Something changes in Habakkuk. He began by asking, "How long?" Then, "How can You do this?" God tells him to live by faith. Now, that word has become his posture.

Habakkuk 3:17–19 Though the fig tree should not blossom,nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive failand the fields yield no food,the flock be cut off from the fold and there were no herds in the stalls,yet I will rejoice in the LORD;I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

That is what it means for the righteous to live by faith. Faith is standing on what God has said even when we cannot yet see its fulfillment. No matter how long it takes, no matter what circumstances look like, we continue to trust the One who has spoken.

God's purpose has never changed. Sin did not dethrone the King or cause Him to lose territory; it displaced humanity from our proper place under His rule. But through Christ, God has restored us to Himself and once again sends us into the world as representatives of His Kingdom.

God begins by establishing His rule in us, but His purpose has always been to express His Kingdom through us. Wherever He has placed us, in our homes, churches, workplaces, and communities, we are called to live under the authority of the King and make His righteous rule visible.

One day — and I don’t know when, and neither do you — somebody is going to be standing at a stone with your name carved in it.

And they’re not going to talk about the first date. Nobody stands at a grave and talks about somebody’s birthday.

And they’re not going to talk about the last date either.

— If you’re saved but you’ve been sleepwalking — you’ve got the ticket and none of the life. And God has works sitting there that He prepared for you before you were born, and they’re still waiting. It’s not too late. Wake up and start walking in them.

— And if you’re hurting tonight — I want you to hear this one. This night is not forever. Weeping stays for a night. But morning is coming. It always comes.

You didn’t choose the first date.

Jesus did not come to reestablish His own throne; God is King - that was never the issue. His mission was to restore us, His fallen creation, His wayward sons and daughters. Through His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, He has made it possible for us not only to be reconciled with the Father but also to be rejoined to His family and once again given a renewed purpose to fulfill humanity's original design.

The invitation of the gospel is the invitation to come home. It is the invitation to lay down the burden of self-rule and once again joyfully live under the benevolent reign of the true King. Through Christ, we are welcomed back into God's Kingdom, restored to fellowship with our Father, and called to serve as His royal priesthood, faithfully representing His will upon the earth until the day His Kingdom is fully revealed.

 Every sacrifice He asks of His people is an invitation and God’s method of shaping us to become more like His Son. It's comforting to see that the role of sacrifice in God's Kingdom has always been clear. The real question, though, is whether we trust Him enough to give up whatever He asks of us, knowing that His plans are always for our good. The Holy Spirit has revealed to you a particular good you've been holding onto. It could be a plan, a dream, a relationship, a hurt, a comfort, or even the urge to control your life. God has never asked for anything He wasn't willing to give Himself. He offered His best for you, and now He simply invites you to trust Him. Will you place your life on the altar once again? Will you give up the lesser good for the greater good of honoring God? Each act of willing surrender shapes you into the person God designed you to be.

The doorway into God's Kingdom is not good works, religious tradition, or personal effort. It is the new birth. Through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, God forgives our sins, gives us new life, and welcomes us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior and King, the invitation is extended to you today. Turn from your sin, place your faith in Jesus, and be born again. The King has come, His Kingdom is at hand, and He invites you to become part of His eternal Kingdom.

Over the course of these two messages, we have watched God's faithfulness unfold across the centuries. When His truth became obscured, He raised up faithful witnesses.

John Wycliffe reminded the Church that God's Word stands above every human authority. William Tyndale devoted his life to placing that Word into the hands of ordinary people. Jan Hus proclaimed that Jesus Christ alone is the Head of His Church. Patrick Hamilton joyfully declared that sinners are justified by grace through faith in Christ alone. Thomas Cranmer ensured that these glorious truths would be proclaimed whenever God's people gathered for worship. These convictions have become so common that we seldom consider the price that faithful witnesses paid to preserve them.

Yet the greatest lesson from these men isn't how they died but their devotion. They loved Christ more than comfort, treasured God's truth more than safety, and believed that faithfulness justified sacrifice.

Every generation, God looks for people who value His truth and are ready to stand with humility, courage, and conviction. Hopefully, we will also be remembered for overcoming "by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony," staying faithful to Christ and His truth until the very end.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 TPT

We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison, because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.

Whatever it is, paint the picture on the canvas in your mind of the established precedent in our God’s redemptive Plan for how you address your situations, your circumstances, and your relationships. Now accept this as His will and His plan for you in your challenge. Declare His plan out loud and state your personal belief and absolute conviction for the outcomes our Constitutional agreement provides for us. Walk in the reality of that provision. Thank our God, glorify Him, praise Him and engage Heaven through the currency of your faith.

Do not allow the lies from the defeated Satan and the kingdom of darkness to steal the victory from your faith. Results are not always visible instantly – we have to persist and hold onto and continue to believe and to declare our outcomes that are

provided by our God out loud. We persist in rest. Samuel anointed David King, and Abraham was declared to be the father of many nations long before their manifestations appeared in the earth realm.

These declarations are scripture and were and are real when God declared them to be so, long before their physical manifestations appeared.

Let it be so Lord, In the power of the name of our unchanging Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. Amen.

Their story reminds us that God continually calls His people back to His truth. Every genuine renewal begins when His people once again submit themselves to His Word. The greatest danger facing the modern Church is no longer a lack of access to Scripture but growing indifference toward it. We own more Bibles and possess more resources than any generation before us yet having access to God's Word is not the same as allowing God's Word to shape our lives.

Their testimony of these two witnesses has now become our responsibility. May we prove faithful in our generation, not merely by owning a bible, but by believing it, reading it, obeying it, proclaiming it, and passing it faithfully to those who come after us.