DATE: 10-5-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing our series in Romans this weekend and we’re in the practical application section of Paul’s letter where — after eleven chapters of theological truths — we’re now in the “so what” section of Paul’s letter. Meaning he’s now addressing how all of the theology — that’s found in the first eleven chapters — is to play itself out in how we live. Or at least how it should influence the way we live.

And — today — we’re concluding our mini-series within our series in Romans — as Paul continues to address the same topic we’ve looked at the last two times we’ve been together. What topic is that? How to disagree.

When Paul started his discussion on how to disagree, he began with something quite controversial for the times in which we live. He says that part of the reason why we have disagreements with each other is because — and this is the controversial part — some of us are weak and some of us are strong. And — what he means by that — is that some of us are weak and strong when it comes to our understanding of the Christian faith and how it applies to life — which tells us that Paul is focusing on disagreements among Christians — though there are many ways to apply what he teaches to all of our relationships.

Last time — Paul instructed us on what we’re to do — and not do — when we disagree with one another. We were told to not despise or pass judgment on Christians with whom we disagree over a non-essential matter. This isn’t disagreement over an essential of the faith — doctrines like faith alone in Christ alone for salvation — this is about disagreements over non-essential matters. The examples Paul uses indicate that the Christians in Rome disagreed over what foods were acceptable to eat as followers of Jesus and whether or not there were special days for worship. Neither of these topics are essential to being a Christian.

And — as I’ve said again and again — non-essential doesn’t mean non-important. Many non-essential beliefs and practices are very important — they’re just not essential in determining whether someone’s a Christian or not. Non-essential also doesn’t mean that we believe in subjectivism — that what’s true for you is true for you, but for me this other thing is true. It just means that — in our fallibility and human limitations — we haven’t come to unity on what the Bible teaches on these matters and we believe that Christians on both sides are trying to be faithful to God and what they believe he’s said on the matter in the Bible.

So with that as a guide as to where we’ve been — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to Romans chapter fifteen. We’ll be in Romans chapter fifteen today — looking at verses one through seven. Where Paul — concluding his discussion on how to disagree — writes…

Romans 15:1–7 ESV

1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

In this — our final look at how to disagree — Paul reminds us of our ultimate goal in life. What goal? That God would be glorified in all areas of our life — including how we disagree with one another. We’ll look at this goal before turning our attention to an obligation we must fulfill in order for us to accomplish our goal. And — finally — we’ll see how we fulfill our obligation.

We’ll begin with our goal: the glory of God. Then we’ll look at an obligation we must fulfill in order for God to be glorified in our disagreements. And — finally — how we accomplish our obligation.

FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

So — first — our ultimate goal in life. The ultimate goal — when we disagree — should be the same for all areas of our life as followers of Jesus: That God would be glorified. That’s why Paul ends his section on how to disagree with the words — this is verse seven…

Romans 15:7 ESV

7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Now — why did I say that the glory of God is our ultimate goal — not just in our disagreements — but in all areas of life? Because this is what we read in Scripture. For example…

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Including using the spiritual gifts that God’s given to each of us — which we looked at earlier this year — for Peter writes…

1 Peter 4:10–11 ESV

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Glorifying God also includes what we do and don’t do with our bodies…

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

And why must we do this? For God is the One who created us…

Isaiah 43:6–7 ESV

6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I (God) created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

Which means all that we do is to be done for the glory of God so that others might turn to him. For as Jesus said…

Matthew 5:16 ESV

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

And…

John 15:8 ESV

8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

And — when we live this way — we’ll join the psalmist and say…

Psalm 115:1 ESV

1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

And join the saints in heaven who proclaim…

Revelation 4:11 ESV

11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

And join creation for…

Psalm 19:1 ESV

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Because we agree with Paul who said…

Romans 11:36 ESV

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

All things — including our salvation — which is a gift from God. For…

Ephesians 1:11–12 ESV

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

All things — including grace…

2 Corinthians 4:15 ESV

15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

All things — including our love for and unity with one another…

Philippians 1:9–11 ESV

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Thus we say…

Psalm 86:12 ESV

12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

Knowing that God’s glory will continue to expand across creation…

Habakkuk 2:14 ESV

14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Therefore we’re to…

1 Chronicles 16:28–29 ESV

28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;

So…

Isaiah 60:1–2 ESV

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.

And — at just the right time — the moment when darkness covered the earth — the Light of the world pierced the darkness…

Philippians 2:9–11 ESV

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

For God has said…

Isaiah 42:8 ESV

8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

Therefore when Jesus had fulfilled all that his Father required of him — and as the cross was just before him — he said…

John 17:4 ESV

4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

To glorify God in all of our life — that’s the ultimate goal for every Christian — including our goal in how we disagree with one another. This means that displaying God’s greatness and praising his name is the primary goal in our disagreement. Not winning an argument. Not proving our point. Not getting the other side to concede. For you can be on the right side of the debate and not have God being glorified as your goal — and that would mean you win an argument and yet fail to fulfill your God given purpose. 

For God being glorified in your life is why you — and I — and all people exist. This is why you exist — Christian or not. God being glorified is why you’re alive and breathing — Christian or not. And we’re either moving towards this goal — as followers of Jesus — the theological term is growing in our sanctification — so that God being glorified is more and more the goal of our life. For — if we’re not growing in our spiritual maturity — then we won’t disagree with one another in a way that glorifies our God.

AN OBLIGATION FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

So how do we grow in our spiritual maturity when it comes to our disagreeing with one another? Because — in order for us to accomplish our goal — that God would be glorified even in our disagreements — we must recognize the obligation that’s now before each of us who follow Jesus. For our goal — that God would be glorified in our disagreements — comes with an obligation. There’s something expected and required of us who follow Jesus. Paul tells us this in verse one.

Romans 15:1–2 ESV

1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

Here’s our obligation if God is going to be glorified in our disagreements: We who are strong are to bear with the failings of the weak — and none of us are to please ourselves, but we’re to please our neighbors — our fellow Christians — so we build them up in the faith.

Bearing with the failings of the weak — and pleasing them — doesn’t mean that we just capitulate and give them whatever they’re asking for. After all — our goal is to build them up. And often the very thing the weak think will please them is what’s keeping them from maturing in the faith. That’s what Paul means by “the failings of the weak.” These aren’t moral failings — or necessarily sinful behaviors — this is a lack of spiritual maturity on their part when it comes to non-essential beliefs and behaviors.

And I want to be clear about something: A person can be spiritually mature in many areas and weak in others. So it’s not that one person is always a weak Christian or always a strong Christian — for one can be strong in ninety percent of their Christian faith and yet incredibly weak in the other ten percent. And this is why disagreements among Christians are so tricky — for most of us think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. We think, “Well I read my Bible regularly. I attend worship every week. I’m actively involved in my Life Group. I serve. I give. I go on missions trips. I’ve memorized lots of God’s Word. I can defend my view of the end times and so on.” And all that is great and spiritual growth and to be commended. But all of that can be true — and yet — you’re still an immature spiritual leader in the home. Or unaware how the religion of your political party has sunk its nails in you. Or how social media has consumed your time and thoughts and views in many areas of life. 

Not to mention how many of us don’t read our Bible regularly, or attend worship weekly, or serve, or give, or go on missions trips and so on — and yet — view ourselves as spiritually refined and mature in our views on — well — on everything!

All that to say — though some of us may be new to the faith — and thus — generally speaking — weak in most areas — while others of us have been faithfully following Jesus and growing in the faith for years — and thus — generally speaking — strong in most areas — the majority of us fall somewhere in between. We’re strong in some areas — really strong in others — weak in some — and more weak than we realize in other areas.

But our aim — if you remember — is to glorify God — to please him first and foremost. And that means — especially if you happen to be the weak brother or sister in Christ in a particular situation — that we realize that — just because you don’t get what you want or what you think you should — that doesn’t mean that the strong are being unloving, unkind, or disobedient.

And — for those who happen to be the strong — in a particular situation — the strong are to be bearing — which means enduring — and kind towards your weaker spiritual siblings. Your goal should be to help them mature in the faith in this area. For Paul wants the weak to become strong — which should be the desire of all of us — we should desire for all who follow Jesus to grow stronger and stronger in the faith.

I wonder what your attitude is towards those whom you think are weak or spiritually immature on a particular non-essential issue? Sometimes everything about them is immature. Other times it’s just one area where you happen to disagree with them. Regardless, what’s your attitude towards the other person? Is your desire to help them grow and mature? Or do you just want to avoid another long conversation with them? Maybe you just want to prove to them how wrong they are? Or to get them to agree with you? I wonder if your answers to these questions reveal that — maybe — just maybe — you’re not as strong as you think you are?

HOW WE FULFILL OUR OBLIGATION

At this point — we now know our goal — that God would be glorified — and that we have an obligation we must fulfill in order to accomplish our goal — we’re to bear with the failings of the weak, not please ourselves, but seek to please our fellow Christians instead. And that sounds good and all — but how do we actually fulfill our obligation? Do we just grin and bear it? Tighten our belts and trudge on through the disagreements among us? Give up and go our separate ways?

Paul explains how we do all of this beginning in verse three.

Romans 15:3–6 ESV

3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul gives us three reminders that we must keep before us in order to fulfill our obligation when we disagree — so that God is glorified in our disagreements. Three reminders — think of them as instructions that you most likely already know — that Paul gives us so that we become the kind of people who glorify God in our disagreements.

First, we must look to Christ. In verse three Paul writes…

Romans 15:3 ESV

3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

To fulfill our obligation we must look to Jesus and remember that Christ did not please himself. But notice that Paul doesn’t say, “For Christ did not please himself, instead, he did what we wanted.” That’s not what Paul writes. Paul goes from Christ not pleasing himself to something Christ did that is unexpected and challenging to those who follow him: he gave his life on the cross. And it’s his sacrifice which ultimately pleases his people — for his sacrifice is the reason we have found true life.

You see, Jesus didn’t try to appease the unappeasable. He knew us — he knew our hearts — he knew that we’d never be pleased for there’s always one more demand, suggestion, “helpful piece of feedback” we’d have given him. Yet he denied himself for our sake anyway — he gave up his freedom so we might be set free from our enslavement to Satan, sin, death, and hell.

And — when we look to Christ — we see the One who welcomed us into his family, into a relationship with him — not because we deserved it or even because he looked around at humanity and thought we were the best options available. No — he did so because he chose — in love — to take our sins — our reproaches — that were offenses against him — and instead of giving us what we deserve — he experienced the judgment we deserved for our sins on the cross.

Thus what we’re to remember is this: Whatever we may have to give up for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ is — as they say — small potatoes. Not even worth comparing to what Jesus gave up for our sake. A great question to ask yourself is this: Am I seeking to please others as Jesus has first pleased me? Am I following Christ — and his example — of what it means to bear with the failings of the weak?

Remember — he is the One…

Philippians 2:6–11 ESV

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

To be the kind of people who glorify God in our disagreements we must look to Christ.

Second, we must turn to the Bible. In verse four Paul writes…

Romans 15:4 ESV

4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

This book is what was written in former days. For sure — Paul would’ve been thinking of the Old Testament — but we’re blessed with the Old and New Testaments. And as Paul writes elsewhere…

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Thus all of God’s Word is written for our instruction — so that we may be complete and equipped for every good work. Including the good work of disagreeing with one another in a way that glorifies God.

Yet Paul tells us that we’re to turn to the Bible with a specific purpose in mind: We turn to it for both endurance and encouragement. Again in verse four we read…

Romans 15:4 ESV

4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Do you know what makes division so easy when you find yourself in a disagreement? It requires no enduring with the other person. Do you know why it’s so easy to allow divisiveness to spill over into words that do anything else but encourage the other person? Because we’re not submitting ourselves to God’s Word.

God’s Word — at all times — but especially when we disagree with a fellow Christian over a non-essential matter — will give us the endurance and encouragement that both parties need so that unity — not division — is the result — which leads to us living with hope. 

Again in verse four Paul writes…

Romans 15:4 ESV

4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

And hope is what we all need in this divisive age in which we live. Culture says, “Oh, you disagree with me — we’re through — it’s hopeless.” Yet God says to his people, “Endure with one another. Encourage one another. Stay unified with one another. Continue to love one another. In this way you will have hope — hope that abounds and overflows.” Whose voice will we listen to? Whose voice will you listen to? Culture’s voice or God’s?

Finally, we must remember to pray. Did you notice how — after all of chapter fourteen — and four verses of chapter fifteen — in this lengthy instruction on how to disagree — Paul suddenly starts to pray? Look at what happens in verse five.

Romans 15:5–6 ESV

5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul goes from instruction straight into prayer. No “let’s all bow our heads and close our eyes” — none of that. He just goes straight into prayer. 

And what does Paul pray for? He prays for everything he just instructed us to do in order to fulfill our obligation so that God is glorified in our disagreements. For our God is the “God of endurance and encouragement” who grants us the endurance and encouragement we discover when we turn to the Bible as our final authority. And doing so gives us hope. This is the very endurance and encouragement we need in order to live in harmony with one another. And all of this follows the example of our Savior — Jesus — who we’re to turn to. So Paul ends his discussion on how to disagree by praying — and he prays that God would be glorified in our lives.

CONCLUSION

Christ. The Word. And prayer. 

Jesus. The Bible. And bringing one another — and our disagreements — to God in prayer. 

This is our goal. This is how we disagree in a way that brings glory to our God. This is how we can disagree over non-essential matters — and not have to go our separate ways. But only if we’re all committed to following Christ, submitting to God’s Word, and to prayer.

Our unity is in our hands. No one of us can maintain our unity — we must all work to maintain it together. But it only takes one of us to create division. Which will you choose to be? A promoter of unity or of division?

That’s the question before each of us. And my prayer — and even more — my hope for all of us — is that we will fight for our unity — especially in our disagreements. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, when we think of all that you’ve done to unite us with you — and with each other — all we can do is stand in amazement — and ask for forgiveness. For often we work against you and the unity you desire for us to display to the world.

Holy Spirit, this is why we’re so desperate for your power in our lives. For the only way that we’ll submit to the Word of God in all areas of our lives — including in how we disagree — is by being empowered by you who lives in all who believe in Jesus. For Scripture calls you the Spirit of unity — unite our hearts together we pray.

And — Jesus — our unity with your Father — and each other — is only possible because of the loving sacrifice you offered when you gave your life on the cross. You came to earth to fulfill what we failed to do — which ultimately led to your death in our place. May we look to you. May we look to your love for us. May we look to the love you displayed — with your arms stretched open wide on the cross — for each other — and maintain the unity you died for.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — it’s hard not to see the division in our world — and the division is exhausting. May those who don’t yet believe in you — hear of the unity you offer — and see it in our faith family — so that they respond by believing in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And we pray all of this in his name. Amen.

COMMUNION (JOSH MOVES TO TABLE)

As we turn our attention to the table — the Lord’s Table — in the words of Paul that we’ve looked at today…

Romans 15:5–7 ESV

5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant us to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together we may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 May we welcome one another as Christ has welcomed us, for the glory of God.

Therefore…

Leader: Lift up your hearts.

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise.

Leader: With joy we praise you, gracious God, for you have created heaven and earth, made us in your image, and kept covenant with us — even when we fell into sin.

Congregation: We give you thanks for Jesus Christ, our Lord, who by his life, death, and resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. Therefore we join our voices with all the saints and angels and the whole creation to proclaim the glory of your name.

We give thanks to God the Father that our Savior, Jesus Christ, before he suffered, gave us this memorial of his sacrifice, until he comes again. At his last supper, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this in remembrance of me.” For whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Leader: Therefore we proclaim our faith as signed and sealed in this sacrament.

Congregation: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

INSTRUCTIONS

At this time, I’d like to invite forward those who are going to be serving us. And — while they make their way forward — know that as the bread and cup are passed down your rows, you’re to take the bread on your own — but save the cup — which we’ll drink together. Also — there’s a gluten free option in the trays with the bread. 

If you’re not taking communion today — first — know that no one is judging you. And — second — we’d appreciate it if you could help those who are taking communion by passing the trays to the next person in your row. If you have any questions about communion — or what it means to follow Jesus — please stop by the resource center before you leave today.

Eat the bread on your own — but save the cup — which we’ll drink together.

COMMUNION PASSED OUT (Worship song)

The blood of Christ, shed for you.

CLOSING WORSHIP SONG

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

I think it’ll be good for us to hear Paul’s prayer one last time:

Romans 15:5–7 ESV

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 7-20-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in Romans this weekend. And we’re in the practical application section of Paul’s letter. You may remember that — after eleven chapters of rich theological truths — Paul gets to the “so what” beginning in chapter twelve. Meaning he addresses how all of the theology — found in the first eleven chapters — is to play itself out in how we live. Or — at least — how it should influence the way we live. That’s the journey we began earlier this year with Paul’s big “therefore” statement — when he writes…

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

In light of the theology he’s taught us — Paul now tells us to live our lives as sacrificial offerings to God — where our lives are acts of worship that make our God look glorious to the world. And the way our lives can make God look glorious to the world — that Paul addresses in our verses for today — leads us to what will most likely be the most controversial subject I’ve ever preached on as the pastor here. More controversial than the gift of prophecy or predestination — more controversial than church membership or infant baptism. For Paul’s showing us what not being conformed to this world looks like in some of the touchiest parts of life. 

With that — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to Romans chapter thirteen. We’ll be in Romans chapter thirteen today — looking at verses one through seven. There Paul writes…

Romans 13:1–7 ESV

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

What this text teaches is pretty straightforward. Today we’ll cover what Paul is saying — at a high level — as we remind ourselves of the situation in which he’s writing these words — and we’ll also explore an important doctrine we must believe in order for what Paul’s teaching us to make any kind of sense. 

Next week we’ll return to this passage — because — though it’s straightforward and clear — applying this text is where things get hard. So we’ll spend next week talking about some implications of this text and how we’re to live differently both — when we’re in authority — and when we’re under — or in submission to — authority. 

Then — the following and final week of looking at these verses — we’ll address the authority questions that everyone asks: When must we obey authority and — the more popular question — when can we disobey authority?

Now — if you’re here and wouldn’t call yourself a Christian — know that — for the next few weeks — we’ll be talking politics — but not how you might think. When we talk about submitting to authority — one area of life where this can’t be ignored is in the area of government. That’s why I said this may be the most controversial subject I’ve ever preached on because — generally speaking — politics is a religion in our country. And we’re a nation with many who are fully devoted followers of the Republican and Democrat religions — I mean — parties. 

So — warning — politics is going to be brought up. Yet submitting to authority applies to many other areas of life beyond politics — the home, church, where you work, and so on — so we’ll briefly touch on these areas of life over the next few weeks as well.

Again — next week we’ll focus on those in and under authority. And — the week after that — we’ll address some of the implications and scenarios and “what about’s” that you’ve probably thought of when it comes to submission and authority. I wish I could get right to these questions — but we have to lay some biblical groundwork first — and my guess is that you’ll thank me for breaking this up over multiple weeks rather than trying to address it all in one really long sermon.

So here’s our goal for today. Today I want to — first — explain the text: what is Paul saying and what was going on in Paul’s world when he wrote these words? Then I want to focus on an important doctrine this text teaches us that we must believe in order to have any hope in knowing how to apply what our verses teach.

What is Paul saying? And an important doctrine for us to believe.

PAUL’S POINT

First — what is Paul teaching us in this text? Let’s just read the entire passage again.

Romans 13:1–7 ESV

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

So what is Paul saying? He starts with a mandate: “Let every person” — meaning every single person — including you and me — “let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” 

In making this mandate, Paul places an obligation on his original readers — and given that this is in the Bible — the obligation applies to all Christians — including those of us who follow Jesus today. 

• We who live in the United States. 
• Christians who live in the United Kingdom. 
• Christians who live in China. 
• And Christians who live in North Korea. 

This mandate applies to all Christians. Which makes what Paul mandates both straightforward — and — incredibly challenging.

As one pastor writes…The strength of this statement intensifies when we realize that Paul was talking of a very non-Christian government—the pagan Roman empire. The “authorities” Paul has in view were at best unfriendly, and at worst actively hostile, toward the church. The increasingly secular west is only just beginning to experience the level of hostility that first-century believers faced; the 21st-century persecuted church experiences it every day. It is this type of “state” which Paul tells the Christian to submit himself to. The default position of the Christian (every Christian) to the state (any state) is to submit.

Now this mandate isn’t too rattling when you’re a Christian living in the United States and the individual you voted for is in the White House. But then we go all cray cray when the other party’s candidate wins — “not my president.” So let’s take a step outside of our small United States of America world and think of the Christians who live in North Korea. How can Paul — inspired by the Holy Spirit — make such a mandate that applies to Christians living in North Korea?

His justification comes in his next sentence where he states that “there is no authority except from God.” This will be the foundation for the doctrine we’ll look at in a moment — but this biblical truth — this doctrine when believed — is how Paul’s mandate is obeyed. 

• Without a firm understanding of — and belief in — this doctrine — that all who are in authority are there because God has put him or her there — we will not obey this mandate — which is sinful, by the way. 
• We won’t live the changed life that our faith says we can live. 
• Because the fuel for our “being subject to the governing authorities” — whether we live in the US, the UK, China, North Korea — or — the Roman Empire in which Paul lived when he wrote these words — is believing that “there is no authority except from God.”

Yet — not only did Paul live under the rule of the Roman Empire — he’s writing this letter to Christians who live in the city of Rome — the city where the Roman Empire gets its name from. So — earlier — when Paul wrote…

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

…these Christians in Rome would’ve immediately had questions about how all of this “not conforming to the world” stuff applies to their relationship with Caesar. For Paul has essentially told them, “Don’t be conformed to the Caesar worshiping world that you live in the midst of.” And they’re probably all like, “Well how does that work, Paul?”

About twenty years earlier, Jesus was asked something similar. Here’s what happened.

Mark 12:13–17 ESV

13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.

Here’s Jesus’s point: Pay taxes to Caesar, but don’t worship him. And worshiping him can include an absolute allegiance and unqualified obedience to him. But — as Christians — there’s only One we worship. The early Christians understood this and constantly ran into trouble when the leaders of the Roman Empire realized that they believed they were required to submit to an authority higher than the emperor. 

The Westminster Confession of Faith — our denomination’s doctrinal standard — summarizes all of this with…

God, the supreme Lord and King of the whole world, has ordained civil authorities to be over people under him for his own glory and the public good. For this purpose he has armed civil authorities with the power of the sword to defend and encourage those who are good and to punish wrongdoers. (WCF 23.1)

It cites our verses from Romans chapter thirteen — as reference — and also First Peter chapter two, which says…

1 Peter 2:13–14 ESV

13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.

We read commands like this from Peter and are immediately concerned with the lack of a loophole. Every human institution — including the emperor? The emperor, the boss, the husband, the church leadership — and yes — even the people you didn’t vote for. Yes — both Peter and Paul agree. 

But the Christians living in Rome would’ve been just as shocked as you by such a statement because the Roman emperors they’ve lived under were not good men. These weren’t godly, God-fearing, emperors.

During the time Paul wrote this letter, things were fairly peaceful for Christians in the Roman Empire. Yes, the Jews were persecuting them, but the Roman Empire had yet to amp up its persecution of Christians. That will come a few years after Romans is written. But — as we see in Acts eighteen — which takes place about five years before Paul writes Romans — some Christians had been kicked out of Rome and we’re not exactly sure why. But what this tells us is that the relationship between the Christians and the government was deteriorating. 

Paul would’ve been aware of all of this — Peter too. Which is why Peter and Paul both have to explain why such submission is required. Peter says we’re to submit “for the Lord’s sake” and Paul says we submit “because all authority is established by God.” These two statements show us that our response to authority will either reflect positively or negatively on Jesus and what we believe about him. That’s what’s at stake with our submission to authority.

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY

Which leads us to the important doctrine of our text — a doctrine that’s meant to give us confidence as we submit to authority — regardless if we live here in the US or in nations where Christians are persecuted. The doctrine our text highlights is the sovereignty of God. One resource I use defines the sovereignty of God as…

The biblical teaching concerning the absolute, irresistible, infinite, and unconditional exercise of God’s self-will over every area of his creation. (The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia)

Christians like to debate about humanity’s free will. God’s sovereignty means that he has a will too — and his is free — in fact — God’s free will is freer than any of ours — that’s what it means for him to be God and for us to not be.

We find God’s sovereignty in verse one of our chapter — where Paul writes…

Romans 13:1 ESV

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

God — in being sovereign — has established every government that has ever existed — all governments today and all governments throughout history. And — in being sovereign — he has also brought to an end every government that no longer exists.

But it’s not just Paul who claims God’s sovereignty over those in authority. For we read…

Proverbs 8:15–16 ESV

15 By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; 16 by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly.

And…

Proverbs 21:1 ESV

1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he (God) turns it (the king’s heart) wherever he will.

Or take the prophet Habakkuk who’s book begins with…

Habakkuk 1:1–4 NLT

1 This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision. 2 How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. 3 Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. 4 The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.

I’ll paraphrase Habakkuk’s words for you: God, things are not good! Are you going to do anything about it?

And here’s God’s reply to Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 1:5–11 NLT

5 The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. 6 I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands. 7 They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like. 8 Their horses are swifter than cheetahs and fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their charioteers charge from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey. 9 “On they come, all bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind, sweeping captives ahead of them like sand. 10 They scoff at kings and princes and scorn all their fortresses. They simply pile ramps of earth against their walls and capture them! 11 They sweep past like the wind and are gone. But they are deeply guilty, for their own strength is their god.”

Be honest. If you were Habakkuk — how would you have responded to God? Imagine our country tanking. Economic tanking. Morality tanking. Spiritually tanking. Emotionally tanking. Relationally tanking. Imagine everything just going down, down, down. So you pray to God. Imagine God answering you with, “OK. I’ll do something. I’m going to have China invade the US and completely take it over.” Now you understand what God just said to Habakkuk.

The God you believe in — does he have this kind of sovereignty over the nations? Can he raise up cruel and violent people to bring about his judgment — even if the judgment is on his people? For God — in being sovereign — can use any and all human authority to accomplish his purpose. A wicked nation, an evil ruler, a candidate from the other political party — all of them can be used by God to execute his will here on earth — because — he is sovereign.

Take King Jeroboam —a wicked man who wouldn’t listen to wise advice. Where’s God’s sovereignty when a wicked man becomes king? It’s right here.

1 Kings 12:15 ESV

15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

King Jeroboam’s decision leads to the division of Israel — one nation becomes two. And why did this happen — why did Jeroboam make this decision? So that the word of the Lord would be fulfilled.

Centuries later — when Nebuchadnezzar — who had defeated and conquered the people of God — has a dream about a statue — Daniel tells him…

Daniel 2:37–38 ESV

37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.

This pagan — “people of God conquering and enslaving king” — was given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory — by — the God of the people whom he had conquered. How about that? 

Does the God you believe in have this kind of sovereignty? Can he use the other political party’s candidate or some other nation’s ruler to accomplish his will? He’s done so in the past — with wicked and evil kings. For — as Nebuchadnezzar will later be told…

Daniel 4:25 ESV

25 seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.

A truth about God’s sovereignty that — not only a pagan king needs to learn — but a truth we all need to learn. God rules the kingdoms and nations and states and homes and churches and marriages of mankind. He puts in authority whomever he wills.

We love our freedom — here in the US — but do we believe that — even our freedom — is under God’s sovereignty? This is something we must not forget.

Nebuchadnezzar’s nation will eventually fall to Persia and its king — Cyrus — who the prophet Isaiah recorded these words about nearly two hundred years before Cyrus would reign as an earthly king.

Isaiah 45:1–13 NLT

1 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never to shut again. 2 This is what the Lord says: “I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3 And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness— secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. 4 “And why have I called you for this work? Why did I call you by name when you did not know me? It is for the sake of Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. 5 I am the Lord; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don’t even know me, 6 so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God. I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7 I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things. 8 “Open up, O heavens, and pour out your righteousness. Let the earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together. I, the Lord, created them. 9 “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ 10 How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father, ‘Why was I born?’ or if it said to its mother, ‘Why did you make me this way?’” 11 This is what the Lord says— the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: “Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands? 12 I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at my command. 13 I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose, and I will guide his actions. He will restore my city and free my captive people— without seeking a reward! I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”

There’s comfort to be found in this doctrine. Because we believe that God is directing the hearts of all who are in authority — even when those in authority make decisions you disagree with — you can trust in the outcome. For if God could lose control over those leading Babylon or Persia or Israel — or if he’s lost control over those leading North Korea or Iran, China or Afghanistan or those who lead the Democrat or Republican Party — then he’s not sovereign. And a God who’s not sovereign isn’t a god worthy of our worship. For only a sovereign God can give you confidence like Joseph — to say…

Genesis 50:20 NLT

20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

Joseph said this to his brothers who had sold him into slavery hoping they’d never have to see him again. He’s framed. He’s imprisoned. He’s forgotten. And — yet — God “intended it all for good” — that’s Joseph’s way of describing God’s sovereignty.

Earlier in Romans — Paul describes God’s sovereignty this way.

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

“All things work together for good” — all things — including those who are in authority over you. I mean if — as Paul goes on to say…

Romans 8:31 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

The implied answer being, “No one can be against us.” And as he continues…

Romans 8:35–39 ESV

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What authority — and who in authority — can separate you from God’s love? No one. But don’t miss — and maybe this time it’ll feel a little heavier to you — but don’t miss Paul’s words, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we’re regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 

Even when those in authority kill and slaughter God’s people — God’s sovereignty doesn’t waver. Because — in every circumstance — those whom God has put over you in authority is part of his good plan for you.

CONCLUSION

Which shouldn’t surprise us — for we follow Jesus who — when…

John 19:10–11 ESV

10 Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above…”

Pilate may not have recognized where his authority came from — but Jesus knew. And Pilate’s authority — which he used to crucify Jesus — was under the sovereign power of God. 

And more important than Pilate’s authority or the power of any leader of any nation is the authority of Jesus Christ — the Sovereign One. For he — after having defeated death — said…

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus — the King of kings and Lord of lords — is reigning and ruling and orchestrating all things so that his will is accomplished — in the world — and in your life.

And here’s what I hope you’re hearing — for this is where this little mini-series on authority is going to take all of us who follow Jesus: My hope is that we’ll all begin to see with greater clarity — how our view of authority — both when we’re in authority — but especially when we’re under authority — how our view — and more importantly — our obedience to the authority God has placed over us — at home, at work, in the church, in our nation, and so on — I hope we’ll all see how our obedience to the authority God has placed over us is a reflection of our submission to him — more than it’s about our submission to them. 

Your obedience to authority — if you believe Jesus — or your lack of submission to authority — reveals more about your submission to God than it does to whoever he’s placed over you. For he is the One who has placed all authority in your life. And the “therefore” life — that Paul’s showing us — is a life that’s submitted to the authority of the only Sovereign God —a submitted life to God which displays itself by submitting to the authority he’s placed over us. When we live in North Korea. Or China. Or the UK. Or here in the US. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, you are sovereign — in control — orchestrating your plan and purpose for your creation. Nothing and no one is outside of your sovereign authority. No king or queen. No prime minister or president. And none of us. For you are God — you are sovereign — and we are not.

Holy Spirit, our sin has caused us to distrust and rebel against authority — including yours. We believe ourselves to always be right, to know what’s best, to not be accountable to anyone, and so on — all lies. Forgive us of such arrogance and pride.

And — Jesus — all authority in heaven and on earth is yours. And we trust you to do what is right, what is best, and what is for our good. You’ve never given us a reason to doubt your goodness or trustworthiness — so we choose — right now — to trust. And we do so admitting that it’s so hard — for we want control. So thank you in advance for being patient and gracious with us. And we pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go submitting yourself to the authority of the One who is Sovereign — trusting that he is working out all things for the good of his people. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 6-29-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And — if this happens to be your first time worshiping with us — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing our series where we’re looking at some of King David’s psalms that address the topic of suffering. We’ve seen that there are many aspects to suffering — many reasons for our suffering — that David touches on in his psalms. And regardless if you’re currently in a season of suffering — I think we all understand that suffering has a way of showing up in our lives — often unexpectedly — which makes it wise for us to prepare for. 

We’ve also seen that — for the follower of Jesus — suffering is an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to spiritually grow for those of us who follow a Savior who experienced suffering. Not an easy opportunity to grow — it’s often a painful opportunity — for suffering comes when life is most challenging. But — in another sense — suffering is one of the easiest times to grow — because — when life’s most challenging we’re forced to change.

And today we’re going to continue to see how our Christian faith offers a different opportunity in these hard moments of life: an opportunity to become more like our Savior — Jesus — who — in love for us — experienced suffering, trials, persecution, hardships, rejection, hatred — and he experienced all of this so we might have hope in the midst of the sorrows we face.

And I say this knowing not all of us believe in Jesus. But all of us have experienced suffering — or know others who have. And — if you’re honest — it’s frightening. Because our culture offers no good reason as to why we suffer or how to suffer well. Which is where the Christian faith comes in with unexpected hope for all of us travelers in a suffering-filled world.

This hope is what we’ve been discovering as we look at a few of David’s psalms — including today’s psalm — psalm eighty-six. So — if you have your Bible — please turn there — to psalm eighty-six. 

• While you’re finding psalm eighty-six — especially if you’re just joining us — we began this series by looking at psalm six and the relationship between suffering and our prayer life. 
• Then we looked at psalm thirty-two and the suffering we experience due to unrepentant sin in our lives. 
• Last week we looked at psalm fifty-six and the suffering we experience at the hands of others. 
• And — next week — our final week in this series — we’ll look at the important relationship between suffering and salvation. 
• But — today — we’re looking at the relationship between our suffering and our worship. 

David addresses this in our psalm for today — psalm eighty-six — when he writes…

Psalm 86 ESV

1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. 3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. 4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. 6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. 7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me. 8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. 9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. 10 For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. 11 Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. 12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. 14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them. 15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. 16 Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant. 17 Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Here’s where we’re headed. We’re going to begin by briefly looking at David’s suffering. Then we’ll see how — even in our suffering — worship always begins with God. And — finally — we’ll see how — when our worship begins with God — our prayers will be bold and worshipful. 

David’s suffering. Worship always begins with God. Which leads to bold worshipful prayers.

DAVID’S SUFFERING

We’ll begin by looking at David’s suffering — we’ll begin in verse three. There David writes…

Psalm 86:3 ESV

3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.

Skipping to verse seven we read…

Psalm 86:7 ESV

7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.

Jumping down to verse fourteen we read…

Psalm 86:14 ESV

14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them.

And a few verses later — in verse seventeen — David writes…

Psalm 86:17 ESV

17 Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Like some of the other psalms we’ve looked at — David doesn’t give us enough information to know the specific situation he’s writing about. Verse fourteen gives us the most detail — a group of individuals are seeking his life — but that’s not enough for us to nail down exactly what moment David’s describing for us — for he experienced many “people seeking his life” moments.

Regardless — whatever he’s going through has caused him to cry out to God — which he says he’s doing quite often. He calls this time in his life as the “day of his trouble” because — as I said earlier — there are people out to get him because they hate him. 

Now given that this is our fourth week in this series — and having looked at David’s history with suffering — I don’t think we need to spend any more time on the specific reasons for his suffering in this psalm. I just want to make the point — again — that if you’re suffering — if you can relate to any of what David’s describing in our psalm — if your days are full of trouble — if there are people against you — if you’re in a situation where you are endlessly crying out to God — Christian or not — if you know what it’s like to ask why me — or have ever vented to friends or on social media about the injustice you’ve experienced — if you know the life companion whose name is sorrow — then there’s something for you to learn from David today.

And — even if you’re not in sorrow right now — David’s going to give you some advice that — if taken — it’ll be a source of strength when a season of suffering comes upon you.

WORSHIP BEGINS WITH GOD (EVEN IN SUFFERING)

Now — even without knowing all the specifics of David’s suffering — we’re going to see the connection between suffering and worship. And what David’s going to show us is that worship begins with God. Even in our suffering — our worship begins with God — because worship always begins with God. 

In verse five David writes…

Psalm 86:5 ESV

5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Skipping to verse eight we read…

Psalm 86:8–10 ESV

8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. 9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. 10 For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.

Remember — these are the words of a man who’s in the midst of much suffering. Later — in verse thirteen — David says…

Psalm 86:13 ESV

13 For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

And in verse fifteen he writes…

Psalm 86:15 ESV

15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

First things first about worship. If you’re here today and you wouldn’t consider yourself a Christian — or even a religious person — you may think, “This worship stuff is only for religious people — what does this have to do with me?” Worship and suffering are much more practical to you than you might think — because — regardless if you’re a Christian or not — and regardless if you view yourself as a religious person or not — all of us are worshippers. We can’t help it. It’s like it’s part of our DNA or something.

By worship — I simply mean how we’re all prone to center our lives around something or someone. Your career or family, being seen as successful or being free to live however you want, having a romantic partner or being viewed as smart and capable, people even center their lives around not suffering — you name it — people worship it. And — to worship — means we pursue whatever it is — we make sacrifices for it — it gets our time, energy, and money. We give our lives to it — because it — whatever it is — gives us meaning and purpose — it gives us our identity. 

These its we worship have been called idols of the heart. Idols — as you probably know — used to come in the form of wood or metal statues — and you’ll still find those in many parts of the world today. But for us in the West — idols take on other forms — career, family, success, money, youth, beauty, and so on. As one pastor has said, “Nobody is truly an unbeliever. Either you trust the real God or you’re enslaved to something you treat as a god.” And this may surprise you — but non-Christians agree. 

Twenty years ago — while delivering the commencement speech at Kenyon College — David Foster Wallace — who wasn’t a Christian — said, “A huge percentage of the stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, it turns out, totally wrong and deluded. Here’s one example of the utter wrongness of something I tend to be automatically sure of: Everything in my own immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe, the realest, most vivid and important person in existence. We rarely talk about this sort of natural, basic self-centeredness, because it’s so socially repulsive, but it’s pretty much the same for all of us, deep down.” That’s his way of saying, “Here’s something else we worship — ourselves.”

He goes on to say, “There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. [Remember — he’s not a Christian. He goes on to say…] And an outstanding reason for choosing some sort of God or spiritual-type thing to worship — be it J.C. or Allah, be it Yahweh or the Wiccan mother-goddess or the Four Noble Truths…is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things — if they are where you tap real meaning in life — then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you…Worship power — you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart — you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out…Look, the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they’re evil or sinful; it is that they are unconscious. They are default-settings. They’re the kind of worship you just gradually slip into, day after day, getting more and more selective about what you see and how you measure value without ever being fully aware that that’s what you’re doing.”

So be open to the idea that you are a worshiper — even if you’re not sure exactly what it is that you worship. And — if you call yourself a Christian — be open to the idea that there are some idols of your heart that you may not be aware are vying for your worship. 

So — for all of us worshipers — I want to show us Someone who’s worthy of our worship — in fact the only Someone worthy of our worship. We find this Someone in verse five of our psalm.

Psalm 86:5 ESV

5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

What a powerful statement, right? About this verse, one scholar has said…

The chief encouragement in prayer is knowing the character of God. David has come to know God through his Word and through his experience as a believer. The better he knows God, the more certain he is of God’s willingness to help him in his need. What an incentive this is for us to study the attributes of God—his divine characteristics as they are revealed in Holy Scripture—and to walk with God [in] faith so [we] know him better!

The character of God that David’s focusing on — while he suffers — is God’s steadfast love — which he mentions three times in our psalm. One children’s book author has described God’s steadfast love as his, “Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.”

We have our definitions of love — this is God’s definition. And this is what he means when he says he loves his people. 

It’s a love that never stops. The Christian faith teaches that there’s nothing you can do to earn God’s love — which means — and this is glorious — there’s nothing you can do to un-earn his love. When God loves you — he loves you. And there’s nothing you can do to stop him from loving you.

Additionally, his love for you never gives up. Though we may reach our breaking point — or turn our backs on God — and distrust him and question him and doubt him and betray him — he never gives up on us. He pursues us. He calls us back. He whispers to us — in our sorrow and grief — I love you.

His love for us is unbreaking. God’s love is an always and forever love. From eternity past to eternity future — those whom God loves — he eternally loves.

This is just one attribute of God that’s meant to change the way we worship him. For our God is also compassionate, and faithful, and all-knowing, and all-powerful, and just, and righteous, and merciful, and slow to anger, and good, and kind, and eternal, and Creator, and so much more — which is why our worship must begin with God. For — when it begins with him — our worship will be spiritually red hot — on fire — regardless of our circumstances — yes — even when we’re suffering.

Don’t believe me? You don’t have to take my — or even David’s — word for it. Take Job — who after the tragic death of all of his children and the loss of all of his wealth…

Job 1:20–21 NLT

20 Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. 21 He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!”

Or take Paul and Silas who — while locked in chains in prison — at…

Acts 16:25–26 ESV

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

Or take Hannah — who though childless and ridiculed by others because of it — continued to pour out her soul before the LORD in prayer. And — after the fulfillment of the promise given to her — that she would have a son — she prayed…

1 Samuel 2:1–2 NLT

1 “My heart rejoices in the Lord! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me. 2 No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

Or take the prophet Habakkuk who was given a prophecy of judgment for the people of Judah. Habakkuk received a hard word about the punishment the people of God were going to experience. And yet his book ends with these words.

Habakkuk 3:17–19 NLT

17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! 19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. (For the choir director: This prayer is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)

The words in parenthesis tell us this was a song to be sung in worship by the people of God. “When there’s no fruit on the trees — when there’s a famine in the land — when all of the herds have died — I will still rejoice in the God of my salvation.” That’s some red hot, spiritually on fire, kind of worship, right?

“But, come on Josh. Those were people in the Bible. Of course they could worship God in the midst of suffering. Don’t you have to be a super spiritual hero to make it in the Bible anyway?” You don’t have to be a super spiritual hero to make it in the Bible — but here are some non-biblical folks who show us that this kind of worship — while suffering — is possible.

Take Horatio Spafford who — after his four daughters drowned in a shipwreck — penned the hymn It is Well with My Soul as he traveled by ship to meet his wife. One of the lines in the hymn states “Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well, with my soul.”

Or take Corrie ten Boom who was imprisoned in a concentration camp because she and her family had helped around eight hundred Jews flee from the Nazis. Her family was betrayed and were arrested. Corrie smuggled a Bible into the concentration camp and held worship services. She famously said, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” If God’s steadfast love could meet Corrie and others imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp — might it be possible for his love to meet you in whatever dark pit of suffering you find yourself in?

WHICH LEADS TO BOLD WORSHIPFUL PRAYERS

The examples could go on — but I think you get the point. For many — because of the God they worship — the God who’s revealed himself in this book — they were able to worship even as they suffered. And when we follow in their steps — by worshiping the same “steadfast-loving us always-God”  — we will find ourselves praying big, bold, worshipful prayers. We’re back in verse one where David writes…

Psalm 86:1–4 ESV

1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. 3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. 4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

Jumping to verse six we read…

Psalm 86:6–7 ESV

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. 7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.

Skipping to verse eleven David writes…

Psalm 86:11–12 ESV

11 Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. 12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

Finally in verse sixteen we read…

Psalm 86:16–17 ESV

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant. 17 Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Pay attention to how David begins his big, bold, worshipful prayer. He begins with humility — acknowledging that he’s poor and needy. Now — remember — he’s king David. The giant slaying hero who God appointed as leader over his people. This is no man in an ordinary position — this is like being the president of our country — and yet David begins his prayer displaying God-honoring humility.

How do your prayers begin?

Once Jesus told a parable — a short story meant to teach a moral truth — to…

Luke 18:9–14 ESV

9 some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In Jesus’s day, everyone would’ve assumed that a tax collector would need to humble himself before God — but a Pharisee? If anyone was a super spiritual hero of the day it was a Pharisee. Yet Jesus makes it clear that everyone must approach God in prayer with humility. Something David — though a king — understood. And if it’s fitting for a king to humble himself before God — I think it’s safe to conclude that the same is true for all of us non-kings and queens.

Bold prayers are still humble prayers. Boldness and humility are not enemies — they’re friends — partners — boldness and humility are characteristics of those whose worship of God begins with who God is — as we saw earlier.

“But, wait. Josh, you may’ve gotten ahead of yourself. Don’t you see how David describes himself in verse two? He says, ‘I am godly’ and that doesn’t sound very humble to me — that sounds just like the Pharisee.” David isn’t making a self-righteous statement — he’s simply saying that he trusts in God. In today’s language David would say, “I’ve put my trust in Christ alone.” That’s not what the Pharisee was doing.

Yet David knows how his heart is fickle. Our hearts chase after many lovers and gods — even after we’ve put our trust in Christ. That’s why David prays — in verse eleven — for God to unite his heart to fear his name. Remember — men are after David. They want him dead and obviously don’t want him to be their king — there’s division in the land. Yet here — as he prays — David shows that he’s just as concerned for his divided heart as he is for the divided nation. His desire is that his whole heart would be committed to trusting in God’s promises and doing God’s will.

What’s the bigger concern for you — which gets the greater attention of your prayer life? Divisions around you — political divisions, racial divisions, relational divisions, religious divisions, and so on — or the division within your own heart? Does it even bother you — for this is true of you just as it’s true of me — that your heart isn’t fully committed to trusting God’s promises and accomplishing the will he has for you? That even though you long to love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength — yet — you know you live with a heart that’s divided.

Those who are humble before God — who — even in suffering — worship him — will ask God not only to relieve them of their suffering — which they do ask for in prayer! — but also to teach them. To teach them about their divided heart. To help them walk in truth even as they suffer. To not allow their suffering to give voice to the lies that chirp in our ears: “If God loved you — you wouldn’t be suffering like this.” “See, you’re not a good person. Good people don’t go through what you’re going through.” “You’re unloveable. You’re unforgivable. You’re worthless. You’re ugly. You deserve this.” 

CONCLUSION

The way to combat these lies is to know God’s Word. For this book tells us wonderful, life-changing, hope-in-the-midst-of-suffering truths. Who God is. Who we are. What God is doing in the world. What Jesus accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection. And where all of history is headed.

I know that for many — the Bible is intimidating. So — if you don’t know where to begin — let me encourage you to grab a copy of this booklet — how to make the most of your devotional time — at the Resource Center at your campus. You can also get a digital copy on our website — gatewayepc.org. 

Here’s another step you can take to grow in your understanding of who God is: Worship with us weekly. Every week your heart faces a battle — it goes to war. Will an idol of your heart get your allegiance and worship or will the one true God? I know that we get sick. I understand that we go on vacation. But the vast majority of people who don’t worship weekly aren’t missing because they’re sick or on vacation — they miss because an idol has demanded their worship. We don’t call it worship — but go back to what I said earlier and see if you can find a better word. And on a day you find yourself in the midst of suffering — none of those idols will give you what you need. And you may even find yourself wondering where the One true God went off to — when the truth is — he never went anywhere. The question is: Where’d you go?

But know that — even in our wandering — and even with our divided hearts — God is so good, and kind, and patient, and gracious, and forgiving, and — yes — loving — that he always welcomes his children back into his loving arms when we return to him. Even when our suffering’s caused by our own hands — even when it’s caused by others — and even when there’s no one to blame for our suffering — the God who is good and forgiving — who abounds in steadfast love to all who call upon him — is with us. His name is Jesus. And may you turn to him right now — receive his love — and worship him even in your suffering. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father, as we pray to you we want to begin by acknowledging who you are. As we’ve been reminded today — you are good and your steadfast love endures forever. What hope is found in knowing that you are good. Not a tyrant. Not wicked. Not unfair. Good. And your steadfast — never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever — love endures for us today, tomorrow, and always.

Holy Spirit, comfort those in need of comfort. Point all of us in the direction of knowing who you are more clearly and accurately. Reveal to us the idols of our hearts — false gods vying for our worship and demanding our devotion. Call us to repentance and help us to do so as we trust that you always forgive those who come to you repenting of their sins.

And — Jesus — all of this great and glorious good news is possible and true because of you. What you accomplished in your perfect life, death, and in your Satan, sin, death, and Hell defeating resurrection. We have hope and can worship you — even in suffering — because you — in love — first suffered for us. And you are with us in our suffering. And you love us through our suffering.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — call many to believe, trust, rest, and worship you today. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available | DEVO BOOKLET | Suffering and need prayer)

May you go worshiping the One true God — for he is good — and his steadfast love for you endures forever. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

Release Date: Apr 27, 2021

Predestination Questions 

We received many questions from several different listeners all asking about similar topics. What follows are those questions lumped together into 4 Big Ideas. We tackled parts of Ideas #1 & 4 in part 1 of our Predestination Q&A and address #2 & 3 today. 

Big Idea 1 – Predestination: It is my understanding that God wants all people to be saved (1 Tim 2:4), but we know that not all people are saved. If salvation is 100% up to God with zero human involvement, why doesn’t he choose to elect and save everyone? Does the word “all” actually just mean “some?” Similarly…if God predestined some to be saved, then he must have also predestined some to be condemned to hell. Why would God predestine humans, whom he created in his image and loves, for eternity in hell? 

Big Idea 2 – Losing salvation: Back in Romans 6 we learned that God gave us freedom from sin and he also gave us freedom for righteousness. So how does this relate to the example of the person who was resuscitated by God’s grace after being dead, drowned at the bottom of the sea. Can that saved person then, refuse life by wading back into the mire? What about the basketball player in your sermon…was he saved based on committing his life to Christ when he was younger despite his change later in his life?

God’s will and our will (8:45):

• Proverbs 19:21
• Psalm 33:10-11
• Proverbs 16:9
• Daniel 4:34-35
• James 1:18
• 1 Samuel 26:17-21
• Acts 9:1-19a
• Genesis 50:20
• Isaiah 10:5-19
• Habakkuk 1:5-11
• Acts 2:22-24
• 1 Chronicles 13:2-3
• Psalm 145:19
• Acts 15:28
• 1 Thess 4:3
• 1 Thess 5:16-18
• 2 Peter 3:9
• 1 Timothy 2:1-4
• 1 Timothy 4:10
• Romans 6:17-20
• Ephesians 2:1-5
• Colossians 2:13
• 1 Tim 5:6
• 2 Tim 2:23-26
• Titus 1:15-16

Limits to our freedom (45:15)

“Choose whom you will serve” passages (53:35):

• Deut 30:16
• Joshua 24:14-16
• 1 Corinthians 10:13
• Philippians 2:12-13
• Romans 7:15-25

Big Idea 3 – Free Will: Is it Gateway’s belief that a person has no choice or free will in accepting the call of God? I have always believed that all who God creates are chosen and all are called but some do not accept the call and therefore do not have salvation. You did mention at the end of your sermon that how we respond to God’s call to salvation is important, but you didn’t really expand on that. What are we actually doing when we “accept Christ into our hearts?” It feels like there is some free will in our response to God’s call.

Big Idea 4: Why evangelize? If the golden chain of salvation is unbreakable, and those he foreknew, he predestined, called, justified, and glorified, then why do we need to share the gospel? Are some people doomed hopelessly to deny Christ no matter how much they hear about him? (58:55)

• Rom 10:10-17
• Matthew 28:18-20
• Mark 16:15
• Acts 1:8

SCRIPTURE: Habakkuk 3:17-19 (ESV)

DATE: 6-13-21

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And the one thing I always want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us in person at our North Main campus or are joining us online — the one thing I want you to know is that God loves you and that I love you too. 

SERIES INTRODUCTION

Last week, we began a new series — well — it’s kind of new. For the past few years we’ve returned to our Finding Jesus series — a series where we look at different books in the Old Testament and see how the whole Bible is ultimately telling one story — the story of Jesus. In previous years we’ve looked at the Pentateuch — the first five books of the Old Testament. We’ve looked at the Major Prophets — the writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. And last year we looked at the first half of a group of books known as the Minor Prophets.

Now the sermons in this series are a bit different than how I usually preach. How so? I’m going to introduce you to a book of the Bible that you may or may not be familiar with. Then I’ll give you an overview of the book and then we’ll then focus on one section of it. Finally, I’ll show you one way to find Jesus in our book. 

And in this year’s version of our Finding Jesus series — we’re looking at the final six books that are part of a group known as the Minor Prophets. We looked at the first six last year and this year we’re looking at the remaining books in this group. And — today — we’ll be looking at the book of Habakkuk. So if you have your Bible, please turn with me to Habakkuk chapter 3.

Last week we looked at the book of Nahum and in coming weeks we’ll look at Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. And I hope that you’ll grow to know and love these books of the Bible and spend time in them — finding Jesus — and the joy that’s found only in him.

The only other thing I want to mention — before we jump into Habakkuk — is something about the name that’s been given to these books — the Minor Prophets. If you were here last week, you know that these books are called the Minor Prophets — not because their content is less important than the books known as the Major Prophets — they’re called the Minor Prophets because of their size. Generally speaking, the Minor Prophets are much shorter in length than the Major Prophets. Yet — even though their content isn’t any less significant — the Minor Prophets are likely the least familiar part of the Bible for most of us. But hopefully that won’t be the case after this series.

BACKGROUND OF HABAKKUK

So let’s take some time to get our bearings in the book of Habakkuk — and I hope you’ll see that Habakkuk is a book you’ll want to go read for yourself.

First, what do we know about Habakkuk? Well — get used to this first point — you’re gonna hear it every week — Habakkuk was a prophet — which means he spoke on behalf of God. 

He lived during the late seventh century BC — making him a contemporary of Jeremiah, Nahum — who we looked at last week — and Zephaniah — who we’ll look at next time.

Now — we don’t have much information about Habakkuk — but we know that he was a prophet to the nation of Judah, that he’s from the tribe of Levi, and that he’s a temple singer. His name means “strong embrace of God” — which — once you understand what’s happening in this period of history — you’ll realize that it’s a very fitting name — because the people of Judah are in need of the strong embrace of God.

Now to give you an idea of what’s going on in history — the Jewish people are divided into two nations. I’m sure you remember that there were originally twelve tribes of Israel. And these tribes eventually ask for a king. The first king was Saul. Next came David. Then David’s son — Solomon — was king. 

After Solomon, there’s conflict over who should be king and the nation ends up dividing over the matter. Ten tribes join together and keep the name Israel — they’re in the north — and two tribes join together and are named Judah — they’re in the south. And this division takes place roughly 300 years before Habakkuk’s lifetime.

Now — for quite a while — neither Israel nor Judah experience external conflict — meaning war with other nations — but they have some significant internal problems. Evil kings. Moral corruption. The people abandon God. Things are a big mess — which you can read about in the books of 1st and 2nd Kings.

But here’s what’s crazy. The people of both Israel and Judah assume that the lack of external conflict — the fact they’re not at war with other nations — is because God approves of the way they’re living. But — remember — they’ve abandoned God. Yet they think that God approves of their behavior. That is until the Assyrians show up. 

The Assyrians come from the north — invade and conquer Israel — displace many of the remaining Israelites — sending most of them to go live in foreign lands. This all happens around 732 BC — about 150 years before Habakkuk. 

Down in the south — in Judah — things are a little better than in Israel — but not much. They don’t get conquered by the Assyrians, but they are under their control until the capital of Assyria — Nineveh — falls in 612 BC. At that time — Egypt comes in and overpowers Judah — only to be followed by the Babylonians who come in and defeat Egypt in 605 BC. And — it’s during Habakkuk’s lifetime — that the Babylonians will conquer Judah.  

And what we find in this book — is a dialogue between the prophet and God. And this dialogue occurs just before the Babylonian’s invasion of Judah. So there’s a new world power on the rise — a wicked and evil nation — and this nation is about to come in and conquer the people of God.

OVERVIEW OF HABAKKUK

So that’s the setting for our book. Now, let’s turn to the book itself. What’s the layout of the book? The book is made up of three chapters with fifty-six verses — so it’s pretty short. Something that’s a bit different about this book is that — instead of speaking on behalf of God to the people — Habakkuk speaks to God on behalf of the people. This is the dialogue I mentioned earlier. Though Habakkuk’s a prophet — he’s acting in a priestly role here — he’s acting as an intercessor on behalf of the people of Judah.

But unlike some of the other prophets we’ve looked at — instead of proclaiming judgement upon the people of Judah — due to their disobedience and rebellion — we find Habakkuk asking God questions about all that’s going on. In fact, Habakkuk is known as the “questioning prophet.” And you may be wondering, “Well, what kind of questions does he ask God?” 

Questions like, “Why is an evil nation rising up in power? And why will this evil nation conquer the people of God?” 

Habakkuk asks questions that are similar to ones we have today like, “If God is good and all powerful, why is there evil?” And “Why do bad things happen to good people?” 

But here’s what I want you to know about Habakkuk’s questions. God graciously responds to him — God answers his questions. God isn’t afraid of or offended by our questions. He is gracious and answers our questions.

In chapters 1 and 2, Habakkuk struggles with two questions. The first is, “Why is God allowing evil to go unpunished?” And the second question is, “Why is God using the Babylonians to judge Judah’s sin when they — the Babylonians — are way worse than Judah?” And — as I said earlier — God answers Habakkuk’s questions. God tells him that judgement will come for the Babylonians. But it will happen according to his — God’s — timing and not Habakkuk’s. And — until that time — Habakkuk is told to trust God.

In chapter 3, we see things take a turn — this is the chapter our passage is from. In the midst of some weighty questions — questions about evil and judgement and being told — by God — to “trust me even when you don’t have all the answers — or the answers you want” — Habakkuk praises God. And the prophet writes down the lyrics to his song — a song of praise that he sings to God in spite of the difficult days that are ahead for him and the people of Judah. 

In fact, Habakkuk praises God — in advance — for the days that will come after the difficult days have passed. Days of joy — days of hope — sung about in a hymn of joy and hope — sung as difficult and hard days are just on the horizon. And — the result of all of this — is that we find Habakkuk going from questioning God to praising him as the prophet rejoices not — in what his eyes can see — the oncoming Babylonians — but in what his spiritual eyes see as he trusts in his God.

MAIN PASSAGE

Which leads us to the section of the book we’re going to focus on today. So let’s turn to our passage. Hopefully you’ve had time to find Habakkuk chapter 3. We’ll begin in verse 17 as we discover a way to find Jesus in the book of Habakkuk — and in all of the Bible. 

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV)

SERMON INTRODUCTION

“You deserve to be happy” — at least that’s what we’re told. Now — what makes us happy has changed over the years and it’ll continue to change. But the chase of being happy — the idea of us having a fundamental right to be happy — or at least the right to pursue happiness — has been with those of us living in the US — since our nation’s founding. 

And companies have found success in tapping into our desire to be happy — marketing aimed at our desire to be happy is quite successful. These companies want us to believe that we’ll be happy after we’ve purchased their product and — for sure — they’re gonna be happy after we purchase their product. Just listen to some of the ways we’re marketed to.

• Coca-Cola — back in 2009 — told us to “open happiness.” Happiness in a can.
• Corona beer — in 2010 — told us to “find your beach.” Because a beach and a corona beer is all you need to be happy. 
• Disneyland is the “happiest place on earth.” 

Yet — today — being happy is often circumstantial — just ask any parent who takes their kids to the happiest place on earth. The happiness seems to disappear at nap time when the kids get cranky! Even Disneyland can’t compete with a cranky — “I need my nap now” — toddler.

And — something we’re taught to think — is that things need to change if we’re unhappy. A new job might do it. Or a new car. A new house. A new spouse. Maybe a new church. And in the pursuit of happiness we keep making lots of changes. 

Yet one study found that — for example — unhappily married adults who divorced or separated were no happier, on average, than unhappy married adults who stayed married. The study also found that divorce did not reduce symptoms of depression for unhappily married adults or raise their self-esteem compared to unhappy couples who stayed married. In fact, 66% of unhappily married adults who stayed married found themselves to be happy in their marriage five years later.

The point isn’t to encourage unhappy marriages — and it’s definitely not meant to encourage divorce — I’m just pointing out that happiness is circumstantial. And circumstances change. Sometimes all we need is a little patience — with our circumstances — instead of making the change ourselves.

And we can’t ignore that there are times when things — outside of our control — mess with our happiness. I’m talking about big difficult things — like a bad medical report from your doctor — or the death of a friend or loved one — but I’m also thinking of things that are more of an inconvenience — like when a coworker quits and you’re asked to cover their workload and yours — or when the quick route home is now under construction and will be for an indefinite amount of time —  so yippie! — you’re taking the long way home. There are big things and — not so big things — that can affect our happiness. 

And this shouldn’t be all that surprising to us because we live in a fallen world — a world influenced by sin. Living in an imperfect world full of imperfect people contributes to the elusiveness of lasting happiness. And to top it all off, we’re often left feeling unsatisfied even after making changes that were supposed to make us happy. 

Being unhappy is a real emotion we all face — an emotion we’re told to rid ourselves of. Why/ Because happiness is the goal. 

Yet it shouldn’t surprise us that happiness is often fleeting since it’s based on our circumstances which are constantly changing. Being happy all of the time isn’t possible — though we keep chasing after it. But — good news! — a deeply rooted and satisfying joy — not based on circumstances — but on God — is offered to us. Offered to us because Jesus chose joy even when the circumstances he found himself facing were not a reason to be happy. Yet “Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.” (Hebrews 12:2b NLT)

The joy of fulfilling the work he was sent to do — along with the joy of being back in the presence of his Father — along with the joy of reconciling the people he loves with their God — this is the joy that was awaiting him. This is the joy he focused on even when the circumstances he experienced — including his death on a cross — were happiness thieves. And because of his choosing of joy — we — those loved by him — those changed by his love — can choose joy no matter the circumstances we face.

TOUGH TIMES

But — before we get ahead of ourselves — let’s look at the tough times Habakkuk — and the people of Judah — are facing. Back to verse 17.

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls…” (Habakkuk 3:17 ESV)

So the circumstances are bad. The fig trees aren’t producing figs. The vines aren’t producing grapes. The olive trees aren’t producing olives. The fields aren’t producing a harvest. And the animals are gone.

We’re not even talking about the Assyrians oppressing them, or the Egyptians being in control, or the oncoming invasion by the Babylonians. For now — the circumstances being described are a time when basic things — things needed to live — are gone. No food. No harvest. No animals. 

And there’s an increase in the severity of the loss. 

• Fig trees not producing figs — is a loss — but not significant. Think of it like dessert — it stinks not to have it — but you can survive. 
• Vines not producing grapes means no wine. Again, an inconvenience but not much more. 
• No olives — well — now we’re past inconvenience and getting to something you need for survival. Olive oil was used for cooking. No oil and your cooking options are limited. 
• Add to that — no harvest — no grain — and now a staple of the diet is lost — starvation is a real threat. 
• And — finally — the flocks are gone. And it’s not just the meat. No animals means no milk. No wool. No oxen to help with the farm work.

A loss of one or two of these things might be survivable. The loss of all of them at once is an economic disaster — a devastating dark cloud on the horizon for the people of Judah. 

Now — hopefully we can laugh at ourselves — but we recently experienced the chaos of no toilet paper on the shelves. I don’t know who you are — but some folks will never have to buy TP again. For a while, soups and other easy to make foods were missing from the shelves. Kids were doing online schooling. Looking back — some minor inconveniences.

If only that was all we experienced. Some folks lost their jobs. Families experienced the death of loved ones — including Gateway families. All of life — from business to work to the church — were affected. But our 2020 doesn’t even touch what God says is coming for the nation of Judah. 

Not just no toilet paper on the shelves — we’re talking no grocery stores. Then the electric grid is gone. Hospitals, fire stations, police — all gone. Oh and this is just the precursor to a wicked and evil nation successfully invading us and it will be “submit to them or death” — for the next 70 years. Families will be split up — many never seeing their loved ones again. How happy do you think you’d be if this was our circumstances?

Yet — just before this description of what he and Judah will experience — our prophet reflects on the destruction of Israel. He thinks of the outcome of the Assyrians who were so proud of their invasion of Israel. So — while hearing God’s reason for why Judah will be conquered by the Babylonians — Habakkuk sings, “I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us.” (Habakkuk 3:16 NLT)

Though the news caused him to be afraid — “the Babylonians are coming!” — though he shook in terror and his legs gave out — he says, “I will be patient and wait for the Lord’s timing.” He both admits his fear — because of his circumstances — and he places his faith in God. It’s possible to be afraid of what’s going on and walk in faith at the same time — though social media posts — of recent — seem to say otherwise.

JOY IN GOD

And what’s the result for Habakkuk? Joy! Let’s read our verses again.

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV)

Habakkuk chooses joy even when God tells him that things are going to get worse before they get better. And — not worse for a quick minute — worse for 70 years. That’s an entire lifetime of difficult circumstances. And yet Habakkuk looks past the difficult circumstances — and looks well into the future — to the joy awaiting him and the people of God.

He chooses joy over despair. He chooses joy over hopelessness. He even chooses joy when his world is falling apart. 

Now — it’s easy for us to assume that times for joy — like our happiness — times for joy are when things are going good for us. 

Those times when we think that God’s blessing us because our bank account is full, our health is good, we get the promotion at work, and our teenagers think we’re wise instead of idiots. Yet none of these good things are necessarily God things. And as much as it pains me to say — not even our teenagers thinking we’re wise. 

What’s my point? Be careful to not confuse good times with God’s blessing. Because what does that mean when we’re in the midst of not so good times? Well if good times mean we’re being blessed by God, bad times must mean we’re either being punished by him, or he’s forgotten about us, or something like that. And Habakkuk’s teaching us something radically different. 

He shows us that God is worthy to be trusted even in the midst of difficult circumstances. And in trusting God — during difficult times — we discover a joy that surpasses all circumstances — a joy in God.

Listen to how another Bible translation describes the joy in the life of those who know God. 

“I’m singing joyful praise to God. I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God. Counting on God’s Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength.” (Habakkuk 3:18-19a MSG)

Or as one author has written. “The literal [wording] is ‘I will jump for joy in the Lord; I will spin around for delight in God.’” He goes on to say, “This is the hilarity of faith! — joy at its best with circumstances at their worst!”

So when the horizon of your life — at best — looks grim and — at worst — looks hopeless, Habakkuk says, “Be filled with joy! Joy because of your God. Look past your circumstances and look to your God!”

Now there’s a part of verse 19 that sounds strange to us — the part about God making our feet like the feet of a deer. Again — another Bible translation helps. “He makes me as surefooted as a deer.” (Habakkuk 3:19b NLT)

Why do I bring this up? Because the promise to us is that no matter how difficult the circumstances are that we face — God is our security. He’s our guide. He puts our feet on solid ground. 

Though earlier Habakkuk said his legs were shaking — after thinking about who God is and his faithfulness to his people — Habakkuk sets his eyes on his God. His God — the one who made his legs — has placed them on secure footing. This is the same God who enables him to overflow with joy even in the midst of difficult and unknown circumstances. 

Habakkuk knows that his God is mightier than the Babylonians. He’s proven his strength and power and faithfulness in the past. God did so with the Assyrians. He did so with the Egyptians. And Habakkuk knows — with certainty — that God will do so once again. And this gives him hope — this gives him confidence. But — what I don’t want you to miss — is that this gives him joy in spite of his circumstances — a joy that’s a result of his faith in his God.

FINDING JESUS

Now something about our verses — that I’ve yet to tell you — is that there’s not a single command to be found. So there’s no “be joyful” — that’d be a command. There’s nothing for us to do. Not a rule to follow or a command to obey. Just a description of the joyful life of those who trust in God — a joy for those who live by faith — just as Habakkuk lived by faith.

And you may wonder, “Where in the world is Josh getting this ‘live by faith stuff?’ How are living by faith and our joy related to each other?” Well it’s not from our verses — but it is from Habakkuk. Earlier God tells Habakkuk these words: “The righteous shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4b ESV)

And — in the New Testament — it takes three books to explain this one verse. Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews all focus on the idea of the righteous living by faith. As Warren Wiersbe has said, “It takes three books to explain and apply this one verse!” 

And in these New Testament books, we find that the “living” the righteous do — is an eternal living. A way of living made possible because of what Christ has accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection and keeping our eyes focused on him. 

Remember — both the Babylonians and the people living in Judah have done evil things. Neither are free from sin. Neither are guiltless. Yet the Babylonians will be destroyed and the people of God will be filled with joy — even as they experience the consequence of their sin. And what separates the two groups is that one is a people of faith — a people who live by faith in God — and the other is not a people of faith. 

And what does living by faith look like? We’ve already looked at the book of Hebrews and the joy that was set before Jesus as he headed to the cross. Just a chapter before, we find a list of Bible folk — people who lived by faith — who demonstrate what “the righteous shall live by faith” looks like. People who had joy in all kinds of difficult circumstances because it was a joy in their God. 

Whether the circumstances be “Noah, build an ark” or “Abraham, sacrifice your son” or “Moses, lead my people out of slavery” or others who “shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, 35 and women received back their dead raised to life. But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. 36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, sawed apart, murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38 (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. 39 And these all were commended for their faith.” (Hebrews 11:33b-39a NET) 

Similar to Habakkuk — whose joy and hope were based not on what his physical eyes could see — but on what his spiritual eyes saw based on the promises of God — we the people of God today — can easily lose hope and experience a loss of joy based on what our physical eyes can see. 

But if we turn our spiritual eyes to our promise making and promise keeping God — we will live by faith. If we turn our eyes to his Word to us — we find how all things will come to an end. The book of Revelation shows us what our spiritual eyes are to be focused on today. Jesus returning to make all things new. Though the wicked may rise in power — though evil may seem to be winning in our world — we do not despair. But like Habakkuk, we live by faith. We sing songs of hope. We rejoice in our God who is mighty to save.

Dear Christian, someone has said, “God is as committed to our joy in him as he is to his ultimate purpose in the universe.” This is why Jesus focused on the joy that was before him instead of the cross that he would be killed on. He looked past the cross because of his desire for you to find joy in him. 

And — in knowing how committed he is to our joy — may our commitment — to our joy in our God — increase. In doing so, we’ll find ourselves singing songs and dancing and rejoicing in him no matter our circumstances. Let’s pray together.

PRAYER

Father, Son and Spirit, be the reason for our joy. May you be the rock solid foundation for our joy — a joy in all circumstances — that only you can be. May our eyes look past our circumstances and to the joy awaiting us — an eternal joy — a joy unimaginable — a joy that’s guaranteed.

Jesus, you have made joy possible for us. Though the cross loomed on the horizon — you looked past it — knowing that not only your joy but ours was on the other side of it. We will never thank you enough for what you’ve provided. Our hope. Our life. Our eternity. Our joy — to name a few. 

Spirit of God, we need you to fix our eyes on Jesus. This world wants to distract our eyes from being on him and we are too weak and faithless to keep our eyes on him alone. We need your power, your strength, your joy and delight in Christ — to be our power and strength — our joy and delight in him.

And for those desperate for joy, may you open their eyes to see the beauty of Christ and the work he accomplished for them on the cross. May they find the joy that only Jesus gives. And we pray all of these things in his name. Amen.

BENEDICTION

May you be joyful in all circumstances because your joy is in your God. Amen. 

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.