Habakkuk: There is no place too dark and no wall too thick for God’s grace to penetrate, yet He will do so always in His perfect timing, light, and character.

Outline:

1. Perfect Timing (Ch. 1) “Lord… you confuse me.”

2. Perfect _________________ (Ch. 2) “Lord… I wait on you.”

3. Perfect Character (Ch. 3) “Lord… I praise you.”

Wading Through God’s Word (Habakkuk 2:4-20)

I. Looking Up: Waiting for God to Work in the world requires…

• Work in Scripture (2:1a) “I will stand…station myself…”

• Attitude toward Scripture (2:1b) “I will keep watch to see…how I may reply…”

• Intercession using Scripture (2:2) “Record the vision…that the one who reads it…”

• Tenacity for Scripture (2:3) “Though it tarries, wait for it…it will not delay”

II. L______________________ Up: Wading through God’s Word in your world requires…

• W_____________________ in Scripture (2:4) “The righteous shall live by faith”

• A_____________________ from Scripture (2:5-17) “Woe to him…”

• D_____________________ not to twist Scripture (2:18-19) “that is your teacher…”

• E_____________________ of Scripture (2:20) “Let all the earth be silent before Him”

1) humble silence and 2) hushed expectancy

Habakkuk: There is no place too __________________ and no wall too ______________ for God’s grace to penetrate, yet He will do so always in His perfect timing, light, and character.

Outline

1. Perfect ________________________ (Ch. 1) “Lord… you confuse me.”

2. Perfect ________________________ (Ch. 2) “Lord… I wait on you.” 

3. Perfect ________________________ (Ch. 3) “Lord… I praise you.” 

The Reconciliation of Revelation (Habakkuk 2)

I. L__________________ Up: Waiting for God to Work in the world requires…

• W_____________________ in Scripture (2:1a) “I will stand…station myself…”

• A______________________ toward Scripture (2:1b) “I will keep watch to see…how I may reply…”

• I______________________ using Scripture (2:2) “Record the vision…that the one who reads it…”

• T______________________ for Scripture (2:3) “Though it tarries, wait for it…it will not delay”

II. L_________________ Up: Wading through God’s Word in your world requires…

• W_____________________ in Scripture (2:4) “The righteous shall live by faith”

• A_____________________ from Scripture (2:5-17) “Woe to him…”

• D_____________________ not to twist Scripture (2:18-19) “that is your teacher…”

• E_____________________ of Scripture (2:20) “Let all the earth be silent before Him”

1) humble silence and 2) hushed expectancy

The Dilemma of Delay - Habakkuk 1

I.   Habakkuk’s First Complaint (1-4)

     Can you hear me now?

     Wrestling with God’s ___________________ .

II.  God’s Response (5-11)

     Brace yourself for a shock.

     Wrestling with Judah’s ___________________ .

III. Habakkuk’s Second Complaint (12-17)

     How can a righteous God allow this evil to take place?

     Wrestling with God’s ___________________ .

Nahum: God’s judgment of evil should be a source of comfort not controversy.

The Problem of Evil

Insufficient Answers…

• ___________________________: Evil does not exist.

• Christian Science: Evil is illusory.

• New Age: Evil is the result of ignorance.

• Dualism: God/Good and Evil are two forces, equal in power and opposite in purpose.

• ___________________________: A blind fate determines the depth of evil in our lives.

• Process and Open Theism: God hates evil but has no power to do anything about it.

The Biblical Answer…

• The Greatness of God: GOD ___________________________ EVIL.

• The Goodness of God: GOD ___________________________ EVIL.

• The Presence of Evil: GOD ___________________________ EVIL.

God _____________ the Evil of Nineveh (Nahum 3)

#1. A_____________________: City full of liars, murderers, and ______________________ (3:1–7)

#2. B_____________________: City full of terrible atrocities like against ________________ (3:8–11)

#3. C_____________________: City full of pride and futile self-______________________ (3:12–19)

They don’t get away with it. God as Judge is Jealous, Just, and Justified!

Nahum: God’s judgment of evil should be a source of comfort not ___________________.

The Problem of Evil…

“Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to; or he cannot and does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, and does not want to, he is wicked. But, if God both can and wants to abolish evil, then how comes evil in the world?” —Epicurus, 4th Century philosopher

- A problem involving three concepts…

o The _____________________________ of God. If God is good, then He will not permit evil to occur.

o The _____________________________ of God. If God is great, then He is able to prevent evil.

o The _____________________________ of evil. Natural evil exists. Moral evil exists.

Judging God’s Judgment (Nahum 2)

#1. Historically… When God allows Assyria to be his _____________________________ to discipline his own people, you better believe he can hold them responsible for the evil they commit.

There's no controversy of ultimate ___________________________________.

#2. Theologically… when God puts down his ultimate enemy, you better believe he will stay _________________________.

There's no controversy of final ______________________________________.

#3. Personally... when God gives a warning, you better not _____________________________ it.

There's no controversy of personal ___________________________________.

Nahum: God’s judgment of ____________ should be a source of comfort not controversy.

Nahum means “________________________”

Outline

- The ____________________________________: Who? (Nahum 1)

- The ____________________________________: What? (Nahum 2)

- The ____________________________________: Why? (Nahum 3)

Behold the Goodness and Severity of God (Nahum 1)

1. Severity of His _____________________________ (Nahum 1:2) Key word: avenging

2. Goodness of His ____________________________ (Nahum 1:3) Key word: slow

3. Severity of His _____________________________ (Nahum 1:4-6) Key word: quake

4. Goodness of His ____________________________ (Nahum 1:7) Key word: good

5. Severity of His _____________________________ (Nahum 1:8-10) Key word: complete

6. Goodness of His ____________________________ (Nahum 1:11-13) Key word: you

7. Severity of His _____________________________ (Nahum 1:14) Key word: glory

8. Goodness of His ____________________________ (Nahum 1:15) Key word: peace

Micah: Godliness is intimately linked to how we treat one another.

Micah means “Who is like Yahweh?”

The ABCs of Pursuing God (Micah 7)

#1. The better we know the character of God today, the more we can trust His

A________________________________ to life when godlessness reigns (7:1-4).

#2. The better we know the character of God today, the more we can trust His

B________________________________ to love us when things fall apart (7:5-17).

#3. The better we know the character of God today, the more we can trust our

C________________________________ to the Lord for the future.

No matter how serious and scary our situations, the character of God stays the same...

1. God is aggressively ________________________________ (18a)

2. God is eagerly _____________________________________ (18b)

3. God is repeatedly __________________________________ (19a)

4. God is thoroughly _________________________________ (19b)

5. God is consistently _________________________________ (20)

Micah: Godliness is intimately linked to how we ______________ one another.

Micah means “Who is like Yahweh?”

Outline

- Pardon Me (Micah 1-2)

- Promise Me (Micah 3-5)

- Pursue Me (Micah 6-7)

The ABCs of Pursuing God (Micah 6)

I. Pursuit of God means _____________________________ and ________________________ are my ‘functional’ A________________________________ to life.

“ACT JUSTLY” (6:8a) - Policy

II. Pursuit of God means __________________________ and __________________________ are my ‘faithful’ B________________________________ to love.

“LOVE MERCY” (6:8b) - Passion

III. Pursuit of God means ___________________________ and _________________________ are my ‘frequent’ C________________________________ to the Lord.

“WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD” (6:8c) - Pattern

Micah: Godliness is intimately linked to how we treat one another.

Promise me, My Deliverer is Coming (Micah 3-5)

Promise me, Not like a Politician (3 Corruptions, Micah 3)

1. Corrupt _________________________(3:1-4): He pictured their injustice as a brutal cannibalism of citizens.

2. Compromising ___________________(3:5-8): He pictured their message as coming from gluttony, not God.

3. Covetous ________________________(3:9-11): He pictured their motives as placing money above civility.

Promise me, Thy Kingdom Come (4 Conquests, Micah 4)

1. The Conquest of Zion and ____________________________________________ (4:1-2)

2. The Conversion of Gentiles and World __________________________________ (4:3-4)

3. The Confidence of Israel and Her ______________________________________ (4:6-8)

4. The Conquest of Israel over all ________________________________________ (4:9-13)

Promise me, My King to Come (5 Crowns, Micah 5)

1. Crowned with ______________________________ (5:1-2a)

2. Crowned with ______________________________ (5:2b)

3. Crowned with ______________________________ (5:3-4a)

4. Crowned with ______________________________ (5:4b)

5. Crowned with ______________________________ (5:5-15)