Finding Joy in Distress

Habakkuk 3:17-19 | December 20, 2020

What is the most difficult thing you have been through?

Maybe you are going through it right now.

What do we need most for those moments?

Here’s what we probably don’t need…

• Too many people giving us too much advice
• Too many stories of someone’s own experiences
• Too many kitten posters with catchy phrases
• Too many half gallons of cookie dough ice cream

No, what we need the most in difficult, devastating, ugly moments is to be able to experience beauty.

What does that mean?

I came across a helpful way to think about it…

Why do we decorate our houses for Christmas?

Why do we drive around looking at Christmas lights?

Why do people go to the beach and the mountains and the Grand Canyon and art museums and car shows?

Why do watch the chef at Waffle House cook our bacon?

We long for and desire beauty!

The story is told that one evening Benjamin Franklin was visiting with some folks in Paris. 

He announced that he had a manuscript containing an ancient poem that he was quite impressed with. 

He offered to read it and they heartily agreed. 

When he finished, the room erupted with admiration:

• “What a magnificent poem!”
• “That was beautiful!”
• “Where can I get a copy?”

Franklin told them to simply open a Bible and look at Habakkuk 3.

The Word of God is filled with the beauty of God.

Beauty for the good times and the bad times. 

The prophet Habakkuk knew about the bad times. 

His nation was filled with sin and injustice.

Adding insult to injury, a group of wicked people known as the Chaldeans were on their way to take over the country.

Habakkuk needed some beauty.

Where does he find it?

Let’s find out. 

Listen to Habakkuk 3, beginning with verse 17:

17 Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines,

 

17 Though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food,

 

17 Though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls,

Somewhere in Northern Africa or Central Asia or even in the middle of the Bible belt, this exact scene or one very similar is happening right now this morning.

“Son, it’s time for us to eat.”

“Go get us some figs.”

“There are no figs.”

“Then go get us some grapes off the vine.”

“There are no grapes.”

“Then go get us some olives off the tree.”

“There’s no more olives.”

“Then go get some wheat from the fields for bread.”

“There’s no wheat.”

“Then go get one of our lambs.”

“There’s no more lambs.” 

“It’s all gone, mom.”

“We have nothing.”

Someone might say…

• “Wait a minute – where’s the milk and honey?”
• “I thought God promised to supply all our needs?”
• “Is God a liar?”
• “Is He backing out on his promise?”

What was that promise?

About 1400 years before Jesus was born, Moses said this to the people…

Deuteronomy 28:1-6

And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today…Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

 

Blessed, if you obey God.

The unique blessings of God are strategically tied to loving and obeying his truth.

Now, the reality is sometimes God blesses people just because he is kind and gracious and abundant in love.

The Christian and the atheist and the agnostic are all being blessed right now with breathing because of the kindness of God. 

But consider this – how many sins got the first man and the first woman thrown out of heaven on earth?

One!

Just a guestimate, how many sins do you think we have committed this week – more than one?

The people had been sinning and disobeying God and not carefully doing anything with his truth.

And the prophet Jeremiah had been preaching to them and pleading with them to repent for about 40 years.

They kept going to church, but they refused to repent.

And now Habakkuk is warning them about what the fruit of their disobedience was bringing.

When the Chaldeans took over, they completely wiped out the resources of the people.

• There was no homeless shelter
• There was no rescue mission
• There was no church food bank
• There were no relatives to go live with

They were destitute and faced daily starvation.

A scene like that is when people start thinking things like:

• “God doesn’t love me!”
• “God doesn’t care about me!”
• “If he did, he wouldn’t let things like this happen to me!”

People in the Bible probably had thoughts like that.

• Joseph in prison
• Moses in the desert
• David in a cave
• Jonah in the whale

Ken Gehrels

They never managed to figure out all the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle that was their life situation. But now, looking back over the centuries, we can say, “Yes, God was working and in control...”

But we don’t always say that when we can’t figure out our own jigsaw puzzle, right?

Or put another way – are you truly willing to believe that God is in control of 2020 and that he’s working things out?

And what about the cross?

Has there ever been more of a moment when people should cry, “God, why are you letting this happen?”

In the moment, nothing about the cross made sense.

The disciples had to be thinking:

• “What is going on?”
• “Our leader is being executed!”
• “God, how is this going to usher in Your kingdom?”

And yet, it was on the cross that God was doing his greatest work ever.

It’s easy to praise God when things are going well.

• Food on the table
• Money in the bank
• No sickness or pain

But Jesus did not call His followers to follow him in the good times and get mad at him in the bad times.

Here’s a heart question…

Do you worship God for who he is or what he gives?

Well, we should do both.

But if God quits giving us what we want, that’s when we will see if we are authentic worshippers in spirit and truth or if we are just Sunday Christians – on campus or online. 

Someone once said if your goal is to be successful, you won’t praise God when you’re just middle management.

If your goal is to be wealthy, you won’t praise God if you are poor.

If your goal is to have authority and power, you won’t praise God if you are just an employee…or just a church member.

So, what’s your goal in life?

And not just you – what is the primary goal you long for your family and your friends to have?

Do you want them to get good grades and make the team and get into a good college and get a good job and buy a nice home and drive a decent car and have a good retirement more than you want them to be alive with Jesus after they die?

We might say, “Yes, of course, knowing Jesus is the most important thing.”

But if that is true…

• How is it seen in our schedule on the weekends?
• How is it seen in our conversations with our kids?
• How is it seen in how we spend our money?
• How is it seen in how we react to the news media?

Look, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have good educational and financial and other practical goals in life. 

It just means that Jesus did not say take up your cross daily and make him one of your priorities.

The goal is for him to be the priority and then all the other goals fall into place.

So, what was Habakkuk’s goal?

How was he going to respond to this distressing situation?

Look at verse 18:

18 Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

Evil was already around him and more evil was coming. 

It was unavoidable. 

Habakkuk did not pretend that it wasn’t going to happen.

He didn’t go read his Kindle or watch a Hallmark movie or play Mario Kart or go to the mall or squeeze in a round of golf to try and drown out what was really going on.

He didn’t ignore the truth and just think good thoughts. 

He embraced the bad news and rejoiced in God.

Rejoice?

This guy is muy loco!

• His country was full of injustice
• An evil nation was taking over
• And starvation was next on the menu

At the very least, Habakkuk’s not having a good day, and at most his world is falling apart.

How in the world can he rejoice?

Because he knew that regardless of what was happening in his country and in the world, one thing was true…

Malachi 3:6

For I the LORD do not change…

The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the Great I AM, is the same today on December 20, 2020, as he was on April 20, 1996 and June 9, 1956 and October 31, 1886 and December 25, AD 336.

God does not change.

He is the same today as he was in the garden of Eden and up on Mt. Sinai and in the vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones and in the manger in Bethlehem.

God said this to the prophet Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 32:27

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?

Habakkuk is not rejoicing in his circumstances – he’s rejoicing in the God that is bigger than his circumstances. 

He is rejoicing in God for who God is.

What we see here is Habakkuk’s love for God.

Thomas C. Pickney

There is a great deal of difference between, “I love what you do for me” and “I love YOU.”

Habakkuk is rejoicing in God because he loves God.

Would you be able to rejoice in God if you found yourself…

• Alone?
• Sick?
• Poor?
• Suffering?
• Helpless?
• Depressed?
• Discouraged?

The gospel calls us to praise God for who he is.

Dear Christian, if God never shows up again and never does another thing for us, we have enough to rejoice about for the rest of our lives.

Why?

When you are at the hospital or stuck in traffic or stressed out about what you hear and see in the news, can you preach the following things to your heart?

“Christ died for my sins in accordance with the Scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day!”

“God so loved me and so dearly prized my soul that He gave His only, begotten, unique Son for me!”

“I was dead in my trespasses and God made me alive together with Christ! He has forgiven my sin! He has cancelled the record of my debt that stood against me! He nailed it to the cross and I bear it no more!”

Is the cross enough for you?

Or do you need more?

Most of us in the Western world speak and talk and act and live like we need more.

Far too often we live as if we will absolutely refuse to cooperate with anything in the world unless the world gives us life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

And although those are noble and good and great and I want each one of those things, there is a danger. 

If we don’t get one or all of those things, we tend to stop praising God – we tend to stop rejoicing. 

If happiness and good times don’t roll our way, then in the back of our minds we start wondering if we really do have anything to be happy about. 

The cross of Jesus is something to be happy about!

The Son of God giving himself up for the penalty of your sin is something to be happy about!

The gospel reminds me that if God never does another thing for me – if everything from here on out is crummy, he has given me what I needed the most – his only Son.

And why does that matter?

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

There’s a story about a little boy who was very sick and someone asked him, “Do you know where you’re going?”

• “To heaven.”
• “Do you want to go there?”
• “Oh yes.”
• “Why?”
• “Because Jesus is there.”
• “But what if Jesus should leave heaven?”

The little boy didn’t blink an eye, “Oh, I'd leave with him.”

There are catchy songs about the pearly gates and the streets of gold that make it sound like we are simply going on a luxurious vacation.

But without Jesus those gates and that gold lose their expected value.

If you have truly been saved, you have every reason to rejoice – you have Jesus.

Skip the first part of verse 19 and look at the last part…

 

19 For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.

This again points to the fact that Habakkuk was writing this beautiful, poetic prayer for the purpose of sharing it.

In the middle of trials and difficulties he wanted God’s people to remember and sing of their Redeemer.

When they were completely destitute, he wanted them to keep finding their song.

How is your song?

Not the song of your mouth – the song of your heart. 

If Jesus Christ has redeemed you and set you free, does that song permeate your heart?

What is your life really built on today?

Edward Mote

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Is the name of Jesus your sweetest frame or are you attempting to trust in something else?

• Your education?
• Your accomplishments?
• Your possessions?
• Your past successes?
• Your perceived importance in the community?
• Your perceived importance in the church?

There is no ultimate hope in you and there is no ultimate hope in me, but here is great and grand and glorious and unending hope in the name of Jesus.

Let us find our song in him.

Now let’s look at the first part of verse 19…

19 The Lord GOD is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds' feet, and makes me walk on my high places.

Have you ever seen a deer on the side of the road?

If they catch a glimpse of you, they dart from where they are into the woods like a rocket in a split second like it’s nothing.

If one of us tried to turn and run away that quickly we would immediately trip on our feet or a branch.

Or consider Bighorn sheep. 

They are able to climb and run on the highest, most rugged parts of a mountain like it was nothing. 

How can deer and Bighorn sheep do this?

Because that’s how God designed their feet. 

He designed their feet for running and climbing.

• They don’t slip
• They don’t fall

That is His same promise to us.

Does that mean that we will…

• Never lose our job?
• Never face cancer?
• Never have marriage problems?
• Never have rebellious children
• Never have trials and tribulations?

No.

But it does mean that if we find our feet in those situations ultimately, we cannot slip or fall. 

Why?

Because we have Christ.

• We can’t really slip because Christ is holding us up
• We can’t really fall because Christ is holding us up

And even if we did slip or fall, Christ would catch us. 

Even if we lose our lives, Christ will catch us.

Leonard Sweet, in his book “Soul Salsa” tells of a tribe of American Indians that had an unusual ritual for training and testing young warriors.

 

Leonard Sweet (from Geoff Thomas)

On the night of a boy’s 13th birthday, he would be blindfolded and led out of the familiar surroundings of home and family deep into the dense forest. By the time he took off his blindfold, he’d be miles away, in complete darkness, all alone. That’s how he would spend the entire night. Can you imagine what that would be like? With every twig snap, with each rustle of leaves or movement of branches, he’d wonder at thirteen years of age, what dangers there might be, lurking, watching, ready to pounce? Undoubtedly, it would be a terrifying night. Think again of that lonely and frightened 13 year-old Indian left in the woods. Eventually, of course, the morning came, and when the first shafts of dawn’s light broke into the forest, the young man would be startled to see the dimly discerned outline of a figure in the shadows. A man. A familiar man. His own father. He had been there the whole night long, right next to him, his bow and arrow at the ready, prepared to meet any danger that might come to his son.

We are living in a time that feels dark and terrifying and frustrating and exhausting – like the longest night of our lives.

And never has the message of Christmas been brighter.

It reminds us that God has broken through the darkness of sin and death.

And it reminds us that in and through the manger and the cross and the empty tomb that Emmanuel, God with us, is always right there, the whole night long.

So, come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn King!

Message by Dow Welsh |

December 20, 2020 © Holland Avenue Baptist Church

 

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Above are pre-sermon manuscript notes

Sermon text scriptures NASB, others usually ESV

Lots of help from many pastors and theologians

Weekly help from Bruce Hurt at www.preceptaustin.org

So what is the most difficult, or at least one of the most difficult things you've ever had to deal with? Maybe you're dealing with that difficult thing today. When we have those difficult moments, What do we need the most? Well, what do we need the most? Well, here's some things we probably don't need in our most difficult moments. What we don't need in our most difficult moments is usually too much advice from too many people. We usually don't need too many people's personal experiences in our difficult moments. In our difficult moments, we usually don't need kitten posters with catchy phrases and catchy slogans, and we definitely don't need too much of a freezer full of half gallon of cookie dough ice cream. You know, there's a lot of things when life is difficult. We don't need too much of no. What we need in the most difficult trying, devastating, ugly, distressful moments of life is to experience beauty. We need to experience beauty. What does that mean? I came across an interesting way to think about it. Why do we put up Christmas decorations? No, I mean, really, why do we do this? Okay, come on. This is hard work. Actually, I don't do it. My wife and my daughter do it, so I'm not going to complain much. But why don't we put up Christmas decorations? Why don't we get in our car at night and drive around town looking at Christmas lights? Why don't we go to the beach? Why don't we go to the mountains? Why don't we go to the Grand Canyon? Why do we go toe art museums? Why do we go to car shows? Why do we watch the chef at Waffle House cook our bacon? Why? Why do we do this? It's because we want to see Beauty way. Want to be engaged with beauty. We have been created for beauty. There's a story told about Benjamin Franklin. He was in Paris spending the evening with some people, and he told them that he had an old manuscript and he had a point that he was going to read from that manuscript. And so he read the poem, and when he got done, boy, the people went ecstatic like, Oh, my goodness, that was fantastic. That that was beautiful. Where can we get a copy? Franklin said. Well, All you need to do is to grab a Bible and turned a tobacco chapter three because that's the beautiful poem he had read to them. See, the word of God contains the beauty of God, the beauty that our hearts long for the most. The beauty for the bad times and the sad times, the beauty for the good times and the happy times, The beauty of God. It's found in the truth of God for the good times and the bad times. Nobody knew about bad times point new. His country was full of sin and injustice everywhere that you turned. And then you got some updates. Ah, wicked nation of people called the Kalderans They were coming to take over this country. There is plenty of bad things going on in the midst of all the bad. In the midst of all the difficult. A backache needed some beauty, so he needed some beauty. So where is he going to find it? Let's find out the back of Chapter three, beginning with verse 17. The Prophet writes this though the victory should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olives should fail in the fields, produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold. And there be no cattle in the stalls somewhere in North Africa or Central Asia, or even in the Bible Belt. This exact scene, or one similar, is happening this morning. Mom has turned to her son and said, Hey, it's time for us to eat. Go get us some figs. There's no more figs, mom. Okay, then go get us some grapes off the vine. There's no more grapes. Okay, then go get us some olives. There's no more olives either. Okay? We'll go get us some some weed and we'll make some bread. There's no more wheat, Mom. Well, go get one of our lambs and we'll have some meat. There's no more lamps! Mom, there's nothing. It's all gone. We have nothing. We have nothing. Now someone might hear. Ah, Prophet of God saying that. Go! Whoa! Hey, What about that milk and honey? I thought God promised to meet the needs of his people, has got a liar. It's got backing out on his promise. What was his promise? About 1400 years before Jesus was born? Moses said this to the people. And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord, your God being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today bless. Shall you be when you come in and bless? Shall you be when you go out blessed and happy and fortunate and content and satisfied If you are careful to obey the truth of God, the unique blessings of God are strategically connected, Toa loving and obeying and honoring his truth. Now it is true that sometimes God just bless is right because he's kind and gracious and compassionate. Sometimes God just bless is right now throughout the world, every single Christian and every atheist and every agnostic. Right now they're being blessed because they're breathing there. Breath is a reflection of the kindness of God. But that doesn't take away from God's standard of his unique blessings being connected to obedience to his truth. So consider this for how many sins were the first man in the first woman thrown out of heaven on Earth? Kind of just the one. So if we were to make a little list this week, how many sins do you think we have just just this past week. How many times have we done the opposite of what God has asked us today? You see the people that a box writing Thio they had been sending and disobeying God over and over again for about 40 plus years. And for about 40 years, the Prophet Jeremiah had been preaching to them, saying, Hey, you need to repent and turn to God again. You need to carefully obey his truth again. And the people kept going to church. They didn't quit going to church, but they refused to repent. And now this message has come to his back, and he's having toe hand it off to the people to say, Well, here's the fruit of our disobedience. Here's what's happened now because of all of our rebellion. The guardian's took over. They completely wiped out. The resource is of the people. There were no homeless shelters. There wasn't a rescue mission. There wasn't a food pantry at the church. There were no relatives. You could go stay with. Everything was wiped out. They were destitute and they were facing daily starvation. And we see a story like that in the Bible connected to God's people we go. Wait a minute. That that's not right Or we experience something difficult in our lives. And we go, Well, I guess God doesn't love me. I guess God doesn't care about me. Because if God care about me, he would let things like this happen. I mean, I'm sure some people in the Bible felt that way, right? I mean, Moses in the desert. Joseph in prison. David in a cave. Jonah in a whale. I'm sure they had some moments where they were thinking. God, what's happening here? What are you doing? Someone said in those moments, those men and women of the Bible, they could not put the pieces of their jigsaw puzzle together that they couldn't figure it all out. We now, though, we can look back on those stories and we go. Isn't it amazing how God was in control and how God was working in Moses? His life? It is amazing how God was working and how God was in control of the life of Joseph. Isn't it amazing what God was doing? Here's the catch in our jigsaw puzzles. We're not quick to say, Oh, isn't it amazing that God's in control and he's working things out. Let me make it more practical. How many of us Air willing to believe that right now in 2020 God is in control and he is working things out. We can sit in the sanctuary and we can kind of go. Oh, yeah, I believe that. But will you believe it tomorrow when you're watching the news? Will you believe it later today? When you're scrolling through social, will you believe that when you get that gossip and phone call about whatever is happening in the community, will you get it when you're sitting across the table or in line, hopefully 6 ft of the breakfast joint and you're hearing somebody rattle on and on about everything that's wrong in the world? Can we in those moments say our God is still in control and I can't see the pieces of the puzzle, but he can. He can. He's in control and he's working everything. And what about the cross? I mean, if there's ever a time for us to look at the moment in history and go, What in the world is happening there? God, do you not care? God, Do you not Do not love us. Do not love your son. You have to think the disciples were thinking, What's what's going on here? Our leader is being executed right now. How in the world God is that going toe? Usher your kingdom in And yet we now can look back on that story and see that God was doing his greatest work ever on the cross. We can't always see the puzzle pieces. We can't always see how everything's going. But there's never a reason for us not to say God is in control and he is working things out. So it's easy for us to praise God when there's food on the table, there's money in the bank. It's easy for us to praise God when we're feeling good and we're feeling fine and don't really have any health problems. But it's a whole other thing to praise God when things are not good. Jesus didn't call his followers to praise him in the good things and be mad at him and the bad things, but he called his followers to follow period. So here's the hard question. Do you praise and worship God for who he is or for what he does for who he is or for what he gives. Well, the correct answers. We should do both, right. We should praise God for who he is, and we should praise God for what he gives. But if God quits, giving us what we feel like we want or what we feel like we need or what we feel like we deserve or what we feel like is our right, if God quits given us those things really quickly, we'll find out if we're authentic worshippers in spirit and truth or if we're just Sunday Christians see the picture of praising God is not removed because of the circumstances. Someone put it this way. If your desire, your goal is to be successful, you will not praise God when you're middle management. If your goal is to be wealthy, you will struggle deeply to praise God if you're poor, If your goal is toe, have power and authority in the church or in your job or in your home or in the community are in the country, then you will really struggle. If you don't have power and authority, you'll struggle. If you're just an employee, your struggle. If you're just a citizen, your struggle. If you're just a church member, so what's the goal in your life? Was the primary goal in your life and not just your life? What's the desire you have for your kids or your grandkids or your spouse or your nieces or nephews or other people in your family or friends or people you work with? What is your desire for this? Do you desire for them toe, get a good education and get a good job and toe, marry a nice person and have a nice home and have a decent car and have a good retirement plan Mawr than you desire for them to be alive with Jesus when they die? Now most of us would say, Oh, no, definitely Jesus is the most important thing. If so, then what does that look like in our normal weekend schedule? If Jesus is the most important thing, what does that look like in our conversations with our kids? If Jesus is the most important thing, what does that look like? And how we spend our money or how we react to the news meat. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't have good financial goals and good at educational goals. Get practical goals. It's good. Be gold driven. That's good. But the picture of the gospel means that Jesus did not call us to take up our cross and follow him daily and make him one of our priorities. The goal is for him to be the priority, and then all the other priorities and all the other goals they fall into place. So what's the backups goal in the middle of his distress in the middle of this news that everything in his country was about to fall apart even Mawr than it is at the moment. What's he going to do? What's his goal going to be? Liquid? He says in Verse 18. Yet I will exalt in the Lord. I will rejoice in the Godof my salvation. The pantry was going to be wiped out. Everything was going to go bad. And his goal still in that moment was he was going to rejoice. Evil was all around him in his country at the time, and Mawr evil was coming, and he's not ignoring it. He's not blowing that off. He's not acting like it's not true. He's not pulling out his Kindle and reading a book and trying to drown it out. He's not watching a movie and trying to drown it out. He's not trying to squeeze in around the golf or placing Mario Kart or anything else to try to drown out the reality of what's going on. He's not just trying to think good thoughts and ignore what's happen, but what he is doing is he's embracing the bad news. It's bad. It's going to get worse. He goes. Okay, I'm going to take those thoughts captive. I'm going to pull those things in, and I'm going to rejoice. I mean, this guy's movie loco, right? I mean, when the world he's going to rejoice, this country is full of sin and justice. Some evil people were about to come take over. Starvation was going to be next on the menu, and this guy's rejoicing at the very least, a box having a bad day and at most everything in his life is falling apart. But he's going to rejoice how, Why? Because, regardless of what happens regardless of the circumstances, he knew there was one thing that would not change in the Old Testament in the Bible Malika puts it this way. For I the Lord do not change. The Lord of Hosts. The God of Israel is the same today, December 20th, 2020 as he was April 20th, 1996 as he was June 9th, 1956 as he was October 31st, 18 86 as he was December 25th, 83 36. God never changes. He's the same gods, the same gods today that he was in the Garden of Eden. Same God today that he was on Mount Sinai. The same God today, the that he was in the vision of the Valley of the dry bones, the same God today that he was in the manger. Nothing's changed about God. He's still in control. He's still working everything out. It's who he is, what he does, God told the Prophet Jeremiah. This behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh Is anything too hard for me back? It's not rejoicing in his circumstances. He's not. He's not saying all this stuff is great. It's fine. No big deal. He's not rejoicing in the circumstances, but he is rejoicing in the God that is bigger than his circumstances. The God that has always been bigger than all circumstances. He's rejoicing in God because God is God. So I put it this way. There is a great deal of difference between I love what you do for me and I love Yeah, Tobacco is rejoicing in God because he loves God. He's not making a list of everything God's not doing for him. He's loving God. For who? God? ISS. So question for our hearts and minds. Would we be able to rejoice in God if we're learning? Would be a be ableto rejoice in God if we were sick or if we're poor If we're suffering, if we're helpless, if we're depressed, if we're discouraged Things were bad for tobacco and they were getting ready to get worse. But he was rejoicing. He was rejoicing and who God is, see the gospel calls us to praise God for who he is. And if we were really to just lay this bear. Dickerson, if God never does another thing for you, you have every reason to rejoice. Um, Master, how's that? Why? Well, when you're sitting in traffic, when you're sitting in the hospital, you're sitting at home and everything is difficult and falling apart. Can you preach the gospel to yourself? Can you say to yourself Christ died for my sins In accordance with the scripture He was buried. I mean, he was raised on the third. Can you preach to yourself? God so dearly loved and prized my soul that he gave his on Lee Sun for me. Can you preach to yourself? I was dead in my trespasses, dead in my sin, and God made me alive with Christ. He's forgiven my sins. He's taken the debt that I owed for the penalty of my sin. He's put it aside. He has nailed it to the cross. I bear it no more. Can you preach the gospel to yourself? And what about this notion that God has nailed to the cross? Is the cross enough for you? If you look in our Western world and how we think and how we live and how we act, we seem to say, with our lives, the cross is not enough. We seem to say with our lives on any given year, that we're not going to cooperate with anything in the world unless what the world gives us his life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And if we don't get that, we're not cooperating. That's how it's been since the garden. And look. I love some life's, um, liberty and some happiness. Now I want those things, but there's danger, and the danger is if we don't get all of them or even if we don't get one of them. We are tempted prone toe wander in such a way that we quit praising God. We quit rejoicing and God if things don't roll our way, according Toa, our opinions and according toa, are ways we far too often begin to say, Well, I don't have anything to be happy about. I don't have any happiness to pursue in life. Dear Christian, Let me let you in on a pretty amazing secret if you've been saved when the cross of Jesus Christ is something to be happy about, if you've been rescued and redeem the cross of Jesus, the son of God giving himself up for you cancels every headline you'll read this week. Everyone, the son of God rescuing you from sin, cancels every headline. It's bigger, it's greater. It's higher. It's pure it is deeply Mawr Satisfying the cross of Jesus is something to be happy about. We're not perfect. We're not always going to be happy, happy, happy. But the gospel reminds us over and over again. That right now from this moment forward, if God never does anything else for me If the rest of my days are crummy I have every reason to a choice because he's already given me what I need most. He's giving me his son. Everything was going to fall apart for the back exit. I'm still going to rejoice for who goddess now. Why does that matter? Why does it matter that God gave his son for you? That's your greatest need that needs been met. Why does that matter so much? Hebrew says it this way, Hebrews. 13 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Death, Yes, good news of great joy. That means that in 2020 Jesus Christ is the same as he was in the manger on the cross, in the empty tomb rising to heaven on returning for his kingdom Jesus Christ will be the same in 2021 and Jesus Christ will be the same in 2077 Jesus Christ was the same in 13 77. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday. Today and forever. Guess what? You're not. I'm not got my hair cut again on Friday. Appreciate everybody's affirmation of my hair. I appreciate your joy in my hair. It's great, but I'm sitting there in that mirror, man. I saw a lot more skin this Friday and I saw last Friday. No matter how many things you try to keep the same no matter how many schedules you set, nothing about your life is the same. Nothing about this world will be the same an hour from now. But Jesus Christ, he'll be the same. He's the same yesterday. He's the same today. He's the same forever. And that's why we go. Oh, yeah. This is still about Jesus. There's a story of a little boy who was very seriously ill. Somebody was talking to him and they said, Do you know where you're going? Well, boys, So yeah, I'm going to heaven. Really? Do you want to go to heaven? Oh, yeah. I want to go to heaven. Why do you want to go to heaven? Because Jesus is there. What if Jesus leaves without blinking? And I Little boy said that I'm leaving too. You see, we have beautiful songs about the pearly gates and the streets of cold, but without Jesus, those things lose their value, the value of eternity. The value of today is connected to Jesus. And if you have Jesus, then you have every reason to rejoice because you have Jesus. You have Jesus. Now let's skip the the first part of 19. We'll come back to us, go to the last part of his 19 tobacco cracks. This for the choir director on my stringed instruments, all the back up. He was the first guitar hero. He's got it. So he's writing this point. He's writing this song. It was meant to be shared. It was meant to be sung in the middle of trials in the middle of difficulties. He's wanting the people to remember God. He's wanting them to remember who God is. He wants them to sing of their redeemer to sing of their king. So December 20th, 2020 How's your song? How's your song? I'm not talking about physically singing a song with your mouth. I'm talking about? How is the song of your heart? What is your life really built? All Edward Moz said this My hope is built on nothing less then Jesus, blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but Holy Lee. Oh, Jesus. Now what do you leaning on today? Are you leaning on? Jesus is here, sweetest frame. I just love that I love that terminal. So your sweetest friend, we hear the word frame and sometimes you think of a picture on the wall and I guess that's okay. But But the picture here is like a frame a little section of the song. Is he the sweetest song of your life? Do you have your song? Are you still singing your song? Look, there is absolutely no ultimate hope and any of us there's just not There's no ultimate hope in us. There is ultimate and grand and glorious and unending hope. In the name of Jesus, there is joy. There is peace, There is love. There is hope in Jesus So, like tobacco. Let's keep finding our song in Jesus. Now let's go back to the other part of Verse 19. The Lord God is my strength. And he has made my feet like Hinds feet and makes me walk on my high places. Last night I had about a 35 minute drive back to my house in the dark through the country, and I just knew I was going to see some deer. Thankfully, I didn't. But what happens when you're when you're driving down that road in those deer come out if they catch a glimpse of even during the day where they dio I mean, there's they're gone, you know, they they run out in front of you sometimes, right? But usually they get skittish and they'll just turn and run back and lose, and they're just gone. Can you imagine one of us trying to do what they do? You know, we'd fall immediately. Why? Because our feet are made to do. What about bighorn sheep? Bighorn sheep? They're able in the highest elevations in the world to run and skip and play like it's nothing. Why? Because God made the feet of the deer and the feet of the bighorn sheep to be such that they won't slip and they won't fall in those places. This is an amazing picture that backwards writing. He's helping us see that God himself is giving us feet in Jesus. Different feet, new feet in Jesus. What does that mean? Well, it means there's going to be some times this week where you're going to slip and you're going to fall. But, God, if you're in Christ, he's giving you different feet. That doesn't mean that you'll never lose a job. That doesn't mean you'll never face cancer. That doesn't mean that your spouse may not be difficult or your kids may not be difficult. That doesn't mean that you are going to have trials and tribulations and distress and difficulty. But what it means is this that if we find ourself and our feet in those situations, ultimately we can't fall. We can't fall. Why? Because we have Christ. So see, we can't really slip because Jesus would catch us. And we can't really fall because Jesus would catch us in any difficulty in any danger. Even if we were to slip or fall, Jesus would catch us. But let's take that to the farthest degree. If I slip and fall, even losing my life, Jesus will catch me. It's who he is. It's what he does. Leonard sweetened his book Souls, Bossem tells of a tribe of American Indians that had a very unusual way to test and train their youngest warriors. Once you hear this story, it goes like this. On the night of a boy's 13th birthday, he would be blindfolded and led out of the familiar surroundings of home and family deep into the dense forest. By the time he took off his blindfold, he'd be miles away in complete darkness all alone. That's how he would spend the entire night. Can you imagine what that would be like with every twig snap with every rustle of leaves, our movement of branches, he'd wonder at 13 years of age what dangers there might be lurking, watching, ready to pounce. Undoubtedly, it would have been a terrifying night. Eventually, of course, the morning came, and when the first shafts of dawn's light broke into the forest, the young man would be startled to see the dimly discerned outline of a figure in the shadows. A man, Ah, familiar man. His father, his father, had been there the whole night long, right next to him, his bow and arrow at the ready, prepared to meet any danger that might come to his son. We're living in a dark time, a time that is frustrating and frightening. It's exhausting. It's stressful. We could say in many ways it feels like the longest, darkest night of our lives. And yet the Christmas story is even brighter right now. That story of Jesus is even brighter because it reminds us that God broke through the darkness of sin and death. It reminds us that in the middle of our devastation, in the middle of our distress, that God has already in the manger done his greatest word passing in his son and not just in the manger but in the cross and in the empty tomb. Emmanuel God with us has always been with us through the whole night. He does not leave. He does not forsake. He is in control and he is working all things out. What's up? Coming, worship, Come worship or ship Christ, the newborn king