What a unique passage of scripture, amen? And a little bit odd, a little bit different, but we are continuing our study through the book of Habakkuk. Daryl Davenport, if you would help me out, it's a little bit humid in here, so if we could crank a little something, pull a little moisture out of the air, that would be great, and that way, let's see, that way Barry doesn't fall asleep on me too quick, and we'll get through it that way. So, but we're studying through Habakkuk, and what we're doing through the book of Habakkuk is we are learning to trust God. God. How many of us can testify this morning to the fact that life can be hard, amen? It can be hurtful, it can be frustrating, it can be painful. And sometimes it seems, regardless of the best of intentions, it's just one thing after another. Let me give you a humorous Story. So a couple of weeks ago, one of my children, who shall remain anonymous, but she is my oldest daughter, may have played a little bit too rough and busted my bedroom door. Not like busted, put a hole through it, but busted so that it came unglued and kind of fell apart. And so I left it that way. I left it that way because I figured a broken door was better than me fixing the door. But somewhere along the line, I'm like, no, I got to be a good husband and I got to do this. So I consulted with a contractor here in the church, John Pocock, and he said, oh, you can do this fine. John Pocock, hear how this went yesterday, my friend. Hear how this went. So I said, OK, the easiest way to get this door off is I'm going to remove the pin from the hinges. All right? On track so far, right? So I removed the pin from the top hinge. But here's what I did not know. I did not know that it was not just busted along the bottom. It was busted inside up along where the hinge was, right above the hinge at the bottom. And so when I took the other hinge out, guess what the door did? And it didn't fall like clonk, clonk, clonk, clonk, clonk. It went, boof, right through my wall. And then I looked down, and the hinge is on the carpet, and there's all this grease all over my carpet. I wanted to cry. And I wanted to FaceTime John Pocock and say, see what you made me do? Man, isn't it that way? Sometimes it's like you can't get out of your own way for trying. It's like one thing after another, after another, after another. And Habakkuk is really a book about a dialogue. It's a dialogue between a man of God and God. And Habakkuk's trying to process this. Habakkuk's, in essence, trying to process, how do I trust God when I don't understand? Or even more so, how do I trust God when I don't agree with Him? You know, we know the answer, just trust Him. But like we said last week, sometimes that's as helpful as saying the car needs fixing, so fix it. So we find in Habakkuk how to trust God. Because here's the goal. The goal is strength and peace on the inside. Not just a hypocritical smile on the outside. And so Habakkuk is wrestling with God about the state of the nation. Last week we saw Habakkuk was discouraged with the nation. He was frustrated by what he saw. And then when God answered him, rather than God bringing comfort, God brought even greater confusion. Because God said, I am going to raise up the wicked nation of Babylon and bring severe judgment on my people. And I'm going to tell you, this offends Habakkuk. God, why would you do this? I mean, look at these people. In verse number 5, it talks about the Babylonians, the Chaldeans. They're bitter. They're hasty. Verse 7, they're terrible. They're dreadful. They're prideful. Verse 8, their horses are swift and fierce as wolves. They'll spread themselves across the land. Verse 9, they come for violence and they eat it all up. Verse 10, they scoff at kings. princes, they deride every stronghold. And in verse 11, to cap it all off, when they do these terrible things, they give glory to false gods. And Habakkuk just does not understand. I mean, a modern illustration would be like, what if God used Iran to judge America? I mean, we would say, well, wait a minute. I know America is maybe not what she's supposed to be, but hold up, God. In the scheme of things, we're way better than those guys over there. And in essence, that's exactly what Habakkuk says in verse number 13. He says, God, you're of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Wherefore, lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue? God, you're going to bring these evil people here? You're not going to say anything? You're not going to do anything when the wicked devoureth a man that is more righteous than he? Habakkuk says, look, God, I know we've got our problems, but we're not that bad. God, I don't agree. God, I don't understand. God, if you are who you say you are, how can you do this? And honestly, Habakkuk, the man, is appalled. He agonizes over the news. And yet what we find is that Habakkuk continues to learn to trust God even though his circumstances didn't change. So every week we've been learning another key that teaches us how to trust God. Last week we looked at learning to trust the prevailing providence of God. Learning to trust the fact that God is in control. Amen? So this week, here's our key, here's our theme. We must learn not just to trust the fact that God is in control, but we must learn to trust the character of the God who is in control. And as our title says, God doesn't change. And friend, that changes everything. So look with me, verse number 12. We've looked at the terrible, terrible judgment that's to come, and let's watch Habakkuk's journey as he processes. Verse 12, Habakkuk says this, Are thou not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, Thou hast ordained them for judgment, and Almighty God, Thou hast established them for correction. Now this morning I'm going to ask you to think a little bit. Can you think with me this morning? So we'll put our thinking caps on. How do I learn to trust the character of God? Number one this morning, we see realigned perspectives. We see realigned perspectives. Our perspective, our framework, our focus matters. Now last week we talked about the fact that we have a limited perspective, don't we? You and I, as mortal men, lack the necessary framework, we lack the necessary information to make a summary conclusion about what's going on. God said this in Isaiah 55, 8 and 9. He said, for my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither my ways your ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." You and I cannot comprehend God and what His plan and purposes always are. His ways are higher than ours. And so last week we established the fact that therefore it makes sense to me when things happen to me that don't make sense to me. Now that's a lot to take in. It ought to make sense to me when things happen to me that don't make sense to me because I'm not God. I'm not God. But Habakkuk here in this moment, he does something very wise. He stops and he realigns his perspective. Instead of focusing on the hard things, he shifts his focus to heavenly things. He begins to talk to the Lord. He says, aren't not thou from everlasting? Look what he says. He says, Oh my God, mine Holy One. He stops and thinks. Well, I'm going to tell you, we are prone to doing a whole lot of things before we get to the thinking part. When life gets hard, I get to talking. When life gets hard, I get to whining. When life gets hard, I get to pouting. When life gets hard, I get mad. When life gets hard, I want to give up. But I'm going to tell you, the one thing that I'm not prone to do when life gets hard is stop and think. But Habakkuk stops and thinks, he realigns. So here's what we do. We're often frustrated by trying to find an earthly context for our earthly struggle. God, why is this happening to me? God, where are you? God, what are you doing? And the problem is, is that there are so many things that you and I may never know. But, while an earthly context may not always be possible, a heavenly context is. So, in essence, what we're going to do is we're going to flip the script. What I am prone to is looking at my difficulty and then drawing conclusions about my God. Well, this thing's happening, so I don't know if God really loves me. I don't know if God's really there. Does God really care? Does God really hear? I'm prone to looking at the earthly and using the earthly to draw conclusions about my God. But I've got to flip the script. I've got to stop. I've got to realign. I've got to think. And I've got to look at my God and use my God and what I know about Him to draw conclusions about my earthly difficulties. It's kind of like a puzzle. You ever put together a puzzle? Puzzles can be fun in their place, right? You ever seen those puzzles that are like all the same color? Those puzzles are not fun, all right? If there was purgatory, that would be it, all right? But if I take a piece of the puzzle and I put the piece of the puzzle next to the mixed up, mashed up jumble that's in front of me, guess what? Odds are that puzzle piece isn't going to make a whole lot of sense. And so I can say, well, this puzzle's not right. This puzzle doesn't make any sense. This puzzle's just hard. This puzzle doesn't care. No, what do I do? I take the piece of the puzzle, and I reference it not to the mixed up, mashed up jumble in front of me. I take the piece of the puzzle, and I put it in reference to the box. that's got a completed picture. And I then can begin to get a context for where this piece is and how it fits. So here's the thing about flipping the script and starting with God and not our problem. Friend, God is immutable. I'll say that word, that's a fun theological word. I'll say it again, immutable. Ready? Immutable. You know what it means? It means simply this, God does not change. It means the character of my God is settled. God doesn't change. In the Old Testament, in Malachi 3, in verse number 6, we find this verse. He says, For I am the Lord. Say it with me. I change not. Oh, I love the verse from Hebrews chapter number 13 in verse number 8. Say it with me as we say it together. Ready? Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, forever. God doesn't change. Do you realize the stars will sooner fall from the sky than the chance that the character of my God will change? And so here's what we do. Sometimes when I get in the dark and when I get in the difficulty, I get all mumbled, jumbled up. I get confused and I get frustrated and I struggle to understand. Here's what you do though. Don't forget in the dark what you learned in the light. You see, I may not know exactly who, what, where, when, and why all these things are happening to me. I may not know that. But I know my God. And on the darkest, difficult, most difficult day, God is God is God is God. It's kind of like winter in Ohio. We don't see the sun sometimes for many moons. Does that mean the sun's no longer there? See, the weather around me can change a great deal, but it doesn't change the sun above me. Boy, let's bring it over to the spiritual realm. The weather around me may change a great deal, but it doesn't change the God above me. God cannot violate His character. If you're with me this morning, say amen. God cannot violate His character. Number 23 and verse number 19, look what it says here. God is not a man that He should lie, neither the Son of Man that He should repent. Say, hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good? Friend, God is God. And God doesn't change, He doesn't lie, He is who He says He is. Therefore, God will always act towards me and God will always act towards you in a manner consistent with His character. God doesn't change. And that changes everything. So what does Habakkuk do? Number one, he realigns his perspective. Look at verse number 12 again. Habakkuk says this. Are thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment, and Almighty God, thou hast established them for correction. So learning to trust God, learning to trust the character of God. Number one, church, what do we have to do? Number one, what do we see? We see a realigned perspective. I'm not going to dwell on the earthly to give me context for the heavenly. I'm going to let the heavenly give me context for the earthly. So number one, we see a realigned perspective. Number two, we see regulating principles. Again, I told you, got to have the thinking cap on today. Regulating principles. So what Habakkuk does is he reminds himself of God's character, but he doesn't stop there. Habakkuk then takes the character of God and applies it to his situation. So in verse number 12, he talks about God being a holy God. Let's think about it, let's apply it. God is holy, amen? That means his ways are always right. That means he is righteous. So faith then is not trusting God to do what I want, it is trusting God to do what is right. And so Habakkuk can draw a conclusion. He says, you are a holy God, and then he makes a statement. We shall not die. Because God is holy. Because God does what is right. God cannot violate what He has told His children. And so Habakkuk says, whoever, whatever these Babylonians think they are, we shall not die. You know what he does? He says, because God is holy, I can conclude that the outcome of this problem will not be bad, but good in the final analysis. Here we go. God cannot do wrong. Amen? Therefore, God cannot do wrong by me. Deuteronomy 32, beginning of verse number three. He says, because I will publish the name of the Lord, ascribe you the greatness unto our God. Look what it says here. He is the rock. His work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment of God of truth. And without iniquity, just and right is he. In Job 34, in verse number 10, Job said this, therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding. Far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should commit iniquity. God cannot do wrong. Well, let's apply it. That means God cannot do wrong by me. He says, Mine Holy One, we shall not die. He says, O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment. And so Habakkuk reminds himself, God's not just holy, God is sovereign. God has ordained, He has appointed, He has allowed this to take place. You know what he recognizes? Nothing that I face is ever the result of mere chance. And He, the Lord, will exercise His control to bless His children in the end. A beautiful promise to the nation of Israel. Jeremiah 29 and verse 11, showing us the heart of God for His people. He said, For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, not of evil, to give you an expected end. In other words, God, the holy righteous God is on the throne in heaven and what is happening in my life has become a tool of God for my good and His glory. God's going to use it to purify me, to pardon me, to perfect me, to proclaim His grace and glory through me. You're familiar with the accountant Daniel of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and the fiery furnace. And you remember, they wouldn't bow down, would they? They wouldn't bow down. And so they were thrown into the fiery furnace. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. They were being faithful to God. God, why would God allow that to happen? I heard it said this week, and I thought, man, that's good. Do you remember what happened? Did they get burnt up in that fiery furnished church? No. What happened? The bands, the things that they had been tied with came loose, and the three of them were walking around in there, weren't they? Wait a minute. That's not the whole story, is it? Because it wasn't just three, it was, and Nebuchadnezzar said, and the fourth one is like unto the And somebody made this statement, and I thought, boy, that's powerful. You realize somebody had to go through the fire in order for Nebuchadnezzar to see the Lord? God is sovereign, church. And no matter what that heart is that is coming to our life, God is well able to take it, to use it, to purify, to perfect, and to proclaim His grace and glory through me. Friend, don't limit God to your expectations. He's a holy God, amen? He's a sovereign God, amen? Look what else He says in verse number 12. He says, Thou hast ordained them for judgment. Almighty God, Thou hast established them for correction. You know what Habakkuk was reminding himself? That God is love. That even though God's people had turned their backs on Him, God had not turned His back on His people. And what God was bringing in their lives was not for their destruction, but for their correction. That God's purposes towards me are ultimately for my good. That God will work His purpose even through great pain. You know sometimes great purposes require great pain. You with me this morning? You ever been through chemotherapy? I hope you haven't. I can tell you it's not a lot of fun. You know, when I started chemotherapy some 11 years ago, give or take, 12 years ago, whatever it is, been a long time, amen? That's worth getting excited about for me too. But when I started chemotherapy, here's the thing, I felt really good. I had all my hair. I was pretty healthy, maybe a little too healthy. I was good. I was good. By the time I got done with chemotherapy, I'd lost about 30, 35 pounds. I had no hair, couldn't eat anything, couldn't drink anything, in and out of the hospital. It was a lot of pain. But I'm going to tell you, that great pain accomplished a great purpose. You realize sometimes God in His love allows us to go through great pain because He is accomplishing a great purpose. And just like that doctor who put me through that chemotherapy, that doctor didn't hate me. That doctor wasn't plotting my destruction. That doctor wasn't absent. That doctor monitored every step of the way. The reality is the hard things are often used by God to accomplish His greatest purposes. God is love. God is holy, God is sovereign, God is love, God is faithful. At the end of verse number 12, it says, Almighty God! You realize most places in the Old Testament, that phrase, Almighty God, is translated as The Rock. God is our rock. Psalm 18 in verse number two of the Bible says this, the Lord is my rock. Oh, say it with me, church. This is a great one to say together. The Lord is my, and my, and my, and my God, my strength, and whom I trust, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. He's faithful, he's a rock, he's a place of security, he's a place of firm footing. The reality is that he was here before the storm and he will be here after the storm. Pain and problems are not his final word to us. And so what do we do? We realign our perspectives. I'm not drawing conclusions about God based on what's happening down here. I'm drawing conclusions down here based on what I know about God. And I'm using what I know to frame what I don't know. I remember back in 2014. Anybody else remember that far? It's a little bit fuzzy. Back in 2014, the Olympics were in Russia. And the United States was in the same hockey group as Russia. And in case you haven't followed global politics for like the last 60 years, there's a little bit of a rivalry there. And so the United States is playing Russia on their home ice. And this is to come out of the group stage. And the game is tied two to two. And so they went to a shootout. And it's basically a sudden death. When one scores and the other doesn't, it's over. And they went the first time. And it was tied. And then went the second time. And it was tied. And it went the third time. And I'm watching this. And it was tied. And it went the fourth time. And it was tied. And it went the fifth time. And it was tied. And it went the sixth time. And it was tied. And it went the seventh time. And it was... Church, it was. And I'm getting all nervous. I'm like, oh man, we got to win. We can't lose to the Russians. Stinking Russians. Can't lose to them. Come on guys. And I was getting all worked up and I was getting nervous. What am I going to do? And then I remembered, oh yeah. You see, because it's in Russia, it was tape delayed. So when I woke up this morning, I saw on ESPN, United States wins epic shootout with Russia. And then guess what? I took what I knew and I applied it to what was happening and I wasn't worried about a thing. And when the eighth overtime came, guess what happened? U.S. Anyways, I'll keep going. But friends, we use what we know to frame what we don't. Use what we know to frame what we don't. Use what we know to frame what we don't. Use what we know to frame what we don't. Friends, God has given us something better than an answer that we might not have the capacity to understand anyways. God has given us Himself. And his character provides a context for my life that my circumstances often do not. Friends, God doesn't change. And that changes everything. Number one, we see a realigned perspective. Number two, we find regulating principles. Well, let's see how this section ends. Verse 13. Habakkuk says, Thou art of pure eyes and to behold evil. God, I still don't get it. and canst not look on iniquity. Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously? God, how can you use them? And why holdest thy tongue, when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? God, look how bad they are. They make men as fishes, and they catch them, and verse 15, they take them up as an angler, and they catch them in their nets, and they rejoice and are glad. Verses 16 and 17, they sacrifice under their net, they burn incense under their drag because by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous. They're taking all of this stuff from the nations. Shall they not therefore empty their net and shall not continually slay the nations? God, you need to put a stop to this or they're just going to kill. God, what are you doing? But then Habakkuk chapter 2 in verse number 1. Habakkuk says, I will stand upon my watch, and I will set me upon the tower, and I will watch to see what he will say to me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. So number one, we find a realigned perspective. Number two, we find a regulating principle. Number three, we find a ready patience. You know, church, I think we have to point out this morning that when we talk about realigning our perspective and we talk about regulating principles, it's not a quick, easy fix. Because even as Habakkuk did this, the basic problem wasn't solved. The nation was still away from God. God was still going to use a more wicked nation to do severe judgment upon a more righteous nation. The basic problem isn't solved. And Habakkuk continues to wrestle with God. You ever think you have it under control and then like something else happens and your emotions are all over the place again? Do you ever feel like you're over the hurt? And then something happens and you realize, whoa, no, I'm not. You ever feel like I'm finally moving on after that loss and then something happens and, oh, I'm not. You ever feel like you got it under control and then you don't? That's Habakkuk here, the prophet counters again, trying to reconcile perceived inconsistencies. God, how can you do this? I don't understand. I don't agree. He does not and he cannot come to a resolution within himself. So between chapter 1 verse 17 and chapter 2, I think you see Habakkuk stop again. And this is what he does this time, knowing the character of God. Because he cannot come to a resolution within himself, knowing the character of God, he commits himself to wait in faith on God. That's a hard thing to do. Now, waiting is not passive resignation to the inevitable. I guess whatever God's gonna do, he's gonna do. It doesn't really matter. That's not what we're talking about. Habakkuk positions himself. to see and hear from God. He gets upon the tower. He's going to watch. He's going to wait. He's expecting. God is going to answer me. He's persistent. I'm going to wait until he does. You know, friend, we don't stop walking with God or worshiping God when we don't get what we want. Well, that's a hard thing. Sometimes we're tempted to do that, right? Dave and I talk about, it's the, I'm gonna take my football and go home mentality. Well, that didn't go my way. Fine, I'm not gonna play with you anymore. Give me my football, I'm going home. That's not how you live the Christian life. That's not how you serve the Lord. Faithfulness is not optional to the Christian life. And what we find in Habakkuk is even though he didn't understand, even though the regulating principles did not answer all of his questions, he committed to his place, he committed to persevere, he committed to waiting on God. Faithfulness is not optional in the Christian life. So you and I must continue with confidence, not in self, not in circumstances, but in God. Can we agree on something this morning? When I don't understand something, God still deserves the benefit of the doubt. I mean, we know God. James 1, 17 talks about every good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 2 Timothy 1, 12, Paul says this, for which cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed. Why? For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able. to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. When I don't understand, God still deserves the benefit of the doubt. You know sometimes hard things in life are just a part of the cross we are called to bear. But here's the thing about trusting, trusting the control of God, trusting the character of God. Here's the thing about trust. If you don't write anything else down, write this down today. Trust becomes most important when I don't understand. Because when I do understand, I really don't need to trust. I don't need my kids to trust me when they agree with me. Oh yeah, dad, that makes a lot of sense. I'm going to do that. Oh yeah, dad. Yeah, that's what I've been doing all along. Yeah, dad, that's what I assumed we would do. I don't need my kids' trust when they agree with me. I don't need my kids' trust when they understand. I need my kids' trust when they don't. I know you don't see it, but that person's not good for you. Trust me. I know you want this, but it's not good for you. But dad, I don't, but trust me. I know, I know you don't want to do this, but this is what you need. Dad, I don't want to. I need you to trust me. You see, I don't need my kids' trust when they do agree. I don't need my kids' trust when they understand. I need their trust when they don't. Friend, that's the essence of trust. Trust becomes most important when I don't understand. And you know, church, sometimes We are called to trust and wait and continue even until heaven. You know, sometimes God doesn't work it out publicly in this life. You know, sometimes people go to the grave without answers. You know, sometimes people aren't able to take a microphone and say, let me tell you how God turned it around. Sometimes we are called to just bear the cross until God calls us home. Sometimes we don't understand and we never will. But friend, this life is not all there is. And heaven and eternity to come will be an unending vindication of our trust in Christ. Oh, Matthew 13, verse 43, the Scriptures say this, Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, who hath ears to hear. Let them hear. Sometimes I have to just come before God with ready patience. Friend, God, He doesn't change. And if we can get a hold of that, friend, changes everything. Friend, do you know Him this morning? I want you to look back at verse number 12. Habakkuk says this, he says, Are not thou from everlasting? O my God, mine Holy One. I'm going to tell you friend, it will never be profitable for you if it's not personal. If you're here this morning and you've never trusted the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you don't know that your soul is right with God, I want you to know there's a God in heaven who doesn't change. That means He loves you and He died for you and He desires a relationship with you. And I'd admonish you in a few moments to come, let somebody take God's Word and show you how you can accept God's gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. But church, See, knowing God is holy, and knowing that He's faithful, and knowing that He's love, and knowing that He's all these things is one thing, but knowing that He's my God, and being able to walk with Him, sometimes while wrestling with Him, being able to walk with my God, and it changes everything. I wonder this morning, what's that hard thing? What's that trial? What's that tribulation? What's that stronghold? What is that thing? This morning where we say, God, I don't understand. God, maybe I don't even agree. But as we learn to trust, we can look at God and say, but God, I know you. God, I know you don't change. And allow that truth to change everything. Musicians are coming, we're standing, heads bowed, eyes closed. Friend, God doesn't change and that changes everything. God doesn't change. This morning maybe you've got that heavy burden, you've got that cross that you have been carrying. I want you to know there is a God in heaven who is faithful, He is loving, He is holy, He is sovereign, He is gracious, and He is good. And He will meet you this morning with whatever need you have.