and he cannot tolerate sin. Yes, he is good and kind and gracious and merciful. He is all those things, but he is holy above them all. And he cannot tolerate sin. He can't just sweep it under the rug. He can't look at us and say, it's no big deal. Don't worry about it. No, he is a good holy judge judge and he must judge sin. So in order for us to be forgiven of our sin and restored to a relationship with the God that we have sinned against, someone had to pay.

Someone had to pay and justice had to be served. And who did it for us? Jesus. Jesus took the judgment that we deserved. Jesus experienced ultimate injustice. You look at some things that are happening in your life right now. You're like, this is so unjust. Jesus was the only one who was perfectly pure and innocent. And he was betrayed by those closest to him. He was falsely accused. He was beaten and stripped and crucified, naked for all to see. That was the most unjust moment in all of history. And on good Friday, that good Friday to those standing there, looking on, do you know what they were thinking? This doesn't make sense. Where's God? How could he let this happen? Why isn't he doing anything? Even what did Jesus cry out from the cross? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Have you ever felt forsaken by God? You know who knows what that feels like? Jesus, in that moment. How could any good come from this? I'm sure many were thinking that, not knowing that three days later, our King would leave that tomb. And this is our God.

And it was all according to God's plan. Isaiah 53, 10, That was all part of God's plan. That violent, seemingly unjust moment in history that just didn't make sense. God was in control of that, and He was working it for something greater. On Good Friday, God had a plan. He was at work, and He would use the most confusing and painful and violent and unjust moment in all of history to make possible forgiveness and redemption for you and me, so that we could be sons and daughters. And so here's the point. Listen to me, Christian, when life doesn't make sense, you remember your King. You remember Jesus. You remember what He went through. Let it remind you that dark and difficult times will come to God's children, and even when you don't understand why or feel like God is distant, you can be certain that He is working things together for good. When life doesn't make sense, pray, trust and wait. Amen? Let's pray. Father, thank You. Thank You that You are seated on a throne. Thank You that You are ruling and reigning over all things right now. There is nothing happening in all of creation that is out of Your control, and I pray that that would give us peace this morning. Father, I pray that You would teach us how to respond when life doesn't make sense. I ask that You would make us a praying people. Please, God, please make this a praying church. And whatever You need to do to make that happen, God remind us and show us how weak we are and how we can do nothing apart from You. And may we lay hold of Your great and precious promises through this gift of prayer.

God, I pray that the prayer meetings at this campus would be overflowing. I pray that we would be a church that calls out to You in the midst of the confusion and trusts You for the answer. Teach us to trust. God, please, help us to trust that it's always better when You're in control and not us. And Lord, for those that are waiting and those that are thinking about giving up, would You renew in them a steadfast spirit? Would You help them today to believe that they will see the goodness of the Lord and the land of the living? God, help them to strengthen in their hearts and to take courage and to wait on You. God, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the One who died so that we could live. Thank You for heaven. Thank You that a day is coming when we won't have to talk about things that don't make sense. Everything will make sense on that great day. Thank You today that we're one day closer to it. But while we wait, help us to pray, help us to trust and help us to wait in Jesus' name. Hey, before we dismiss just a couple more moments here, you know, we talk about a burden. I got saved at this church in 2002, I used to come here on Wednesday nights and Sundays and I'd sit over there and over there. And I sat here for a long time listening to people up here teaching Bible studies. And I would always think, you know, I'm good. I was raised in the church and I would kind of like compare myself to other people. Like I think I'm good with God because I'm not as bad as them. And over the years, as I've come to know Jesus and gotten to be a part of this amazing church and like preach in front of rooms like this with hundreds of people, see, we have different viewpoints. All your eyes are on me. All my eyes are all on you.

And in rooms this size, I have a crushing burden. And I read something this week that kind of helped put words to it. It said basically, there's a difference in believing in Jesus and a difference in believing that Jesus. And here's what it means. There's a difference in believing that Jesus lived a perfect life, which some of you believe. And there's a difference in believing that he died a sacrificial death on the cross. There's a difference in believing that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. Many of you believe in that. There's a difference in believing in and believing that Jesus lived a perfect life for you. Believing that Jesus died on the cross for you. Believing that, the only way to get to heaven is through Jesus for you. My mind always goes back to when I was in college, I was up at UCF and I used to wear my mom. She was the crazy Christian in my life. Anyone got a crazy Christian in their life? Don't raise your hand because they're probably with you. Anyway, she would send me all this stuff. She would send me what would Jesus do bracelet and I'd wear that and I was at the gym one time and I remember this lady can And I don't know why and it's just a vivid memory for me. It freaked me out. And I said, "Yeah, I do." And I ran away because it didn't compute. Do I know him? What a weird way to put it. Do I know him? And she was spot on. I knew about Jesus, but I did not know him. I didn't have a relationship with him and I was lost.

And I was lost all those months that I sat in this room and heard people talk about Jesus. I thought I was okay, but I was lost because here's the bad news before the good news. The bad news is God made us to be in a relationship with him, but we've all sinned against him. You see, we all make mistakes. I don't think anyone would deny that. We let ourselves down and we've got pretty low standards in life. We've made mistakes in our life. We're like, "Man, I wish I could go back and do it differently because that didn't live up to my standards." I said something, I did something, but here's the thing about God. His standard is perfection. So if you want to have a relationship with God and be in heaven, you have to be perfect. And none of us are perfect. It's terrible news. Because of our sin and God being holy, he has to judge our sin. But here's the good thing about our God. He's like, "You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to make a way. I'm going to make a way so that I can judge your sin and pour out justice and yet make a way to forgive you and bring you into my family." How? I'm going to send my son. I'm going to send my son Jesus in the flesh 2,000 years ago to come to this earth and live a life of perfection to keep every single law in this book perfectly, because you can't do it. But for you, yeah, but what about my sin, doesn't something have to be done about my sin? I got that covered. Then he's going to go to the cross and he's going to suffer terribly and die as a sacrifice. Not for his sins because he was perfect for your sins and for my sins.

I'll take your place there too. And he's like, "It's a gift. I paid it. You have to receive it. You can't earn it." You see, for some people, they're like, "I'm too bad to be a Christian. I just can't be good enough. Listen to me. God will take you just the way that you are and he won't leave you that way. I'm not the same man I was in 2002 when I got saved here. I'm not perfect, but I'm not the same. The opposite extreme, I think, is even more difficult to reach sometimes because some people think, "I don't need God. I'm good." All it takes is one sin to separate you from God, just one. Some of you have sinned 40 times this morning, and all it takes is one, just one. And so what do you got to do? You have to receive the gift, and I almost don't like the word receive. You have to surrender to Jesus. It's not about coming up to the front of this altar and saying some magic prayer with some words, and then you just going off and living the own life that you want to live. So many people do that in places and spaces like this. You said the prayer, "I'm good." That's not it. I'm sorry. It's surrender. Not a call to perfection, a call to surrender. Have you surrendered your life to God? Have you given your life to the one who died for you on that cross so that you could receive the forgiveness of your sins so that you could receive adoption into his family?

No one could do that for you. I had a mom that she'd bring me to church every single weekend because she so wanted me to know Jesus, but I never wanted it. It's got to be your choice. And it does. It starts with a prayer. It starts with a prayer. And in a moment, they're going to play a song. And if you're in this room and you've never began a relationship with Jesus, or you're like, "You know, I said that prayer a long time ago, but I kind of just kept doing my own thing. I don't think I really meant it," or maybe you've strayed from God and you need to come back. I'm going to ask you to get out of your seat and come stand right here. And when the song ends, I'm going to lead you in a prayer. I'm going to give you some words, but it'll be your heart and it will be a prayer of surrender. If I'm God, I'm dragging all of you out of your seats and making you say this prayer. But he doesn't do that. He's so good and he's so patient and he's just like, "Will you come? I love you. I died for you. I've got so much for you. Will you come?" And you will choose today when we are the other. You will either say, "No, I don't want that," or you will say, "Yes." You will say, "Yes." "the very things you were made for, the choice is yours. "But my greatest concern is for those that have fooled themselves "into thinking that just because they come to church "or own a Bible or say that they believe in God, "that they know Jesus when they don't.

"Satan believes in Jesus. "Satan knows the Bible. "He don't know Jesus the right way." So I've said enough. I'm gonna pray. I'm gonna sit here and pray church. I'm gonna ask you to please be in prayer. And if that's you and you need to get right with God this morning and surrender to him when the song starts to get up out of your seat, come forward and we'll pray that prayer together church. I'm begging you to be in prayer right now. Please pray that eyes would be opened, that God would draw people to himself, but if that's you and you hear his voice and something is stirring in you, that's God calling you. Don't harden your heart, come to him today. This is your time as the song starts to come. ♪ Can you hear the church ♪ ♪ For too long on my mind ♪ ♪ I was a prayer ♪ ♪ To hear you ♪ ♪ I hear you're in touch ♪ ♪ To let it all go ♪ ♪ I see it now, I'm laying it down ♪ ♪ I'm not that I need you ♪ ♪ I run to the Father, fall into grace ♪ ♪ I'm done with the heart, I'm reason away ♪ ♪ My heart needs a surgeon, my soul needs a friend ♪ ♪ So I run to the Father again and again ♪

♪ I run to the Father, fall into grace ♪ ♪ I'm done with the heart, I'm reason away ♪ ♪ My heart needs a surgeon, my soul needs a friend ♪ ♪ So I run to the Father again and again and again ♪ (audience applauding) (audience cheering) - We'll wait for you. I'm up against the clock. And all I gotta say is if you're still in your seat and you need to be here, come. Don't wait for next Sunday. If you hear his voice, come. This is your greatest need. This is your greatest need in life is forgiveness and only Jesus can give it to you. So here's what we're gonna do, guys. We're gonna pray over you first. And after we pray over you, I'm gonna give you some words to pray out loud, not to anyone around you, but to God. And I don't want you just to repeat them. I want you to think about the words and think about who you're saying it to, because here's what's about to happen. You're about to receive this great gift that Jesus paid for. And he's gonna begin to change you from the inside out. That's why we rejoice. And so first we're gonna pray over you and then I'm gonna lead you in that prayer church.

You would extend a hand. Father, thank you for everyone that's here this morning. Thank you for everyone that has heard your voice and responded. Thank you for the gift of faith that you've given them. Thank you for your son, Jesus. We pray that your spirit would even now fall on them with a great sense of peace. They know you and they will belong to you from this day forward. And it's not because they're good, it's because Jesus was good for them. So begin this work that only you can do. Make them more like you, we ask in Jesus' name. And now for those of you that are here, repeat this prayer out loud after me. Say, Lord God, I confess, I've sinned against you and I need Jesus. I believe that he's my God and I believe that he's my savior. So today I open my heart, I invite him inside. I repent of my sins and I will follow you from this day forward in Jesus' name. Amen, amen, amen, amen. So guys, really quick before you get back to family and friends, I just wanna spend one more moment with you guys, say a few words, give you a Bible if you don't have one. See my friend right down there with his hand up. If you guys could follow him for one quick second, I'll be right behind you

and then you can get back to family and friends. Church, give them a hand as they go. (congregation applauding) You would all stand. We leave with one last song of worship. God bless you guys. We'll see you next time. ♪ All right, join us as we call on the name of the Lord ♪ Call the name, call the name, call the name, Jehovah All our praise, all our praise, all our praise Belons to Him, call the name, call the name, call the name Jehovah, all our praise, all our praise, all our praise Belons to Him, call the name, say, find your battles Jehovah, John, I need your name Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head Jehovah, John, I'm not here, you're my head You [BLANK_AUDIO]