Brethren, let's pray together. Our God, we can say with confidence that You indeed have been our Helper so many times in the past. Our Father, we cannot recount them all. Your goodness has been lavished upon us. But as You have helped us in the past, our God, we cry out to You that You would be our Helper now. We're coming to the preaching of Your Word. And, our God, we sense our weakness and inability. Who can understand the things of God unless the Spirit comes and makes them known? Our God, we cry to You that You would pour out Your Spirit upon us. that You would grant utterance in the preaching of Your Word, that You would grant our hearts to be wide open to receive Your truth. O Father, as You know each one of us, as You know our needs this morning, bring Your Word and press it home to our hearts. And may we be a believing people, believing Your truth and looking to You to work in our hearts. We ask these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Please be seated. Well, if you were with us in Sunday school, you know that we had a quick survey of the little minor prophet Habakkuk And we're going to return to that in our service this morning, so please turn to that book in your Bibles. As I said in Sunday School, if you have difficulty finding it, just go to the beginning of the New Testament, Matthew, and go back five books. You'll find the little book of Habakkuk, and we're going to be this morning in chapter 3. Please follow along in your Bibles as I read the first 16 verses, Habakkuk chapter 3. A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet according to Shigionoth. Lord, I have heard the report about Thee, and I fear. O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make it known. In wrath, remember mercy. God comes from Taman and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His splendor covers the heavens and the earth is full of His praise. His radiance is like the sunlight. He has rays flashing from His hand and there is the hiding of His power. Before Him goes pestilence and plague comes after Him. He stood and surveyed the earth. He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered. The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Kushan under distress. The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling. Did the Lord rage against the rivers, or was Thine anger against the rivers, or was Thy wrath against the sea, that Thou didst ride on Thy horses, on Thy chariots of salvation? Thy bow was made bare, the rods of chastisement were sworn, Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. The mountains saw Thee in quake, the downpour of water swept by, The deep uttered forth its voice, it lifted high its hands. Sun and moon stood in their places, They went away at the light of Thine arrows, At the radiance of Thy gleaming spear. In indignation, thou didst march through the earth. In anger, thou didst trample the nations. Thou didst go forth for the salvation of thy people, for the salvation of thine anointed. Thou didst strike the head of the house of the evil to lay him open from thigh to neck. Thou didst pierce with his own spears the head of his throngs. They stormed in to scatter us. Their exultation was like those who devoured the oppressed in secret. thou didst tread on the sea with thy horses on the surge of many waters." And here at the end of his prayer he comments in verse 16, I heard and my inward parts trembled. At the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble, because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the people to arise, who will invade us. We already saw in Sunday School that the prophet begins this book with a complaint to God. He is complaining about the state of affairs in southern Judah. Rather than commitment to the Lord and godly living, these people who were sworn by covenant to be the people of God were rebelling against the Lord They were leaving off from following after the truth. Their religion was one of formality and ritual. And the prophet says, Oh God, why do I have to see this? Why do I have to put up with it day after day? Why don't you come and work? I'm crying out to you that you would save and you appear to be doing nothing. And you remember the Lord's response. He said, Habakkuk, you can't see it right now, but I am working. Just look way over to the east and you'll see that I'm raising up that Babylonian nation and I'm making them into a powerful army and they're going to sweep across the earth and bring devastation to southern Judah. I'm going to discipline my people. And the prophet says, wait a minute. I appreciate the fact that you're working, but that's not the work I prayed for. I was looking for revival and salvation. And are you going to crush us? Are you going to discipline us? You're a holy God. How can you take such unholy means and discipline your people and bring such devastation? We saw in chapter 2 God's answer to the prophet in that he prophesies, he says, I too am going to punish Babylon after I've used them. They're an idolatrous people. They worship themselves. They're filled with pride. They're bragging and boasting. They're violent and wicked in so many ways. And my judgment will fall upon them as well after they have fulfilled my purpose of disciplining my people. Now, we saw at the beginning of chapter 2, that the prophet expected that there would be this going back and forth dialogue between himself and the Lord. He would speak, the Lord would answer. He would speak, the Lord would answer. He would complain, he would argue with God, and God would come back with his answers. But when we come into chapter 3, and God has spoken, the pattern doesn't continue. The complaint doesn't continue. The argument with God doesn't continue. Rather, what we find, first of all, is a changed prophet. Habakkuk in chapter 3 is a changed prophet. When you read through his words here and meditate on them, you don't find the complaint anymore. You don't find his soul disturbed with God. There's not this rattling within and this arguing with God about why are you doing this and why aren't you doing this and why haven't you answered my prayers? No chapter 3 reveals to us a radical change in this prophet Habakkuk. There's no answering back to God. There's no argument. but rather we find humble submission. There is the recognition on the part of the prophet that God has a right to be angry with His people. They've sinned against Him. They have scorned Him. They've been rebellious. They've gone their own way. The prophet knows, God, You're right to be angry with us. You're right to be sending that army. You're right to be bringing the kind of devastation that you've prophesied. We deserve no more complaint, no more accusation, but rather humble submission to God's plan. We find the prophet here standing in awe of God. He speaks of fear. He speaks of trembling. He speaks of how he's just going to stand and wait and watch and see what God is going to do. What we find here is a protesting prophet changed to a humble suppliant at the throne of grace. Habakkuk is like the picture we're given in Psalm 131. The psalmist there speaks of the weaned child against its mother's breast. And you know that picture of the fractious nursing baby who wants its mother. And he's there in its mother's arms, and he knows what it wants, and he might even be clawing or grabbing or beating its head against his mother's chest. He wants that milk. He wants that nourishment. makes me think of my oldest son. I wouldn't tell you this if he was here, but when we were young parents and didn't know an awful lot, our first baby, he got into the habit of falling asleep while he was nursing. He wouldn't fall asleep any other way. Had to be nursing. And we got to the point where we kind of clued in and thought, somehow along the line, this has got to be broken. He's got to learn to fall asleep without nursing. And of course, the job fell to me to help him learn that. And he was not a content baby in Dad's arms. He would fight. He would wrestle. He knew what he wanted. He would even bang his head against my chest and it was like, you're not getting anything here. But oh, the difference when a baby is weaned. and can lie or sit contentedly with his head resting against his mother. The psalmist says, I've quieted myself like a weaned child. And that's what we find here with Habakkuk. He was, in a sense, that nursing baby beating against God. What are you doing? Why aren't you working? Why aren't you coming? Why aren't you hearing my prayers? And now we come to chapter 3. He's quiet. It's like the weaned baby. He's lying his head against God's chest. He's praying. He's a changed prophet. We might ask the question, why? Why such a change in this man of God? And though the question isn't asked specifically or answered specifically, I think reading through the book and noticing what has happened and seeing the dialogue and then seeing the change, we have to say that Habakkuk's eyes had been more fully opened to see his God. Now, it's not that he was ignorant of God. Or you can read through chapter 1 and chapter 2. Habakkuk was orthodox in his theology. He knew what his God was like in so many ways. He would put many of us to shame in terms of what he knew and how he spoke that in prayer back to God as he had this dialogue with the Lord. But brethren, we come to chapter 3. And through that dialogue and interaction with God, and through those revelations that he had had from God in chapter 2, the prophet came to know God in a way that he had not known the Lord before. He came to see the faithfulness of God in his promise to preserve his people. The righteous were going to live through this time. They would look to God in faith and He would preserve them and keep them. God was going to be faithful to His people. They wouldn't be wiped off the face of the earth. God would keep them. The prophet had a glimpse of God's eternal purpose to fill the earth with His glory. The prophet was all worried about Jerusalem and southern Judah and that little pocket of righteous people, what was going to happen to them. And all of a sudden, God opens his eyes to see this vista, the glory of God in every corner of the earth, and to see that God's purposes were not small and puny and little, but big and glorious and exalted things that were true of God himself. And the prophet had heard the call to worship. He'd seen God seated in His holy temple. And the call, let all the earth be silent before Him. The prophet came to realize that protest and complaint was not appropriate, but rather he should be on his face in prayer and humility. That's a changed prophet. This fractious nursing baby to the weaned child leaning upon his God. Brethren, this is such an encouragement to me that even a prophet of the Lord needs to be changed. Even a prophet of the Lord Even a man such as Habakkuk, who had been called to serve the Lord, who had been called to proclaim the Word of God in Judah, who had been given the privilege of speaking with God and having dialogue with the Almighty, even that man needed to be changed and was changed by the grace of God. Brethren, if Habakkuk needed it, I am convinced that you and I need it. We need to be changed. Every one of us. It doesn't matter where we are in our Christian life. It doesn't matter where we come out on the scale of immaturity or maturity. Would any one of us here this morning say, we know all there is to know of God? Is there any one of us here this morning who would say, I never protest to God. I never complain to God. I'm never dissatisfied about His plans. I'm never upset about how He orders my life. I'm never upset about the bad things that He brings to me. Anybody be willing to stand and say, that's me? We all protest, don't we? We all complain. We all say, God, What are you doing? What is your plan? Why have you ordered these circumstances for me? Why aren't you bringing revival? Why is there judgment instead? Why don't we see the fulfillment of your purposes? We're longing for these things. God, why aren't you working? And we need to be changed. We need to be changed into the image of our Lord Jesus. We need to be molded and shaped We need to have those rough edges chopped off, sanded off, and come to be like humble suppliants before the throne of grace. Brethren, I ask you, are you here this morning to be changed? I know you've come to worship. And I trust that you've been motivated in your worship to bring glory to God. But brethren, let us never come to the house of the Lord to sit under the teaching of His Word. Without that conviction, I need to be changed. I want God to work in my life. I want to go out these doors a different man, a different woman, a different young person than I came in here. And do we believe that God can change us this morning like He changed tobacco? Do we believe that God can humble us? And at the end of the service, we lift our eyes to heaven and we say, Oh God, I tremble before you. What an awesome God you are. Thank you for mercy to me. Brethren, we need to be changed like the prophet Habakkuk. But not only do we find here a changed prophet, we find in chapter 3 a praying prophet. A praying prophet. In verse 1, he simply tells us that this is going to be his prayer. And then in verse 2, we have the specific request that he makes to God. And then in verses 3 to 15, he gives illustrations of his request. Now, we're going to look at his prayer backwards. And I hope that when we're finished, you'll understand why we've done it this way. We're going to look at verses 3-15 first of all, the illustrations he draws into his prayer, and then we'll come back to verse 2 to consider the actual request itself. So, verses 3-15 first of all. Now, there are two headings that I want us to use in order to look at verses 3-15. First of all, there's the big picture of what God is doing in history. And then we find that this big picture is a compilation of individual events in Israel's history. So there's a big picture that the prophet gives to us, and then in that big picture, he shows us some of the individual events that he's drawing upon to help us see this big picture. You might compare it to a beautiful tapestry or a needlework. When you look on the right side of the needlework or tapestry, you see this beautiful picture and it all makes sense. But then you turn the tapestry around, you see all these loose threads and often it just looks like a mess and it's hard to make out any picture at all. Well, that's in a sense what we've got here. There's this big picture on the front of the tapestry, very clear, very bold. And then he sort of turns it around and we see some of the individual threads that have been woven together to make this big picture. So, first of all, the big picture of God's work in history. Now, the big picture is simply this. The picture that we see on the front of the tapestry, God is portrayed here as a mighty warrior coming to defend His people against His enemies. Now, you children know that we can't see God. He's a spirit. And yet sometimes in the Bible, in order to help us, God is pictured as though He were a man. And that's what we have here. God is being portrayed through these illustrations as a mighty warrior, a champion. He's a soldier who's coming to fight against the enemies of His people and save His people. Now, just look quickly with me through these verses as the prophet gives us this big picture. First of all, we see this mighty warrior stepping down on the tops of the mountains to come to his people. Verses 3-5 God comes from Timon, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His splendor covers the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise. His radiance is like the sunlight. He has rays flashing from His hand, and there is the hiding of His power. Before Him goes pestilence, and plague comes after Him. Now try to get in your imagination a picture of what the Prophet is showing us here. Back in Mississippi we've got some little hills. But you come out here and you see the mountains. And it was just beautiful the other day driving out of Sacramento to see some of those mountains in the distance. I'm not sure which direction I was going. I haven't really gotten good bearings yet. But there's some beautiful mountains and some nice snow peaks. What kind of a person would walk down on the peaks of those mountains? Oh, it wouldn't be you or I. We could not begin to step from peak to peak. But there's this huge warrior that is being pictured here walking down over the mountains to come to his people. and there's glory all around him, and there's storm, and there's disaster and pestilence and destruction coming in his wake as he comes for the salvation of his people. Now, the prophet goes on. It's sort of a moving picture tapestry he gives us. And he shows us God having come down upon the mountains. He stands. He stops for a moment. to consider the situation and survey the enemies of his people." Verses 6 and 7. He stood and surveyed the earth. He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered. The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Cushan under distress. The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling. So here is God, this mighty champion, And he's stepping down the mountains and he stops for a moment. And he's going to survey the situation. And as he stands there, you see the reaction of the physical creation at the presence of their creator. They're trembling, they're shaking, even these great mountains. The nations see and they shake. They're afraid. They know that this is the God of Israel come to help His people. They are terrified. But having surveyed the situation, He determines on His course. He is seen now as a warrior riding in His horse and chariot through the nations to do His work. Verses 8-11 Did the Lord rage against the rivers? Or was Thine anger against the rivers? Or was Thy wrath against the sea, that Thou didst ride on Thy horses on Thy chariots of salvation? Thy bow was made bare. The rods of chastisement were sworn. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. The mountains saw Thee in quake. The downpour of waters swept by. The deep uttered forth its voice. It lifted high its hands. Sun and moon stood in their places. they went away at the light of thine arrows, at the radiance of thy gleaming spears." So the picture is moving. He's surveyed the situation. He knows what he must do. Now he gets into his chariots. He cracks the whip and the horses take off and he rides across land and sea and there's destruction and devastation and payment back to his enemies. There's his flashing sword to be seen and his spear and his arrows as he confronts the enemies of his people. Then he comes down off of his chariot and he begins to stride through the earth. Verses 12-15. In indignation, thou didst march through the earth. In thine anger, thou didst trample the nations. Thou didst go forth for the salvation of thy people, for the salvation of thine anointed. Thou didst strike the head of the house of the evil to lay him open from thigh to neck. Thou didst pierce with his own spears the head of his throngs. They stormed in to scatter us. Their exultation was like those who devour the oppressed in secret. Thou didst tread on the sea with thy horses on the surge of many waters." So this champion, for a while, steps down from his chariot. He leaves his horses and he begins to stride through the earth. And he is so powerful that he's coming to these enemies and he's taking their weapons and using them against the enemies. The water is writhing. The earth is shaking again at the presence of such a mighty warrior. Now, this is the big picture. Habakkuk is presenting to us this tapestry, showing us God's work in history, what he does. And he wants us to understand that God is like this mighty warrior, so great he can step down the mountains. He's come for his people. He surveys the situation. He knows what to do. He rides on chariot and horses. He walks through the earth. And he does this work of payment back to the enemies of his people. Now, this big picture, as I've already said, is a compilation of individual parts, events of Israel's history that the prophet has woven together to make this big picture, this tapestry. Now, it takes some digging here, because when you read right across these verses, you might not initially know it. But it's not the kind of digging where you say, John, I don't really see it. We need a Bible study to go into good depth here, and I would encourage you as you read through Habakkuk, perhaps this afternoon or this week, to look into your cross-references. There are some that I want to refer to. But here are some of the individual events in Israel's history that he refers to. They're not given in detail, but there are allusions given to them here in these verses. First of all, Habakkuk is referring to Israel's exodus from Egypt. When you think of God coming and stirring up the waters, in Psalm 77, almost identical language, there is the reference back to the exodus and what God did for His people. When He came down to Egypt, the plagues and devastation came before Him, and He took His people out and led them through that Red Sea. We also find that Habakkuk is referring here to the establishment of the covenant on Mount Sinai. Again, very similar language to Deuteronomy 33. When God comes down on the mountain, there's the storm, there's the thunder, there's the glory that shines out over the desert. And God is coming to declare His law to His people and make covenant with them. There's also reference here to the conquest of Canaan under Joshua. This is one of the more clear references. You go back to Joshua 10 and you read again about that story where Joshua is fighting against the Canaanites and they're going to run out of time. And what does God do? He stops the sun and the moon in their courses. And Habakkuk refers to that here as though God was coming down this mighty champion and at his presence, these great lights of the sky stop. So that's what happened under the leadership of Joshua when they were coming into the promised land. Habakkuk also refers to several instances out of the book of Judges. There's the incident with Deborah and Barak, where the river Kishon swept away the Canaanite armies before the Israelites. And in Judges 5, there's Deborah's song of praise. And you'll find that some of the very words of her song of praise are embedded in this prayer here. And then, Gideon's defeat of the Midianites in Judges 6 and 7. Remember the story? Of course, Gideon himself, a very fearful man. He gathers together all of these people, 22,000, and the Lord says, it's too many. Remember, they have to whittle them down and finally, there's 300 men. You can imagine Gideon fearful himself and now just this little band of men. How on earth are we going to overcome the Midianites? We're told that they were over the valleys like locusts, just swarming. Remember, God said to Gideon, I'll give you courage. Go down and listen to what they're saying in the tents. Remember, he and a friend snuck down. They got close to one of the tents and they heard one of the Midianite soldiers inside telling about this dream he had and how they were going to fall before the Israelite Gideon. The tents of Midian, the tent curtains, were trembling. Habakkuk refers to that here. You see, the Prophet has looked back over Israel's history. He's taken all of these individual events, the Exodus, Sinai, Joshua, Judges. He's seen how in these events God has come to His people, He's helped His people, and so He's taken these events, just strands from them, and He's woven them all together so that we have this big picture. And he says, if you want to understand the Old Testament, if you want to look back and have a comprehensive view, here it is. God comes as a mighty warrior. He treads down the mountains of Palestine. He comes and He gets on His chariot. He walks through the land and He works on behalf of His people. The purpose is set forth very clear in verses 12 and 13. In indignation thou didst march through the earth, In anger thou didst trample the nations, thou didst go forth for the salvation of thy people, for the salvation of thine anointed." God was coming for his people. That little group of Israelites who were struggling back in Egypt, or who found themselves lost in the midst of the Sinai Peninsula, Or later, under Joshua, found themselves up against just incredible odds. And then under the judges, they were so small and ineffective. And God came the mighty warrior and worked for the salvation of His people. He came and did the things they could not do for themselves. Now, why do we find this in a prayer? Why is this the major part of this prayer that Habakkuk offers to God here. Why is a history lesson being offered up to God, as it were, in this prayer? Well, this brings us back to the specific request of verse 2. Look at what the prophet prays. Lord, I have heard the report about Thee, and I fear. O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make it known. In wrath, remember mercy." What's this report he's talking about? What's this work he's referring to? What's this fame of the Lord that he mentions here? Well, it's verses 3-15. It's the history lesson that he knew from Israel's past. It's all of these incidences that he refers to as he draws them together in this tapestry. Lord, I hear what you did under Moses. I remember the account of what you did under the ministry of Joshua. I remember how you worked in that period of the judges. Lord, I've heard this report of you, this fame of you. Now, what does he want? He says, revive this work in our days. And in the midst of this time of wrath that we deserve, come and show mercy by taking up this work again. You see, in the prophet's eyes, this work of God, God coming to save His people, seemed to be just about that. Where was it to be known? In Israel. Where was God, as the mighty champion of his people, to be experienced and seen in his day? Habakkuk says, seems to be dead. God, it seems like you haven't been working. Come and revive your work. Make it alive again. Come as you did in these past days. Be our mighty champion again. Walk down the mountains. Get on your chariots. Ride with your horses, with your spear and your sword. And work salvation for us. O God, revive this work in the midst of the years, in the midst of this time of wrath and discipline. Remember mercy and be our Savior. If we were to take this request Habakkuk and the illustrations that he draws in in this big picture and the individual events and boil it down into modern lingo that we might use. What's Habakkuk praying? He's saying, God, do it again. God, do it again. The way you worked back at the Red Sea when you dealt with the Egyptians and saved your people. God, do it again. The way you worked under the ministry of Joshua. God, come and do it again. The way you worked, God, through that weakling Gideon. God, come and do it again. Your people are in need of salvation. They are in need of a mighty champion. God, come and do it again. Brethren, what stimulus this ought to give to our prayers. We ought to be men and women of prayer, just like Habakkuk, who are ready to say, God, do it again. Do it again. And for this very reason, we ought to be zealous students of history. zealous students of history, both biblical history and church history. Because you see, that's what Habakkuk was. He loved these historical references of what God had done for his people. And he brings them into his prayer and says, God, I know you're like that. Now you do it again for us today. Do it again for us today. And brethren, that's how we need to pray. We need to take biblical history and we need to take church history and we need to bring it into our prayers and say, God, do it again. Brethren, when you read through the Book of Acts, isn't your heart stirred to see how God worked among the early churches? And I know that there are things unique to that period, but brethren, I believe that there are so many things that are to be normative to our experience that flow out of Acts. Do you think that the salvation of a great multitude is to be limited to the Book of Acts? I don't believe that. I see nowhere in my Bible that it's just to be limited to acts, that God was teasing us and saying, well, when my apostles were here, I did such great and mighty things. But now in the 20th, 21st century, all you Christians can hope for is just some meager handouts of my grace. Is that your God? No, not at all. We ought to look to God and pray that He'd send out His Spirit and save a multitude, even like He did at Pentecost. Can He still save 3,000 in a day? Oh, yes, He can. I love the Reformation. You know, you think of that dark period of time in the life of the church. Truth almost extinguished. Where was vital godliness to be found? Purity in the lives of those who were committed to Jesus Christ. And yet God came, and He raised up some men, and He shone the light of His gospel upon many people. And through the true preaching of the Word of God, God began to gather people into His Church again. And people came to love the Lord Jesus Christ and rely upon Him only for their salvation. And we look back and we see that, and we ought to pray, God of the Reformers, do it again! Is He able to do it again? Yes, my brothers and sisters, He's able to do it again. I know that you with me love the Puritans. I love to think of that period of church history. You know, it amazes me that in that little country of England, when persecution came and true gospel ministers had to determine whether they were going to serve the king of the state, or the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, that about 2,000 were kicked out of their pulpits. Can you imagine that? In a little country like England, over 2,000 men that had been raised up to preach the truths that we believe and hold dear. I remember reading of one preacher who went to hear his friend preach, God came in a mighty way and moved in the congregation. And this man left and went out to his horse and just hung on the neck of his horse for about 45 minutes and wept. How God had moved. Can God move like that again? Yes, He can. Can God send His Spirit and work through preachers like that again? Can God raise up that many preachers who are true to His Word again? You have a need of pastors here. God raised up thousands of pastors in that age. Will we not be bold enough to say, God of the Puritans, do it again! Do it again! That's what we need, our God. Do it again! I love the awakenings, the revivals, the 1700s and 1800s. Oh, my soul thrills to think of them. How God raised up some men, well-known men and many lesser lights as well. And under the preaching of the Word of God, sinners were brought to repentance. Rich sinners, poor sinners. People from every walk of life came crowding to hear the preaching of the Gospel. I love to read those records of Whitfield preaching in London in some of the parks. And all the poor people would come and cram in on the commons. And the rich people would drive in in their carriages in the circle around the park. And thousands of people listening to the preaching of the Gospel. And eyewitnesses tell us you could hear weeping. over that huge assembly. Can God do it again? Can God do that kind of gospel work in hardened America? That was England. England of gospel privilege. England that had turned away from the Lord. England that had spurred the gospel. And sometimes we're tempted to think, well, America has had all of its gospel privileges. God has just passed us by. I don't believe that. Habakkuk says in wrath, remember mercy. In the midst of deserved judgment, remember mercy and do it again. And we need to pray, God of the great awakenings, come and do it again. Oh, brethren, I know that this passage stirs up my soul, but normally I'm so filled with unbelief. You know, just to think that if we could have some groups here and there, holding out to the end with the gospel, that maybe that's all we can hope for. But that's not what Habakkuk prayed for. And that's not what the Lord revealed to him in terms of his glory covering the earth as the water covers the sea. Habakkuk said, Oh God, look at our time now. We're in such desperate straits. Is there hope for your kingdom? But God, this is what you've done. You're a mighty champion. You ride through the earth for the salvation of your people. Come and do it again. Brethren, let us ask God to deal with our unbelief, that He would change us and make us great hopers and great believers and great prayers. Do you pray like this? Do you bring history to God? I think this pleases the Lord. Many of the great prayers of the Bible are filled with this very kind of argument. God, You did it in the past. You did it when Moses was around. You did it when Joshua was around. You did it for Abraham. What about us? We're your people here. Come and do it again. Are you praying like that? Are you praying like that? As I sat and went over this and thought about it, I had to ask myself, John, are you praying like that? Do you have this kind of a vision? Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, are you praying like this? What about your vision for Sacramento? Such a blessing to come and be with you and see many people gathered here and to be able to talk with you and hear of your loyalty to Jesus Christ. That thrills my soul. But is this all that God is able to do in Sacramento? Has His resources and abilities been used up by what is here? Oh, surely, brethren, you know that God can do much more. Are there not many more sinners to be saved? Are there not many more lambs and sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ to be brought into the fold? Is there not more gospel work to be done here in Sacramento? Are there not neighborhoods to be evangelized? Is there not gospel work to be done among the poor and among the rich and every part of society? Oh, if we believe that, then we'll be praying, God, come and do it again. Come and do it again. This passage isn't really very messianic in its focus, except you know if you're a Christian that this mighty warrior is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul uses that kind of terminology. In Ephesians 4, when he's speaking of the resurrection and ascension and exaltation of Christ into heaven, he pictures Him as a mighty warrior, ascending there, having won the victory, and going to His acclamation in heaven. Brethren, you know that though not seen with the eyes of flesh, when He was on the cross, He was in a mighty conflict for us. And he was taking Satan, and he was taking his host, and he was disarming them, and he was using their enemies, their weapons against them, and he ascended into heaven with all of these gifts that a mighty warrior has, and distributed the gifts to his people. Jesus Christ is our mighty warrior. Oh, may God open our eyes that we might see Him as He truly is and honor Him and believe upon Him and know that He rides through the earth for His people, for His people, for you, for me, for His churches. Do you know this mighty warrior this morning? Has God opened your eyes to see Him? Has God helped you to know how much you need Him? If you don't know that this morning, I want to tell you, you need Jesus Christ. Because if you don't know our Savior, you're lost in your sins. And all that you have to look forward to are these dark clouds of judgment that we read about in the book of Habakkuk. But there is a burst of sunlight. It's Jesus Christ, the Savior, that God sent into the world to save sinners. And if you're here this morning and you know yourself to be a sinner, Jesus can save you. Just cry out to Him. Confess your sins to Him. Tell Him that you need Him to save you. You need Him to come and cleanse you with His blood. You need Him to make you a new person. You want to be one of His people. You want to be one of those who can call on the great Champion to defend you and help you. And Jesus will delight to save you today. Oh, brethren, think upon this prayer of Habakkuk. And may your souls be stirred up to say, O God of Habakkuk, do it again. Make me to be such a prayer. Let's pray together, brethren. Our God, we would bow low before You and confess our unbelief How often, our God, has our view of you and your purposes been so small, so little. Please forgive us for our sin. Please wash us with the blood of Jesus. Please change us like you changed the prophet Habakkuk. And make us to be people who are bold in prayer. to bring before you the things that you have done before, and to plead that you would revive your work, that in the midst of wrath you would show mercy. Lord, show mercy to those outside of Christ today who sit here this morning and yet they do not know our God, they do not know our Savior. By Your grace, draw them to our great Champion, the Lord Jesus Christ. We ask these things in our Savior's name. Amen.