Habakkuk 2, and beginning in verse number 1. I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end, It shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come. It will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith. You may be seated. Title of my message tonight, Good Things Come to Those Who Wait. Good things come to those who wait. A proverb of life. Many of us heard that growing up. We still hear it. Perhaps we even say it. Well, Habakkuk, I think, is starting to learn this. Just wait upon the Lord. Be patient. Isaiah tells us those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Habakkuk has had a hard time learning that lesson. In all of chapter 1 we have seen the perplexity of the prophet. He has been bothered by what he viewed as the Lord's inaction. Then he's further bothered by the Lord's response. He's frustrated with how God is dealing with Israel and how He's GOING to deal with Israel, and when we closed out chapter 1 the last time we looked at this, He was, as it were, putting Jehovah on trial. He's questioning God! He's questioning His character! He's asking the Lord, why would you do such a thing? How dare you? This is contrary to your very nature. As if God needs a lesson from any one of us in the realm of what his nature is. But we come to chapter two and there's been a transformation. The prophet has changed his tune, if you will. As I mentioned in chapter 1 we saw the perplexity of the prophet, now in chapter 2 we see the PERCEPTION of the prophet. Now Habakkuk has learned that God has answers for his questions. He answers the first question, which raised a bigger question, but the good thing is God has an answer for BOTH questions. And somewhere between chapter 1 and chapter 2, the prophet decided he was going to step back, stand still, he was going to stand upon his watch, sit upon his tower, and say what I am supposed to say when God tells me to say it. He's going to watch, and he's going to wait. He is going to live by faith. and wait on God to work. It's almost as if Habakkuk is saying, I'm going to let God be God. How noble of him. Good day in our lives when we learn to let God be God. He's going to be God anyways, but it's a good day in our life whenever we let God be God. I heard it growing up a lot of times, and it's certainly in a different context. In a service, you'd hear it said, let go and let God. I think most of the time that was meant, we want to work it up in the flesh, we want to shout a little bit, we want to feel good as we worship God, so hey, just let go of the reins and let God. But there is a TRUTH to let go and let God. Sometimes we try to hang on so tightly to the problems of life or the affairs of life and try to figure them out on our own, and we need to just let go of it! Leave it in God's hands, if you will! Take that as a sacrifice, lay it upon the altar, and when a sacrifice was laid upon the altar in the Old Testament, it wasn't picked back up! LEAVE IT THERE! Let God HANDLE it! Well, that's where Habakkuk is. And so he has come and he's starting to learn the lesson that good things come to those who wait. It's good for us to learn this lesson because God is going to do what God does, and we can either go along or we can get drug along. I'd rather go along. There's been a few times I've been drug along. It didn't feel none too good. I know y'all won't believe this, but my son sometimes acts like his daddy. And he gets a little contrary. And I have to bring him along. It's never fun getting brought along, getting drug along. But that's where Habakkuk is. And so we come to chapter two and we see three verses. And I didn't read all of these. I'm not planning on dealing with all these. You get to chapter two, verse five, and from five to the end of this chapter, it's five woes that are pronounced upon the Chaldeans. Five woes that Jehovah brings to the attention of Habakkuk, almost comforting his heart, letting him know, look, I know what I'm doing. And this wicked and perverse nation, they're going to give an account as well for what they've done. Don't you worry about that. I've got it handled. But there's three verses in this chapter that to me just really seem to stand out. And they give Habakkuk a little insight to the character of God, and I believe they serve the same for us this evening in giving us a little insight to the character of God. Number one, we see it in verse four, which I did read. And that is the famous line, the just shall live by his faith. Again, it's quoted in the book of Hebrews, the book of Romans, and the book of Galatians, I think twice in Galatians. But three different New Testament books quote Habakkuk. This verse that when you study Protestant history, it was the verse that spurned, it kind of IGNITED the Reformation movement for Martin Luther. This was the verse that God used to bring him to faith and conversion. And of course he was the father of the Reformation movement, at least in Germany, and where the Lutheran church came from. But we find that in this verse we're taught that concerning the character of God, He's faithful and He's gracious, isn't He? He's faithful and He's gracious. That's how the just shall live by faith. Because one God is faithful. We would have no faith to live by without His faithfulness to us and the gift of faith bestowed upon us. And all of that is a free gift of His grace. And so we learn something about the character of God, that He's both faithful and gracious. That's good to know when you're going through hard times, isn't it? That's good to know when your back's against the wall. That's good to know when your life is in ruin. That's good to know when the plans, the well-laid plans of your life have come to a screeching halt and they're not going as you had expected. It's good to know that God is FAITHFUL and He's GRACIOUS! But we also learn a second verse, and a second verse about further truths concerning the character of God, and that's in verse 14. This is a prophecy, and it obviously had an immediate audience with an immediate context, an immediate action required. But it also has future implication as well. And in verse 14, and again we didn't read this, we will later and deal with it further, but the Bible says, "...For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." That to me speaks of a yet-to-happen future event, because we have yet to see in THIS world and in world HISTORY the earth FILLED with the KNOWLEDGE and the GLORY of our God! There have been regions and there have been continents that have flourished and been blessed more than others at times, but as the waters cover the earth, the glory of God has not been known the world around. But it's going to be When He sits upon the throne of David in Jerusalem, He's going to rule and reign with a rod of iron, and the whole earth is going to bow before Him, and we learn something about the character of God that it's MARVELOUS and GLORIOUS. We know that from first-hand experience. We who have been saved, we know His character is marvelous. We know that He is GLORIOUS. But there's coming a day when the whole world is going to know that. I don't know about you, but when times are hard and you're struggling and you don't understand the providence of God, the purposes of God, it's good to be reminded that God is marvelous and glorious and ONE DAY He's going to reign upon this earth and He's going to make all the wrongs right. And then there's the last verse of this chapter, verse 20. I love this verse. But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him. It's almost as if after He pronounces all these woes upon the Chaldeans, He whispers and invites them into His holy temple and then He tells them, just shut up. The heathen are raging right now, but one day they're going to bow in the holy temple of God's judgment and there will be silence. There won't be excuses, there won't be objections, there'll be silence. And this verse teaches us concerning the character of God that He's holy and He's sovereign. He's holy and He's sovereign. And again, I don't know what better truth to excite the soul and to comfort the weary hearted than to know that God, who is holy, is sovereign. That means all the confusion and all of the trials you're facing and all of the hardships that you may be going through, God knew about them. He purposed it. It's for your good. It's for His glory. He's in control. And when you realize that, it dawns upon you, it may not make the trial any easier, but you can rest in the fact that God is in control. And it's really, I believe, upon these verses that this book hinges. It is the climax, if you will, of the book that is followed by a great crescendo of prayer and praise as we're eventually going to see in chapter 3. But there's a shift here. In chapter 1, we see the prophet do a lot of complaining. Lord, do you see the sin? Do you see where Israel's at? Why aren't you judging us? Why aren't you correcting us? Why aren't you reviving us? And then, beyond that, Lord, this is how you ought to fix it. This is what you ought to do. And God just says, shhhh. Just be quiet, Habakkuk. The Lord is in His holy temple. Lord, the church just isn't what it used to be. Preaching just isn't what it used to be. Mission work just isn't what it used to be. Evangelism just isn't what it used to be. The Lord is in His holy temple. Lord, I do right, I try to be faithful, I try to be honest in all my dealings, I'm serving you with all of my heart, and it seems like the more I do, the harder it is, and the more that just seems to fall to the wayside in my life, and then the wicked are out here sinning every day, and they seem to prosper, and God says, See, we've mentioned this, there was the silence that started out this book which created the problem in Habakkuk's heart. Then there was the statement of God that complicated that problem. But here he's getting a glimpse at the sovereignty of God that corrects the problem. And it's amazing how a fresh glimpse of God's sovereignty can correct any problem we may be facing in life. Really the only answer the Lord really ever gives Habakkuk is, I'm God. He gives him some of the details of what he's going to do but in essence he's just saying, I'm God, I'm going to do what I want to do. I'm in control and I'll do as I please. And we ask God, why doesn't he let us in on what he's doing? Lord, I sure would like for you to run your plans past me. It wouldn't do us any good. We couldn't understand it. We have a hard enough time wrapping our minds around revealed truth like the Trinity. Nobody's got that figured out. If they say they do, they're lying to you. The virgin birth. I know what the Bible says about it. I know the Holy Spirit overshadowed the virgin and that thing which was formed. You're not going to figure it out though. But it's truth. And it's revealed. And I don't have to understand it completely. I just have to believe it. And I do believe it because God's Word declares it. But if we can't even fully comprehend those things which are revealed, how do we comprehend the things that God has not chosen to reveal unto man? The secret things of God. That's really what God finally concludes the whole deal with Job concerning his suffering. He says, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Can you tell me where they're laid? And he brings up all these things about his creation that Job couldn't even begin to comprehend. And he says, if you don't understand that, how are you going to understand what I'm doing in your life? Just trust me, Job. We have to learn to trust in the sovereignty of God. And listen, this isn't just religious talk. I know we throw the word sovereignty around, especially us preachers, and I know we believe that here, but what does it really mean to say that God is sovereign? I'll give you a Biblical definition. I love this definition. I think it's always great to have Biblical definitions, and you see it in Psalm 115, verse 3. but our God is in the heavens he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased that's a pretty simple definition of sovereignty it's amazing too how God can always so eloquently but punctually put it in such few words and then your preacher gets up and wants to try to define sovereignty and I've got three or four paragraphs here I'm going to read to you and I still just don't do it justice like Psalms 115 verse 3 But the sovereignty of God is the biblical teaching that all things under God's rule and control, they ARE under His rule and control. And that nothing happens without His direction or permission. That God works not just SOME things, but ALL things according to the counsel of His own will. His purposes are all-inclusive and never thwarted. Nothing takes Him by surprise. He's never been taken by surprise. He's never been shocked by anything. not God. The sovereignty of God is not MERELY that God has the POWER and RIGHT to govern all things, but that He DOES so, WITHOUT EXCEPTION! I like the quote by A.W. Pink. Have you ever read his book on the sovereignty of God, chapter 1? I'm not reading the whole chapter, don't worry. But it's what he says. What do we mean by the sovereignty of God? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the Godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest Thou? To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, none can thwart His purpose, and none can resist His will. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Governor among the nations, setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as it pleaseth Him best. TO SAY THAT GOD IS SOVEREIGN IS TO DECLARE THAT HE IS THE ONLY POTENTATE, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, AND SUCH IS THE GOD OF THE BIBLE." That's a pretty good definition. That ought to make you shout. That's the God we're worshiping tonight. That's the God that we serve. That's the God who has bestowed His everlasting love upon us as His people. And then we have the sovereignty of God and salvation, and that's a wonderful truth in and of itself, that He saves whom He wills. And those whom He saves owe nothing to anything in or of themselves. There's nothing in or of us that caused God to look upon us with any favor, but He saved us according to His own desire for His own glory. God has saved us and graciously chosen us into eternity through regeneration of the Holy Spirit and the shed blood of Christ upon the cross of Calvary where He died for sinners. We can't take credit for our faith, we can't take credit for grace, we can't take credit for nothing. Habakkuk is beginning to see that God is sovereign. And Habakkuk realizes he can trust a God like that. Can you trust a God like that tonight? Are you trusting a God like that tonight? When you get reminded of who he is and what he's doing, it reminds you that you can trust him with the big things, with the little things, with everything. Nahum 1.3 says, The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. You feel like you're in a whirlwind? Some of you mamas, you feel like you're living in a constant whirlwind, chasing them babies, running them young, constantly going. Those of you that's got important positions at work, you feel like you're in a constant whirlwind, always having meetings and having to take care of this and make sure this schedule's set and fixing that problem and every problem that comes to you. Psalm 93, 1, the Lord reigneth and is clothed with honor and majesty. He's sovereign. Psalm 104.3, He maketh the cloud His chariot, and He rides upon the wings of the wind. That's our God! Behold, the Lord God will come with a strong hand, Isaiah 40 verse 10, and His arms shall rule for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with His arm and carry them in His bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young. He's talking about how He's going to care for His people. And then he backs it up by showing a display of his power. Notice what it says in verse 12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? Who hath meted out the heaven with a span, comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor, hath taught him? With whom took ye counsel, and who instructed him? Who taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed unto him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as a small dust upon the balance. Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing." That's our God. Now He can do all that. Stars, and they're there. All of them. Think He can handle what you're going through tonight? I know sometimes we lose sight of it. Again, that was the prophet's problem. He'd lost sight of a sovereign God, of a big God, but he's getting a glimpse of him again. And as he gets that glimpse, he says, you know what? All right, I'm just going to sit still. I'm going to be quiet. I'm going to watch and wait. God's got an answer for this. Habakkuk's learning he can trust a God like this. He's displaying patience. I want to say when you're in a trial, you got to learn to be patient. You got to learn to be patient. Wait upon the Lord. That's what he's doing here. I'll stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower and will watch to see what he will say unto me and what I shall answer when I am reproved. I don't think the idea of the word reproved there, though it can be translated rebuked, I don't think that's the idea. It's also translated corrected. I think he's saying God's gonna answer me. God's gonna correct my way of thinking. He's gonna give me what I've been needing. And I'm just gonna wait on that. I'm gonna be patient. And it may be today, it may be tomorrow, it may be next year, but God will answer your questions. God will speak into your situation what you need in the right time. Just be patient. And when you can't see, just keep trusting. When you don't know where to take the next step, just keep trusting Him. There was the patience of this prophet. There was the presentation of what God's spoken to him. The Lord answered me and said, write the vision and make it plain upon tables that he may run that readeth it. Of course, you know, there's a lot of imagery of the watchman in the Old Testament. In fact, we read about that. in the prophets in particular that they were to stand upon the tower they were to warn if they didn't then the blood would be required at their hand Here he's talking about being on the watchtower, waiting, and when God tells him what to say, then he'll speak, and he'll warn, and he'll tell of what God's going to do. And God begins to answer him. And he says, I not only want you to tell it, I want you to write it down. I want them to come by and be able to read the message in case they're not in earshot. When you declare it, whenever you tell them what I'm going to do, when you present to them the truth, you write it down so they can read it. And when they read it, they're going to be terrified, and they're going to run. And he speaks about that vision again in the presentation of it. Let them know, look, this is going to happen at an appointed time. And it's going to seem like it's not going to happen. It's going to seem like it's being tarried out, that it's being prolonged, but eventually it's going to happen. You better mark it down. What I said will come to pass, will come to pass. And so he's being told to be patient, he's being told to present the Word of God as it's given to him, and then comes the proclamation, verse 4, Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith. There's two people described in that verse. The first one is the proud man, the man that doesn't need God, he doesn't need faith, he doesn't need grace. He's lifted up in himself. And because he's lifted up in himself, he's proud, he's arrogant, he's boastful, he's not upright in his heart. And that is the core issue with all of mankind. Every man apart from Christ, every woman apart from Christ is narcissistic. They're all about me, me, me. There's a reason God never told us to love ourselves. We ain't got a problem loving ourselves. We love ourselves too much sometimes. But we are told to love others. We are told to love our spouses. We are told to love the Lord our God. We are told to love neighbors as ourselves. We're never told to love ourselves though. That comes natural. And a man's first problem is his pride. A woman's first problem is her pride. I know better than God. I don't need God. I'm more important. I worship myself. I will put myself upon a pedestal. I will cater to my flesh and my own desires and lusts. And that's where the world is, that's where society is by and large. That's where Israel was. That's where the Chaldeans are. This WAS the proclamation. As long as a man looks to himself, he walks in his own ways, he doesn't consider the counsel or the knowledge of God, he will continue on in an uplifted, proud state and he'll NEVER find help for his soul. But the just man shall live by faith. A man that's been justified is a man that's been brought low. A man and woman that's been declared righteous before the Lord has seen themselves as unrighteous before the Lord. They've seen themselves as lost. They've seen themselves a sinner. They've seen themselves on the road to hell. They've seen themselves destined for God's eternal wrath and judgment without anything they can do to stop this head-on collision with an almighty God. They've seen that in themselves. But by the grace and the mercy of God through the preaching of the gospel, they've also beheld that Christ went to the cross and suffered for them. And they, through the eyes of faith, have looked upon Him. They've looked and lived! They've trusted in what He did upon the cross as the fulfillment of all that was required of themselves and the appeasement of God's holy wrath and that by faith in Christ that they are justified and declared righteous. And so because of that they can live by faith. Are you living by faith tonight? In Jesus above, trusting, confiding in His great love, from all harm's safe, in His sheltering arm, are you living by faith? In Jesus above, are you? Are you trusting in Him? Are you allowing Him to lead and guide and even through the shadows, even through the fog of life, when you don't know where to go and can't see where to go, you're still trusting, you're still leaning upon the everlasting arm. If you're not tonight, I plead with you to come to Christ. Cast yourself upon Him. Learn to lean upon Him. Trust in Him. Find all that your soul is needing and longing for in Christ. Surrender yourself to Him. Turn from your sin and trust Him. And for those of you that are saved, for those of us that are saved, learn even in the trials and tragedies of life to trust in the sovereign God, to walk by faith and not by sight, and know that he's gonna get you through what you're going through. Ultimately, we're all gonna get through it. Many times even in this life, the sun will shine, the night will fade, the clouds will disperse, and the sun will shine again, because good things come to those who wait. Don't be weary, don't grow weary in well-doing, for you shall reap if you faint not. Be faithful, even unto death, and you shall have a crown of life. Just keep walking with the Lord tonight. Good things come to those that wait. Habakkuk has finally learned to wait upon the Lord, and there's some good things ahead for Habakkuk. Chapter three is a wonderful chapter in the book of Habakkuk. We've got to get through the woes first, but man, it's going to be worship when we get to chapter three. You're going through the woes of life tonight. Hallelujah. When we get over there, it's going to be worship for all of eternity. Keep your eyes on the king and keep marching on to heaven.