MissionWay Church Sunday Sermons

Josiah’s story is one of the most inspiring, and yet ultimately anticlimactic, stories in the Old Testament. When the book of the Law is found in the Temple, Josiah leads Judah in repentance, reform, and renewed worship, but even this great revival cannot permanently change the hearts of God’s people. Josiah dies, Judah returns to rebellion, and judgment still comes, showing us that we need more than a good king or another season of revival. We need a Savior. Josiah points us to Jesus, the true and better King from the line of David, who not only calls us to repentance but gives us new hearts, conquers sin and death, and brings us into the life and salvation we could never earn.

Joyful worship can come from trembling lips. Even when our circumstances remain unchanged, we can acknowledge our grief, wait quietly for the Lord, worship joyfully because our joy is found in Him, and find strength to tread the rugged terrain He has placed before us. Habakkuk’s circumstances have not changed; his heart has, because he has learned to trust that God is Sovereign, His plans cannot be thwarted, and He is the God of our Salvation.

Habakkuk finally fixes his eyes where they belong—not on himself or his trials, but on the Lord. When we face evil and hard times, our hope is not found in being strong or having all the answers, but in acknowledging God’s greatness, character, power, and sovereignty and resting in Him. Confidence in God’s Sovereignty produces confidence in God’s Salvation, because the God who has been faithful in the past is faithful now, and He has gone out for the salvation of His people through His Anointed One, Jesus.

This passage reminds us that God judges evil, God’s glory fills the earth, and God’s sovereignty calls us to silence. Though evil may seem to prosper and God may seem silent, His perfect justice will go forth, the glory of evil men will be made empty, and the earth will ultimately be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD. Because God is still on His throne, we can keep living by faith, continue spreading His glory, and rejoice that our labor is not in vain. In the end, God’s sovereignty brings dread and silence to unbelievers, but awe, worship, and wonder to believers, so we can “Be still, and know that I am God.”

God’s people are those who live by faith in evil times, awaiting the fulfillment of His Word. God’s Word is sure, even when His timeline seems slow, so we wait because He has spoken and His Word grounds us in hope. While the wicked may appear to prosper, we trust that their prosperity is only a facade and that God will ultimately judge evil. We keep going not because we are strong or have all the answers, but because by faith we have cast ourselves upon the Rock—we pray, trust His Word, gather with His people, and live each day dependent upon Him.

Habakkuk reminds us that we do not always know what God is doing, but we do know He is always doing something, because God’s plans are beyond our understanding. Though men intend evil, God is Sovereign over it and directs it for our good and His glory, and not one act of evil will ultimately go unpunished. When life doesn’t make sense, we must trust God’s Sovereignty and His Goodness, approaching Him with the humility to say, “I’ll shut my mouth and listen,” knowing that He is working even when we cannot see how. Habakkuk stood at the watchpost awaiting an answer, but we stand at the cross, where God has already spoken Salvation—and because of the cross, we know the end of the story.

Habakkuk shows us that even the righteous sometimes cry out to and question the Lord when evil surrounds them and God seems silent. We should be honest about evil and how it affects us, but our questions should lead us to cry out to the Lord rather than allowing our experience to dictate absolute truth. The righteous are comfortable with lament because lament shows that we are honest about evil while knowing who to run to for justice, and we can mourn without mourning “like the world” because we have hope. Even when we are weak, confused, and without answers, we keep crying out to Jesus because He is strong, His grace is sufficient, and He is the Savior who brings redemption.

Godly giving is cheerful giving to the God who supplies our every need. The amount of our giving matters less than whether we are giving with a mind toward generosity and a heart that delights to give “unto the Lord” as an act of joyful worship. God’s generosity to us is meant to overflow into our own personal generosity, because everything we have comes from Him and “of your own have we given you.” So we should honor the Lord with what He has entrusted to us, trusting that He will supply what we need so that we may “abound in every good work.”

Believers who persistently sow good into their local church will reap a good harvest in due time. God has designed His Church so that every member shares all good things, sows to the Spirit through their time, talents, and treasure, and does good, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Because God is not mocked, whatever we sow we will also reap, so we must not grow weary of doing good, trusting that He will reward faithful service in His perfect timing. Let us continue sharing the good things God has entrusted to us as we equip one another to reach the lost, strengthen the weak, and encourage the faithful with the Gospel.

Earthly riches are uncertain and can never provide what only God can supply, so we must not set our hope on wealth but on the God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. As our hope and satisfaction are found in Him, we receive His blessings with thanksgiving, become generous and ready to share, and store up treasures for the life to come. True generosity flows from hope and satisfaction in God, not obligation, because those who have received His grace freely desire to reflect His generosity. God richly provides for us what earthly riches never could, and in Christ we have a living hope and the true riches of eternal life.