John Lloyd - Habakkuk Pt. 3
/Living By Faith In An Unbelieving World.
Living by Faith in an Unbelieving World: A Study of the Book of Habakkuk
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith! Habakkuk 2:4-20
Pastor John Lloyd
January 21, 2018
We have a choice every day to interpret the events of our lives through the eyes of our own reason or through the eyes of faith. One path leads to unbelief and fear. The other, as Habakkuk stumbles upon a watershed of life, learns that the “righteous shall live by faith!” We can look to the “experts” of this life or we can look to our Creator as our guide. Our prayer is to develop a community of people modelling faith to an unbelieving world. Faith pleases God and is rewarded by consistently seek Him.
The righteous shall live by faith!
Memory Verse: Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
5 “Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.” 6 Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, “Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own— for how long?— and loads himself with pledges!” 7 Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoil for them.
Big Idea: Living by faith is the best path for followers of Christ. The righteous shall live by faith!
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Praying God would give this faith inside of us not just to us. In the depths of our souls His faith would transform us from the inside out.
How can I truly live by faith?
I. Living by faith means rejecting me and material things as the ultimate authority and giver of meaning of life.
Habakkuk 2:1 I will take my stand at my I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. (Col.3:2)
Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
Genesis 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
“For each of us, sin is our right to myself, and so to my way of seeing things, which far more than class, gender, race and generation is the ultimate source of human relativity. On the other hand, sin is the deliberate repudiation of God and the truth of his way of seeing things.” Os Guiness “Fools Talk”
Habakkuk 2:6 Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, “Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own—for how long?— and loads himself with pledges!” (Excessive greed)
Habakkuk 2:9 “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm! (Relying on temporal treasures and wealth for protection) (Habakkuk 2:10-11, Dan. 5:5-6)
Habakkuk 2:12 “Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity! (Building on violence never works) Habakkuk 2:13
Habakkuk 2:15 “Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink — you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! (always brings destruction) (Habakkuk 2:16-17, Isaiah 5:11-12)
Habakkuk 2:19 Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. (Habakkuk 2:18, Idols will always fail us)
“Everything that is evil is under the judgment of God.” Martyn Lloyd Jones
The way of unbelief always opposes the way of faith. Seeing the invisible ultimate end of evil moves us to live by faith.
“The truth stated is that there are only two possible attitudes to life in this world: that of faith and that of unbelief. Either we view our lives in terms of our belief in God and the conclusions which we are entitled to draw from that: or our outlook is based upon a rejection of God and the corresponding denials. We may either withdraw ourselves from the way of faith in God, or else we may live by faith in God.” Martyn Lloyd Jones
II. Living by faith delivers us from being controlled by events.
Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. (Romans 10:17)
A. Living by faith relies on God’s approval above created things.
Hebrews 11:25 (Moses) choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. (Lk.12:4)
B. Living by faith allows us to see God’s glory during present trials.
Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 6:3)
Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Hebrews 11:34
The righteous shall live by faith!
C. Living by faith embraces the Lord Jesus as our ultimate authority.
Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” (Philippians 2:9-11, Psalm 27:1)
Hebrews 12:2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Phil 3:9 & Gal. 2:20)
Reflective questions: Is my life based upon the faith principle? Am I submitting myself to the fact that the Bible is the true Word of God? Am I willing to stake everything in my life on this fact?
THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!
Growth Group Questions for January 21, 2018
Opener: Have you ever foreseen something bad was going to happen that other people were ignoring? If so, how did that feel? Or if you haven’t, how do you think it would feel?
1. Read Habakkuk 2:4-2:20. Summarize in your own words what’s going on this passage. What does God say He will do to the Chaldeans?
2. Read Habakkuk 2:4-5. Pride puffs people up about their achievements, twists their moral values, makes them never satisfied with what they own and always restless for another thrill or achievement. Are you prone to any of these faults? If so, which ones?
3. Read Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 & Hebrews 10:38. How did Paul use Habakkuk 2:4, and how is it different in Hebrews 10:38? What does it mean to live by faith?
4. Read Habakkuk 2:6, 9, 12, 15, &19. Discuss the five woes mentioned by Habakkuk, (see outline for help). Which of those do you see most often in the world around you? Are there more that could be added?
5. Read Daniel 5:30-31 and compare with Habakkuk 2:6-7. What happened to the king of Babylon? How was Habakkuk’s prophecy fulfilled? How does fulfilled prophecies help you live by faith?
6. Read Habakkuk 2:9-11. The Chaldeans were trusting in their ill-gotten riches to protect them from danger. Read Daniel 5:1-5 and write how this prophecy was fulfilled. How can this truth encourage us as we see evil prospering in our world? What is the antidote to covetousness?
7. Read Habakkuk 2:4, 2:14 and 2:20. What are the three assurances God gave to Habakkuk in the midst of these woes? Which one of these assurances means the most to you right now?
8. Read Hebrews 11:23-28. How did Moses demonstrate his faith? How does his example help you live by faith? Spend time praying for one faith request you have for this year. The righteous shall live by faith!