Nuggets in Habakkuk Part 4 - O Lord Revive Your Work

Well, we're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise.

We're going to sing in Psalm 90, in the Scottish Psalter version, Psalm 90, page 350.

We're singing from verse 13 down to the end of the psalm.

Turn yet again to us, O Lord, how long thus shall it be?

Let it repent thee now for those that servants are to thee.

O with thy tender mercies, Lord, as early satisfy.

So we rejoice shall all our days and still be glad in thee.

We'll sing from verse 13 down to the end of the psalm.

To God's praise.

Let it repent thee now for those that servants are to thee.

O with thy tender mercies, Lord, as early satisfy.

So we rejoice shall all our days and still be glad in thee.

According to the days of the day, when we leave our heart,

And years when we leave our sin, So you have made us not.

O let thy word and fire appear, Thy servants face before,

And show unto their children here, Thy glory evermore.

And let thy beauty of the Lord, Our God, the earths of home,

Our heavenly holy world, Our holy world, Our holy world,

Our holy world, our holy world, Our holy world, our holy world,

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Let us pray.

Lord our gracious God as we come to you we thank you for the assurance that you will meet with us

as we seek to meet with you that as we come in your name as we come with praise on our lips as

we come with that desire to know you and to understand you more we pray that you will help

us oh Lord and we thank you for these words that we have sung together they remind us of what we

need even today that you would turn again towards us Lord that you would remember us that you would

revive your work in our midst and especially these words that we sung at the end of the psalm

that you would let the beauty of the Lord our God be us upon we pray that today as we worship you as

we praise your name that your beauty would be upon us that we would know your presence and your favor

with us we ask that for all of us together here from the youngest to the oldest we pray for all

our families and our loved ones as we commit them to you we pray oh Lord for our young people

thankful for this time of holiday now that they might enjoy a time of refreshment and rest both

the children and teachers from the Sunday school and the day school alike Lord that your beauty would

be upon each of them throughout these days keep them safe and watch over them and continue to bless

the young ones as they meet in the creche and the tweenies as well that we would know Lord your favor

upon them there as well so continue with us at this time bless us as we go on in your name

guide us and keep us and pardon all our sin as we ask it all in Jesus name and for his sake amen

but just a word to the young ones before someone will leave for the tweenies just thinking about

the holiday times just now it's always good to be on holiday and I'm sure some of you may be

traveling around different places over these coming weeks I'm sure many have already gone away from the

island traveling to holiday destinations in different parts and as you travel around maybe you're traveling on

the roads and you're traveling to different places maybe you're traveling from Ullapool to Inverness

or perhaps you're going further than that you're traveling down the A9 maybe heading towards Glasgow or

Edinburgh or maybe even if you're lucky enough you're making your way over to the sunny side of the island

to the west side to Shawbust to enjoy the sunshine over there on the roads you'll often find something that

can be frustrating and something that can be quite annoying and that is roadworks everywhere you travel

doesn't matter what time of year you seem to come across roadworks and you start to think to yourself

well surely they finished the A9 by now surely they've fixed all the potholes between Ullapool and

Inverness surely they've tired all these spots that we're breaking up but it's always ongoing there's

always works going on and it can be frustrating for us but it's a reminder to us that roads always need

repairing there's always work to be done and in the bible that we're going to look at this morning

together in the church we're going to be looking at a book called Habakkuk we've been looking at this

book a few times now and we're looking at a verse that speaks of the work of the Lord and it speaks in

a way that's a bit like roadworks it's always ongoing and there might be times when we think surely

God's work is done surely God's repair work in us is done but it's never done because we live in a

broken world and we know in our own hearts that we always do the wrong things or say the wrong things

so God is always having to do a work in us

and like that we just have to be patient in it we have to be patient when we're stuck in roadworks on the

road but we have to be patient with God as well whether we're looking at the work he's doing around us

or the work he's doing in ourselves we need to be patient with him remember that as he is working

he is doing a good work in our midst and our prayer is that just as we sang there together

that we think of holiday times as a time when we enjoy rest and refreshment in the midst of every

part of our busy lives that today we would think too of the work that God is doing to give us rest

in him that he would do his work and that we would know the beauty of the Lord as the psalmist said there

the beauty of the Lord our God to be us upon so remember that over these holiday times wherever you go

whatever you do that the beauty of the Lord would be upon you that he would do his work in us and

around us to know that beauty and to establish it and may the Lord bless these thoughts to us we're

going to say the Lord's prayer together now our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name

thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from

evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever amen

we're going to sing again to God's praise in psalm 61 again this is in the Scottish Psalter version page 293

psalm 61 we'll sing from verse 1 down to verse 5

oh God give ear unto my cry unto my prayer attend from the utmost corner of the land my cry to thee I'll send

what time my heart is overwhelmed and in perplexity do thou me lead unto the rock that higher is than I

we'll sing from verse 1 to verse 5 to God's praise

oh God give ear unto my cry unto my prayer

what time my heart is overwhelmed and in perplexity do thou me lead unto the rock that higher is the

what time my heart is bound unto the rock that higher is the night for thou me lead unto the rock that higher is the night

unto the Lord,

the higher is the night.

For Thou hast borne my remedy,

a shelter by Thy blood.

And for defense against Thy foes,

the lasting last of time.

Within Thy tower I lie

forever in the light.

And under cover of Thy wings,

with confidence behind.

For Thou, the Lord,

the Lord,

the Lord,

the Lord,

the Lord,

the Lord,

my God,

this year,

Thou hast given me the heritage

of those Thy name that fear.

Well, let's turn to read God's Word together now.

We're reading in the book of Habakkuk.

I'm reading in chapter 2,

taking up our reading at verse 18.

You'll find this around page 950 in the Bibles.

Habakkuk chapter 2 at verse 18,

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

and we read into chapter 3 down to verse 10.

What prophet is an idol when its maker has shaped it,

a metal image,

a teacher of lies?

For its maker trusts in his own creation

when he makes speechless idols.

Woe to him who says to a wooden thing,

awake,

to a silent stone,

arise.

Can this teach?

Behold,

it is overlaid with gold and silver,

and there is no breath at all in it.

But the Lord is in his holy temple.

Let all the earth keep silence before him.

A prayer of Habakkuk,

the prophet according to Shigonoth.

O Lord,

I have heard the report of you,

and your work,

O Lord,

do I fear.

In the midst of the years,

revive it.

In the midst of the years,

make it known.

In wrath,

remember mercy.

God came from Taman,

and the Holy One from Mount Paran.

His splendor covered the heavens,

and the earth was full of his praise.

His brightness was like the light.

Rays flashed from his hand,

and there he veiled his power.

Before him went pestilence,

and plague followed at his heels.

He stood and measured the earth.

He looked and shook the nations.

Then the eternal mountains were scattered.

The everlasting hills sank low.

His were the everlasting ways.

I saw the tents of Cushion in affliction.

The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

Was your wrath against the rivers,

O Lord?

Was your anger against the rivers?

Or your indignation against the sea

when you rode on your horses,

on your chariot of salvation?

You stripped the sheath from your bow,

calling for many arrows.

You split the earth with rivers.

The mountains saw you and writhed.

The raging waters swept on.

The deep gave forth its voice.

It lifted its hands on high.

And so on.

And may God bless that reading from his word.

We'll again come to God in prayer.

Let us pray.

O Lord, our God, as we worship you,

we thank you that you remind us

that we are to come with boldness before you,

but yet humbly before you.

That we are to come before you

and lay all things in our prayers at your feet.

And yet we are to come with that right fear of the Lord.

And this passage reminds us of both of these elements

of our worship,

of how we can approach you as a God

who is able to do so much for us.

And yet it reminds us too of our own weakness

and our own frailties before you as a holy God.

But we thank you that you are a God of mercy

and that you remember us by mercy.

And even as we look at this passage today, O Lord,

we think of what our lives deserve,

what this world deserves,

what our sin deserves.

And yet we have this great cry of Habakkuk in wrath.

Remember mercy.

And that is our prayer today, O Lord,

for our nations,

for our world in these days.

That you would, although we deserve,

your wrath and indignation poured out upon us.

That in wrath, O Lord,

you might remember mercy.

And we thank you for the mercy that you have shown to us

and deserving as we are.

We thank you for the mercy we receive on a daily basis.

The mercies of your faithfulness new every morning.

Your mercies new every morning.

And we pray, Lord,

that we will come with thankfulness in our hearts.

Thankfulness that you do indeed remember us,

that you have not forgotten us,

but that you, O Lord,

are with us and with us each day

and each moment of each day.

We pray to know your strength

and your blessing with us.

We pray to know it even as you go on in this week

for all that lies ahead of us.

We pray, Lord,

that you will remember us in all our needs,

remember us as a people,

remember us in our homes

and in our families

and in our communities.

And far and wide, O Lord,

in all the needs of our land

and in the needs of the world,

O Lord,

that you would show us your goodness and mercy.

And we know, O Lord,

there can be so many things going on in our lives

that leave us feeling overwhelmed.

But yet we look to you, O Lord.

We look to you as the one who has the fuller picture,

the one who is the alpha and the omega,

the beginning and the end,

the one who has made all things well

and who has planned our very lives to every detail,

the one who is appointed each day and each moment,

the one who knows our every thought, word and deed.

And Lord, we come looking to you to guide us

and to help us.

As we think of families at this time

where there is grief and sorrow,

people are going through times of ill health,

people who are laid aside at home at this time.

Lord, we know the needs are many

and we just commit each one to you, O Lord.

Pray for your grace and your help,

your peace to be in the midst of all these things.

And we think of our land, our nation at this time

on a week that we will see a general election taking place.

O Lord, we pray for you to guide.

We pray for you to help.

We pray for you to give us spirit of the fear of the Lord

in our midst in these days,

that you would indeed in wrath remember mercy.

And Lord, be merciful to all who go into this week ahead

seeking to represent a people.

May you bring people forward who would be used by you

for your glory.

Do not just to represent a people,

but to represent you.

That your name would be praised.

That your name would be lifted up

even in our parliament buildings.

That in times when we have seen

so much ridicule and dishonor towards you,

we pray, O Lord, that you would turn that tide

and bring us to worship you,

to fear you,

and to praise your name.

We pray that for our world as well

and so much that's going on

with conflicts and fear and terror

all around us in so many ways.

And we pray, Lord,

that you would come in your power,

that you would revive your work in our midst,

that you would remember and make it known,

that your word would go out with power

to all ends of the earth.

That it would be that reviving word,

that word that gives life,

that brings people from darkness

into your wonderful light,

that brings them to know the power of Jesus,

the salvation that he offers,

the joy that he brings.

We pray, O Lord,

that you will hear our prayers

in all of these things.

And we give you thanks, O Lord,

for the ministry of your word.

We give you thanks for all that goes on

over these days.

We pray for the free church camps

as they have started already,

that your blessing will be upon all the children

and leaders and all involved

in the travel arrangements

and running the camps.

Lord, we ask that your spirit will be upon them,

that the beauty of the Lord would be upon them,

that we would see and hear

of days of your power in our midst.

We pray, O Lord,

that you would bless all that is done in your name.

We pray for our own holiday club

as continued preparation is made.

We pray again that your blessing would be upon it,

that you would see your hand upon us for good

in all of these things.

We pray for the busyness of summer,

although it's a time of holiday.

We thank you, too,

that the work of the gospel goes on

in so many different ways.

We thank you for the Fridays at the Free

and pray for these meetings going forward,

that we would see your hand upon us for good in that.

We thank you, too,

for the breakfast planned for later on in July

on the Sunday morning.

We thank you for all who have made preparation

already for it.

And we pray for willing volunteers to be involved

and to bless that work as well.

I think, too, are the open days for the cruise ships.

And thank you for the many people

who have already come through these doors

and pray for others who will come around our church

and meet with people here,

that they would come to meet with the living God,

that they would come to desire

and to know more of who this man Jesus is,

that they would hear of the salvation

that is offered in him.

And so we thank you, Lord,

for all the ways in which you help us

and which you guide us.

And we again thank you for the ministry

that has been taking place here

over these last number of years,

and especially remember James and Donna.

It's the day officially marks that retirement day.

We thank you for Friday evening

and for the blessing that there was in it

under your word and in our fellowship together.

And we pray, O Lord,

that we will be encouraged, as we heard,

to look to you going forward,

all of us together,

as a congregation here

and as Donna and James and the family

settle into their new home,

that they would know the blessing

and the beauty of the Lord upon them.

And so, Lord,

we commit ourselves into your hands.

We pray, Lord,

your blessing on us

as we turn to your words,

we sing your praise,

that in all that we do,

we would know your glory

and your presence.

So pardon all our sins

as we ask all these things

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Let us sing again

before we turn back

to our passage in Habakkuk.

We're going to sing in Psalm 85.

We'll sing Psalm's version,

page 113.

We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 7.

Psalm 85 at verse 1.

In times past, Lord,

you showed favor

to your own beloved land,

the prosperity of Jacob

you restored by your strong hand.

You forgave your people's trespass.

You were pleased their sins to hide.

You withdrew all your displeasure

from your wrath.

You turned aside.

We'll sing from verse 1 to 7

to God's praise.

Amen.

You restored by your strong hand.

You forgave your people's trespass.

You were pleased their sins to hide.

You went through all your displeasure.

From your wrath you turned aside.

God and Savior God and Savior for course studs.

Robe sec norv iT If thirteen lartesII 律 die àcost.

How they your age

Will you hang it burn

Against us

Will it last

From age to age

Will you not

Again revive us

That we may

Rejoice in you

Show us Lord

Your common mercy

Your salvation

And all you

Well we can turn back

to our reading in Habakkuk

We're going to be looking at

chapter 3 and verse 2

together this morning

There are times when we look

around and are blinded

to seeing things

especially to seeing things

from a bigger picture

or even an eternal perspective

because in front of our eyes

all that we're seeing

are challenges that seem to us

sometimes overwhelming

or sometimes they seem

like things that are unchangeable

that nothing can change

in what's going on around us

and we miss the potential

of what's around us

because our vision

is short-sighted

Here are these three examples

of a vision that didn't look

very far

In 1926

Lee Forrest invented

the cathode ray tube

What is used

or what used to be used

more commonly

in making televisions

For many years

that's the way

TV sets were made

and yet

at that time

in 1926

Lee Forrest said this

Theoretically

television may seem feasible

but I consider it

an impossibility

a development

which would waste

little time

dreaming about

It seemed like something

that was impossible

Well fast forward

a number of years later

and television is something

we know all around us

Another example

in 1943

Thomas J. Watson

was chairman

of the board of IBM

the computer manufacturers

and he said

I think there's a world market

for about five computers

You look around the world today

and there's billions

of computers

around the world

In 1962

a recording company

experts said

we don't think

the Beatles

will do anything

in their market

Guitar groups

are on the way out

How many years later

and the Beatles

are still a world

known brand

brand around the world

So you think of these

occasions

when vision

just looked

at the there

and then

instead of looking beyond

and looking to what

potential there was

that lay ahead

And we come

to look at Habakkuk

today

and we ask

well what kind of vision

did Habakkuk have

in his day

Was he short-sighted

and just looking

at the problems

and as we've seen

there was many problems

around both nationally

and internationally

there were problems

all around

in Habakkuk's day

but was he

short-sighted

or was he

looking up

and looking at things

eternally

and with a longer

vision

Yes he had

his questions

We've seen

that already

He has his questions

in verse 2

of the opening chapter

O Lord

how long

shall I cry for help

and you will not hear

There was this

wondering what was going on

but yet there was

this assurance

of knowing

where to come

We have seen already

the mysterious ways

in which God works

in verse 5

of chapter 1

We have seen

how God

tells his people

and Habakkuk

instructs his people

that they are to be

a people

who live

by faith

And then the last time

we were together

we were looking at

verse 14

of chapter 2

And there

they have these

wonderful words

of a vision

that looks way beyond

anything that's happening

in his day

but a day

when the earth

will be filled

with the knowledge

of the glory

of the Lord

as the waters

covers the sea

So Habakkuk

has this greater vision

of the potential

that there is

in looking

to God

in the darkness

of his day

he didn't see God

and think

he can't change this

he can't do anything

in this circumstance

He saw

a God

who can

change things

and that's the way

he came

to him

And so today

we come to another

of these nuggets

of gold

that we find

in this book

of Habakkuk

nuggets

that remind us

that God

is working

that God

is able

and so we're going

to look at

verse 2

of chapter 3

together today

and this is when

we come in

to Habakkuk's

prayer

as he approaches

God

in this wonderful

prayer

we're going to focus

on verse 2

today

and there it says

O Lord

I have heard

the report

of you

and your work

O Lord

do I fear

and your work

O Lord

do I fear

in the midst

of the years

revive it

in the midst

of the years

make it known

in wrath

remember

mercy

and you look

at the psalm

that we've just

sung together

there

Psalm 85

it's a psalm

that has so much

of what this

verse speaks

about

it speaks

about the anger

of God

his wrath

and yet the power

of God

to revive

and that is

what this verse

is all about

the way

the Lord

is able

to revive

his work

in the midst

of Habakkuk's

day

in the same

way that he

is able

to revive

his work

in the midst

of our day

and so there's

three things

I want us to

take from

verse 2

here

we're going

to look at

first of all

the blindness

that there was

and then the

boldness

that he had

and then the

blessing

that was

promised

so we're going

to begin

with the

blindness

you see

in Habakkuk's

day

there was

a problem

and it was

not a new

problem

and it's

not a problem

that has gone

away since

that day

it's a problem

that is still

all around

us

and what is

that problem

well it is

spiritual

blindness

the people

as we see

in Habakkuk's

day and even

as we think

of our own

day to day

are people

who have

lost sight

of God

and when we

lose sight

of God

this leads

us to

look elsewhere

and that's

what we see

at the end

of chapter 2

here in

Habakkuk

we see

the blindness

of the people

has led them

to look

elsewhere

and what we

read in

verse 18

there

what profit

is an idol

which its

maker

has shaped

what profit

is an idol

they are

looking

to something

that they

can make

something

they can

touch

something

that they

can see

whether it's

made of

metal

or wood

because their

eyes of

faith

have been

dimmed

their focus

on God

has gone

and they are

looking around

them in the

midst of the

Babylonian

armies

and they've

been devastated

by what's

happened

they've been

taken captive

and they're

looking around

and they're

saying God

is gone

God is not

with us

we need

something else

to put our

trust in

and they are

blinded to

God

and they fix

their eyes

now on

idols

idols

that cannot

help

and as

verse 19

there goes

on to say

woe to him

who says to

a wooden

thing awake

to a silent

stone arise

there's just

foolishness

there's this

blindness

in turning

to idols

God

seemed

far

away

God

seemed

to have

forgotten

all

about

them

and as

we saw

before

in verse

1

verse 2

of chapter

1

it was

something that

Habakkuk

himself

struggled

with

how long

shall I

cry for

help

and you

will not

hear

but Habakkuk

knew

where to

go

he knew

that idols

weren't

going to

help

his eyes

were still

open

to the

God

who was

there

for them

and we

were reminded

of this

on Friday

evening

as Kenny

I was

preaching

to us

from Joshua

that

as he spoke

of the

Ark of the

Covenant

going ahead

of the

people

it was

with a

purpose

that they

would

see ahead

of them

that God

was with

them

that their

focus

would be

on God

because

when we

just look

down

we don't

see him

and it's

the same

here

the people

aren't

looking

to God

they're

blind

to see

him

and so

they're

looking

to

themselves

to what

they can

make

and how

they can

help

themselves

but they

have been

blinded

we need

to keep

God

in view

and that's

what Habakkuk

is saying

to us

here

we need

to keep

God

in view

but we

need to

have a

vision

of what's

going on

around us

as well

because Habakkuk

he understood

what was

happening

around him

he saw

what was

happening

around him

and he saw

how the

people were

blinded

by the

gods

of this

world

he realised

the problem

it wasn't

just with

the people

but the

way this

world

blinds us

to God

and this

happens

in every

generation

when we

start to

forget about

God

we look

elsewhere

and so

as we

know God

ourselves

we have to

ask ourselves

the question

do we

understand

the people

around us

do we

understand

the situation

that is

all around

us

do we

just look

and condemn

without

thinking

do we

look

and judge

without

realising

the problem

is not

just with

the people

but the

problem

is more

powerful

than that

the problem

is sin

and the

evil one

who works

in this

world

and the

blindness

that sin

brings

and Habakkuk

as he looked

around could

see the

blindness

of the

people

he was

seeing

these idols

all around

them

and seeing

that they

had lost

their focus

on God

they had

lost their

focus

on looking

eternally

into eternal

matters

and he

understood

what was

needed

and there

is blindness

all around

us

and do we

understand

what is

needed

among our

people around

us

do we

understand

the needs

of the

people around

us

do we

understand

how sin

blinds a

people from

seeing

God

Habakkuk

did

and you

look

elsewhere

in

scripture

you find

someone like

Paul

who understood

that as

well

because he

looked around

him and saw

the way the

people lived

the way they

conducted

themselves

for example

when he was

in Corinth

as he spoke

to them

there

it says

in 2

Corinthians

4

in their

case

the God

of this

world

has blinded

the minds

of the

unbelievers

to keep

them from

seeing the

light of

the gospel

of the

glory of

Christ

who is

the image

of God

the God

of this

world

has blinded

the minds

of unbelievers

there is a

blindness in

this world

to this day

that is not

just from the

people we see

around us

the ones we

can so easily

judge

but the

blindness

that comes

from the

God of

this world

and he's

talking there

about Satan

the devil

who is

active

actively

blinding

people

from seeing

the glory

the gospel

of the glory

of Christ

and so

there is

blindness

all around

us

and this

understanding

that Habakkuk

has

this understanding

that Paul

has

this understanding

that we should

begin to see

more and more

of

should

then shape

our lives

and how

we live

and how

we pray

and how

we witness

and in

everything

that we

do

understanding

what is

going on

around us

is so

important

to that

and so

as you

come into

verse 2

in the

beginning

of verse

2

Habakkuk

says there

O Lord

I have

heard

the report

of you

and your

work

O Lord

do I

fear

now the

work of

the Lord

as we

have seen

before here

is in

verse 5

of chapter

1

I am

doing a

work

in your

days

that you

would not

believe

if I

told

there were

things that

left

Habakkuk

afraid

taking into

captivity

by the

Babylonians

that God

would use

this powerful

nation

ungodly

nation

to fulfill

his work

and this

work

leaves

him

fearful

and leaves

him

fearful

not just

for himself

but for

those who

are blind

around him

and so

as he

begins his

prayer here

he says

I have

heard

the report

of you

and your

works

O Lord

do I

fear

he's

looking

to the

past

he's

looking

back

and he's

seeing the

things that

God has

done

and this

is what

shapes

his

prayer

this is

what

leads

him

to pray

to God

to make

a difference

to make

a change

because of

the blindness

that there is

he wants

them to see

God

and so

for ourselves

today we should

long for that

as well

that our

people

would see

Jesus

there's a

version

Job

in the last

chapter of

Job

Job 42 · chapter mention

chapter 42

and it's

coming to

the conclusion

of all

that he's

experienced

in life

Job

who lost

so much

whose life

was just

turned upside

down

who suffered

in so many

ways

and yet in

chapter 42

just before

you see

the Lord

restore so

much to

him

what you

hear Job

saying is

as he

comes in

repentance

he says

in verse

5 of

chapter 42

I had

heard of

you

by the

hearing of

the

ear

but now

my eyes

see

you

I had

heard about

you

but now

I see

you

and there's a

wonderful power

in that for

us as well

we have

heard

of God

we have

heard of

God

through his

word again

and again

but our

prayer is

to see

to see

him

and that

is where

this prayer

begins

Habakkuk

is one

whose eyes

have been

opened

he is not

blind but he

is seeing a

people around

him who are

blind and

his longing

is that

these people

will be led

to see the

glory of

God

once again

and so

for ourselves

too

as we

think of

where we

begin

looking at

this verse

a prayer of

Habakkuk

to God

is that

our longing

is that

our desire

to see the

people around

us blinded

by the God

of this

world

but our

longing

that they

would see

Jesus

a

realization

and understanding

of the

situation

secondly

is what

gives Habakkuk

this boldness

as he

approaches

God

there is

both

boldness

and urgency

in his

approaching

God

and you

see that

in the

middle of

verse 2

where he

says

in the

midst

of the

years

revive it

in the

midst

of the

years

make it

known

he is

talking

here

about

his

work

the

work

of

God

and again

when you

think of

verse 5

in chapter

1

it says

therefore

I am

doing a

work

in your

days

that you

would not

believe

if told

so there's

a short

nature to

this

the work

in his

days

but now

Habakkuk's

prayer is

looking beyond

this

there is

this work

that is

necessary

in their

day

to bring

them to

repentance

but now

he is

looking

further

ahead

and he

says

in the

midst

of the

years

revive

it

in the

midst

of the

years

make it

known

so he's

saying

Lord

as we

go

forward

from

here

as we

look

ahead

from

here

in these

years

revive

your

work

and not

just

the work

of bringing

them into

captivity

as we

see in

chapter 1

verse 5

but more

bringing them

into freedom

bringing them

into the

presence of

God

in a more

blessed

way

in the

midst

of the

years

revive it

what do

you think

of

when you

think

of

revival

it's

the word

that we

hear

and pray

so often

that the

Lord would

bring

revival

but do

we really

know

what that

would look

like

our

expectations

of it

may be

better

days

blessed

days

easier

days

to be

a

Christian

but the

reality

of revival

is so

often

something

else

it may

be

many

of

these

things

it may

be

that our

prayer

is

that we

would

have

days

like

that

but

revival

begins

with a

realization

a

realization

that there

is decay

and even

death

spiritually

at a

time

and that's

what Habakkuk

is seeing

in his

day

there is

decay

there is

death

all around

him

we saw

in chapter

2 as we

looked through

it that there

were five

woes

and woe

was a

word for

death

and there

are five

things

that brought

death

into their

midst

because they

had lost

sight

of God

and so

as

Habakkuk

is praying

now he is

praying in

the midst

of this

decay

in the

midst

of this

death

that in

the midst

of all

of this

that the

Lord would

revive

his work

and the

word revive

has that

very sense

about it

it's

linked

to death

and you

think of

the defibrillators

we have

around our

communities

they've been

placed there

because of

a need

a need

if an

emergency

arises

that someone

will be

brought back

to life

using that

and that

is the

very urgency

of this

prayer

as well

revive

is so

closely

linked

to death

a people

who are

perishing

a people

as Paul

describes

in the

New Testament

as those

who are

dead

in their

trespasses

and sins

the people

here were

under severe

oppression

from the

Babylonians

one commentator

puts it

like this

he says

the people

are either

dead

or under

the threat

of extinction

this is how

close they

are to

the end

and in

this he

pleads with

God to

act to

save

and deliver

this is the

revival that

Habakkuk is

looking for

this is the

revival that

Psalm 85

is speaking

about

this is the

revival that

we need

today

is to see

the death

and decay

that is all

around us

and that the

Lord would

come and

work in his

power to

bring life

that what

is the

work of

God that

Habakkuk is

speaking of

here

what do we

pray for when

we think of

praying for

revival

is it that

our praise

would be more

loud and

full

is it that

our prayers

would be more

powerful and

urgent

is it that

our lives

would be less

tainted by

sin

we can have

all of these

things

but the

greatest work

in view

here is to

bring life

to the dead

for God's

saving work

to be known

in their

midst

so that

people will be

made alive

in Christ

in our day

so that as we

look around

we would see

many being

born again

to a living

hope

see a day

of salvation

not an easier

day to live

as a Christian

but a day

when we will

be bold

when we will

be courageous

when we will

be strengthened

in the Lord

in the midst

of all the

challenges

to be bold

towards God

and to be bold

for God

that is what

Habakkuk is

praying here

in the midst

of the years

revive it

bring life

into our midst

when there are

people perishing

all around

us

and then he

says secondly

there

in the midst

of the years

make it known

make it known

so that it's

not just

the knowledge

of something

that could

potentially happen

not just

that knowledge

that God

may be there

for us

but make it

known

make it

a reality

for us

make us

see the

power of

your word

throughout

hearing of

it

through our

witnessing

to it

make yourself

known

and the

power that

you give

to your

people

to be

bold

and courageous

for you

that is what

Joshua had

to as he