God Is Working

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Let's turn in our Bibles to Habakkuk chapter 1.

Habakkuk 1 · chapter mention

Habakkuk chapter 1.

Habakkuk 1 · chapter mention

We left our friend Habakkuk last week after exploring the desperate spirit with which he cried to the Lord and prayed to the Lord.

And we saw that his initial question had to do with essentially two things,

God's timing and God's seeming tolerance towards the sin of the nation.

And I want us to be careful not to unwittingly disparage Habakkuk as we examine his prayer.

To be honest with you, I feel like I probably did that too much last week in our study of the first four verses.

I hesitate even to reference Habakkuk's prayer as a complaint because it's really just a result of his confusion,

the same confusion that we deal with.

It wasn't that he was antagonistic towards the Lord or doubtful of God.

He was confused.

He was perplexed by what God was doing or in his perspective by what God wasn't doing.

And so I want us to be careful not to portray this man in a way that he's undeserving of.

God's timing to Habakkuk seemed to be like tolerance.

But Habakkuk knew better than that.

He understood that God is holy and he wasn't questioning God's holiness.

He wasn't questioning God's hatred of sin.

He just couldn't understand why God was silent and had allowed things to seem as if he was tolerant of sin.

Habakkuk was a holy man and he prayed a righteous prayer.

But there's still a lot that we can learn from the dialogue between he and God throughout this book.

And that's exactly why God has so graciously gifted it to us as a part of the Bible.

Well, verses 5 through 11 that we cover today cover God's answer to Habakkuk's first dilemma.

God had actually been active all along, behind the scenes for a long time.

And his explanation to the prophet immediately serves as a reminder to us that God's methods do not often agree with our expectations.

In fact, much about the way God works is actually a mystery to us.

God said in Isaiah 55, he said,

Interestingly, Isaiah recorded those words in the context of God's forgiveness.

But the point is it lost.

God's perfect character means that his methods will greatly differ from what we anticipate.

And it's only as we look at life through the lens of the scriptures that we can begin to comprehend why God works in the way that he does.

We must know him in order to understand his ways.

And even then, we will often feel confused and pray prayers like Habakkuk prayed in the first few verses.

It's in these moments that trusting God is of utmost importance.

As Babby Mason sang,

When you don't understand and when you don't see his plan,

when you can't trace his hand, trust his heart.

And there's going to be a lot of times in our lives where we don't understand what God is doing.

And we're questioning whether or not he's being silent and why he seems to be so tolerant of the wickedness that's around us.

Or why he has brought various things into our lives.

Hardships and so on and so forth.

And when we don't understand all of those things, we can always trust that God is right.

And that though his ways do not always agree with our expectations,

his ways are always best.

And we must continually trust him.

Now, Martin Lloyd-Jones in 1953,

there was a book that was published that was a series of sermons that he had preached

on the book of Habakkuk just after World War II in England.

And I'm actually going to quote him a number of times throughout our message today.

But in regards to this, he said,

We all tend to prescribe the answers to our prayers.

We think that God can only come in one way.

But Scripture teaches us that God sometimes answers our prayers by allowing things to get much worse before they get better.

He may sometimes do the opposite of what we anticipate.

He may overwhelm us by confronting us with a Chaldean army.

Yet it is a fundamental principle in the life and walk of faith that we must always be prepared for the unexpected when we are dealing with God.

And this is how we come to understand Habakkuk's prayer most clearly.

The expectation of his prayer did not match what God was doing.

And it left Habakkuk confused.

But it's not the perplexity of the prophet that is to gain our attention in these verses today, in verses 5 through 11.

Rather, it is the sovereign power of God that is to be our focus.

And consequently, become the motivation for our worship.

God's answer reveals that he is always working.

It reveals that he is in sovereign control of all the events of history, no matter how small or how great.

And that he is working all things according to his divine purpose.

And that's the three observations that I would like to explore with you today.

But let's first read our text.

You're there in Habakkuk chapter 1.

Habakkuk 1 · chapter mention

Let's look beginning at verse number 5.

Verse number 6.

Verse number 6.

The first observation of which we're to make in these verses as it relates to God's response to Habakkuk is the fact that God is always at work.

God is always at work.

Now, before God ever got to the description of his instrument of judgment, which we come to find out is actually the Babylonian Empire, the Babylonian army, the Chaldeans.

He said enough in verse 5.

He said enough in verse 5 to strike plenty of fear into the hearts of the Jews.

And I want you to consider with me just here in this verse how this would have grabbed their attention.

Look at this very first phrase.

Behold among the heathen and marvel, God says.

Heathen there is just a reference to nations.

God is saying, look out among the nations and marvel at what I'm about to do.

God informed Habakkuk and subsequently the entire nation that they would have to look beyond their borders to actually see his work.

And of course, his intent wasn't for them to marvel solely at the strength of their captors.

He wanted them to look beyond the instrument of judgment and marvel at the one who raised them up.

He wanted them not to fear the Babylonians.

He wanted them to fear God.

And so right from the beginning, as God begins to answer, he immediately says,

you're going to have to stop looking here at Israel and look outside of the nation to see what I'm beginning to do.

And then in this next phrase, he said, because I'm working a work.

And then he says, in your days.

But consider how that would have come across to these people.

This was not a potential judgment.

Nor was this a prophecy that was to be fulfilled in the distant future.

This was a cataclysmic event that was going to happen in the days of these people.

They would be the ones to face the judgment that God was bringing.

And they would not be able to escape it.

It was coming quickly.

And it would be there in just a matter of months after God delivered this prophecy through Habakkuk.

And then at the very end, he says, this work, you will not believe, though it be told you.

Not only is this indicative of the potential rejection of Habakkuk's message, the fact that people wouldn't believe it,

but it hints towards the enormous scale of God's judgment.

So fierce was this army that God was raising up that many would believe Habakkuk's message to actually be impossible.

And just imagine, as just this very first verse is delivered in the message,

the fear potentially that could have begun to settle in.

God was raising up a power outside of the nation.

This judgment was going to come in their days.

And it was going to be so great that most people wouldn't even believe it.

The essence of Habakkuk's question in the first four verses was,

God, why aren't you doing anything?

And the essence of God's response in verses 5 through 11 is,

I never actually stopped working.

I've been working all along.

And by the way, Habakkuk, you might want to sit down,

because what I'm about to tell you is going to blow your mind.

God had never stopped working.

God had actually been at work long before Habakkuk had even discovered

that there was a problem about which he needed to so passionately pray.

And we come to understand just from that point and that perspective

that no matter what the nature of our cry is,

no matter what the nature of your cry is today,

rest assured that God does not only hear your prayer,

but he is working.

And he was working long before you ever even prayed.

God is always working.

Now, it's significant to know that Paul actually quotes this verse for us

in the New Testament in the book of Acts.

Obviously, the context of God's answer is a warning of a coming judgment.

And the apostle Paul makes that connection

and applies it to the unbelieving Jews in his day.

In fact, why don't you take your Bible and turn there with me.

The book of Acts chapter 13.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

And let's begin reading at verse number 40.

Acts chapter 13 and verse 40.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

Paul has been preaching about Jesus and his death and his resurrection

and the necessity to trust Christ for salvation.

And he's been preaching to the Jews in the synagogues.

In verse 40, he says,

Beware, therefore, lest that come upon you which was spoken of in the prophets.

And then verse 41 is the quote.

He's quoting the Greek translation of the Hebrew text in Habakkuk chapter 1 and verse 5.

Habakkuk 1 · chapter mention

He says,

Behold ye despisers, wonder and perish, for I work a work in your days,

a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

Now, Paul's purpose was to warn the Jews that rejecting the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

was equivalent to Judah's departure from God in Habakkuk's day.

God was going to judge them in a way that they wouldn't believe.

And the two are paralleled perfectly together.

In Habakkuk's day, there was great rejection and departure from God.

And God was sending a judgment that these people just wouldn't believe that God would do.

And then in Paul's day, there was a departure from God in terms of faith in Jesus Christ among his own people.

And Paul brings up Habakkuk's prophecy and he says,

Beware, lest the same thing that happened in Habakkuk's day happens now.

God's going to bring a judgment and it's going to be so great of a judgment

that you wouldn't even believe it, though I'm telling you now.

And then we come to find out that the Jews, just within a few days,

had continued to reject the message of Jesus.

And Paul revealed a glimpse of what that judgment would be.

Look with me at verse 45.

You're still in Acts 13.

Look at verse 45.

Here's what happens with Paul and Barnabas.

When the Jews saw that the multitude of the Gentiles, that is,

they were filled with envy.

And they spake against those things which were spoken by Paul,

contradicting and blaspheming.

Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said,

It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you.

But seeing he put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,

we turn to the Gentiles, for so hath the Lord commanded.

God had been long suffering to the Jews for many years,

but this marked the official turning point in Paul's ministry away from Israel and to the Gentiles.

And this is significant to us because Paul's quote here helps lay the groundwork for the doctrine of justification by faith alone in Jesus Christ.

In fact, Robertson is helpful here.

He says,

Now, I don't want to get ahead of myself because we're going to get here as we study chapter 2.

But as we understand the layout of the book of Habakkuk and what the whole point of the book is,

in chapter 1, we see God pouring out this judgment on Israel, who did not expect this kind of judgment.

God had made a covenant that he was going to bring them into the promised land,

and they never believed that God would actually remove them from that promised land.

But that's exactly what he was doing.

And the question then becomes, especially in Habakkuk's mind,

How, God, can you judge Israel in this way?

How can you raise them up and judge your people, your covenant nation in this way?

And the whole point is that salvation and being God's people was never about nationality.

And it was never about a system.

And it was never about religious works and certain deeds.

It was always about faith and following God and loving him and obeying him,

as we see demonstrated in chapter 2.

When God essentially answers Habakkuk again, it says,

All sin will be judged, and the only ones who will be justified are those who live by faith,

those who follow God.

And so Robertson says,

By the devastation of those who thought themselves to be righteous by their deeds,

the foundation is laid for the message of justification by faith alone.

And so it's significant that we notice Paul's quotation in this verse

and how it bears in our understanding of even Habakkuk's book.

But then before we move on from verse 5, we need to consider that God's work was not limited

only to his instrument of judgment.

Now I want you to think about this because this is so encouraging.

While he was working to raise up the Babylonians,

while he was in charge and instrumental in bringing about this weapon of judgment

against the sin of the nation,

he was also preparing the faithful people of Judah to witness of his power

and to be his covenant remnant while in captivity.

Now I want you to turn again in your Bible.

This time turn to Daniel chapter 1.

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

It's just a few pages back from where you are there in Habakkuk.

And I want you to go to Daniel chapter 1.

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

Now hang tight.

There's a reason we're going here,

and I think that you're going to be encouraged by it.

Daniel chapter 1.

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

Look with me at verse number 1.

Daniel writes,

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah.

That's significant.

We know that Habakkuk is writing this prophecy during the reign of Jehoiakim.

So somewhere in between the death of King Josiah

and three years into Jehoiakim's reign,

Habakkuk is praying this prayer,

and God is delivering this message of judgment through his prophet.

And here's what happened.

In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim,

came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem and besieged it.

And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand

with part of the vessels of the house of God.

Now I want you to skip down to verse 3.

And the king spake unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs,

that he should bring certain of the children of Israel,

and of the king's seed, and of the prince's children,

in whom was no blemish, but well favored and skillful in all wisdom.

And I want you to look down with me to verse 6 now.

Now among these were of the children of Judah,

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names.

For he gave unto Daniel the name Belteshazzar,

and unto Hananiah of Shadrach,

and to Mishael of Meshach,

and to Azariah of Abednego.

God had not abandoned his remnant while preparing the judgment.

At the same time that he was strengthening Nebuchadnezzar's army,

God was working in the hearts of the obscure parents of Daniel,

and Hananiah, and Mishael, and Azariah,

so that they would train up their kids in the ways of God,

so that they would teach them the word,

so that they would protect them from the wickedness around them.

And at the same time that God is working on this massive scale

for this army of the Babylonians,

over here in relative obscurity,

in an unknown place, and in an unknown home,

God was working in the hearts of parents

to sit their son Daniel down,

and to teach him the Bible,

and to raise him up in the things of the Lord.

Now consider how seemingly insignificant this work was,

but God used it in such a mighty way in Babylon.

Think about it.

At the end of chapter number one of Daniel,

we see that these four young men were immediately shown

to have God's favor above all the other young men in Babylon.

What a witness that was right off the bat to King Nebuchadnezzar.

Think about Daniel's three friends.

We often know them to be Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Nebuchadnezzar had made this idol.

He had commanded that everybody bow to it,

but they refused to bow.

Nebuchadnezzar gets angry.

He heats up the furnace of fire,

seven times hotter than what it normally was,

so hot that just opening up the doors of the furnace

killed the two men that went to go throw Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego into the fire.

And as soon as they threw them in there,

Nebuchadnezzar looks in,

and he sees that they have not been consumed,

that they're walking in the fire.

Not only is there three of them,

there's a fourth one that looks like the Son of God,

and they are in the fire,

but they have not been consumed and not been burned.

What a witness that is of God's graciousness

to his covenant people.

What a protection.

What a sign that was to the wicked King Nebuchadnezzar.

As we continue to study the book of Daniel,

we see that Daniel was the mouthpiece of God's judgment.

And so over here,

we see that God is working in this really large-scale way

to bring judgment.

But then over here,

amongst people that didn't even know

what was going on outside,

there were parents that were investing in their kids,

and God was using that investment.

He was working in their hearts

because he was going to use them in a magnificent way.

Yes, God is always working.

While Habakkuk was asking God why he was silent and inactive,

God was not only raising up his instrument of judgment,

but he was also preparing his remnant

to proclaim his glory and his power and his covenant

while in the midst of captivity.

He is always working.

He's working out his judgment against the wicked,

and he's working out his goodness

for those that love and follow him.

So don't be distraught in your prayer today.

You may not understand all that God is doing,

and you may not understand why God is doing it

the way that he is,

but you can be certain that he is working

for the good of his people and the praise of his glory.

God is always at work.

Daniel's parents would never see the fruit of their labor.

It's likely that they would have been killed

in the midst of this captivity,

but God was working through them anyways,

and he used them in an awesome way.

God is always working.

Not only do we see he's always at work,

but secondly, in verses six through 10,

we see clearly that God is the sovereign Lord of history.

He is the sovereign Lord of history.

Now we've come to the description of God's judgment,

and we immediately hear echoes

of what was once God's power at work

in the armies of Israel.

Even the wicked people in Israel

would have taken great national pride

in the historical conquest of Canaan

and all the historical battles that Israel had won

in spite of all the odds being stacked against them.

So imagine their thoughts

when God uses such a similar description

to speak of Babylon.

Let me just point out a few things about that.

Look in verse six with me.

God says that they're gonna march through

the breadth of the land.

Not only does this speak to the size of the coming army,

but it reflects the notion of total conquest.

They were gonna take the entire nation.

Israel had at one time been the conquerors,

but now they would be conquered.

Think about how God had promised this

in Leviticus chapter 20 to the nation of Israel.

Leviticus 20 · chapter mention

God said, I have said unto you,

ye shall inherit the land,

and I will give it unto you to possess it.

That is, the whole land.

It was to be Israel's,

but now they weren't the conquerors.

They were to be conquered.

Look again at verse six.

They will possess dwelling places

that are not their own.

And this was exactly the blessing

that was bestowed upon the nation of Israel

after they took possession of the promised land.

Consider Deuteronomy chapter six.

And it shall be when the Lord thy God

shall have brought thee into the land

which he swear unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

that he will give you great and goodly cities

which thou buildest not,

houses full of all good things

which thou fillest not,

wells dig that thou diggest not,

vineyards and olive trees

which thou plantest not.

This was a blessing that was bestowed

upon the covenant nation,

but now this same description

was being given to their enemy,

to a wicked nation.

They would now be the ones that come in

and possess dwellings that are not their own.

Look at verse seven.

They're terrible and dreadful.

Everyone would tremble at the news

of the conquering Babylonians

in the same way that they had once trembled at Israel.

Think about Joshua chapter five, verse number one.

The kings of the Amorites

and the kings of the Canaanites,

their hearts melted

and their spirit was not in them anymore

because of the children of Israel.

Now Israel was experiencing that feeling.

Look again at verse 10.

They will deride every stronghold.

They will mock at and laugh at every fortification.

No fortification was gonna be able

to prevent this enemy.

And one need only to reflect on the battle of Jericho

to consider how God had once favored Israel

in the same way.

Now the warning here is abundantly clear.

Judgment is coming.

Judgment's coming.

God will not wait forever.

Though he is long suffering,

judgment will eventually come

to all who refuse to follow Christ.

In Genesis chapter six and verse three in Noah's day,

God said, my spirit shall not always strive with man.

In other words, there's gonna come a day

when enough is enough.

And in Genesis chapter six,

it would be 120 years

that God was gonna give the people to repent.

And Noah preached and Noah proclaimed

the message of God, but they did not repent.

And they were swept away in the judgment.

Isaiah chapter 55 again says,

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

seek ye the Lord while he may be found,

indicating that there's a time

when you will not be able to find him.

Call you upon him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way

and the unrighteous man his thoughts.

Let him return unto the Lord

and he will have mercy on him.

Let him turn to our God

for he will abundantly pardon.

Though judgment will come,

God is patient

and he allows ample time

for us to turn to him.

If you will only forsake your way

and follow Christ,

what awaits you

is an abundant pardon.

He will forgive your sin.

He will wipe you clean.

You will be his,

but he will not wait forever.

His judgment is coming.

And the time right now

is the only time

that you have to repent of your way.

It's the only time

that you have to turn to God.

Eventually, his patience will run out.

Eventually, God will say,

enough is enough

and your period and your window

will be closed.

Judgment will be here.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6,

behold, now is the accepted time.

Behold, now is the day of salvation.

The writer of Hebrews

in chapter 4 and verse 7

quotes David when he says,

today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your heart.

Listen to me, friend.

If you're watching this video

and you are not a true believer,

I'm not asking if you take Christianity

as your labeled religion.

I'm not asking if you go to church.

I'm saying,

have you really turned

from your wicked ways

and truly trusted in Christ alone

for salvation?

If you have not done that,

judgment is coming for you,

but mercy awaits you

if you will but cry out to God

and turn from your ways

and follow him.

But he will not wait forever.

Sin always loses the blessing of God.

Always.

And if you're a believer,

nothing can take away your salvation,

but God will not allow your sin

to go without consequence.

You cannot expect in Christianity

and in your walk with God

to live however it is you please

and not have to deal

with the repercussions.

Just like David with his sin

with Bathsheba and Uriah,

God will remove his blessing

from your life

and he will allow you

to reap the consequences of your sin.

Sin always loses the blessing of God.

And the nation of Israel

heard that loud and clear

in the message of Habakkuk.

Now that's a bit about

God's warning of judgment,

but we cannot ignore the fact

that all of this came

from the divine hand of God.

He does not sit passively

as life for us progresses.

He is in sovereign control

of all that takes place,

including the monumental events

of history.

God took complete responsibility

for the rise and fall

of the Babylonians.

Look back with me

at Habakkuk chapter one,

verse six.

He said,

I raise up the Chaldeans.

God was taking responsibility.

This was in his plan

and his purpose

and his control.

And he did not arbitrarily

choose a nation

that had already been established.

He was totally responsible

for their rise

and only the power of God

could perform such a feat

in the way that he did.

And again,

Robertson is so helpful here.

He says,

this whole international escapade

underscores the prominence

of the divine hand

in raising them up

and also bringing them down.

Who would believe

that a virtually non-existent entity

could conquer the old capital

of Assyria in 614,

Nineveh in 612,

Haran in 610,

and rout the armies

of Pharaoh Necho

at Carchemish in 605.

They became the world rulers

of Babylonia,

Assyria,

Syria,

Palestine,

and Egypt

when 20 years previously

they hardly were known

to exist.

Yet their energy dissipated

almost as rapidly

so that they were easily overcome

by Cyrus,

king of Persia

in 539,

just in time

to fulfill the prophecy

of Jeremiah

concerning Israel's return

in 70 years.

Astounding indeed

are the ways of God

among the nations,

not by their own instinct,

but by the hidden impulse

of God

do the nations

rise and fall.

Think about God's

sovereign control

over the events

of history.

He raises up

the Babylonians

and at the same time

that he's raising them up

and allowing them

to conquer the world,

he's raising up Cyrus

and the Persians

to immediately be

his instrument

of judgment

on Babylon

and be his instrument

of blessing

on his own nation

as he allows

the people of Israel

70 years later

to come back

to the promised land.

What a God that is.

The scriptures are clear

that he is truly

the Lord of history.

Nothing happens

apart from God's

divine determination.

He is in control

of all things.

It is he

that raises up kings

and puts them down.

It is he

that is in control

of the circumstances

of your life

as well.

Proverbs 21

and verse 1

The king's heart

is in the hand

of the Lord.

As the rivers

of water

he turneth it

whithersoever he will.

Daniel chapter 2

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

and verse 20

Blessed be the name

of God

forever and ever

for wisdom

and might are his

and he changes

the times

and the seasons.

He removes kings

and he sets up kings.

Nothing is out

of his control.

His ways may be mysterious

but the Lord of history

is to be trusted

and worshipped.

City of Light

is one of my favorite

musical groups

throughout of a church

in Australia

and they wrote this song

called Ancient of Days

and the first verse

goes like this

Though the nations rage

kingdoms rise and fall

listen

there is still

one king

reigning over all

so I will not fear

though this truth

remains

that my God

is the Ancient

of Days.

The chorus goes on

to say

none above him

none before him

all of time

in his hands

for his throne

it shall remain

and ever stand

all the power

all the glory

I will trust

in his name

for my God

is the Ancient

of Days.

So we clearly see

not only is God

always working

but he is indeed

the Lord of history

and it is to this

great God

who is sovereign

over all

that we will face

judgment

it is to him

that we must repent

and turn

before it's too late

and it is to him

that we must give

all of our worship

and all of our praise

and all of our attention

and then finally

we see that God

has a purpose

God has

a purpose

now I told you

that I was going to

quote Martin Lloyd-Jones

a number of times

and I have only done it

once up to this point

but I have several things

that I just want to read

to you that

he is so helpful

in this book

in fact

I want to encourage you

to get the book

it is called

From Fear to Faith

you can get it

from InterVarsity Press

it would be an encouragement

to you

but he said

great powers

have been raised up

and have conquered

for a while

but they have always

become drunk

with their own success

and suddenly

they in turn

have found themselves

cast down

the real significance

of history

never dawns

upon them

the Chaldeans

thought that

their conquest

was a result

of their own strength

in fact look with me

at verse 11

then shall his mind

be changed

and he shall pass over

and offend

this is just speaking

of the actual defeat

of Israel

imputing this

his power

unto his God

in other words

he was saying

I am God

Nebuchadnezzar

set himself up

as a God

and demanded

to be worshipped

because of this

demonstration of power

as he

marched across

the entire world

at that point

he failed

to see

that he was

nothing more

than a tool

in the hand

of God

indeed

God always

has a purpose

and it has

to do

exclusively

with his kingdom

again

Lloyd-Jones

says

the key

to the history

of the world

is the kingdom

of God

the story

of other nations

mentioned in the

Old Testament

is relevant

only as it

bears upon

the destiny

of Israel

and ultimately

history today

is relevant

only as it

bears upon

the history

of the Christian

church

what really

matters

in the world

is God's

kingdom

think about

Romans chapter

Romans 9 · chapter mention

9

and verse 17

for the scripture

says Paul writes

unto Pharaoh

even for this

same purpose

God says

have I raised

thee up

that I might

show my

power in thee

and that my

name might be

declared

throughout all

the earth

Pharaoh thought

he was in

charge

Nebuchadnezzar

thought he

was in charge

Cyrus thought

he was in

charge

but it was

God who

was at work

it was he

that was affecting

their hearts

and it was his

purposes

that were being

accomplished

considered his

divine purpose

being worked

out

amidst the

establishment

of ancient

Rome

and Roman

society

it was through

his work

in raising

up Rome

that salvation

was provided

through Jesus

Christ

God might have

been silent

in that 400

year gap

between Malachi

and Matthew

but despite

his silence

in the nation

God was working

and he was

raising up

the Romans

so that he

could bring

his son

to provide

redemption

for us

again Lloyd

Jones says

it was when

the fullness

of time

was come

that God

sent forth

his son

he allowed

the great

philosophers

with their

clarification

of thought

to come

first

then emerged

the Romans

famous for

ordered government

building their

roads and

spreading their

wonderful legal

system throughout

the world

it was after

this that

God sent

forth his

son

God had

planned

it all

all things

are under

his divine

control

in order

that he

might work

out his

saving

purposes

for his

people

think of

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and verse 11

in Christ

we have

obtained

an inheritance

being

predestinated

according to

the purpose

of him

who worketh

all things

according to

the counsel

of his

own

will

all things

related to

salvation

are being

sovereignly

worked out

according to

the counsel

of God's

own

will

think of

2nd Timothy

chapter 1

and verse 9

Christ has

saved us

and he has

called us

with a holy

calling

not according

to our

works

but according

to his

own

purpose

and grace

which was

given in

Christ Jesus

before the

world ever

began

God had a

plan set

forth

and everything

you see

happening in

history

whether it

was ancient

history

or whether

it's modern

history

is all

within the

sovereign

control of

God

that he

might work

out his

purposes

among his

purpose

among his

people

God's work

among the

nations

is to

provide

redemption

for mankind

and the

events of

your life

are being

orchestrated

by his

divine

hand

even now

he is

calling

sinners

to repent

and receive

his grace

through Jesus

Christ

and this

is his

ultimate

purpose

1st Timothy

1 15

tells us

Christ

Jesus

came into

the world

to save

sinners

and if

you're

watching this

video today

and you

don't know

Christ

and you

don't believe

him

God has

orchestrated

the events

of your

life for

this moment

to hear

his gospel

preached

if you

would but

trust

him

and turn

from your

own way

what awaits

you is

abundant

pardon

and mercy

but he

will not

wait long

his judgment

is coming

and he

is sovereign

over all

things

and nothing

can stop

his

purposes

so turn

to him

whether it

be through

a worldwide

pandemic

a contentious

election season

or any

number of

events

taking place

in our

lifetime

God

is working

he is in

control

and he

has

a plan

finally

Lloyd-Jones

says

what God

is permitting

in the church

and in the

world today

is related

to his

great purpose

for his

own church

and kingdom

we

Christians

should therefore

judge

every event

in the light

of God's

great

eternal

and glorious

purpose

church

let's keep

our focus

on the

kingdom

God

is in

control

of the

pandemic

only he

knows how

serious it

actually is

and he

is using

it for

his purpose

don't get

wrapped up

in the

chaos

of the

pandemic

keep

your eyes

on the

kingdom

it is

God

who will

raise up

a president

and it is

God

who will

put down

a president

ultimately

our hope

is not

in the

White House

it is in

the sovereign

control

of God

don't get

caught up

in the

politics

trust

God

keep

your eyes

on the

kingdom

there will

be times

of loss

don't get

in such

despair

over loss

that you

lose sight

of the

kingdom

God is

working all

of these

things out

for his

purpose

they are

but tools

in his

hand

put your

trust in

him

for he is

working all

things

for your

good

as Romans

8 reminds

us

and we know

that all

things work

together for

good to

them that

love God

to them

who are

the called

according

to his

purpose

and Paul

goes on to

say that

purpose

is to

conform you

and me

into the

image

of his

son

Jesus

Christ

what's

happening

right now

the fact

that we

haven't been

able to

gather as

a church

for six

weeks

maybe

longer

all of

that

God is

using

this

to

fashion

us

into

the

likeness

of

his

son

the

sickness

the

hurt

the

potential

job

loss

the

economy

all of

these

things

they are

serving

God's

purpose

you can

trust

him

trust

the

sovereign

God

so I

will not

fear

for this

truth

remains

that

my

God

is

the

ancient

of

days

thank you

for listening

to this

sermon

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by Lakeside

Bible Church

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Bible

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