Category: 2013 Sermons

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Sermon Audio: Sharpening the Focus of Your Faith
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Habakkuk 3:1-15
Duration: 27:36
Size: 12.6 MB

Sharpening the Focus of Your Faith
Habakkuk 3:1-15

Although instant everything might be at our fingertips when it comes to our food, it’s not usually like that when it comes to our spiritual growth.

The question we are forced to ask is this: “Since Habakkuk’s circumstances have not changed, why the dramatic change in his heart-from complaining to singing?”

I. Shift Your Focus from Your Fears to the Faithfulness of God (3:2a,3-15)

In order to overcome his fears of the coming invasion, Habakkuk purposefully reminded himself of what he knew.

The thing that sustained Habakkuk in the midst of the fear and perplexity that gripped him was the shifting of his focus away from his fears to the proven faithfulness of God.

Today I want you to realize that no matter what you may be facing and no matter how many people may have failed you in the past-God will never fail you.

Take your eyes off all your future fears and look back and reflect upon the faithfulness of God to you in the past.

II. Shift Your Focus from Your Purposes to the Purposes of God (3:2b)

What he wanted now, more than anything else, was for God’s plan to succeed.

There is a lot of confusion today about the purpose of the Christian life.

God’s purposes are to build internal character into your life, to give you a deep peace, to provide you with things money just cannot buy.

Shift your focus from your fears to the faithfulness of God.

And shift your focus from your purposes to the purposes of God.

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Sermon Audio: Living in a Fallen World
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Habakkuk 2:4-20
Duration: 26:07
Size: 11.9 MB

Living in a Fallen World
Habakkuk 2:4-20

How does your view of God line up with such real life evil? How do you make theological sense out of the attack on America or even the attacks within America?

When faced with the fact that God was about to raise up the evil Babylonian nation to bring judgment against the people of God, it was more than he could take.

Three truths that God gives us in his Word regarding how we are to live in this fallen, sinful and often terrifying world.

I. God Calls Us to Live By Faith (2:4b)

There are two paths before us. One is the way of faith. The other is the way of “un-faith” or unbelief.

We are living in a culture that says that Christianity is one of many equally valid ways to God.

There is only one way. It is the way of faith. It is the way of faith in the true and living God-Jehovah.

II. God Will Punish the Wicked (2:6-13,15-19)

God told Habakkuk that although he was going to use this wicked nation of Babylon to accomplish his sovereign purposes with his people, he was also going to inflict punishment on the Babylonians for all their wickedness.

In the meanwhile, how are we to respond to the actions of the wicked?

But even as we support our civil and military leaders in their God-given duties, we are called by God to walk a different path as individuals.

On a personal level, we must return love for evil.

III. God Will Glorify Himself (2:14)

Tucked neatly between the dark gloom of the third and fourth woe is a striking ray of light recorded for us in verse 14.

God is in absolute control of today’s news.

This means that when you read your newspaper and watch the evening news-you should be doing so with kingdom glasses on.

Conclusion

In the death of Jesus we see how evil, in the hands of a sovereign God, can be a vital and necessary part of the perfect plan of God.

And in our moments of deepest pain and sorrow remember these truths from Habakkuk about how to live in a fallen world:

1. God calls us to live by faith,
2. God will punish the wicked, and
3. God will glorify himself.

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Sermon Audio: Waiting For God’s Answer
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Habakkuk 2:1-3
Duration: 27:09
Size: 12.4 MB

Waiting For God’s Answer
Habakkuk 2:1-3

In fact, some would rather do the wrong thing than wait. Waiting is one of the hardest things to do in life.

When dealing with problems, we must pray:

It was not enough just to pause to think, to restate basic principles, and to apply the principles to the problem. Habakkuk was still in doubt, and so he yielded the problem to God in faith. He was waiting for God’s answer.

HABAKKUK: A Case Study Continued

I. Commit Your Problem to God (2:1)

Once you have committed the problem to God, you should stop concerning yourself with it.

Then the moment you get up from our knees you begin to worry about the problem again.

Looking to God means depending entirely upon God, and “waiting” only upon him.

So, get up into your watchtower and just keep looking to God. Look at nothing else, least of all your problem.

II. Expect an Answer from God (2:1b)

If you pray, you must expect answers to your prayers.

The point is that you must be looking for these answers, and be ready to recognize them when they come.

III. Be Persistent in Your Expectation (2:1b)

Having committed yourself and your problem to God, you must persist in looking with an eagerness, which knows that God is certain to answer.

The test of your faith is whether you expect an answer, and then persevere in that expectation.

IV. God Rewards Faith (2:2-3)

It is an absolute law in the spiritual realm that if we adopt Habakkuk’s method, and behave as he behaved, God will always honor his promises.

Conclusion

1st, know that things are not always as they seem.
2nd, waiting for God’s answers strengthens your patience and lengthens your perspective.

Do what Habakkuk did while waiting for God’s answer:

1. Commit your problem to God,
2. Expect an answer from God,
3. Be persistent in your expectation, and, remember that
4. God rewards faith.

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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.