September 17, 2000 -- AM
NAILING DOWN PATIENCE
(Habakkuk 2: 1-3).
INTRODUCTION:
(1) In the book of Habakkuk we are looking at seven stakes of stability. We are nailing down the loose ends at Family Baptist Fellowship. Last week we placed the stake of holiness as it related to understanding the wisdom of God. Today we will nail down the practice of patience as it relates to living by the Word of God.
(2) It was Bishop Hugh Latimer who said that a drop of rain made a hole in a stone, not by violence but by continually falling. So we need patience and perseverance. -- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
(3) Harold Fickett describes the foundation of patience. "You and I may not be very valuable as the world measures value. We may not be very high on the social ladder; we may not achieve much in our business; we may not be wealthy. But in the eyes of God we are valuable because we are possessed by Him. When a Christian realizes this, a Christian becomes very stable though the very foundations on which he has been standing are knocked from under him." -Harold L. Fickett, Jr. in Peter’s Principles, p.73.
(4) Habakkuk 2: 1 is a theme verse. The determination “to stand watch” is to be compared with 3: 19 -- God is my strength. Habakkuk 2: 1-3 alludes to patience. Patience is a forward look with an upward gaze, in circumstances when advancement stands still, improvement disappears, and progress slides backward. Patience remembers the ownership of God on the project at hand, and digs deep to please the Lord in whatever is undertaken for Him. If it is His work, it has His results and His guarantee, but it requires our faithful patience to continue when logic, convenience, and desire may shout demands to quit. Patience listens to the voice of God and perseveres.
PROPOSITION: PATIENCE MAKES US STABLE.
Habakkuk provides us with three nails to secure patience at Family Baptist Fellowship.
I. Nail # 1: A patient commitment (Habakkuk 2: 1).
A. "I" will: Stand by my watch.
The watch is a military activity. It involves entrusting the trained individual with the responsibility of looking for potential threats to the community he is a part of. The faithful watchman denies himself normal hours of sleep so that he might be awake while other sleep. He does not go without sleep, but takes his sleep that another time, so that he might watch. He trains his eyes and does the right thing when he sees a THREAT. Staying at his post requires commitment!
Prophets are watchmen. They look far off. Isaiah 52:8; Jeremiah 6: 17; Ezekiel 3: 17; 23: 7. They are often found looking up to God -- Psalm 5: 4; Micah 7: 7. Habakkuk’s question about "why" in chapter one was something revealing the need for adjustment in attitude. Habakkuk knew this. The prophet took his stand -- apart from man and the thoughts and cares of this world -- on his lonely watch....
B. "I" will: Set myself on the rampart.
The rampart is a tower or a bulwark. It is a protected, enclosed area, usually on the wall of a city, from where watchmen could look into the distance and detect enemy activity – or the approach of a messenger. Sometimes the rampart was around a vineyard to provide deterrent to thieves.
It required patience to set oneself on the rampart. If things were going well, nothing happened. This meant enduring potential boredom yet remaining alert. If things were not going well, the patience to take the right course of action and keep a cool head while others may be losing theirs was needed. The watchman could not ignore, overlook, or run from the face of the enemy.
Standing on the rampart required alertness. Distractions of society, lack of sleep, and vices could inhibit effectiveness. A patient watchman on the rampart had to be a clear thinking individual who did not cloud his judgment with intoxications (such as SPAM: sex, power, alcohol, or money).
The modern Christian stands watch on ramparts such as his relationship with God, his marriage, his family, his home, his community, the education of his children, his place of employment, his church. On each of these ramparts, it is hard, maybe even impossible, to be patient and drunk at the same time. We cannot stand our watch on our ramparts if we are pursuing the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life, therefore clouding our judgment and weakening our determination (I John 2:15-17).
Have You Ever Known --
A man to lose his job because he drank too little?
A doctor to tell a patient, "Your chance would be better if you had been a drinker"?
An employer to say. "Give me a drinker every time"?
A wife to say, "My husband would be the best man in the world if he only drank more"?
A husband to say. "My wife would be a better mother to my children if she spent more time
at the cocktail bar"?
A defendant in court to seek acquittal on the plea, "If I had been drunk, I would never have committed this crime"?
An insurance company to offer reduced rates to drinkers?
The value of a business or home to rise because a tavern was opened next door?
A community to list its taverns, beer parlors, and roadhouses among its advertising assets?
A chief of police who advocated more liquor selling as a means of reducing crimes?
A community that wanted its saloons open on election days to secure more honest elections? -- Oklahoma Christian -- Glen V. Wheeler, 1010 Illustrations, Poems and Quotes, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing, 1967), p. 277.
C. "I" will: Watch to see what He says.
Commitment requires respect for authority. The person on the rampart appears to await orders for his watch. This individual assumes a position that is predetermined to be ready for direction. He puts his will at the disposal of another and waits for his commander’s directive.
Our world is fast becoming a madhouse, and the inmates are trying to run the asylum. It is a strange time when the patients are writing the prescriptions, the students are threatening to run the schools, the children to manage the homes, and church members -- not the Holy Spirit -- to direct the churches. Vance Havner
D. "I" will: Watch my answer when corrected.
The Lord answered me.... While Habakkuk waited for the Lord’s input about his watch, this is the answer he received. When Habakkuk contemplates his answer in verse 1, it indicates that he is reserving any comment until he understands his Lord’s evaluation. He holds his tongue.
Patient commitment also requires humility. It seems inspection or evaluation is involved on the rampart. The watchman holds his tongue "when corrected.” The inspection reveals the corrections the watchman needs to make. He listens closely to make himself a better watcher. What will be his "answer"? He will try to align himself with his commander.
Because He loves His children, God corrects us [See Hebrews 12:5-11.] On the rampart we may be inspected and corrected. The patient and committed Christian yields to the correction, and eventually “straightens out.” He watches what he says about what God does. He tempers his response to the Lord’s correction and adjusts his attitude accordingly.
With His correction He will develop in us a commitment that may sound something like this:
I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean by presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me... my banner will be clear! (The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, SwanLC@aol.com, January 4, 1999)
Patience is nailed down with commitment. It is further secured by vision.
II. Nail # 2: A patient vision (Habakkuk 2: 2).
A. Written (the word of God)
Habakkuk was told to “Write the vision.” "The vision" refers to the prophecy from chapter 1 about the Chaldeans and their function in punishing Judah.
The vision is essentially the word of the Lord. It was spoken, or brought to his attention, and then he was charged with writing it down for delivery.
God wants to write on tables of our hearts. Where is this found in Scripture? Prov 3:3 (KJS) Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: Prov 7:3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Jere 17:1 The sin of Judah [is] written with a pen of iron, [and] with the point of a diamond: [it is] graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars; point: Heb. nail} 2Cor 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are] manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. Make it plain upon the tables!
B. Plain (understandable and true)
Habakkuk’s biggest challenge was to communicate the vision clearly.
Like every aspect of God’s Word, this prophecy is certain. It will not returned to God void. At the end, it will speak. Literally, it will read. God’s Word is alive (Hebrews 4: 12). It is here spoken of as animate. It is not a dead letter (Barnes). It does not have the frailty of humans or their works. It does not die. [Breathe out = hpy = speak.] The word of God is God-breathed (). Mankind thinks it delays in coming or is not coming (some men count slackness -- II Peter 3: 9). In comparison with eternity, any delay is short. When He returns, Christ will teach by experience how good it is for the good to bear the persecution of the evil (Barnes).
Wait (Psalm 33: 20; Isaiah 8: 17; 30: 18; 64: 3; Zephaniah 3: 8; Daniel 12: 12; Psalm 106:13). Wait -- For God -- For God’s counsel -- For His promised time. This prophecy cannot lie. All doubts question God’s truth (Barnes). God does not (cannot) lie. Numbers 23: 19; I Samuel 15: 29; Titus 1: 2; Genesis 49: 18.
Vision is revelation! This is what God wants written on hearts today. We need to make God’s vision visible in us. When the vision of God is inscribed on my heart, it will become clearly written on my life, plain to see by anyone who will read me if they will not read the word of God. We are the only Bibles some people will ever read. Let the vision be plainly read, that readers may run to Christ!
When the Lord speaks, His people listen. What is the vision of God for Family Baptist Fellowship? It is going to the reflected in his scriptural statements and commands to His people. These involve use of our eyes: look, lift up, behold, see, lo, seek, understand, search, etc.. [John 4: 35; Matthew 28: 19-20; Luke 19: 10]
The culture of the sanctified life is often misunderstood. The discipline of that life consists of suffering, loneliness, patience, and prayer. Many who started with the high ecstasy of vision have ended in the disasters of shallowness! Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
C. Deliverable (run with it).
It was to become a parcel to be delivered throughout the realm of Judah. OR -- the reader was to gain the ability to take flight. The written vision was to warn the reader of impending danger and the good news of the enemy’s coming destruction and the deliverance of God’s people.
If I think of you as a friend and collaborator, my emotions on meeting you will be warm and positive. If I see you as an enemy and competitor, my emotions will be just the opposite. You will remember the little verse:
Two men looked out from prison bars.
One saw mud, one saw stars.
In the pursuit of the fullness of human life, everything depends on this frame of reference, this habitual outlook, this basic vision that I have of myself, others, life, the world, and God. What we see is what we get.
Consequently, if you or I are to change, to grow into persons who are more fully human and more fully alive, we shall certainly have to become aware of our vision and patiently work at redressing its imbalances and eliminating its distortions. All real and permanent growth must begin here. A shy person can be coaxed into assuming an air of confidence, but it will only be a mask--one mask replacing another. There can be no real change, no real growth in any of us until and unless our basic perception of reality, or vision, is changed. John Powell --James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 415.
Nailing down patience is accomplished through commitment and vision. It is also secured by trust.
III. Nail # 3: A patient trust (Habakkuk 2: 3).
A. God has His schedule, therefore trust the timing.
The vision is for an appointed time. God has control over timing of His work. Vision is His work. For Habakkuk it was future (yet). It was going to speak (declarative, authoritative). It would conform only to God’s schedule.
We think God’s work tarries, but it is certain (wait for it). It will come for sure. God’s Word (vision) is worthy of the respect that will wait for it. What does it mean to wait? It means to trust Him to put things into place when there is pressure to run ahead of Him. When you want His order in your hands, you need to wait. Waiting is an evidence of patience. It means asking, seeking, and knocking, until He puts events in order. When He has made it right, then we proceed.
God is very patient. It took him years to teach me to say two words: "Lord, anything!" A. Douglas Brown
B. Lying has no part in God’s work, therefore trust the truth.
The vision was for an appointed time.
Hebrews 9: 27 -- It is appointed for man once to die.... What other things has God appointed?
That which God desires us to see (vision) is appointed (placed within sovereignly determined limits). The vision does not exceed God’s control and prescribed boundaries.
There is only so much time to prepare for and respond to God’s warning.
C. It is worth the wait; therefore trust the trial.
That vision needs to be sent to people who are waiting for it and need it. It will arrive and not tarry. What does this mean? The vision of God is more certain than any other thing. Though it tarries, wait for it; it will surely come.
There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it. In our whole life-melody the music is broken off here and there by rests, and we foolishly think we have come to the end of the theme. God sends a time of forced leisure, sickness, disappointed plans, frustrated efforts, and makes a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives; and we lament that our voices must be silent, and our part missing in the music which ever goes up to the ear of the Creator. How does the musician read the rest? See him beat the time with unvarying count and catch up the next note true and steady, as if no breaking place had come between.
Not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the tune, and not to be dismayed at the rests. They are not to be slurred over, not to be omitted, not to destroy the melody, not to change the keynote. If we look up, God himself will beat the time for us. With the eye on him, we shall strike the next note full and clear. If we sadly say to ourselves, there is no music in a rest, let us not forget there is the making of music in it. The making of music is often a slow and painful process in this life. How patiently God works to teach. How long he waits for us to learn the lesson. John Ruskin (1819-1900) -Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 7056.
If you should temporarily lose your sense of well-being, don’t be too quick to despair. With humility and patience, wait for God who is able to give you back even more comfort. There is nothing novel about this to those who are familiar with God’s ways. The great saints and ancient prophets frequently experienced the alternation of up and down, joy and sorrow. Thomas À Kempis (C. 1380-1471)
God engineers our circumstances as he did those of his Son; all we have to do is to follow where he places us. The majority of us are busy trying to place ourselves. God alters things while we wait for him. Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
Teach us, O Lord, the disciplines of patience, for to wait is often harder than to work. Peter Marshall (1902-1949)
Never become irritable while waiting; if you are patient, you’ll find that you can wait much faster.
CONCLUSION:
(1) Benjamin Franklin said, "He that can have patience can have what he will." We often speak of the patience of Job. We ought also to speak of the patience of Jesus. We see his patience with the disciples when we read the gospels. We see his patience with us when we think about our lives. The apostle Peter calls it "the long-suffering of God" (2 Peter 3:15, KJV). -- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
(2) Greatness is a matter, not of size, but of quality, and it is within the reach of everyone of us. Greatness lies in the faithful performance of whatever duties life places upon us and in the generous performance of the small acts of kindness that God has made possible for us. There is greatness in patient endurance; in unyielding loyalty to a goal; in resistance to the temptation to betray the best we know; in speaking up for the truth when it is assailed; in steadfast adherence to vows given and promises made. Sidney Greenberg
(3) There was no gymnasium on our seminary campus, so we played basketball in a nearby public school. The janitor, an old black man with white hair, would wait patiently until the seminarians had finished playing. Invariably he sat there reading his Bible.
One day I went up to him and inquired, "What are you reading?"
The man did not simply reply, "The Bible." Instead he answered, "The Book of Revelation."
With a bit of surprise, I asked, "The Book of Revelation? Do you understand it?"
"Oh yes," the man assured me. "I understand it."
"You understand the Book of Revelation! What does it mean?"
Very quietly that old janitor answered, "It means that Jesus is gonna win."
Bernard Travaieille --James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 45.
(4) Parenting may be slow and hard, but it is through parental patience that God teaches the child what he or she is struggling to grasp. Completing your education or learning a new skill may present challenges, especially if you are older, but through patience it is possible to grow beyond where you are. The mistakes of sin can cripple your circumstances, but patience overcomes the setbacks. Surgery may have taken away strength, muscle, and agility. Living may have become completely foreign. Through patience, however, come the skills to live again. The vine that has been pruned appears empty and anemic, but the branches that are left, by drawing deep from the life of the vine, patiently grow stronger and produce more fruit. A ministry may seem slow or even going backwards, but patience will stem the tide and reverse the reversal.
(5) Patience is committed to the truth that Jesus is going to win. Patience is assured by the vision of a victorious Jesus. Patience develops from trust in the Jesus who will prevail. Turn your eyes upon Jesus!
