Biblical Truths from West Palm Beach church of Christ

We have looking at the book of Habakkuk as a means of trying to understand what is going on in our lives and in the world when we do not understand what God is doing. Habakkuk has prayed to God about how he does not understand what God is doing and God has given some hard answers about what he is doing in the world. In Habakkuk 2 God is in the midst of delivering his second answer to Habakkuk’s questions. The first part of God’s answer was looked at in the last lesson in verses 2-4. The proud and self-sufficient live by their own understanding. The righteous will live by their faith. Now God is going to show the observable fruit of those who are proud and who harbor a spirit of self-sufficiency. These pictures are going to help us understand what it means and does not mean to live by faith. Then God is going to give us a final word that is to give hope to all of the faithful…

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There is something that humans tend to appreciate about seasons. Many people like moving to the autumn season and watching the leaves change and fall. People often will question how I can live in Florida because they say I do not get to experience the seasons. I tell them that we have seasons down here. We have hurricane season. We have snowbird season. But seriously, we do enjoy seasons down here. We can feel the difference when autumn comes. We enjoy winters, not as a time of bone-stinging cold and shoveling driveways, but as a time to stand outside and feel a cool breeze contrasting the warmth of the sun on your face. But the idea of seasons also speaks to inevitability. We understand that one season must give way to the next season. It is never summer forever. Eventually summer breaks and autumn comes. It is never winter forever. Eventually even winter breaks and spring arrives. In fact, we are approaching a season of Thanksgiving right now, a wonderful holiday season that turns our eyes upward with grateful hearts. But whether we love a season or dislike a season, no season ever lasts. This is the picture we are to have in our minds as we come to Ecclesiastes 3. The third chapter of Ecclesiastes turns our attention to the idea of the seasons of life…

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Habakkuk is a prophet who has been praying to God and Habakkuk does not understand why God has not been answering his prayers. Habakkuk has been crying out for help but does not feel like God is listening (Habakkuk 1:2). Habakkuk does not understand why he cannot see God acting. God then responds to Habakkuk, telling him that he is going to do something so unbelievable that even if it were explained, he could not believe it. God declares that he will use the Babylonians, a terrible and wicked nation to sweep over the land in judgment. God has provided a shocking and hard answer to Habakkuk’s prayer. What will be Habakkuk’s response to this hard answer from God and what do we learn regarding to how to respond to God’s hard answers?

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In Ecclesiastes 2 the teacher is in the midst of trying to find out what can be gained by life under the sun. What do you get from all of your efforts in this world? What do you have to show for all the work you do in this life? In our last lesson we noticed that he tried to be a pleasure seeking, seeing if this would be the answer for life. He drew the conclusion that living for pleasure is an empty pursuit and you still have nothing lasting to show for all the effort. We also noted how many rich, famous, and powerful people in our American culture have drawn the same conclusion. But the teacher of Ecclesiastes is not done. There are more areas in life to try to see if there can be lasting satisfaction and something to show for all the effort given. Open your copies of God’s word to Ecclesiastes 2:12-17 and we are going to see that the teacher is going to consider a life pursuing wisdom and work…

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Habakkuk is a prophet who has questions for God. He is looking around at the world, and in particularly, looking at his own nation and seeing wickedness and violence. Habakkuk is asking God why he does not do something about it. How long will he keep crying out to God and God will not respond to him? We saw in the last lesson that Habakkuk showed us how we can pray to God. Habakkuk showed us that we can take our questions to God and that God wants our questions. When we are confused by what is going on in our lives or by what is going on around us, we can take that confusion and perplexity to God. But now God is going to give his response. Habakkuk has been praying and praying. But now God will give his answer to Habakkuk. Open your copies of God’s word to Habakkuk 1:5-11…

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The teacher of Ecclesiastes is pursuing life attempting to answer the question found in Ecclesiastes 1:3. “What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?” What do we have to show for all that we do in this life? Now the point of these studies is not to be depressed or demoralized by the teacher’s conclusions. Sometimes people read this book and find it to be empty and depressing. But the goal is that we will not waste our lives trying to find deep joy and lasting satisfaction in a world that was not built to satisfy. In our first lesson we saw that life is like circles. One day is like the next, one year is like the next, and one generation is like the next. In our second lesson we learned that life is crooked and it cannot be straightened. That is, you cannot get out of life what God not make life able to give. In Ecclesiastes 2 the teacher is going to explore areas in life where we try to find deep meaning and lasting satisfaction. As we come to Ecclesiastes 2:1 we see that the teacher is going to explore pleasure and see if he can achieve lasting satisfaction and deep joy can be found there…

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The apostle Paul is writing to these Christians so that they will focus on their manner of life being worthy of the gospel of Christ. One of the key characteristics of a life being lived for the gospel is unity and harmony among Christians. Philippians 2:1-2 records Paul’s plead to them that if Christ means anything to their lives, then be of the same mind, have the same love, be in full agreement, and have the same way of thinking. In this next paragraph the apostle Paul is going to teach us how to accomplish this. How can we have the same mind? How can we have the same love? How can we have the same way of thinking?

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In the last paragraph the apostle Paul has described his joy in suffering. His joy came from knowing that the gospel was advancing through what he was experiencing. His joy also came from knowing that his faith was only being strengthened to bring about his spiritual deliverance. Paul spoke this way because for him to live is Christ and to die is gain. His whole life is about Jesus and death is the fulfillment of all that this life is about: to be with Jesus. Paul was not a fatalist or desiring to die but understood that the purpose of his life was to serve Christ. But now Paul says that there is one thing that matters. There is one thing that is absolutely important for their walk with the Lord. Turn to Philippians 1:27 to see what this is…

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We are at a point now where many disciples are turning away from Jesus. It is not just the hard-hearted people that are rejecting Jesus. Even disciples who have been following Jesus are turning away. Why these disciples turning away? What has happened to cause them to turn from following Jesus? We are going to look at John 6:60-71 and consider why these disciples are leaving and the warning it means for us so that we do not turn away from Jesus.

Rather than inspecting their hearts and listening to Jesus’ call for a life bound up in him, the disciples complain even more. Please notice that those who are grumbling are not merely the Jews in the synagogue. It is his own disciples that cannot handle this teaching. They say among themselves, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (6:60). This phrase means that what they have heard is hard to tolerate, not that it is hard to understand…

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The day before Jesus fed 5000 with five loaves and two fish. The next day the crowds come back looking for Jesus and find him across the sea in Capernaum. But Jesus knows their hearts and declares that they only reason they seek him was not because they saw the signs and comprehended, but because they wanted their bellies fed. They have come for Jesus to satisfy their physical desires and needs. Jesus commands them to work for the food that does not perish. Put your efforts not in the physical desires of life but on Jesus that offers eternal life. Believe in the one who is giving the life you need. This is where we pick up in our story, at John 6:30…

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