Pentecost 17, 2022
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
“Take Your Stand”
You may listen to the sermon by clicking here.
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Two questions that I would like you to ponder during the Sermon this evening/morning: 1. Where has God placed you? 2. What has God called you to do in that place?
There isn’t really much known about the prophet Habakkuk. Most kids only remember him as the prophet who’s name is really hard to say. What we do know is that Habakkuk was a prophet during hard times in Judah. Luther and other scholars believe that Habakkuk was prophet just before Babylonian captivity. The people of Judah had turned their backs on God. They were wicked. The nation was morally corrupt. God would punish His people.
The Egyptians had defeated Judah. Josiah, king of Judah, was killed. Pharaoh hand picked the new king of Judah. He picked Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim had no real power outside that which came from Pharaoh. He abused His position. Rabbinical literature, while not Scripture, give us insight. They describe Jehoiakim as a “godless tyrant who committed atrocious sins and crimes. He had incestuous relations, murdered men, abused widows, seized property, mocked the prophets, and burned the scrolls with the prophets words.
This is where God had placed Habakkuk as prophet in a nation that turned its back on God during the reign of a puppet king that rejected God and the prophets as well.
Habakkuk complained. “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.” (Habakkuk 1:2-4)
God placed Habakkuk in Judah during hard times. We too could take these same words and use them as our own. Wickedness surrounds us. Justice is perverted. The law is paralyzed. Destruction and violence surround us. Lincoln has had a rise in crime but we make ourselves feel better by saying its not as bad as Omaha. Omaha just saw a 13 year old murdered. It doesn’t matter why he was out at a park in the middle of the night. A 13 year old was murdered. But many will seek to comfort themselves by saying its worse somewhere else… Chicago… New York City… or wherever.
Violence should not happen anywhere. Murder should not happen anywhere…regardless of age, time, or location. Our society has a heart problem. It has rejected God and calls evil good. Destruction is around us. Violence is before us. Strife and contention continue on. The law is paralyzed. Justice is perverted. And we cry out with Habakkuk “How long, O Lord?”
Where has God placed you? He has placed you in a difficult time as well. He has placed you into different vocations. He has placed you in Lincoln and surrounding areas. He has placed you as a child. He has placed many of you as parents. Our vocations are many: child, brother/sister, parent, employee, employer, student, citizen, child of God, brother or sister in Christ…and the list goes on. And often we face difficulties within these vocations…these places that God has placed us. Life is difficult. Questions arise. Our faith is under attack. We have doubts and despair. And do we complain? To God? You bet.
But what has God called you to do in the place He has called you to? Habakkuk took his stand. It began standing up and waiting for God’s response. And God would respond. Habakkuk would go on to stand as God’s prophet. He was called to proclaim God’s Word to a king and people that didn’t want to hear him. He was called to remain faithful and to trust God even in the face of uncertainty, war, violence, corruption, and other wickedness.
God told Habakkuk: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:2-4)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: take your stand. Not in questioning God but in hearing His Word. God’s vision has been written. We know that the end of the world will come. We know that there will be wars and rumors of war. We know that there will be earthquakes, floods, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other disasters. We know that violence and corruption and persecution will happen. We know that there will be struggles in our vocations. There will be times we would rather give up or run away. But God calls us to stand firm.
Stand firm in the faith God has given you. For “…the righteous shall live by…faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). Stand firm in sharing God’s love. Stand firm in trusting in Scripture. Stand firm in attending God’s House and bringing your children to this place. Stand firm in putting God and worship first as priorities.
Stand firm. That’s a lot to ask. It isn’t easy. But it is possible. It is possible in Christ who stood firm on the cross to save you. In all of the places God has placed you…in each of your vocations… God has given each one of you so many wonderful and varied gifts to use to share His love. Each of you is a gift and blessing from God…to the place God has called you to. Stand firm and remember that you do not stand alone. You stand with other brothers and sisters in Christ. You stand with angels, archangels, and the company of heaven, and if you still feel alone… Christ stands with you, his beloved child.
Take your stand as God’s beloved child in all the places God has placed you. Love. Comfort. Pray. Help. Sacrifice. Remember God’s Word through the Apostle Paul: “Therefore, my beloved brothers [and sisters], be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58) Take your stand. Your labor is not in vain. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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