A Reminder From Habakkuk

0:00 It's not always on our timetable to see justice right, our part is to wait for it, to wait for God's justice and to obey God in the season that we're in right, to obey the Lord and as it pertains to reaching out at these abortion centers and being a voice for the voiceless, easier said than done. But whether we see results or not, whether we're mocked or not, um, we still have to be faithful in what the Lord has called us to. I am yours, I'm yours, I'm yours, and me Lord, I am yours, I'm yours. I'm Welcome to the Gospel Center Pro Life Podcast, a podcast designed to equip, encourage, and challenge you in pro life ministry and always with a focus on the gospel.

0:45 Stay tuned. I felt your passih touch your heart. Welcome back to the Gospel Centered Pro Life Podcast. Appreciate you guys joining us. This is Daniel Parks. I serve as the West Coast regional Shepherd for Love Life and I'm joined as always with Vicky cass York, who is our sidewalk out Reach training director and awesome title. I think I got the title right either way. You guys know us If you've listened to this podcast for any amount of time, you know that we've been doing sidewalk out reach for a good uh a good many years, probably combined the thing you say, twenty five years.

1:32 Yeah, so a quarter of a decade, a quarter of a century. That sounds that sounds old. It doesn't make us Yeah, well, um, sometimes I feel older than I But by God's grace, we do what we do trying to pour into you guys and encourage you guys that are doing sidewalk out reach, keep the fire in your heart fueled, keep you encouraged, keep you informed. And you know, we're kind of always learning new stuff and we're always trying to apply what we're learning to sidewalk out reach and also to training others. And so we hope that this episode will be a blessing to you as always will leave you guys our email addresses. Will give you, guys our email addresses at the end of this episode, so you can reach out to us if you have questions about this episode or other episodes, And we also want to encourage you guys to leave us a review on this podcast. Leave us on Apple podcasts or Google podcasts or Spotify or however you listen to this, if there's some feature to be able to leave us a review. We'd love to have some more reviews, some more five star reviews. Spent a few that have come in over the past couple of weeks that have been encouraging um Our pro abortion friends don't like what we do and so they've left us a lot of one star reviews and so we want to try to come back that. So if you guys can help us with that, that would be a blessing. Also, share this podcast episode with others on social media. We would love to get this out to others to help encourage them. And so let's jump into our episode. Our title is why we do what we do? Subtitle A reminder from Habakic. So we're gonna

3:06 be talking from the Book of Habakic, my favorite books. Okay, well it's uh one of the most h I guess I won't say neglected, but some folks don't even know. Maybe people even listening right now are like, what, what's what's a Hebakic? Um, it's actually a book of the Bible. It's in the Old Testament. It's one of Habakic was one of um what some people refer to as the minor prophets. In my eyes, though, when I see God's side, there is no minor prophets. They're just profits from God. Minor in terms of short and it is short. Three chapters, I think in the whole book. Yeah, quick read. Yeah, so let's jump into a vicky. What are we going to learn from Habakic that we can apply to subwalk ministry. Well, it's interesting.

3:53 Yesterday I was training several volunteers and they asked me, well, what verses would you recommend we memorize to you in sidewalk outreach? And I told them, you know, I have my favorites, and I told them what those were. But I said, every time you open the Bible, I promise you, if you're looking for what is going to guide you in speaking to the moms, God will give you versus they will pop out. This was a whole book that popped out to me. I was doing a Bible study this morning and reading Habecic and did the whole thing in the in this Bible study, and I thought, this is like just telling us, um, it's speaking directly in my mind to side what counselors and and so we're looking at it from from that perspective of how it can be looking at this book can first of all identify some of the struggles that we're going through as sidewalk counselors and really as anyone walking with God through life. But also how can we avoid discouragement, disillusionment, anger, mistrust of God. I think it's all those questions are answered in this little book. So starting off, maybe Daniel, if you wouldn't mind reading um Habackic three seventeen to nineteen, because this is a fairly famous passage from Habakic, and it's clearly a victorious all Right, though the fig tree should not blossom, and there'll be no fruit in the vines, though the field of the olives shall fail and the fields

5:26 produce no food. Though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there'll be new cattle in the stalls. Yet I'll exult in the Lord. I'll rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength. He has made my feet hind's feet and makes me walk on my high places back at three seventeen through nineteen. Right, So that's how the book ends is with this victorious verse of it and and we're going to go deeper into that verse. Yeah, so I'll sum it up, give my quick commentary on these verses. Basically, Um, though things don't go my way, I'm going to glorify Jesus. I'm gonna honor the Lord and uh, because the Lord is on my side exactly exactly. So that's kind of a good summary of that, very victorious. But look at how the Book of Habacic begins in Habackic one verse two. Okay, how long, o Lord? Will I call for help and you will not hear I crowd to you violence? Yet you do not saveback one too? I mean, how perfect is that for first sidebab counselors, Because I know I am not alone in standing there in front of intense opposition, hatred, anger, mocking people, throwing things at us, um, you know whatever, the other things, and I'm looking at them thinking, Lord, here's me proclaiming your word, living my life as as righteously as I can before you. And this

6:57 is your ministry, this is your mission and to safety some born babies. Where are you? Why are you allowing this violence, this bloodshed? I mean, that's what happened. Habakuk is calling out with with really a lot of doubt. Long do I stand here and receive no help from you? He's saying, from you, Oh God? Yeah, And you see the same thing, and some of David's psalms, right, how long, Lord? How long with the wicked prosper um? And so I think one of the points here is, of course he's God, he's the Lord. He deserves our worship, our praise or adoration. He does not deserve our accusations and things like that. But he already sees what's in our hearts. Anyway, the best thing that we can do is be honest with the Lord.

7:48 Now, David does the same thing in the psalms as he's talking, like where are you Lord? The wicked pursue me? And he almost always ends just like a back it does. Ultimately, you're the Lord, You're God. Now I am nothing in your sight? All right, I don't deserve you aiding me and helping me. So he's putting things in perspective, but he's still honest, David, and Hebackick and the other prophets that Jeremiah the same way. They're still honest with what they're feeling, still honestly, And I think, and this is one of the things that I encourage folks with. You've heard me say this oftentimes when we've been out on the sidewalk. An important thing that I like to do after that ministry on the sidewalk is um to debrief. Just kind of bring it all before the Lord, get all those feelings and stuff out there, because I think it helps us to decompress. It helps us to just let things, you know, let things go and put those things in the hands of the Lord. So I think that's help fun. I think that's what Habakick is doing in the situation.

8:46 Yeah, he's being very honest. But one of the things that he cries out, and you will not hear that he feels unheard because he feels, rightfully, that is what he desires is good. He wants to bring about good, and he feels that he's not heard. And I think one of the first thing that God reassures him with is that he does here. God does here, and and so in um habak At one five, he says, look among the nations, this is God. Now. In in response, um, look among the nations, observe, be astonished, be astonished, wonder because I am doing something in your days. You would not believe it if if you were told so, I think um in that as as I was reading that passage, I was thinking, God does here, He does understand, and he gives us those verbs. I always look for the verbs when God is speaking what are the things that we are told to do?

9:52 Because I like having marching orders. I want to know what God expects of me in these situations. And he says observe or to a serve. So first of all, I think we're to be vigilant in looking for God is working and and and open our eyes to what that might be. It might not be what we expect, but He is working. So we're to observe. We're to be amazed. We're to be amazed by what God is going to accomplish. I thought, you know, how often am I thinking, go ahead, Lord, amazed me. But that's the attitude. We're to have, be amazed at what He's going to accomplish, and and expect miracles. We're not going to believe them if we were even told expect miracles.

10:33 But then, um, it's usually not what we expect. The way God operates. That has certainly been my experience and and I thought, you know, maybe if you want to read those those next few verses in Habacic, because Hebacic continues then to kind of question God in um in chapter one versus, and I broke. I didn't have us go through every verse, but the ones that were kind of the most pertinent, and in verse is six eleven and thirteen, we're the ones. Okay, yeah, So for behold, I'm raising up the Chaldeans that fierce and impetus. How do you say that impetuous? Impetuous? Those are people who just are They are just flying forward, doing whatever they want without thought, Reckless, impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs. And they will sweep through like the wind and pass on, but they will be held guilty, they who strength is their God. Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and you cannot look on wickedness with favor. Why do you look with favor on those who deal credulously? Why are you silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they? So that was a back at one six eleven and right, right, So I think if I were to summarize that his cry is, why are you using the wicked people and why

12:03 are they prevailing? Um? And you know that that's a kind of a strong rebuke to God what he's doing. But what I noticed in that as as Abekak is crying out to God is is that God does not reprimand him or smite him dead or um. But he also doesn't really provide an immediate answer. But he lets Rebecca have those doubts. And I think for me that was freeing as I was reading that and thinking about that that, Um, sometimes we do have doubts. Sometimes we are out there when there have been no saved babies, when we fought that for their lives and and we're still not seeing fruit. I think it's natural to have doubts. And and I don't know for me, those verses helped to helped me to not the verses, but the fact that God didn't didn't say, habaca man up, stop complaining. Yeah, Yeah, I mean I think there is you know, there's this kind of um difference, I would say in grumbling and complaining.

13:18 And again, what we talked about when we started off, just being honest, being honest with our feelings, being honest with what we see. I mean if we think about, of course, we do think about what we see on a regular basis, what we're dealing with on a regular basis. And were talking about the Caldeans and how violent and and impetuous they were. Uh, we see that every day at the abortion clinics. We see that, of course, with the abortion workers, with the abortionists, with the moms and dad's going in and kill their children. It's tough to watch. And sometimes again we scratch our heads and wonder, like, God, why why did we not see justice like we know that we should, right, Why why are these people allowed? Why are why are these places allowed to remain open? God? Would are you doing? Why are aren't you shutting him down? Because we know that he could? Yeah, And I think we come away just like with a backic and anyone else who's walking with the Lord and in a fallen world with wicked things going on, and we come away with like, we really don't know why God allows this stuff.

14:16 Um, but we know that he's good, right, we have his word. Um, we know his character and his nature, the fact that he rescued and saved us, and um, so we just always have to come back to his goodness. He's a good God in spite of what we see right right, which he does get to eventually in like like you in introduced this whole topic, just like David did. But um, but you know, kind of what I want is an immediate answer, and eventually God does give an answer, and even in that short book he does. He does give an answer of a of a future retribution. What is going to happen down the road. And that's in Habackic too, And I think there are some really important things that we can pull out of his response there. So do you want to read that one? It's Tobacic two versus two to four and then eight. Yeah. So behold asked for the proud one. His soul is not right within him, but the righteous will live by his faith.

15:15 Then the Lord answered me and said, record the vision and inscribe it on the tablets, that that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time. It hastens towards the goal, and will not fail, though it terries, wait for it, for it will certainly come and will not delay. Because you have looted many nations, all the remainder of this people's will loot you because of human bloodshed and violence done in the land to the town and all its inhabitants. Haback it too two through four in verse eight. Yeah. So one of the first things that popped out to me is is that God made a distinction between there's the wicked his soul is not right within him, and then the righteous. But but the righteous will live by his faith. And I think he did that for sometimes we can get confused out there. Are we wrong? Are we doing something wrong? Are we not being blessed by God? And I think God is telling Herbaca, It's okay, you know, yes, I am using the wicked. He is even using the wicked for his good purposes.

16:22 But um, but he wants Herbacic and all of us to be clear. If we're in the Lord, we are the righteous ones and there will just then he says, um. Well, the action verbs again, first record, record the vision. And to me that was thinking from again the sidewalk, the call to the church too. Don't be silent speak it uh, take action. Uh talk about the fact that there are a million babies every year being slaughtered by abortion and um and make sure others see that in the record, it should be on record that Christians have stood up and spoken against this terrible thing. So that was one thing, and then um, and then his advice or uh, I guess his encouragement though it carries though the retribution though the the when justice will come, but it might not be immediate, though it carries wait for it, for it will certainly come. And again to me, thinking about being there on the sidewalk, you think, when is all this going to end? And he's telling us, I think the violence they're specifically talking about human bloodshed and violence, and it will end, he says, um, And there will those who have perpetrated that will

17:56 be called to account. Yeah. I mean that's the surety of God's justice. Right. Ultimately, God will right all the wrongs, and it's not going to be in our timing, right. Um, a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day to the Lord. The Lord doesn't move on our timetable, and so his word is true. His word will come to pass that the heavens and the earth pass away. His word remains um. But again, it's not always on our timetable to see justice right. Our part is to wait for it to wait for God's justice and to obey God in the season that we're in right to obey the Lord, and as it pertains to reaching out of these abortion centers and being a voice for the voiceless. Easier said than done. But whether we see results or not, whether we're mocked or not, um, we still have to be faithful in what the Lord has called us to. Just like back, it can me imagine being a back. Imagine me and Jeremiah the prophet, or is Heyah the prophet having to prophesy and and tell about God's judgment and the need for repentance in the midst of a wicked generation of wicked people that were worshiping idols and sacrificing their children to idols. It's like unto what we're involved in now, right, and these men they had to be faithful, and so we're called to be faithful. Where it says the the just, the righteous will live by faith, we are called to do what we do not based on feelings and emotions, and again easier said than done,

19:29 but in faith, believing again that God is good, He's called us to this, and that our faith in Him ultimately reflects on his faithfulness. We have faith in him because we believe that he's faithful and he's going to right the wrongs. Yeah. And another thing in that passage is that talks about an appointed time, and we often don't like waiting for whatever that appointed time. But we don't know the time. We don't know why he chooses what time frame he chooses. But he said is that there will be a time when judgment will come, and and wait for it and be faithful in the inner room. But um, and then the outlines I don't know if we want to read that. The next passage is kind of a long one, but um, he does outline God outlines what's in store for the wicked, and and it's it's terrible. I mean it's terrible, but great, great, great calamity, you know, in summary, disgrace, nakedness, violence, devastation. But then also in the passage, and this is also Tobecic too, between versus twelve and twenty, talks about that at that time, as all his judgment is coming upon um, the wicked, all the earth will be filled with the knowledge and glory of the Lord, it says, So I was thinking of that. The use of the word all. I assume that means the wicked and the just they will all know at that there will be a time when all will not only know God but be filled.

20:57 The whole earth will be filled with His glory, and UM the wicked with you know the consequence they can no longer deny. They're going to have those terrible consequences of their actions, and the righteous are going to see what they have longed for UM all along because it was aligned with what God wants wants So um uh for me? What what really was the overwhelming I called it in the article that accompanies us, the nugget of truth that sustains me. UM was in that um the I think it was first nineteen and Hebecic two.

21:38 But the Lord is in his Holy temple, Let all the earth be silent before him, and that I just really just meditated on that phrase. But the Lord is in his Holy Temple, and if we can trust this, no, this live that reality, He's there, He's sitting on the temple. He is he is Lord, he is in control, he is on the throne. I think it helps us to trust he's got it, He's got it, and we can rest in that knowledge. Yeah, I mean, I think that is ultimately where our minds need to rest, in our hearts need to rest, is that Jesus is still on his throne.

22:26 He's still the King of kings and Lord of lords, in spite of what we see and what we experience, in spite of the discouragements, in spite of even the victories. Right, all of all of this is under Jesus feet. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. And if we belong to him, then we've got no need to worry. Yeah, right, yeah. So he comes to his conclusion at the end one of my favorite again passages which we read at the beginning, but in as a part of that and and this is then the final chapter Habekic three. Um uh, He's says, oh, Lord, revive, revived your work in the midst of the years, in the midst, in the midst of the years, make it known in wrath remember mercy again. That one really popped out at me because as a sidebar counselor watching the devastation that the opposition is causing, that the wicked are causing to those innocent lives, we're filled with wrath. And God talks about his wrath in the prior passages, but in wrath, remember mercy. And I think that was a shifting point for Harbackic.

23:38 He was not consumed anymore like his initial questions with judgment and wrath against the wicked. There's that one sentence that says, don't forget God's mercy. Um. I think as sidebar counselors, and what I've seen with UM so many of the trials and struggles is sometimes a preoccupation with the opposition, how evil they are, how wicked they are, and what happens is as we talk about that more, I notice more pictures being taken of them, more stories about them. I just think it brings everyone down to where Habakic started in this chapter as opposed to UM, just what is our mission? Keep our eyes on the Lord, obey the Lord, um the don't pray for the wrath of God on that the opposition, because you know they, Um, they're lost and it's awful, what's going to happen to them? Have mercy as God had mercy on us, and keep our focus back on Goddess, on the throne and UM and no matter what. And then he gets into that beautiful passage we read at the beginning. No matter what, all those things fail, the fruit, every sustenance of an agrarian society, all

25:10 of that will fail. Doesn't matter. Our eyes are still trust on the Lord and trusting that um that ultimately he is good, and we we can put our faith in our hope and our trust in Him and him alone, not in the fruit. Yeah, yeah, amen, Yeah. I think it comes around to what we've said oftentimes in this podcast and in our trainings is our fixation cannot be on the horror of abortion. That doesn't mean that we lose the gravity of that. We certainly need to be reminded, remind ourselves of the gravity of what we're dealing with in the murder of innocent children can and mass up to a million a year, and certainly we have to grapple with that. But it can't be our fixation. We can't constantly think about it, because then we'll be motivated by hatred for abortion, hatred for the abortion industry, hatred for pro aborates, for abortion doctors, or or whatever. We cannot be motivated by hatred for anyone or anything. We have to be motivated by a love for God and a love for our neighbor.

26:11 And our fixation needs to be not on the horror of abortion. But what we often say is the beauty of Jesus, awesomeness of who this Jesus is, who came to this earth, this filthy, stinking, rebellious earth, allowed himself to be crucified by the by the hands of men that he created, so that he could bring redemption. Right. And so we see ultimately in the horror of the Cross, we see redemption. Right. We see God reconciling the world to himself through the death barrel and resurrection of Jesus. But it was only through the horror of the cross that that would take place. And in the same way, and there's um and I think back, it sees that, of course we talked about David. David sees that the redemption of God in spite of men's sin and rebellion against against the Lord, God's willingness, God's mirth mercy. The Bible says, mercy triumphs over judgment.

27:04 God's willingness to give mercy in lieu of judgment. Now he's going to ultimately bring judgment. We can take hope in that. As the righteous, we certainly look for judgment and justice to come. Right. Justice implies that there's gonna be judgment, right. Um, So we want to look for judgment to come because we want to see justice. But before that we delight in mercy. And so any bit of mercy. I mean, heck, we've seen pro abortion people. We we had, um, I don't know, it's been a year and a half, two years ago. I think when we interviewed Kevin who used to be one of the pro abortion escorts, Like, God can do that stuff. God can save these pro abortion people. God can save abortion doctors. We were just at a conference in Washington State, right with Dr Anthony Levantina, and it's awesome what the Lord did in his life to save him from that wicked practice. And so we can take joy in the fact that our God, though he's a God of justice, is also a God of mercy. See, and it can help position us properly before God again to be fixated on the Lord rather than on the rebellion against him. Right. Yeah, So, Lord, in your wrath, remember mercy and so, um, I just want to encourage you guys.

28:15 Hopefully this was encouraging. Some of our podcasts are practical, some of them are like this where we're digging into the heart issues and so we hope it's encouraging to you guys. If you guys have um maybe something along these lines, Maybe you need encouragement in some area, or have some questions about sidewalk out reach, we'd certainly be more than willing to answer those questions. You can reach out to me Daniel at love life dot org, reach her Vicky with why at love life dot org. We'd love to hear from you, But until next time, God bless God, bless you all. Give me out love for love, give me out for gratitude. I know it will cost me my life. Nothing's too precious since I met you. M. M.