A Message for a Helpless World

Welcome to living in the light, and an introduction to today's message from and grandma wants you think the roots falling apart actually falling in place. God is just rearranging the chessboard just preparing everything and everyone for Jesus to come listening to Bible teacher and grandma turn each week here on living in the light and begins first. By reading John's words in Revelation chapter 20 verse 11. John says that I saw a great white and him who was seated on it and Scott fled from his presence. There was no place for them. You know what that means is no hiding place, not even a shadow great and small, standing before the throne and the books were open and listen to me these are the bad guys. These are the guys who have died and gone to hell, or whatever the places they go to until this point, and then he says another book was opened, which is the book of life.

The dead were judged according what they had done.

According guard in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done in each one one by one stands before the judge. Seated on that great white throne they can see and I know they don't know his name.

It says they can speak his name. After that been profaning his name and blaspheming his name and they can't say a word and the books are open and there judged according to their works and if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown in the lake of fire.

The me tell you something if you're judged according to working out. People say I'm going to go to God he's going to see my works and my good works outweigh my bad work that he's going to let me in heaven I deserved going to have you not done better things are done bad things and you know you their mentality and they will be judged according to their works, but you can't do enough good things to please a holy God. You can't do them perfectly enough to please them to be judged according to your works is to be come down but at that point, there is no cross there is no savior. There is no Lamb of God judge the judge sitting on the great white throne, and all the world is silent before him, and he has the last word and he opens the books to make sure he's fair and balanced.

He reads those works in the things that people have done and every single one is found wanting. None of them good enough because there is none righteous, no not want all of our righteousness is as filthy and have rejected the Savior had rejected salvation because they thought there other ways to God besides the cross, you know there other ways in need to ask anybody for forgiveness and God is a loving God would never send anybody to help us not my God you can believe in God like that.

But not me and his two lights at the make any difference.

That's a very frightening picture domain, who do know is going to be there.

One of the things that should do is compel us to put on those gospel of peace on her feet, cleated sandals and take the gospel to care if they tell us is not politically correct and we share the gospel and tell people that God loves you and God loves you and God loves you and he loves you so much that he sent his own son to die on the cross that if you just place your faith in him. How simple could it be simple but hard is to confess that you're a sinner to crucify your pride to admit that you're just like everybody else, but if you do if you confess your center you come to the cross you put your faith in Jesus as your Savior, your sins are forgiven and you will not perish, you will never stand before the white throne. You will never go to hell you're saying from judgment.

You have everlasting life and everlasting life.

Remember his personal permanent privileged purposeful relationship with God right here and now and the guarantee of heaven when you die. That's a message to tell her hopeless world traveling don't you be afraid of the great white throne, but let that fear of those standing there, motivate you and compel you to share the gospel with others that if the Lord Jesus were to come today and if their lives are required of them.

That's where they would stand if Jesus comes the day in a sense they have a second chance.

If you call the tribulation a second chance and I believe people will come to faith in Jesus during the tribulation. But I don't want them to go through that either so that's motivation later share the gospel. So Habakkuk is been wrestling watching and now he's just going to worship and he acknowledges God's person and he acknowledges that God is a God of history the back chapter 3 verse two.

Lord have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds of the Lord. Renew them in our day and our time make them known in wrath remember mercy, and he remembers the history. God is a God of history. History is his story. And so let's start with Adam and Eve when they sin and God pronounced judgment on and they were separated from him and death came into the world by in wrath, even malaise pronouncing judgment. He remembers mercy slays that animal any close them with the skin of an animal blood was shed no tears were coming on the creator's face knowing that one day would be the Lamb of God was blood would be shipped to cover us from our sin and our shame and wrath. He remembered mercy know his day, when God said on degrees that have made mankind all of them are evil all their thoughts and intents are evil wicked all the time. But there's one man's righteous blameless in his generation and he said no I'm going to judge the whole world. I'm going to destroy the whole world.

People make fun of that story and think it's a Sunday school story or you know whatever is just, you hear the enemy if our inanimate convince you that no I was just some joke a Sunday school put something on a flannel board but if I were the enemy.

I would never want you to know that there is judgment for sin and it doesn't matter. There's no safety in numbers. You know God will judge the whole world, but God remembered Mercedes had no build because I want anybody everybody to come into the ark, and peace to parish.

Only Noah and his family came, but in wrath. God remembered mercy Abraham praying for Sodom and God said I'm going to destroy Sodom because of what I see there in the crowd. It's come up to me. Abraham praise and praise and praise on the God looks at Sodom and opens up the heavens and any destroy Sodom and each had just Sodom but in wrath. He remembers mercy, and he grabbed Lot and his family, Abraham's nephew and he literally drags the mass in wrath. He remembers mercy limit pick up the Passover, because God is pouring out his judgment on Egypt, pouring out his judgment on Pharaoh and he's going to destroy all the firstborn just forcing Pharaoh's hand and let my people go, but perhaps he remembers mercy, and he says if you paint your doorpost of your house with the blood of the Lamb.

When I see the blood all Passover you know that applied to Egyptians as well as Israelites and there were Egyptians who came under the blood, and they were saved because in wrath. God remembers mercy, and in Jericho when the enemy stronghold was there and Joshua had sent to spies in Jericho and you he he parked all of his were probably 2 million people right there waiting for two weeks, three weeks while he sent the spies and to see what Jericho is like and how big the walls were and how many had nothing to do it the way they took Jericho.

You know what God was doing in wrath he was going. Remember, mercy, and he knew there was one Canaanite prostitute who was crying out to him and so he parked Israel there while he made on the contactor and let her know she could be saved.

And so when they marched around those walls and in the seventh day they gave a shout of victory and the walls came tumbling down.

They took the enemy for just one part of all that was still standing was one were Rahab's house was in rehab and her family were saved because in wrath.

God remembers mercy on what a great crowd. We serve and Habakkuk is worshiping the God of history and you look back at his sister and use the evidence of his mercy. Yes, he's a God of wrath, but he's a God of mercy and forgiveness and grace and love. Not willing for any to perish not want to get it all to come to repentance something that's one reason he hasn't come back yet. He just waiting for the last person to enter in, and then he worship the God of purity in verse three he says you are the holy one, and he has to rest on the fact God that you do the right thing, your holy there's no impurity with you. If you use the Babylonians.

The judge Judah, then I know you are holy, that doesn't take away from your holiness, your God of purity or God of glory in verse three and he says God came from team in the holy one of his glory covered the heavens's praise filled the earth's splendor, like the sunrise raised by from his hand where his power was hidden at the second coming back is given a glimpse of twin Real Judgment Will Take Pl. in Monroe vindication will take place and in God's wrath is poured out on the world, the mercy that he has on his people and he comes back to deliver his people and to save his people in the set up his kingdom on earth and and Habakkuk is seen through the future and given a glimpse of the return the glory of God. And then he worships the God of fury at another house to describe this in verse five plague went before and listen plagues like E. coli and Ebola and typhoid in the bubonic plague and AIDS and plague went before restaurants followed his steps. He stood and shook the earth. Earthquakes, cyclones, tornadoes, hurricanes. He looked and he made the nations tremble. All these wars and rumors of wars and bombs in ancient mountains crumble the age-old bills collapse because God is a God of fury and is angry at Santa and he moves when God moves is not always pleasant, and he worships this God who gets the world's attention through so many of these disasters and things and so sometimes I think you know you think the world falling apart actually is falling in the places God is just rearranging the chessboard just preparing everything and everyone for Jesus to come and he worship the God of eternity.

Verse six when he says your ways are eternal God has this plan in place as before the foundations of the world -related, and he is working his plan. So when we see things and we don't expect and we don't understand we just worship the God of eternity.

I God who is the great I am yesterday today and forever the same yesterday today and forever all-powerful, Almighty, all loving, all merciful. He is eternal.

And then he worships the God of authority. Verse eight when he says, were you angry with the rivers was your wrath against the streams that you raise against the seed, you know have somebody challenge me last week and you can't say these environmental disasters are acts of God, so no I know I can't say that for sure. But in the Bible in Scripture, it indicates when he moves. Sometimes he uses the natural elements and if they're not paying attention to him as they don't go to church and they don't believe in the Bible and they make fun of Christians in all the rest of it like they were all around God then you just let me show you what God I am and will send the biggest hurricane ever. The biggest cycle never the greatest drought biggest flood the biggest or him and you know it all belongs to him and so he's a God of authority. He rules over all creation is his. He can do what he chooses, so he uses natural elements for supernatural purposes is just that we call it global warming trying to explain away this is a movement of God and then he worships the God of victory when you read these verses, verse 11, sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the Glen of your flying arrows at the lightning of your flashing spear in wrath. You strode through the earth and in anger. You thresh the nations you came out. Listen to me threshing the nations, but he's coming to deliver your people to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot because God moves heaven and earth to rescue his people. He's the rescuer he's the Savior. He's the deliverer and we read through the book of Revelation, which is maybe one of my favorite is not my favorite book in the Bible you read through some of the chapters 6 through 19 and their terrifying with all the beasts and demons in the judgment in the plagues and the trumpets in the balls and that whatever but listen, that is God pouring out his wrath on the bad guys on the wicked because is coming back to deliver his people and establish his reign on earth, and his righteousness. So one day truth will triumph over falsity in love will triumph over hate and goodness will triumph over evil and right will triumph over wrong and he's coming his God of victory has a victory and so Habakkuk is worshiping God as he is any knowledge in his person and then accepting God's plan for wrestling watching worshiping with fear.

Verse 16 I heard in my heart pounded my lips quivered at the sound decay crept into my bones.

My legs tremble. Habakkuk sees what's coming. He knows it's going to get worse and he's terrified and if I can just say this I believe were living very close to the return of Jewish.

I believe we may be. I believe we are. Can I just say it that last generation of late-model lifetime is the last generation and I base that on what Jesus said in the sense that he gave us and soft thought of the rapture. In fact, I'm so sure the reps are so close I can put things on my website to say to people after the rapture, you know, to help bring them to Christ. I just feel burden for them because I look ahead and not thinking of the rapture when I said last night that the answer for America's either revival of the church of the return of Jesus actually best answer for us. When Jesus comes at the rapture that will be judgment for America in particular, imagine you take all believers out of America and can you imagine the chaos in the confusion and the disruption. Can you imagine the planes crashing out of the sky on the cars crashing on the highway and doctors disappearing from operating theaters in businesses and business leaders in stock for the whole thing will melt down and then I can just see the carnage in the depression and the violence in the streets, in the confusion and the despair and the anger and the hatred and nothing there to quell that. You know it's all just unleashed and then the enemy who could anticipate something of what was coming. Jumping into manipulate its in the set up a kingdom on earth. It's his kingdom that he fools everybody thinking that he can make it right.

He can bring peace. Peace.

But there is no peace at all.

In fact, it just gets worse and worse and worse and you can see I guess. What strikes fear in my heart is that I wonder if judgment will come on America before the rapture because I believe it might be one way God would have of purifying his church making is so desperate. We would cry out to him and we will begin to separate from the world that we have become so much alike and would stand up and be counted in bold in our faith have told my children if God allows us to go through times like that. With economy crashes and enemy attacks, and other things in God knows who were heroes and were going to see our God like they did in the Old Testament were going to seem like Corrie 10 boom did and ravens, but do remember when you had that little vial of vitamin drops and she wanted to hoard it but instead she shared with everybody in her little section and as long as she shared the vitamin drops that little vial lasted were going to see miracles like that. Maybe water come out of a rock. Maybe Manna come down from heaven, maybe people healed. We don't need the hospital. He will take care of us and some of us may pay the ultimate price for a face like those 21 Egyptian Christians on the beach in Libya, all shouting the name of Jesus as they were beheaded and at that moment, God will give us all that we its at the moment saving grace, dying grace, I believe it's it's just that you look ahead, and it makes you shutter and we it what's coming, so he accepts God's plan, but with fear. He shaken to the core and then with faith. Though the fig tree does not, but it's basically though I have no hope. On see I don't see anything getting better there no grapes on the vine. I have no extras. There is no sparkle in life, you know, no fun.

All of crop sales and income collapses. I have no job anymore. The fields produce no foods, not plans for the future. Just come up empty. No sheep in the pan.

No cattle in the stalls all my investments my retirements my Social Security and RA just evaporate if the worst happens if things don't change, except on the downhill. How do we respond verse 18. Yes, I will rejoice in the Lord. I'll be joyful in my Savior because my joy is not in the circumstances is not in the world situation is not getting from God.

What I want when I want the way I want it how I want my joy is just in him and you. See Habakkuk coming to the point that he can accept God's plan with fear. He scared to death, but with phase because his faith rests in God and God alone. God, I just rejoice and sometimes joy is the choices we have to choose.

Rejoice is not what Paul said from the jail in Rome. The Philippians rejoice. He said to tell you again. Get your act together, rejoice.

Deborah somebody had an opportunity not do it had to of been Paul old, tired, cold, broken, facing death, and he chose to rejoice and we rejoice is not a feeling it's a choice, and we put our focus on Jesus, we just rejoice and who we is in all his glory, and all its beauty. If he never does anything for us if he never solves our problems. We never enter separate all God, we rejoice in who you are. We just love you. And then I want you to see this because he accepted God's plan with fear faith and freedom. And this is where he broke. Verse 19 the sovereign more notice that we address is the sovereign Lord God, you can do what you choose. You can do what you want who are not a tell you what to do. You are sovereign in the sovereign Lord is my strength. You will get me through the tough times and he makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He's going to give me strength to equal my needs strength for today and then I get strength for tomorrow and enable me to do the things I need for my family for my ministry for other thing he enables me to go on the heights. That means to rise above my circumstances. The live not somehow but triumphantly and the store like wings of an eagle, so Habakkuk was set free and it says that we had this prayer request for his loved one wrapped in his hand.

God I want you to do this and this and this. All my goodness don't do that.

Don't do that. Don't do that.

I think you need to do it this way. And now, and how and when and why.

And at the end of this book is just like his fingers have gotten Pratt off of his request and he just says God have your way.

I just submit to you and I trust you and I praise you and I worship you and what Habakkuk ended up with was a brokenness in himself. Just let it go.

Just let it go, doesn't mean were not to pray doesn't mean were not to reverse the thunder doesn't mean were not the CERT Scriptures and found a promise and play it back to God. But if you prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed. Many just reach a point Lord, have your own way. I just let it go. I trust you yourself, your Lord, if he is not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all. And when he is Lord of your prayer life Lord of those answers that you're trying to get Lord of your plans for the future of what's going on your family. Whatever happens, whatever comes if you never answer my prayer the way I've been asking you it's okay because you're going to give me strength from a day you going to make my feet like the feet of a deer so I can handle the things that come in a walk on the heights. I can try.)

I would you pray and pray and pray until you reach that point of brokenness in you except what is going to do even though it strikes fear to your heart you, except with the freedom that comes by just roll it all over to him would you do that don't throw away your prayer and throw away your prayer life just prayer is not broken maybe God is just wanting to break so that you let him have his way in your life peers and with today's concluding thought what prayer request.

Are you tightly clutching what are you insisting that God do for you over someone else and he hasn't done it the way you want when you want, how you want are you crying out in your spirit why God why won't you answer my prayer and do you really mean why God why won't you do things my way. You do what I tell you to do. It's time for you to let go now. Let God have his way will you pray with Habakkuk, though God doesn't answer my prayer the way I want yet I will rejoice in the Lord is sovereign. He knows what he's doing and I trust them listen to me. The sovereign Lord is trustworthy. So trust trust you been listening to living in the light and when you go to Engram Lodge.org there are free resources to help you in your study of God's word and his desire is that you embrace God filled life step-by-step choice by choice living in the light