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[0:00] Habakkuk 1, verse 12 to chapter 2, verse 5.

[0:18] Habakkuk is speaking here to God.

[0:48] He brings all of them up with a hook. He drags them out with his net. He gathers them in his dragnet, so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore, he sacrifices to his net and makes offering to his dragnet, for by them he lives in luxury and his food is rich.

[1:06] Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever? I will take my stand at my watch post and station myself on the tower and look out to see what he will say to me and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

[1:23] And the Lord answered me, write the vision. Make it plain on tablets so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time.

[1:34] 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.

[1:48] Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol. Like death, he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.

[2:03] May God add a blessing to the reading of his word. Would you please be seated? You know how in a weekly episodic TV show, how each new episode begins with a brief recap of the past few episodes in order to bring the audience back up to speed?

[2:26] Well, I'm going to do that this morning as we continue our verse-by-verse study of Habakkuk. If you recall, Habakkuk was a prophet in Judah during the end of the Assyrian Empire and the rise of the Babylonian Empire.

[2:43] He ministered during a time of great political unrest and to a people who had normalized and celebrated sin. Habakkuk's heart broke for his nation.

[2:57] He was saddened by the injustice and violence that was occurring all around him. He had been continually going to God in prayer, lamenting over the moral and spiritual decay of his people and voicing his serious questions to God, asking why had God seemingly allowed these things to happen and conveying his frustrations that God had not intervened to turn the people back.

[3:29] In Habakkuk chapter 1, verses 5 through 11, God answers Habakkuk's serious questions with an answer that seems strange to Habakkuk.

[3:40] God will not bring revival. Instead, he says he is going to bring judgment. And his instrument of judgment would be the Babylonians. The answer that God gives is a hard one for Habakkuk to hear and reconcile in his mind.

[3:58] He can't argue with God's decision to punish evil within his own people, but to use a nation who is even more evil than his people are as his instrument to execute it, that doesn't seem to make sense to make sense in his mind.

[4:18] Have you ever been in a situation like that, where the answer you received just didn't seem to make sense? Years ago, when we were living in Leavenworth, I went through a Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-thru.

[4:35] And when I pulled up to order, I was informed that they were out of chicken. That was a Sunday afternoon. And I was hungry.

[4:47] And I was craving some of the colonel's secret recipe. And when I heard that, you just think, how can Kentucky Fried Chicken run out of chicken?

[4:59] That's the purpose of their existence. Why were they even open? I couldn't believe it. How could that be possible? I was surprised by that answer.

[5:15] It seemed strange. Habakkuk had heard God's answer to his serious questions, and it sounded strange. And so he's in one of those kind of say what frames of mind.

[5:28] This can't be right. Maybe he's thinking, I've misheard you, God, or I've misunderstood you, God. This doesn't seem right. So what happens next is Habakkuk is trying to reconcile what he knows to be true of God with his surprising and unexpected answer.

[5:48] He has doubts. But they are healthy doubts. He's not doubting the existence of God or the goodness of God or the sovereignty of God. He's doubting how this declaration from God can be.

[6:02] In a similar way, Mary, the mother of Christ, expressed her healthy doubts when the angel appeared to her and told her that she would conceive the Son of God by the Holy Spirit.

[6:16] If you remember, she asked, how can this be? She believed the message, but it was hard for her, understandably, at that time to understand. And so God's answer to Habakkuk's question have created a quandary in the prophet's mind.

[6:34] Yes, he knows Judah is sinful and unrepentant. But the Babylonians are even worse. How can God use a more wicked nation to judge a less wicked nation?

[6:48] And so in verses 1 through 4, Habakkuk struggled with the problem of evil in the world. And after hearing God's answers in chapter 1, verse 5 through chapter 2, verse 4, he struggles with the problem of God's justice.

[7:06] When confronted with the problem of evil, Habakkuk asked, God, do you care? And now confronted with God's judgment of sin, Habakkuk asks, God, is this fair?

[7:19] He's expressing some healthy doubts. He's taking his confusion, his questions, his doubts to God, and God helps his prophet understand deeper realities about him.

[7:32] Ultimately, Habakkuk would come to realize that God was to be worshipped not merely because of the temporal blessings he bestows, but because God is God. In the end, the doubts that Habakkuk expresses to God will lead to his having an increased knowledge of God and faith in God.

[7:53] And the same is true for us today. The main idea for this morning's sermon is that faith in God overcomes our doubts. Faith in God overcomes our doubts.

[8:06] Habakkuk's doubts are not a result of what he doesn't know about God, but what he does know about God. Habakkuk didn't doubt God's right to judge sin, but he does question his methods of judgment here.

[8:23] You know, I'm sure that sometimes you don't understand why God does what he does or seems to allow what he allows. Like Habakkuk, you are faced or are facing circumstances that you wonder if God cares and you wonder if God is fair.

[8:40] And so how can faith overcome the doubts that you may have during such times? Well, in our text today, we are given two applicational principles about faith in God that overcomes our doubt.

[8:56] The first application is this. Have faith in who God is. When you're not sure, when things seem to not make sense, have faith in who God is, who God has revealed himself to you to be.

[9:11] In chapter 1, verses 12 through 17, Habakkuk makes his complaint. He expresses his doubt. They are summarized basically with one question. How can God use the Babylonians to punish the people of Judah?

[9:29] As Habakkuk brings his doubt, his complaint to God, he does so in faith, expressing his convictions, his knowledge of who God is. And that's where his struggle lies.

[9:43] That's what his doubts concern. How can these things that he knows to be true of God be true of him all at the same time?

[9:54] Now, this might sound confusing to you right now, but stay with me. Now, look again at verse 12. Habakkuk says to God, are you not from everlasting?

[10:05] O Lord, my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. And so here Habakkuk expresses his first conviction. He knows and has faith that God is sovereign over the people of Israel, his people.

[10:19] He knows also that God is everlasting, that he is the first and he is the last. He always has been and God always will be. And he knows that God has bound himself in a covenant relationship with his people Israel.

[10:35] And so what he is saying is this, God, you are eternal. I know that. God, I know that you have chosen my people, your people Israel, and you have established your covenant with us.

[10:49] Therefore, I know that as long as you continue to be and you always will be, our people will live. Our people will be preserved by you. So Habakkuk was confident that even if God judged his people for their sins, he would not completely destroy them.

[11:06] In fact, that's exactly what God told his people through the prophet Jeremiah. In Jeremiah chapter 30, verse 11, for I am with you to save you, declares the Lord.

[11:17] I will not make a full end of all the nations among you whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

[11:30] And so Habakkuk was convinced that God was sovereign over Israel, his chosen people, and that he was sovereign over all peoples, actually, and all nations.

[11:41] So look again there at the second half of verse 12. O Lord, Habakkuk says, you have ordained them, speaking of the Babylonians, for judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof.

[11:54] And so he acknowledges, as God has told him, that the Babylonians are coming, that they are God's agent to execute his judgment on the sinfulness of his people.

[12:05] God has raised them up. God has appointed them for this task. And as we saw last week, God has a much bigger picture in mind. He's preparing the world for the eventual coming of his son, Jesus Christ, and then the spread of his gospel.

[12:21] But Habakkuk doesn't quite understand that yet. He doesn't understand that yet. But what he does understand and what he is confident in is that God is sovereign, and God is sovereign over all the nations.

[12:33] He gets that. The second thing that Habakkuk is convinced of, the second thing that he expresses faith about who God is, is that God is holy, and God does not tolerate sin.

[12:48] So look again at the beginning of verse 13. You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong. And so he's acknowledging there that, God, I know that you are holy.

[12:59] And that God is holy is an amazing and awesome truth. It's one of the greatest things about Scripture. If you want to know more about the holiness of God, well, read the Bible. But also, I would recommend to you the holiness of God.

[13:11] That's the title by R.C. Sproul. God is absolutely pure. There is no evil. There is no sin. There is no darkness in God at all.

[13:23] As 1 John 1, 5 tells us, this is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

[13:36] And so Habakkuk says, God, I know that you're pure. I know that you have perfect vision. God sees everything and everyone for who they truly are. His eyes are pure.

[13:47] When Habakkuk says that, when Habakkuk says that his eyes cannot look at wrong, he does not mean that God closes his eyes or ignores evil in the world.

[13:58] God is not hiding. He's not unaware. He sees it all. He feels the rejection every day of those who choose sin over him, as Psalm 711 says.

[14:11] God is a righteous judge, a God who feels indignation every day. And so what Habakkuk means is that he knows God does not look at sin with approval.

[14:26] He knows that God does not look at sin with acceptance. God never says, well, that's just the way they are. God never says, well, it's just their nature.

[14:37] They can't help it. We are tempted to make excuses for ourselves. We are tempted to make excuses for others and their sin, but not God.

[14:49] God only has one reaction to sin. He is offended by it and by it all. All sin is a direct affront to his holiness. And God cannot tolerate sin.

[15:02] Were it not for his grace, his love, and his willingness to forgive, his righteous wrath would destroy us all instantly. God is not a cute little tutty bear.

[15:17] God is not a pushover. God is good. And in his goodness, he does not tolerate sin. He is patient.

[15:30] God is good. He is good. But he disciplines the ones he loves. And the Bible says that he punishes those who continually reject his grace.

[15:42] And the Bible also commands us to be like him. To be holy like him. In 1 Peter 1, 14 through 16.

[15:54] As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. Since it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.

[16:08] So how about you? Are you offended by sin? Do your eyes delight in evil?

[16:19] Are you seeking to put sin to death in your life? And in the lives of others? Or do you tolerate it? Do you excuse it? Or do you hide from confronting it in yourself and in others and in this world?

[16:38] So Habakkuk knows that God is sovereign over all people. He knows that God is holy and he cannot tolerate wrong. And he knows that God is just to punish the sins of his people and all people.

[16:51] He has no complaints there. But there is an issue that he is struggling to reconcile in his mind. And in the rest of 13, verse 13, he expresses his doubt.

[17:04] Again, not in who God is, but trying to understand what God has decided to do. Verse 13, the second half. Why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?

[17:22] So Habakkuk is struggling to reconcile his theology of God with the word that God has just revealed to him about God.

[17:32] He asks basically this, God, how can you do this? How can you appoint Babylon, a people whose sins outnumber ours, to punish us?

[17:46] Their sin is greater and yet they are allowed to prosper. That doesn't seem right. This doesn't seem fair. These questions, these healthy doubts are coming from a deep faith that is seeking to understand the deep things of God.

[18:05] Sometimes the strongest and most mature Christians can find themselves wrestling with God like Habakkuk when it comes to theological mysteries of this kind of magnitude.

[18:17] I remember being in seminary and I was a commuter student. And so it was about a 30 to 40 minute drive home to our apartment.

[18:29] And oftentimes I would come from a class where my mind had just been blown. And I would be wrestling with God. Sometimes I would be shouting at God and probably the person driving in front of me thought, you know, this guy's got really bad road rage.

[18:42] No, I didn't. I was just trying to wrestle with what I was doing. Coming to understand about who God is truly.

[18:54] And those were hard times, but I'm thankful for those times because they shaped me. God used those times to help me understand him better and myself better. And I'm thankful for them. But it was a struggle.

[19:06] Habakkuk continues to express his struggles, his healthy doubts concerning what God had chosen to do in verses 14 through 17 by using a fishing illustration to describe Babylon.

[19:19] There again, he says, You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. He, speaking of Babylon, brings all of them up with a hook. He drags them out with his net.

[19:31] He gathers them in his dragnet. So he rejoices and is glad. Therefore, he sacrifices to his net and makes offering to his dragnet. For by them, he lives in luxury and his food is rich.

[19:42] Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever? And so Habakkuk again, he says that Babylon is like a fisherman who has ensnared helpless nations in their nets.

[20:00] And they delight in the misery that they have caused others. They rejoice over their catch. Like they're always posting pictures on social media, bragging and boasting about all the big fish that they've caught, all the new things that they're buying.

[20:18] Their bellies are full. Their wallets and their pockets are deep. And they worship their tools, their methods themselves even for their prosperity.

[20:28] They give God no credit at all. They attribute their success only to themselves. They worship their own power. They worship their own strength. They prosper by the pain that they inflict on others.

[20:41] And their conscience doesn't prick them about these things at all. It seems that no one is able to stand up to this great big bully. Doesn't that make you angry?

[20:54] Whenever you see a bully being and doing and prospering off of being hateful and mean to others. Remember this time I was at a Royals game and we were behind home plate.

[21:08] And you know, one of the dreams, one of the hopes that every young kid has when they go to a baseball game is to catch a foul ball. And so we were somewhere behind home plate, foul ball.

[21:19] But it was the Royals, so there was a lot of empty seats. And the ball hit an empty seat and kind of goes ricocheting around by the stands, by the feet of where people would have been sitting.

[21:31] And there's a mad dash. There's a scramble to get the ball. And all the kids are going. Who's going to be the one to get it and pull it out? Well, guess what? The guy who pulled it out was like this 50-year-old guy.

[21:44] And all these kids were like, can I have the ball? Can I have the ball? And no, he's just kind of like pushing them away. And then he turns and he takes a selfie of himself with the ball. And we were all just booing, you know, boo.

[21:56] How could you do this, right? And so I picture Babylon as being that guy. They don't care. I'm going to take whatever I can get because I'm stronger than you are. And I'm going to gloat over it.

[22:08] And I'm not going to feel bad for you one bit. And so this is what it boils down to for Habakkuk. He has faith in who God is. He knows that God is sovereign over the nations.

[22:19] He knows that God is holy and cannot tolerate sin. And he knows that Babylon is extremely wicked, yet they prosper. He knows all of these things are true.

[22:32] But he can't see or understand how all three of them can be true at the same time. For example, if God were not sovereign, then God could not stop Babylon.

[22:45] And so Babylon's success would not raise any questions. Or if God were not holy, he would not care about Babylon's wickedness. And that would also remove the problem of doubt.

[22:57] Additionally, if Babylon was good and they prospered as a result of that, or if they suffered as a result of their wickedness, then Habakkuk would have no problem reconciling that with a sovereign and holy God.

[23:10] But God is sovereign. God is holy. Babylon is wicked. And they prosper. And so these things don't make sense to Habakkuk.

[23:20] You know, and I'm sure that you feel or have felt the same way. You're probably feeling that same way today.

[23:32] So I mentioned, as I mentioned a few weeks ago when we were in Daniel chapter 3, that we live in a Romans 1 society. Sin is normalized and it is applauded.

[23:43] Evil is prevalent. Corruption is everywhere. Wicked people are prospering and the church is not. And so we can look at all of these things and like Habakkuk come up with the same question, that it doesn't seem fair.

[23:59] And so I ask you, does that describe you and your attitude? Woe is me. And then when we gather together as a church, oftentimes our conversation is, woe are we.

[24:12] When we come together as a church, are we so focused on the problems and the evils of this world that we talk about how woeful everything is?

[24:24] When we forget about the great victory that we have in Christ, are our conversations and our times of worship, are they woeful or are they celebratory, knowing that it doesn't matter what happens in this world because Jesus Christ has come.

[24:42] He has lived. He has died. He has risen again. And I know that in him I am saved now and forever. And so I love and appreciate the way Habakkuk deals with his questions and his doubts.

[24:54] Instead of walking away from God, instead of deconverting, instead of throwing a pity party for himself, he goes right to God with his questions and with his doubts.

[25:05] In chapter 2, verse 1, he says, I will take my stand at my watch post and station myself on the tower and look out to see what he will say to me and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

[25:18] In the midst of Habakkuk's doubts, he clings to what he knows to be true of God. He looks to God for the answer. He doesn't turn to philosophy or psychology with his questions.

[25:29] He goes right to God. And he waits for God to give him an answer. You know, we can learn a lot from Habakkuk's example. When you have questions, when you have doubts, take them to God.

[25:45] Search his word. Take your stand. Dig yourself in. Hunker down. Station yourself for the long haul and wait for the Lord.

[25:56] And God will answer your question in time. But I'll also say this. There are some questions that may not be settled in your mind until you reach heaven.

[26:13] But God, maybe instead of giving you that answer in this life, will give you himself. He will give you the faith to carry on.

[26:25] He will give you the strength to keep going. He will remind you continually of who he is. And that he is someone who loves you. And that he is someone whom you can trust.

[26:38] When things don't make sense or seem unfair, take your questions and doubts to God. Wait for an answer. And in the meanwhile, remind yourself of who God is.

[26:54] The second application in overcoming doubt. Have faith in what God has done. Have faith in who God is. Have faith in what God has done. Now, we don't know how much time transpired between Habakkuk's complaint and God's response, but God does respond.

[27:11] And God responds by giving him a vision of what will happen in the future. And as we know from Scripture, if God says that he will do something, then you can consider that that something has already been done.

[27:23] It's so certain that even though it's in the future, you can speak of it in the present, in the past tense. God informs Habakkuk that the Babylonians will be judged for their sin.

[27:35] But in the meanwhile, he tells him the righteous shall live by faith. Faith in who God is. Trusting that God will act according to his own divine timetable.

[27:49] And so in chapter 2, verses 2 through 3, the Lord answered, write the vision, make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time.

[27:59] It hastens to the end. It will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay. So the first thing God tells Habakkuk is to write down the content of his answer, his revelation.

[28:13] Habakkuk is to write it plainly so that everyone can understand. He wants Habakkuk and his people to know what he said now so that when it comes to pass, when all of these things happen, they will be reminded once more that God keeps his word and that his word is certain.

[28:32] That God is a promise giver and a promise keeper. Next, God assures Habakkuk that Babylon's actions will not go unpunished. In verses 4 and 5, he explains all the things.

[28:44] He sees it. He knows what's going to happen and he will do something about it. But in the meanwhile, God will use Babylon to bring judgment to Judah and the other nations that does not, however, excuse their sin.

[29:00] Their time of judgment will come. And God will outline that in the preceding verses. But at this point, God's answer was that Habakkuk needed to listen. It was an answer that Habakkuk needed to hear.

[29:11] God is sovereign. God is holy. God is just. In time, Habakkuk would more fully comprehend that. But in the meanwhile, God says to him, the righteous will live by their faith.

[29:25] Faith in who God is. Faith in what God has done. And faith in what God will do. Now, I want to pull out that statement that God makes there to Habakkuk.

[29:39] The righteous shall live by his faith. That verse is one of the most important verses in the Bible. I encourage you to highlight it and underline it.

[29:51] It has been quoted three times in the New Testament. This verse was the verse that God used to reveal the gospel to Martin Luther and who then launched the Protestant Reformation.

[30:04] It is an amazing verse. A verse that is filled with awesome truth. For Habakkuk, this verse in its immediate context meant that he should live by faith while he waited for God's righteous judgment to fall upon the Babylonians.

[30:19] The Lord would keep his promise to Judah. He would preserve his people. Not because of who they were. Not because of their good works.

[30:29] But because of who God is. And they could trust and live by faith in the present knowing that God fulfills his promises. The full implications of this verse are brought out later in the New Testament through the gospel.

[30:47] The good news of Jesus Christ. The gospel reveals that even though we are sinners and deserve punishment for our sins, that Jesus came and died on the cross.

[31:00] And he took on the punishment of our sins for our sins in order to die for us that we could be forgiven through him. And so Paul, the apostle Paul quotes Habakkuk 2, 4 in Romans 1, 16 through 18.

[31:13] There he says, Galatians 3, 10 through 12.

[32:13] See, those who trust in themselves like the Babylonians did back then will perish.

[32:35] But the righteous are preserved by God through their faith. When things don't make sense, when things and times are hard, we are reminded by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we will persevere.

[32:49] Not because of who we are. Not because of what we've done. But because of who Jesus Christ is. And because of what Jesus Christ has done. And that faith, his righteousness imputed to us will sustain us forever.

[33:04] Hebrews 10, 37 through 39. Again, a quote, Habakkuk 2, 4. For yet a little while in the coming one will come and will not delay. But my righteous one shall live by faith.

[33:17] And if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. Again, Christ has come.

[33:30] Jesus Christ has won. The righteous. The righteousness that we have received by faith in him is a righteousness that he will never revoke.

[33:41] And we can persevere like Habakkuk through our times of healthy doubts. Through our times of troubles and troubled thoughts. Because we know that God has said, the righteous shall live by faith.

[33:57] God's loving care and perfect justice we see have met at the cross. Jesus died. He died for sinners. And the Bible says that if you trust in him, if you put your faith in him, you will be saved.

[34:15] You will be preserved. You will be changed. You will live. Death's sting is gone. Life eternal is yours in Jesus Christ. And so, we don't mope.

[34:29] We don't fear. Because we have received his righteousness. We live. We are new creations.

[34:41] We have eternal life. God has declared us through Christ to be righteous. We can hope when all seems lost. And we can know as we look at this world and all the things that are going on in it.

[34:55] You know what? Things aren't falling apart. They're falling into place. The main point of application.

[35:08] The righteous shall live by faith. So, three things that this passage tells us about God. First, we are sinners.

[35:22] You may, like Habakkuk, think, I'm better than other people in this world. I'm better than those Babylonians. But compared to God and his holiness, we are all standing on equal ground.

[35:37] We have all sinned. We have all fallen short of God's glory. Second, you cannot save yourself. Many people think that they're good enough.

[35:51] They're trusting in the fact that they hope that they've been a good enough person that God will allow them to enter into heaven. But the Bible says that you'll never be good enough. And that your goodness cannot merit salvation.

[36:07] In fact, you must be saved as a result of God's working, his gift, his grace. And grace is undeserved. It's given. It cannot be earned.

[36:18] Otherwise, it would not be grace. Third, the righteous shall live by faith. It is only through faith that we can be made right with God.

[36:30] And no eternal life rather than eternal condemnation. And when Jesus came, that's what he preached. Mark 1, 15.

[36:43] He said, the time is fulfilled, right? All the things that God has done to prepare the world, including what happened with Habakkuk and his people, the time has come. The kingdom of God is at hand.

[36:53] I'm here, the Son of God. Repent and believe in the gospel. And if ever you feel like things are not fair, to remedy that, all you have to do is look to the cross.

[37:12] What would be fair is for God to give us only his wrath because we've sinned.

[37:24] And none of us could stand before him and say that's wrong. But God in his grace has sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to live the righteous life that you and I could not live, who willingly died sacrificially on the cross, shedding his blood, giving his life, enduring the wrath of God, that by faith in him you receive his righteousness and he takes your sin and he takes it away.

[37:55] On the third day, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, arose. He lives. He reigns. Doesn't matter what happens in this life. Doesn't matter what happens in this world.

[38:07] The righteous will live by faith. We live now and we will live forever. Thanks be to God. Three application questions for you to look at today, to discuss in your community groups tonight.

[38:23] And I encourage you to go back through them later this week as well. Question number one, what is the difference between doubting God and waiting to understand God's purposes? Can you give an example of each from the Bible?

[38:35] And there are plenty. Question number two, what does it mean that the righteous shall live by his faith? How is this truth further revealed in the New Testament?

[38:48] Again, read those passages where that verse is quoted, Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews. And finally, what does God reveal to us about himself in Habakkuk 1, 1 through 2, 5?

[39:01] What does this passage of Scripture teach us about the gospel? Let's pray. Let's pray. Lord, we are finite beings.

[39:17] Father, our knowledge is limited. So often, Lord, like Habakkuk, we find ourselves in situations where things don't seem right.

[39:28] Things don't seem fair. And in those moments, Lord, we have doubts. Not doubt in you, not doubt in who you are, but just doubts and trying to understand the ways that you work. But God, you have revealed to us time and time again that you are a God who works in mysterious ways, but a God whose mysterious ways come together in the end for our good.

[39:55] Lord, you know each one of us. You know our hearts. You know our feelings. You know which ones of us right now, Lord, are going through a time where we're wrestling with these things. God, I pray that through your word today, you have given them peace to know that you are a God who cares.

[40:10] You're a God who sees. That you're a God who loves us. And that if they will wait, you will answer. Lord, I pray that we as your people would not be mopey and whiny and woeful.

[40:26] Lord, do not allow us to have our eyes taken off the completed and finished work of your son, Jesus Christ. God, keep our eyes on you so that we will continue to be the light in this darkness that you've called us to be.

[40:39] That we would continue to go and we would continue to share. And that we would let people know that there is hope in Christ. There's a righteousness to be received by him, but it only comes through faith.

[40:52] That they would know and that they would believe. In the meanwhile, Lord, may we live our lives righteously for you. That you would be glorified in us. And we ask these things in Jesus name.

[41:03] Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.