Participants: Carlton P Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000566A
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00:01 Breath of Life Ministries Presents:
00:05 Sermon B566 I'm Thankful 00:10 [Breath of Life theme music] 00:20 PB: Father in heaven, that's what we want, 00:21 Your Holy Spirit to fall down on us. So Lord, 00:29 as we open up Your Word we pray that we would 00:32 sense and feel, be impressed, by the power of 00:38 Your Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus we pray, 00:42 asking You to forgive us of our sins. Amen and amen. 00:48 I want you to take your Bibles and turn to the 00:51 book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk. And I want you to go 01:03 to Habakkuk chapter 3, and we're going to verse number 17. 01:10 The Word of God says, "Although the fig tree shall 01:15 not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; 01:19 the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields 01:22 shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off 01:25 from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 01:31 Yet"--somebody got it--"Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, 01:40 I will joy in the God of my salvation. 01:47 The LORD is my strength, and he will make my feet 01:53 like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon 01:57 mine high places. To the chief singer on my 02:02 stringed instruments." I must confess, 02:06 I didn't know what to title this message. 02:08 I'm thankful. Don't stop rejoicing. 02:13 So, you can use whatever one of those you 02:17 want to use, but I'm going to preach on 02:19 Habakkuk 3 today. This text comes to us- 02:24 -and I heard some of you, when I said go 02:25 to Habakkuk, I heard somebody say "Habakkuk"?- 02:27 -comes from a section of the Bible known as 02:30 the Minor Prophets, an area of the Bible that 02:34 people rarely read. Habakkuk, you see, 02:38 is not popular like the Psalms. Habakkuk 02:41 is not known like the Gospels. Habakkuk 02:45 is not intriguing like Revelation. 02:49 But in this text, in this book, we have 02:54 a powerful expose that when you're feeling down, 02:59 when you're feeling discouraged, when you're 03:03 feeling depressed, I want to encourage you, 03:07 read these verses. Because after reading these 03:11 verses you'll have praise and worship all 03:13 by yourself. Habakkuk is in the sixth century B.C., 03:19 just prior to Babylonian captivity. And in this 03:23 text there are three points of concerns that 03:27 Habakkuk has. Concern number 1: Habakkuk is 03:31 concerned about the unrighteousness and foolishness 03:34 in his community. Are you concerned about the unrighteousness, 03:39 the wickedness, and the foolishness in our community? 03:44 Jehoiakim, king of Judah, had led the people 03:46 back into idolatry and away from the Lord. 03:48 The people were engaged in apostasy in the 03:51 highest form. The nation was a hot mess. 03:56 Sin was rampant, idolatry was the norm, 04:01 times were tough. Habakkuk knew that when God's 04:05 judgment fell upon Judah, that it would also include him. 04:09 So he knew he would not be spared because he was 04:11 simply the prophet of God. Habakkuk knew times 04:15 were difficult. And just like it was in those days, 04:19 in these last days we know that times are going 04:23 to become more difficult. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 04:26 When the Bible says that in the last days men's hearts 04:30 will be failing for fear, this is literally what's 04:34 taking place right now. You're not safe in a hospital anymore. 04:39 As we found out yesterday, in the Bronx Hospital, 04:42 Lebanon Hospital. You're not safe in a car anymore. 04:48 You don't believe me? Ask Philando Castile. 04:51 You're not safe totally in a church. 04:55 Ask the family members of the Charleston 04:59 churchgoers who were killed by Dylan Roof. 05:01 You're not safe on a plane. You do remember 9/11. 05:06 You're not even safe in your home. You're not safe anywhere. 05:11 We're living in perilous times, times that this 05:14 world has never seen, and yet the worst is yet to come. 05:20 Concern number 2 of Habakkuk: Israel's internal 05:25 sins would be judged by an external entity. 05:29 In other words--listen to me--a nation that 05:32 never knew God would be used to judge a nation 05:35 that chose to forget God. God would choose and 05:40 would use a nation that was not His own, 05:45 from the people of God. Judgment would come 05:48 on Judah, on Israel, through the Chaldeans or 05:52 Babylonians. The Chaldeans would then invade Judah, 05:55 and the failure of crops would be due to this invasion. 06:00 The fig tree would not blossom. There would be no 06:02 fruit on the vine. Olive trees wouldn't produce olives. 06:07 Fields wouldn't yield any harvest. Even the cattle 06:11 and sheep would be lost. Concern number 3 of Habakkuk: 06:15 Habakkuk couldn't understand why God would use a 06:19 heathen nation like Babylon to punish His people. 06:24 Habakkuk couldn't understand. Lord, why don't You 06:28 just purge Israel's sins and draw Israel back to 06:32 Yourself and to righteousness. Habakkuk said, 06:35 how could God use a nation, worse than those whom 06:39 God was going to punish, to execute judgement? 06:42 He couldn't make sense of God's actions or lack thereof. 06:46 So Habakkuk has three concerns. Concerns between 06:49 his community; concerns between Israel and Babylonia; 06:53 concerns between himself and God. But the good 06:59 news today is, despite all of the idolatry, 07:02 despite all of the wickedness, despite all of 07:08 the fighting, despite all of the misunderstanding, 07:12 Habakkuk still says in verse number 18, 07:16 "Yet will I rejoice in the Lord. 07:22 I will joy in the God of my salvation." 07:25 I wish I had a witness in this place. 07:27 My question to you from Habakkuk is this: 07:30 can you still praise God when times are tough? 07:34 [Aud. reaction] PB: Can you still praise God 07:36 when people turn their backs on you? Can you 07:40 still praise God when the bottom falls out? 07:43 Can you praise God when you're going through it? 07:45 Everything bad that you can imagine was happening 07:48 to Habakkuk and the people of God, 07:50 but yet Habakkuk says, "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord." 07:57 Habakkuk has what I call a "yet faith." 07:59 Everybody say "yet faith." Aud.: Yet faith. 08:02 PB: A yet faith is a declaration that we're 08:04 willing to ride or die with God. It means that 08:08 no matter what people think, no matter what people say, 08:12 no matter what people do, we're sticking with God. 08:15 And so I don't know about you, but in the good 08:17 times I'm sticking with God. In the bad times, 08:20 I'm sticking with God. In the sad times, 08:23 I'm sticking with God. Come hell or high water, 08:26 I'm sticking with God. In cancer, I'm sticking with God. 08:31 Through divorce, you'd better stick with God. Bankrupt, 08:35 stick with God. Because when you stick with God, 08:38 it means that you may never be able to explain how 08:41 a yellow sun in a blue sky can grow green grass 08:45 that is eaten by a brown cow to produce white milk. 08:48 [Aud. reaction] PB: But know this: 08:52 I'm sticking with God. I love y'all, 08:55 but I'm sticking with God. God is my provider 08:59 and my sustainer. God is Jehovah-Jireh. 09:02 Let me tell you something. People say- 09:05 -can I just pause for a minute?- 09:06 -people change all the time. 09:08 People come and people go. 09:11 People are like the wind, you don't know 09:12 which way they're going to blow next. 09:14 Economic conditions change all the time. 09:17 One minute you can be up, next minute you 09:18 can be down. Economic conditions changed in Egypt. 09:21 Remember, there were seven years, four years 09:24 after the seven rich years. They changed for Job. 09:27 Job lost all of his family, all of his flock. 09:29 But after life's storms, Job's ladder was greater 09:32 than his past. They changed for Elijah. 09:34 Elijah was sustained by a river, with food from a raven. 09:38 But then the river dried up. Oh, but God. 09:41 God prepared a widow to provide for him. 09:44 Won't He do it? God is not like the stock market, 09:48 going up and down. God doesn't change. He says, 09:50 "I am the Lord! I change not." Today, I want to know: 09:54 do you have a yet faith? Are you like Abraham, 09:58 willing to offer your best as a sacrifice, 10:00 believing that God can restore, revive and 10:02 replace everything you give up? 10:05 Are you willing to trust God when you can't trace God? 10:08 Let's be honest. Can you trust a God who 10:11 allowed 9/11 attacks? Can you trust a God who 10:14 allowed Dylan Roof to open fire in a church 10:17 when people were praying? Can you trust a God 10:19 who allowed innocent people to be shot and 10:22 killed in the recent London terror attacks? 10:24 Can you trust a God who allows babies to be 10:28 born with birth defects? Can you trust a God 10:30 who allows the righteous to suffer and the 10:33 wicked to prosper? Can you trust a God who 10:36 allows earthquakes and hurricanes and raging 10:38 brush fires? Can you trust a God who allows 10:41 people to be abused? Can you trust a God 10:44 when you prayed and He didn't save your marriage? 10:46 [Aud. reaction] PB: Can you trust God when 10:50 He allowed your parents to die from cancer? 10:52 Can you trust God when He allowed your child 10:55 to get hooked on illicit drugs? Can you trust God, 10:59 a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, 11:01 but yet He allowed you to get laid off from your job? 11:05 Forget yet faith, do you have any faith? 11:08 [Aud. reaction] PB: Most of us would 11:10 probably respond, Lord, I believe, 11:12 but help my unbelief. But I'm so glad I 11:16 learned as a little boy, faith is the substance 11:19 of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, 11:23 that without faith it is impossible to please God. 11:26 Which means, you've got to believe it even when 11:28 you can't see it. You see, I still believe God, 11:31 and I believe in a God who can do things I can't do; 11:35 who can move things I can't move; who can say 11:39 things I can't say. Habakkuk is going through it, 11:43 but through it all he says "Yet I will rejoice 11:49 in the Lord." And that's a word from Habakkuk today. 11:52 That's a word from Habakkuk today that tough 11:55 times don't last, but tough Christians do. 11:59 That when the going gets tough, the tough get going. 12:05 Tough times may come, but yet I will still 12:09 rejoice in the Lord. Now probably one of the reasons 12:13 why many of us cannot rejoice in the tough times 12:15 is because we have mistaken happiness for joy. 12:17 Happiness and joy are not the same thing. 12:21 We can be happy and not have joy. And we can 12:26 be joyful and not be happy. I wish I had a 12:28 witness in this place. But as Christians, 12:31 we can have joy even in the midst of unhappy circumstances. 12:37 Y'all don't hear what I'm saying. Happiness is external. 12:41 Joy is internal. Joy is something that is internal, 12:47 based on a revelation. It's not external like happiness. 12:52 Happiness is motivated by an external reality. 12:56 Happiness creates an internal response, 12:58 based don some external stimuli. But joy 13:02 is something internal, based on a revelation. 13:06 And so, when I know who my God is; when I know 13:10 what my God has done for me in my life, 13:13 it doesn't make a difference what happens 13:16 on the outside, but it's based on Who I 13:19 know and what I know on the inside. 13:22 Y'all don't hear what I'm saying. 13:24 You see, I've given this illustration before. 13:25 Let me try it one more time. When somebody 13:27 gives you flowers, you're happy. 13:30 When someone tells you you sang well, choir, 13:32 you're happy. When someone tells me I preached well, 13:35 I'm happy. When you're single and somebody 13:38 invites you out on a date, you're happy. 13:40 When somebody gives you money, 13:43 you're sho enough happy. 13:44 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 13:45 But there's a distinction between happiness 13:47 and joy. Joy is not based on the external, 13:51 but joy is based on the internal. 13:54 Because if nobody takes me out, 13:56 I'll take my own self out. I'll iron my 13:59 own shirt; I'll polish my own shoes; 14:01 I'll pat my own self on the back. 14:03 You've got to encourage yourself in the Lord. 14:05 It doesn't make a difference what the doctor says. 14:07 Doctor, I appreciate your prognosis, 14:09 but I know what the Word of God says. 14:11 The Word says "He was wounded for my transgressions, 14:14 bruised for my iniquities. The chastisement of 14:17 my peace was upon him, but by his stripes I am healed." 14:20 I've got a revelation on the inside. 14:23 The devil can have all he wants, 14:25 but he can't take my joy. My joy Is not 14:27 based on external stimuli; my joy is based 14:30 on the internal reality. My joy doesn't 14:32 depend on my circumstances. My joy depends 14:37 on an unchanging God. So, although the fig 14:42 tree won't blossom, although there is no 14:44 fruit on the vine, although there are no 14:47 olives on the olive tree, although there 14:50 are no herds in the stall, I will still rejoice. 14:55 Even in the midst of famine, even in the 14:58 midst of ruin, I will still rejoice. 15:01 You see, Habakkuk realized that inner 15:04 peace doesn't depend on outward prosperity. 15:07 Habakkuk's faith wasn't based on anything 15:12 in this world to begin with. Habakkuk's 15:15 faith was based solely on God, and that's 15:17 why he was able to rejoice; that's why he 15:19 was able to have joy. Habakkuk, in the text, 15:21 does not lash out in anger to God, 15:23 blaming God for the pains they were experiencing. 15:26 Habakkuk rejoiced. Paul says it best in 15:30 Philippians 4:4. He says to not just rejoice, 15:36 but Paul says "Rejoice always." 15:40 So don't rejoice some of the time. 15:42 Don't rejoice part of the time. 15:45 Rejoice all the time. Rejoice when things 15:49 are going well. Rejoice when things aren't 15:51 going well. Rejoice when the sun's shining. 15:52 Rejoice when the rain is falling. 15:53 Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I 15:56 say rejoice. And as long as God is on the throne, 15:59 I can rejoice. So, when you can't pay your bills, 16:04 rejoice. At least you're not one of your bill 16:08 collectors. Rejoice. [Aud. reaction] 16:09 PB: When you have piles of laundry stacked up 16:14 at your house, rejoice. At least you've got 16:17 clothes to wear. Rejoice. When your husband 16:20 complains that dinner is not on time, rejoice. 16:23 At least he's at home with you and not with 16:25 somebody else. Rejoice. When that person in 16:30 church is sitting behind you and they're loud, 16:32 and they sing off key, rejoice! Because that 16:37 means you can hear. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 16:39 Rejoice! Joy gives strength. Joy gives what, everybody? 16:44 Aud.: Strength. PB: Verse 19 closes and says, 16:47 "The Lord God is my strength." Once you realize 16:54 where your strength comes from, difficulties 16:57 can't drag you down. The Bible says the Lord 17:01 is the source of our joy and our strength. 17:06 I like how Nehemiah 18 puts it: "The joy of 17:08 the Lord is our strength." Our strength doesn't 17:13 come from steroids. Our strength doesn't come 17:18 solely from eating vegetables, even though that's good. 17:21 Our strength doesn't come from weightlifting 17:24 and pumping iron, even though that's good, too. 17:26 But muscles will eventually turn to flab. 17:29 But somebody knows that the joy of the Lord is my strength. 17:38 Let me tell you something--I'm almost done, 17:40 but let me tell you something--we have a choice. 17:41 Church, we have a choice. Either we can let our 17:45 troubles bring us down, or we can rejoice. 17:49 Let me say that again. Either we can let our 17:52 troubles bring us down, or we can rejoice. 17:56 Joy does not simply happen to us. We have 17:59 to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. 18:02 This is what we learn from Habakkuk. 18:04 Either we can rejoice and be thankful, 18:07 or we can complain and be critical. 18:10 All right, it's going to get quiet now. Ha ha! 18:14 I'm going to preach it anyhow! In the text, 18:18 Habakkuk has reason to fret and to question. 18:23 His people are wicked. His people will be invaded 18:27 by their enemies and their crops will be destroyed. 18:29 God, for whatever God's reason, is going to allow 18:33 His people to be punished by His enemy. Habakkuk 18:36 has reason to question. He has reason to fret. 18:40 But instead, he chooses to rejoice and be thankful. 18:47 Which means, you can either give thanks or complain. 18:51 The soul that gives thanks can find comfort in everything, 18:56 but the soul that complains finds comfort in nothing. 19:00 The truth is, all of us at some time or another- 19:03 -tell the truth, shame the devil--we've been complainers. 19:06 Come on, say amen. We've all been complainers. 19:09 We may have known it in a different term. 19:11 Some call it griping, grumbling, whining, bellyaching. 19:14 In the King James Version of the Bible, 19:16 the common term used for complaining is "murmuring." 19:18 Everybody say "murmuring." Aud.: Murmuring. 19:20 PB: Regardless of the word used to describe it, 19:22 complaining always has the same symptoms. 19:26 The dictionary defines it as an expression of unhappiness, 19:29 dissatisfaction, discontent. Complaining is the outward 19:34 expression of discontent from within. That's why hurt 19:37 people hurt people. I wish I had time. But complaining 19:41 has become a great pastime of our society. 19:45 We live in a complaining society. People gripe 19:47 about everything. Preschoolers complain: 19:50 I don't wanna take a nap. Children complain: 19:52 my teacher gives me too much homework. 19:54 Teenagers complain: you never let me do anything. 19:58 Mothers complain: how many times do I have to 20:00 tell you to make your bed? Daddies complain: 20:02 I work had all week, and then when I come 20:04 home you still expect me to cut the grass. 20:06 Employees complain about the company they work for. 20:09 Church members complain. [Aud. reaction] 20:11 PB: Churches do this; churches do that. 20:22 Complaining seems to be abnormal procedure these days. 20:27 Somebody once said that on the seventh day, 20:28 God rested; on the eighth day, 20:30 God started answering complaints. 20:32 [Aud. reaction] PB: There seems to be 20:37 very little thankfulness or gratitude today 20:38 among God's people but a whole lot of complaining. 20:41 Complaining is a part of our culture, 20:44 but then that's not anything new. 20:45 Who was the first complainer? Adam. 20:47 "The woman whom thou gavest me to be with 20:55 made me do it." Complaining is one of the 20:59 most prevalent sins among Christians. 21:01 To murmur, to grumble, to complain against 21:04 God is a sin. Complaining is a symptom of a 21:06 deep-seated spiritual problem. It's a failure 21:11 to trust God and a failure to be submissive to 21:14 God's providential provision in your life. 21:17 Habakkuk sees his nation floundering. 21:20 Their enemies are going to come in to get them. 21:23 He can't understand why God is doing this, 21:25 but yet he says, "I will rejoice in the Lord." 21:30 And friends of mine, let's be real. Why should 21:34 we complain when the Lord is our strength? 21:38 Why should we complain? One of the things I 21:42 love about the Lord is that God is able to sustain 21:44 you even when you come to the end of your strength. 21:48 God can take you to another level, 21:51 another level that you never expected, 21:53 because of His power and strength in you. 21:56 That's why Habakkuk, and that's what he experienced 22:01 when he began to tap into the strength of the Lord. 22:04 That's why he was able to say "The Lord God is my strength." 22:10 But church of the living God, can we learn how to act 22:15 like and live like the Lord is our strength? 22:20 Don't just say it; live it. Don't just talk about it; 22:24 walk it and talk it. Habakkuk says the Lord is 22:28 his strength, but then he closes this way. 22:31 I love it, in verse 19. "And he has made his 22:33 feet like hinds' feet, to make him walk 22:35 upon high places." 22:37 Now, notice as we close the text, 22:40 Habakkuk closes his text by using the metaphor 22:42 of hinds' feet, making a reference to a deer. 22:46 Habakkuk says God made his feet like hinds' 22:51 feet and made him walk on high places. 22:56 Now, what is Habakkuk talking about? 22:59 The strength God gives Habakkuk is like 23:03 the power found in the foot of a deer. 23:07 Y'all don't hear what I'm saying. 23:10 Just like a deer--if you've seen a deer- 23:12 -can move quickly through a dark forest, 23:14 Habakkuk could joyfully move through 23:17 difficult situations. Somebody's still not getting it, 23:20 let me try it this way. When deer travel through the woods, 23:24 they bounce right through the woods with no 23:27 trouble at all. But when we go through the woods, 23:31 we may get hung up on trees, we may slip and fall 23:36 on mountains, and we may even fall in a few areas 23:39 of the trail. Now the issue is not that the deer 23:42 has more power to walk than I do, but the difference 23:46 is in the feet of the ones going through the trail. 23:50 Y'all don't hear what I'm saying. 23:52 God designed deer feet to go through rough ground, 23:58 rough terrain, rough trails. Our feet weren't 24:03 designed to go through rough ground, 24:06 but the text says when we come to the Lord, 24:10 and when we come to God for strength, 24:14 and we begin to thank Him for His strength, 24:16 God begins to transform us. He transforms our feet- 24:21 -y'all don't hear what I'm saying- 24:23 -so that we can run through treacherous terrain 24:26 of life with ease and live in His power. 24:29 In other words, our feet are made like deer 24:32 feet so we can walk on high places. 24:35 Three things about hinds' feet: number one, 24:39 hinds' feet were prepared for steep climbs. 24:43 Everybody say "steep." Come on, say "steep." 24:45 When we trust the Lord, when we rejoice, 24:51 when we're thankful, God makes our feet like hinds' feet; 24:56 like deer feet. Then we have the ability to make steep climbs. 25:01 We have the ability to go higher. We have the 25:04 ability to see what other folk can't see. 25:07 Number two: deer feet, hinds' feet, 25:10 were created to be stable. Everybody say "stable." 25:13 Aud.: Stable. PB: So we said steep, 25:15 and now we're saying stable. Deer feet, 25:17 they can go through rough terrain and still be safe. 25:20 Some of us can't walk around here. Are you hearing 25:22 what I'm saying? Understand though, their feet are stable. 25:26 The world we live in is unstable, but God will 25:29 bless those who are stable. I'm stable because 25:32 God is able. I wish I had a witness in this place. 25:35 God will honor stability. God is allowing you 25:38 to go through what you're going through for His glory. 25:41 This is just a test for building up for you, 25:44 who you will become. So you'd better tell somebody, 25:48 the next time you see me I'll be at another altitude. 25:52 [Aud. reaction] PB: The next time--oh yes- 25:54 -the next time you see me, I'll be at another height. 25:57 But finally, number three: not only were hinds' 26:00 feet able to climb steep mountains, Not only were hinds' 26:05 feet able to be stable, hinds' feet were prepared 26:10 to be swift. Everybody say "swift." 26:13 Aud.: Swift. PB: Okay, so what God will 26:15 do when He makes our feet hinds' feet. 26:16 God makes us swift to overcome obstacles. 26:21 Now, with the deer, they are so fast, 26:25 one moment you can look up and they're there, 26:27 and the next minute they're gone. Does somebody 26:30 know what I'm talking about? Today, 26:32 there are some things that you are believing God for, 26:36 but God is about to do something swift. 26:40 God is about to do a swift turnaround for you. 26:45 God is about to change somebody's situation. 26:49 [Aud. reaction] PB: Somebody is sick, 26:51 but you're about to be healed. Somebody is broke, 26:54 but you're about to be blessed. 26:56 Somebody is drowning, but you're about 26:59 to be delivered. God is about to change 27:02 your situation, and God is going to do it swiftly. 27:06 It's amazing. People call 911, because what's 27:13 in their medicine cabinet is not good enough. 27:16 In other words, it's not doing the job alone. 27:20 Just like it's not enough to rely on ourselves. 27:23 If a person is going to come out of their situation, 27:27 it has to be God that brings them out. 27:31 Which means God is our 911. God is about 27:37 to change somebody's situation, 27:39 and we know that God can bring somebody else out, 27:42 God can bring me out, because it is no secret what 27:47 God can do. What He's done for others, 27:50 He'll do for you. And how we respond while 27:54 going through our situation says a lot. 27:57 I believe I've got a witness in this place 28:00 today that can testify like Job. 28:02 I know that my redeemer liveth, and shall 28:07 stand upon the latter day on this earth. 28:09 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him. 28:14 I don't know about you, but I need the Lord. 28:16 I need His strength. I need His power. 28:17 >: Thank you for joining us for another exciting 28:18 Breath of Life television broadcast. 28:20 Tune in next week at the same time, 28:22 as Dr. Byrd will deliver another 28:24 dynamic message from the Lord, 28:26 just for you. Until next time, 28:28 may God bless you. [END] |
Revised 2017-07-11