As We Approach Midterm Elections 10.23.22

Habakkuk 1:1-4 NASB The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. 2 How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save. 3 Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. 4Therefore the law is ignored and justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.

Habakkuk 2:1 NASB I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved.

Habakkuk 3:2,13,17-19 NASB Lord, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy. 13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people, for the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil to lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah. 17 Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, 18 Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.

I. Understanding the Plight of the Prophet

A. The Midterm Elections are upon us, and the odds are that some of us will be very upset with the results, regardless of what happens.

B. We are Americans and that is our right — not only to vote, but to have feelings about the way election results pan out.

C. The problem is that we often allow elections to steal our joy, to silence our song, to embitter our spirit.

D. And that, my friends, is a sin.

E. I believe in the days ahead that God is searching the nation for a people who will embrace five Rs:

1. Realize the true condition of America.

2. Repent of our corporate sins and turn from our wicked ways.

3. Return to The Lord with all of heart.

4. Accept Responsibility as Christian Citizens to make our nation one with which God is pleased. This includes educating our children in righteousness — many of them have no context for religion in America.

5. “Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.” Proverbs 13:34

F. Habakkuk is a minor prophet, but his message is a major one. I want to address these issues BEFORE the election so that whatever the results, we will understand where we’ve got to take this battle for the soul of America.

G. Habakkuk prophesied during a time when everything was coming apart in Judah.

H. Adrian Rogers said, “It was a time of national calamity, when everything that wasn’t nailed down was coming loose, and the devil was pulling nails. We have ANARCHY in the nations, APOSTASY in the churches, APATHY among the people, and we wonder why people do the things they do.”

I. Habakkuk was a patriot who loved God, loved his people, and loved his country. His problem was that it appeared that God wasn’t answering prayer.

II. Seeing today’s problems through Ancient Eyes

A. There was a problem he couldn’t resolve. (Chapter 1)

1. He didn’t understand why Heaven seemed to be silent.

a) The Hebrew words in verses 1 and 2 indicate the prophet is crying and shouting. He was perplexed, and he was in agony.

2. He was grieved over the extent of sin in Judah and throughout the world.

3. He didn’t understand why God was allowing the agenda of Hell to appear to succeed.

a) He didn’t understand why God was using people who were more wicked (by comparison) to hurt people who were less wicked or were even Believers.

1) The Edomites

2) The Babylonians

B. There was a perspective he had to realize. (Chapter 2)

1. “Write the vision” - remember the reliability of God’s Word!

2. Anchor your world view on God’s Word.

3. Psalm 73 “I thought living righteously was useless, but then I went into the House of God—and I began to understand!”

4. “The Just shall live by faith.” We do not take progress reports from this world! (Romans 1:17, 24-32)

5. “Woe to the sinner.” He uses this word five times in this chapter.

6. Materialism

7. Sensuality

8. Idolatry

C. There was praise he had to recover. (Chapter 3)

1. Did you know that this message was written for the Song Man (3:19)?

2. Habakkuk knew the battle for a nation is won with the help of Praise and Worship!

3. The reason for this is because worshipping God puts everything in life back into perspective.

4. Look at the resolution he gained in 3:17-19!

“Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, 18 Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.”

III. Life Lessons from Habakkuk

A. The middle ground is an illusion.

1. There was a time when most of America was fairly united on core issues, even though they disagreed on the best way to achieve those results.

2. I personally don’t think that is true anymore.

3. I urge you to examine the platforms of parties and candidates before voting.

B. The God of Mammon is blinding America.

1. Though there is a large Christian population in America, we have rejected God as a society, and made Him unwelcomed in the marketplace. We have relegated Him to churches and homes, and have made a concerted, organized effort to silence the voice of Christians in America.

2. When a nation forgets God, they do not become atheistic, they choose another god (Jeremiah 2). I believe, as a nation, we have chosen Mammon as our national deity, and have substituted sensuality for righteousness and lawlessness for order.

3. This is what happens when Absolute Truth is abandoned.

Proverbs 29:18 NASB Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.”

4. We have made our politics and our pursuits about money. In doing so, we have lost the understanding of the value of a dollar, and the god we serve as a nation will eventually enslave us all.

5. Mammon leads to lawlessness and worship of my own perspective. This is when good is called evil, and evil is called good.

6. One historian has said that persecution follows this path:

a) The first step of persecution seeks to marginalize Christianity.

b) The second step of persecution seeks to villainize Christianity.

c) The third step is to criminalize Christianity.

C. The job of the Antichrist Spirit is to wear out the Saints of God.

D. We must ask God to help us understand the times and know what we ought to do.

E. There are two steps in the right direction. Though they are exceedingly simple, they are exceedingly difficult.

1. Step out of Babylon. (Revelation 18:1-24)

2. Step into Grace. (Revelation 22:12-21)