Living with Pride

Well, hello all and welcome. Let me add my welcome to the others you've received this morning.

If I've not met you before, my name is Steve Jeffrey. I'm the senior pastor here at St. Paul's

and I'm so glad you tuned in for us today. As you have just seen, we're up to Habakkuk chapter 2.

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

If you haven't got a Bible there, if you'd like to open it up, grab it, iPad, whatever it might be.

Also, if you go to St. Paul's app, you will also find the outline for today's sermon there.

We're up to Habakkuk chapter 2. Now, if some of you may be aware of this, Malcolm Naden was the

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

most wanted person in New South Wales up until his capture and arrest a little over about eight years

ago now. He was on the run from June 2005 until March 2012 when he was finally captured in the

middle of the night in this little cabin, remote cabin west of the little town of Gloucester.

He was, in fact, a source of embarrassment to law enforcement agencies in our state as he eluded

them and escaped capture for about seven years. So imagine after their frustration of trying to

catch him and not being able to catch him, they decided that the best way to finally deal with

their biggest issue of securing the capture of Malcolm Naden and bringing him to justice was instead

to call in the military and to issue nuclear strikes everywhere from Newcastle to Armidale and,

you know, 500 kilometers and I just wipe out the whole section of the state in the attempt to get him.

Now, that particular strategy has its strengths. You finally get the guy who's eluded you on so many

occasions. You get rid of a whole bunch of feral animals and potentially a few illegal crops in there

hiding away in the bush. Of course, the major negative which virtually the whole world would

have a problem with is that you wipe out everyone and everything in that space as well. Now, as we launch

into the book of Habakkuk, and if you've been with us in the last couple of weeks, you probably would

have seen this already. It appears on the surface that that is God's solution to the evil and the

carnage and the sin in this little book of the Bible called Habakkuk. If you've just joined us,

we're partway through it already, and it's a pretty straightforward book. It's actually pretty

interesting and highly practical, even if a little confusing at times. It is about how to face

times, times of evil and difficulty. They might be evil times, difficult times on an international

scale or a national scale, or they might even be deeply personal times of evil and hardship,

when everything in life comes crashing down for us. This little book prepares us for the times when

it comes, as it did for the man Habakkuk. Now, Habakkuk states his main issue with God's solution

to the evil of his own people Israel by sending in the schoolyard bullies of that time, the Babylonian

empire. And he says this in chapter 1 verse 13,

Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?

See, Habakkuk's question is this, God, how can you possibly use the more wicked Babylonians to deal

with the less wicked Israelites? How can you do that? And his question is, what about the Babylonians?

Are they just going to get away with their evil? I mean, you're going to deal with Israel's evil.

What about the Babylonians evil? Will they get punished as well? That's where we were left at the end of

last week. And so what we're launching into now is God's answer to Habakkuk's second and big complaint.

So if you've got the St. Paul's app open, you'll see that I've got three main points there.

And God judges all sin and evil, the source of all sin and evil, and thirdly, God's solution to our

sin and evil. So firstly, Habakkuk chapter 2, God judges all sin and evil. Now, as you launch into

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

Habakkuk chapter 2, which was just read out to us, you will notice that Babylon is mocked there in five

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

separate statements of woes. You can see it as you read through five separate woes.

Even though Babylon at in that time looked invincible to Habakkuk and to everyone who could

see they looked invincible. Even Babylon was brought down. Even Babylon was brought to an end in 539 BC.

And so each of these five woes, or you know, you might want to call them curses,

it details the crimes perpetrated by Babylon and God's response to those. And those crimes of Babylon

just have such, they resonate with much of what we see still around this world.

The first woe is in verses 6 to 8 of chapter 2. And it's directed towards those who acquire goods

dishonestly. What happens to those who are acquiring their goods dishonestly? The Bible turns the table on

them. The victims become the victors. So notice verse 8 particularly. Because you have plundered many

nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you. So what God does here is he relates to Habakkuk

the basic principle of justice. The basic principle of justice. And it is the punishment should fit the

crime. The punishment should fit the crime. And you see the same pattern right through these five woes.

Verses 9 to 11. We have the plotter who exploits for personal gain or national or family or even family

dynasty glory. This is about the pursuit of glory. What's the punishment for those who do everything

in order to advance their glory, to make their name great, that people would praise them?

Verse 10. Shame instead of glory. The person who lives to make their name great, their name will become

less. Nothing. Verses 12 and 13. We have the promoter of violence. The foundation of Babylon society was in

fact bloodshed, the blood of their enemies. And their punishment is in verse 13. Has not the Lord

almighty determined that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire? They were burning, sorry, they were

building an empire that would be merely fuel for the fire of God's judgment.

James 5. James 5. James chapter 5 verse 5 in the New Testament speaks of rich oppressors who have fattened

James 5:5

themselves for the day of slaughter. That's all they've achieved, their own demise.

verse 15. Verse 15. We have the immoral. They glorified themselves by shaming their enemies. And what it says is that

they will receive shame instead of glory. The last woe is in verses 18 to 20 and it refers to the idolater.

Idolatry in the Bible is when we worship something less than ourselves and something that is far less than God.

That's idolatry. Worshipping something that is less than ourselves and far less than God. It is speechless. It is powerless. It is therefore useless.

And these Babylonians created idols to give them wisdom and guidance. Their punishment is silence

and no help at all. So what we see in these five woes is that the punishment fits the crime.

And it's by this principle that both Israel and Babylon will be judged. That's God's message to Habakkuk.

God is committed to justice. The wicked will not get away with their evil. God will hold all people

accountable for their actions and punish them accordingly. That's the good news because there's

something in each one of us that says we want justice to be done.

So secondly, what is the source of all this evil and sin and carnage?

What's the core issue here for the Babylonians? What's the source of their evil behavior?

And likewise, the Israelites as well. And you and me.

For the Babylonians, it's too easy to read about these guys and just go,

oh, they're just such awful people. They are brutal people.

They deserve what they got in 539 BC. I would never do that sort of stuff.

We're modern people. We don't believe in that sort of thing.

That is until we look at verse 4 and verse 18.

And we touched on it briefly last week.

It goes on in verse 5 to say he, this is referring to Babylon,

So at the very center of the nation of Babylon,

and likewise Israel and you and me, is this pride, arrogance, an arrogant emptiness almost.

It says here at Babylon, they gather nations to themselves.

They conquer and they kill for their own glory in attempt to build themselves up and to puff themselves up.

They are using people to promote their own glory.

And in verse 16 it says they seek to clothe themselves in glory.

You see, at the heart of the evil Babylonian culture, at the heart of every culture,

at the heart of every life, is an arrogance and a pride that leads to a life of pursuing personal glory,

personal gain, making the world revolve around me.

Now, many of us don't immediately see ourselves in that.

Much easier to identify it in other people.

Much easier when we see pride in other people.

A few would, I think, surpass the boxing legend Muhammad Ali in self-promotion and self-glory.

You go on YouTube and you can see this everywhere.

And for those who are around long enough to hear him speak,

who have been around a while and have heard him speak, would see that clearly.

One person said of Muhammad Ali that he thought that the sun came up every morning just to hear him crow.

Even the rising of the sun was about him.

He roared on and on about how he was the greatest.

He bragged about his good looks.

He declared that nothing was impossible for him.

Here's just a couple of more of his more memorable quotes, if you like.

I'm young.

I'm handsome.

I'm fast.

I cannot possibly be beaten.

He also said, it's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am.

And this one, bragging is when a person says something and they can't do it.

I do everything that I say I'm going to do.

And this one, top it all off.

I'm the most recognized and loved man that ever lived.

Because there was no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around.

So people far away in the villages didn't know about them.

That's a pretty bold statement.

You see, pride is easy to see when you've got that sort of thing on display.

It's not as easy to see our own hearts.

And the reason the Babylonians did what they did and why we do what we do,

even if it is, frankly, like me today, preaching, us gathering together, singing,

moving ahead in our careers, creating artworks, whatever it is,

it's because we are to a great degree insecure and trying to cover ourselves with honor and glory,

trying to fill that aching void that I need to be something.

Now, I, from a young age, grew up being affirmed for my practical skills.

As a child, I would constantly be using my dad's tools and inevitably losing them in some way.

I would pull lawnmowers apart.

Wasn't always so skilled in putting them back together, but would certainly pull them apart.

I regularly modified and fixed my first car and would probably take a certain sense of pride.

It would be an element of embarrassment for me if I had to take it to a mechanic to get it fixed.

I figured I could do it myself.

Now, when I was first married a number of years ago,

my wife, Natalie, was unaware at my, if you like, my skill set in this particular area.

And at one particular point, the very early days of our marriage,

we had this old car, little old car, little bomb car, wasn't worth much.

But this little car, the clutch went on it, broke on it, and so I needed to replace it.

And I decided that I was going to do it myself.

I'd done this sort of thing on a number of occasions in the past, thought it was pretty straightforward.

And I was under the car, preparing to pull the clutch out of the car,

all jacked up, ready to go.

And my dear wife appeared in the door of the garage and said to me,

do you know what you're doing?

Oh, I mean, talk about a knife to the ego at that point.

The challenge there to my ego, my sense of worth, my sense of manhood, my pride, my glory.

I was very unhappy about it being questioned, even if it was innocently questioned in that moment.

And so I got out from under the car, walked inside and proceeded to tell her,

and needed to tell her, in fact, how good I was at this sort of thing.

I was doing it to save money and just simply because I can and let me show you.

And before the end of the day, this car is going to be working, going to be driving again,

and we'll show you how good I am at this sort of thing.

So I packed up my bruised ego, went back under the car to prove to her that I knew exactly what I was doing,

and she needed to recognise that in me.

I envisaged taking her for a drive later in the day to demonstrate properly what a working clutch looks like

and my mechanical prowess at the same time.

But in my distraction and frustration in that moment,

I made the mistake of undoing the wrong set of bolts.

And when I pulled the clutch out, what I did was I, in fact,

dropped all the ball bearings out of the whole entire gearbox,

which come dropping on me and all over the floor.

Now, as skilled as I thought that I was,

that's something I can't fix.

I do not have the know-how to fix that.

It would require a gearbox specialist to put that entire thing back together.

And it would cost me more than the value of the car.

And so by the end of the day, instead of taking my wife for a drive,

showing her how good I was as a mechanic,

instead the car was being put on the back of a wrecker truck taken to the wreckers.

The core issue in that moment was my pride.

That pride that resulted in sinful, evil behaviour,

that resulted in me not treating my wife in the way that I should treat her.

And pride is a refusal for me as a human being,

this is the core issue,

for me as a human being not allowing God to be God.

It's a grab at God's status for his glory and trying to keep it for myself.

It's independence from him.

It's a reliance upon myself and my own resources.

And according to the Bible,

this is the cosmic, delusional fantasy of all fantasies.

And it leaves us restless.

It leaves us empty at our centres.

We live lives of fear and anxiety and bluff.

We look everywhere for people to puff up our shaky egos.

It's the foundation of sin,

the source of all evil in the world.

And so I have to ask you, wherever you are right now,

can you see that in yourself at all?

If you don't,

can I just keep tuning in,

keep coming to church,

read the Gospels.

So what we have here is we have pride is at one end of the passage.

And interestingly enough,

at the end of the passage,

we have idolatry in verse 18.

When you live independently of God,

there is never a vacuum.

Something else is worshipped instead.

Something else is put in God's place

to give you a sense of identity and worth.

Every culture and life that is not based on the glory of God

is based on an idol of some description,

an inordinate desire,

a replacement.

And it will take something good

and it will raise it to the ultimate.

That's what idolatry is.

It takes a good gift from God

and raises it to the status in our lives

where it becomes the ultimate thing.

And we do it because of pride.

For instance,

if you enjoy running

and running fast is the way that you feel about yourself

and it's the way that you pick up your fragile ego,

then running becomes the ultimate for you.

But it will never satisfy.

It'll run your body into the ground.

Every one of us takes a good thing

and makes it an ultimate thing.

And we look to that thing to be God for us,

to give us what only God can give us.

It creates a seed of destruction

that will never be satisfied.

There is never any rest.

Pride is in the heart of every human being

and it's the source of every evil.

And so we're no different than the Babylonians.

Our outcomes and our practices might be different,

but at the core we're the same

and therefore we deserve God's punishment

just as they did.

So what's God's solution then?

Is it just a nuclear strike?

What's his solution to our sin and our evil?

Habakkuk knew that everybody in the world was a sinner.

Everyone had pride at the heart.

He also knew that the holiness of God,

the perfection of God,

meant that he cannot ignore it.

He can't just turn a blind eye to it.

In the same way, we don't turn a blind eye to it.

Habakkuk 2, verse 4 teaches

Habakkuk 2:4

that the only thing that can save us is faith.

So faith in what?

Faith in God's mercy.

And that's in fact what he prays in chapter 3,

which is for next week.

We won't jump into that right now.

And yet, Habakkuk could not see ahead far enough

to how God is going to do that.

He could not see into the future

of how God was going to preserve

both his holy hatred for sin and his justice,

as well as his mercy and his forgiveness for the sinner.

How is God going to hold both of those things together?

You see, sin, like a debt,

requires a penalty to be paid,

either by you or by me.

You come along and steal my iPhone,

either you have to pay me back for that,

or I have to absorb the cost of that.

Someone has to pay a debt.

Someone has to carry the responsibility of cost.

And sin, like a debt,

always requires a penalty to be paid.

There's always a cost that needs to be paid.

And the only way for God,

the only way that he can pardon us

and not judge us is by him absorbing the payment.

This is how the New Testament puts it.

Hebrews chapter 9, verse 26 says this.

Hebrews 9:26

This is talking about Jesus.

He has appeared once for all

at the culmination of the ages

to do away with sin

by the sacrifice of himself.

Just as people are destined to die once

because of their sin

and after that to face judgment

because of their sin,

so Christ was sacrificed once

to take away the sin of many.

Jesus, the innocent one,

the only innocent one,

does away with our sin

by willingly taking it upon himself.

Only an innocent one

can suffer for the sake of others.

Jesus turns God's anger away from us

by allowing it to fall on him.

Our destiny is to face the judgment of God

to get from him what we deserve.

Instead, what we see

the second half of verse 28

in Hebrews chapter 9

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

is he will appear a second time.

Talking about Jesus.

Not to bear sin

but to bring salvation

to those who are waiting for him.

The future is salvation

instead of judgment.

There are those

who are waiting for Jesus

by faith

and by implication

there are those

who are not.

The destiny of the proud

and the idolatrous

like the Babylonians here

in Habakkuk 2

is spelled out for us

in the very next chapter of Hebrews.

Hebrews chapter 10 verse 26

Hebrews 10:26

if we deliberately keep on sinning

after we receive

the knowledge of truth

no sacrifice for sins is left

but only a fearful expectation

of judgment

and of raging fire

that will consume

the enemies of God.

Anyone who rejected

the law of Moses

died without mercy

on the testimony

of two or three witnesses.

How much more severely

do you think

someone deserves

to be punished

who has trampled

the Son of God

the work of Jesus

underfoot

who has treated

as an unholy thing

the blood of the covenant

that sanctified them

and who has insulted

the Spirit of grace.

For we know him

who said

it is mine to avenge

I will repay

and again

the Lord will judge

his people

it is a dreadful thing

to fall

into the hands

of the living God.

On that day

it will appear

clearly

to all

how utterly

naive

utterly naive

it was for

billions of people

millions

billions of people

potentially

to live

their lives

as if

the God

who made

this world

for his glory

would never

hold them

or call them

to account

for how little

he has meant

for them

as they have

pursued

glory

for themselves.

This squares

with all

the message

of the Bible

and also

deep down

in our hearts

where we have

a desire

for justice

to be done.

And so

I urge you

urge you

for everyone

who's listening

to me on this

I urge you

are you

ready

to take

your stand

in the divine

courtroom

and hear

the judge

pass an

internal sentence

on you?

Are you ready

for that?

There will

only be

two

verdicts

in that

day

and one

or the

other of

them

will be

passed

on every

single

person

who

has

ever

walked

the

face

of

this

earth

either

condemned

or

justified

made

right in

God's

eyes

through

the

sacrifice

of the

Lord

Jesus.

For

those who

are by

faith

waiting

for

Jesus

there is

hope

in

these

verses

that

shape

our

waiting.

If you

understand

these two

hopes

even in

the

darkness

you can

face

absolutely

anything

this world

throws at

you.

The hope

of verse

20

is that

in all

the dark

times

God

is

sovereign.

It says

the Lord

is in

his holy

temple

let all

the earth

be silent

before him.

This God

is not

done.

He is not

lifeless.

He is not

a lifeless

idol.

He does

not

make

false

promises

that

leave

us

empty.

This

God

rules.

He is

saying

that no

matter

how

bad

things

get

this

God

is

in

control.

He is

not

gone.

Even

when we

totally

screw up

our

lives

he can

turn

that

around.

Bad

things

will

happen

but

God

is

in

it.

He's

controlling

it.

Bringing

it

about

for

his

good

purposes

and

he

never

leaves

his

throne.

Even

in

seasons

like

this

where

this

world

is

getting

a

sense

at

the

moment

that

it

is

not

out

of

control

that

should

be

sending

signals

deep

into

our

hearts

to

each

one

of us

to

realize

we

are

not

in

control

but

he

is.

The

second

part

of

the

verse

in

verse

20

is

a

call

for

the

Babylonians

for

Judah

for

us

to

submit

ourselves

to

this

God

and

his

goodness

not

just

in

the

good

times

but

in

the

times

that

we

don't

understand

and

to

wait

upon

him.

The

ultimate

hope

is

in

verse

14

for

the

earth

will

be

filled

with

the

knowledge

of

the

glory

of

the

Lord

as

the

waters

cover

the

sea.

The

day

will

come

when

all

evil

is

removed.

All

the

carnage

will

come

to an

end.

Sin

gone

for

and

only

God's

kingdom

will

remain.

All

rival

kingdoms

such

as

the

Babylonians

in

their

day

will

be

done

away

with.

This

will

be

finally

be

fulfilled

when

Jesus

returns.

His

is the

only

glory

that

will

last

forever.

This

verse

tells

us

that

someday

we

will

soak

in

it

because

of

Jesus.

His

glory

will

become

ours

as

he

glorifies

us

those

who

trust

in

him.

Jesus

took

our

shame

so

that

when

we

put

our

trust

in

him

God

clothes

us

with

glory

and

honor.

No

more

shame.

We

seek

our

own

honor

and

therefore

we

deserve

shame.

and

Jesus

took

our

shame

so

that

we

could

receive

his

glory

and

honor.

And

it's

the

only

glory

it's

the

only

honor

that

can

ultimately

satisfy

the

longings

of

our

hearts.

Something

a glory

and

honor

that

is

stable

that

is

secure

that

is

unchangeable

in a

changing

world.

You

see

the

answer

of

Christianity

is

it's

the

beauty

and

the

magnificence

of

God

that

matters

the

most.

The

honor

of

God

the

applause

of

God

the

love

of

God

the

applause

and

the

love

of

the

praise

worthy

is

what

fills

up

our

hearts.

The

glory

of

God

the

applause

of

God

the

honor

of

God

it's

the

only

glory

and

honor

that

lasts

forever

and

gives

us

rest

for

our

souls

in

a

turbulent

world.

And so

next week

we will

see

how

Habakkuk's

humbling

trust

in God

shapes

him

for the

onslaught

of a

difficult

world.

Thi

way

to

t

ha

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