11-27-2022 Faith as a Way of Life (Habakkuk 1:1-7, 2:1-4)

Sermon Passages and Notes: Faith as a Way of Life Habakkuk 1:1-7, 2:1-4 Habakkuk 1:1-7 1 The pronouncement that the prophet Habakkuk saw. 2 How long, Lord, must I call for help and you do not listen or cry out to you about violence and you do not save? 3 Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife (lawsuits/court judgement) is ongoing, and conflict escalates. 4 This is why the law is ineffective and justice (mishpat) never emerges. For the wicked restrict the righteous; therefore, justice (mishpat) comes out perverted. 5 Look at the nations and observe— be utterly astounded! For I am doing something in your days that you will not believe when you hear about it. 6 Look! I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter, impetuous nation that marches across the earth’s open spaces to seize territories not its own. 7 They are fierce and terrifying; their views of justice and sovereignty stem from themselves. "Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?" The way the world currently is– is not the way God wants the world to be. Habakkuk 2:1-4 2:1 I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint. God’s Second Answer 2 The Lord answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it. 3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late. 4 Look, his ego is inflated; he is without integrity. But the righteous one will live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:2 (CEB) 2 Then the Lord answered me and said, Write a vision, and make it plain upon a tablet so that a runner can read it. Habakkuk 2:3 3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late. What would you write on your sign? Maimonides Ani Ma'amin- I believe Thirteen Statements of Faith 12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah and though He may tarry, still I await Him every day. How do we insist upon hope in the face of this immediate violence and fear? In a world filled with injustice, violence, and impossibility, there is hope for the coming of the Messiah. The proclamation of the possibility for a new way of life when it seems the most impossible– that is what Habakkuk and Advent is after. What would you write on your sign?