Richmond Community Church

Sermon Audio: Dealing With Problems
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Habakkuk 1:12-17
Duration: 29:07
Size: 13.3 MB

Dealing With Problems
Habakkuk 1:12-17

Habakkuk is a profound book, one that delves deeply into the mysteries of God. Habakkuk raises deep questions about the actions of God in today’s news.

But as he learned about God’s response, Habakkuk had a further problem of reconciling God’s actions with what he knew about God’s attributes.

When dealing with problems, we must pray.

1. Pause to think.
2. Restate basic principles.
3. Apply the principles to the problem.
4. Yield the problem to God in faith, if still in doubt.

HABAKKUK: A Case Study

I. Pause to Think

People are saying and thinking all kinds of things that are completely inconsistent with the teaching of God’s Word.

II. Restate Basic Principles

A. God is eternal. (1:12a)
He must have reminded himself that Jehovah was before anything came into existence and would be long after Babylon faded away.

And when problems face you, remind yourself that God is eternal. He is the true God. He is building his kingdom. And the gates of hell shall never prevail against it.

B. God is holy. (1:12b)
In the Bible it is the attribute stressed more often than any other attribute.

When problems arise we must remind ourselves that God is holy.

C. God is sovereign. (1:12c)
God controls history.

He is in sovereign control over today’s news, and we must affirm this basic principle when facing problems.

D. God is faithful. (1:12c)
God is faithful to his kingdom. God is faithful to his promises. God is faithful to his Word. And that is a great comfort to us when dealing with problems.

III. Apply the Principles to the Problem

Habakkuk took the third step and applied these basic principles to his problem.

We must apply the principles of all that we know about God and his Word to our particular problem, whatever that may be.

IV. Yield the Problem to God in Faith, If Still in Doubt

There was one part of the problem that Habakkuk still did not understand, and this was the part he yielded to God in faith.

You and I must do what the prophet did: Yield the problem to God and leave it with him.

Sermon Audio: Making Sense of Today’s News (Part 2 of 2)
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Habakkuk 1:1-11
Duration: 27:33
Size: 12.6 MB

Making Sense of Today’s News (Part 2 of 2)
Habakkuk 1:1-11

The questions I want to ask today are these:
“How should we think about these events?”
“How do we make sense of today’s news?”
“And how does today’s news fit into the grand scheme of history?”

The message of Habakkuk is one of the most helpful portions of Scripture to help us make sense of today’s news.

II. God’s Ways Are Often Misunderstood

A. By Careless Christians (1:5)
The trouble with Judah was that they never believed God’s prophets. People often do not believe God’s preachers.

We dare not go on any longer being apathetic.

B. By Non-Christians (1:11)
They credited all their success to their own strength.

And suddenly, they have found themselves cast down by God.

C. By the Prophet Himself (1:2-4)
But his reaction was very different. His question was how to reconcile all of what God was doing with the character of God.

Four lessons we can learn from Habakkuk.

First, today’s news is under God’s control.
Second, today’s news follows God’s plan.
Third, today’s news follows God’s timetable.
Fourth, today’s news is bound up with God’s kingdom.

Sermon Audio: Making Sense of Today’s News (Part 1 of 2)
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Habakkuk 1:1-11
Duration: 24:18
Size: 11.1 MB

Making Sense of Today’s News (Part 1 of 2)
Habakkuk 1:1-11

The questions I want to ask today are these:
“How should we think about these events?”
“How do we make sense of today’s news?”
“And how does today’s news fit into the grand scheme of history?”

The message of Habakkuk is one of the most helpful portions of Scripture to help us make sense of today’s news.

I. God’s Ways Are Often Mysterious (1:2a,5-6)

A. God’s Inaction (1:2a)
God seems to be strangely silent and inactive in some circumstances.

We have cried out to God but nothing seems to happen.

B. God’s Unexpected Providences (1:5-6)
Sometimes God gives unexpected answers to our prayers.

We see a certain situation and circumstance and we think that God should act in a particular way.

C. God’s Unusual Instruments (1:6)
God sometimes uses strange instruments to correct his people and his Church.

We must understand that the plain teaching of Scripture is that God may use very strange instruments indeed, and sometimes the very last instrument we would have expected.

Return next week for Part 2.