O Lord, How Long?

11/13/22

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Sermon Transcript

Good morning. Please open your Bibles to the book of Habakkuk. Book of Habakkuk. The title of my sermon this morning is “Oh Lord, How Long?” And you may be thinking that title would make more sense if asked toward the end of my sermon today, but I want to ask that question at the beginning. You know, we often say that the problems we find discussed in the Old Testament prophets look as if they could have been listed from the headlines. And that’s true. But perhaps nowhere is that more true than in this little book of Habakkuk. Just listen to the opening verses.

“O LORD, how long shall I cry for help and you will not hear? Or cry to you violence and you will not save. Why do you make me see iniquity and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me. Strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed. Justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous. So justice goes forth, perverted.” (Habakkuk 1:2-4)

violence, destruction, iniquity, strife, contention, a law that is paralyzed, a law that never goes forth, a law that is perverted. Did I just read Habakkuk or did I read the front page of the newspaper? You know, those who doubt the relevance of the Old Testament for today have just never read the Old Testament. You know, I doubt many in the world today would place Habakkuk at the top of the list for a book with a vital message for modern man, but as with so many things, the world is wrong. Habakkuk does have a message for us today. In fact, here’s how one commentary described the relevance of Habakkuk. “There is no Old Testament book that is able to do more for the burdened souls of man or to raise them to higher levels of hope and confidence than the brief prophecy of Habakkuk.” “Hardly a book in the Bible is constructed on such a simple and majestic line.” “These three chapters stand like three august columns side by side, each complete in itself, unparalleled in their power and appeal.” “Search the Bible through,” he writes, “and you will find nothing so matchless in concentrated power as these three chapters of the book of Habakkuk.” You know we don’t know too much about Habakkuk the person, but we do know that his prophecy is very different from the other prophecies that we find in the Bible. For starters, instead of speaking to the people for God, Habakkuk speaks to God for the people. Habakkuk looks around and he doesn’t like what he sees and so he boldly confronts God with his concern and with his questions. And as we’re going to see, God answers. In fact, God responds to Habakkuk with one of the most important verses in the Bible, a statement that the New Testament would later use repeatedly to explain the role of faith under the New Covenant. Words that one commentator says have repeatedly transformed the world. We find that in the book of Habakkuk. We’re going to look at that this morning. Although it’s only three chapters long, this book has a lot to teach us.

What is the historical setting of Habakkuk?

Yes, it has a message for modern man, but to understand that message, to properly interpret that message, we need to know what was happening when Habakkuk was written. We need to know why it was written. The northern kingdom fell in 722 BC, and after that happened, King Hezekiah of the southern kingdom looked around and tried to do everything he could to keep Judah from suffering that same fate. But Hezekiah died and the next two kings, Manasseh and Amon, were evil. Evil. Manasseh later repented but the damage had already been done. After Amon was assassinated, his eight-year-old son, Josiah, became king. In the annals of godly teenagers, King Josiah deserved a place alongside Daniel, another godly teenager who was born not long after Josiah was born. When Josiah was 16 years old, 2 Chronicles 34:3 tells us he began to seek after the God of David, his father. And in fact, we know Josiah repaired the temple and that repairing of the temple led to the rediscovery of the law by the priest Hilkiah. And that find led to great religious reform in Judah. What happened next was a great power struggle among the great powers of the world, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. In 609, Egypt wanted to slow Babylon’s western march, so Pharaoh Necho of Egypt decided to march north to help Assyria against Babylon. Josiah, King Josiah of Judah, thought Assyria was Judah’s biggest concern, And so when Egypt started helping Assyria, Josiah stepped in between them and tried to stop Baron Necho from marching up to help Assyria. That action by King Josiah had been called suicidal, which it was, foolish, and heroic, but Josiah was killed. The people selected Josiah’s son Jehoahaz as their next king and doing so they bypassed the older son Eliakim. And why did they do that? Because they thought he would submit to Egypt. Pharaoh Necho seemed to have had the same thought because after three months Necho invited Jehoahaz down to Egypt where Jehoahaz was imprisoned and lived until his death and Necho placed Eliakim his brother on the throne and renamed him Jehoiakim. When some other country is renaming your leaders that’s kinda the definition of a puppet kingdom. Jehoiakim was a very wicked ruler in fact he’s the one who cut up and burned the word of God in Jeremiah chapter 36. In 605 Babylon led by Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt at Carchemish. And that event cemented Babylon’s status as the dominant world power and suddenly Judah found itself a vassal of Babylon instead of a vassal of Egypt. 602 Jehoiachin rebelled against Babylon supporting the Egyptians. Babylon responded in 597 with the help of Judah’s neighbors, entering Judah, capturing Jerusalem. Jehoiakim was buried with a burial of a donkey, we’re told. And his son, Jehoiachin, became king, but he ruled for only three months. Nebuchadnezzar placed Zedekiah, another son of Josiah, on the throne. He rebelled against Babylon. Once again, Nebuchadnezzar marched back in 587 and destroyed the city of Jerusalem. And we think we live in turbulent times. All that I’ve just described from the death of Josiah to the destruction of Jerusalem happened in about 20 years. About 20 years. And Habakkuk was written right in the middle of that. Habakkuk was written as the Babylonians were marching on the city. That is when Habakkuk penned the verses that we just read. Oh Lord, how long? Habakkuk 1:6 describes the coming Babylonians as a bitter and hasty nation, raised up by God to possess dwelling places that were not theirs. And they were coming. They were coming for Habakkuk, for the people of Habakkuk.

So how does that history lesson help us understand the message of Habakkuk? Simple, as we’re about to see, Habakkuk has a great deal to teach us about some vital Bible topics. Faith, for starters. But Habakkuk is not a dry, theoretical treatise on those subjects. Habakkuk is not just some textbook written by someone who hadn’t been there. Habakkuk is a living demonstration of these topics, and that’s what we learn from that history lesson. Habakkuk was worried. Habakkuk was sorrowful. He was confused. He was worried and sorrow and worry, that sorrow, that confusion, that’s what caused him to cry out to God for answers. Habakkuk saw wars. He saw threats from great nations that surrounded him. He saw violence. He saw lawlessness everywhere he looked. He saw weak and evil leaders. He saw a paralyzed legal system. He saw a perverted legal system. He saw destruction. He saw devastation coming. In short, Habakkuk saw that the world was in a mess, and he wondered why God wasn’t doing something about it. And he cries out, “Oh Lord, how long shall I cry and you will not hear?” (Habakkuk 1:2). That history lesson lets us see what Habakkuk was seeing. It lets us understand why he was crying out to God for answers. It lets us understand the questions that he asked. It lets us understand how he responded when God answered those questions.

What can we learn from the book of Habakkuk?

Well, a great deal. This book of Habakkuk teaches us much about prayer, teaches us much about faith, teaches us much about hope.

What can we learn about prayer from the book of Habakkuk?

Well, as I said, we don’t know too much about Habakkuk the person, but we do know one thing about Habakkuk. He was a man of prayer. He was a man of prayer. All throughout the book, we find Habakkuk speaking to God, speaking to God. That’s a great lesson for us right there, isn’t it? Because we too live in a world of great change. We too live in a world of great turmoil. We too see injustice and violence all around us. And when Habakkuk saw those things, what did he do? He took them to God in prayer. Habakkuk did not see prayer as just some kind of last resort, the last thing to try when everything else has failed. That is not how he saw prayer. Habakkuk was constant in prayer. We looked a moment ago at Habakkuk’s first question in Habakkuk 1:2-3. His second question is in Habakkuk 1:13. “Thou art of pure eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on iniquity. Wherefore lookest thou upon them that dwell treacherously and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devours the man that is more righteous than he.” In short Habakkuk is saying to God there, I know you’re too pure to look on evil. So why are you looking on evil? Why don’t you do something about it? You know if we ever said something like that to God I think we might be looking for the lightning bolt. And I think Habakkuk may have had the same thought. Look at the opening verse of the second chapter. “I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower and will watch to see what he will say to me and what I shall answer when I’m reproved.” (Habakkuk 2:1). But notice that that prophet is standing while he’s waiting for that lightning bolt from God.

The first thing we learn about prayer from Habakkuk is that prayer involves standing. Now when I say prayer involves standing I’m not talking about our physical posture. What I mean by standing is that Habakkuk was not afraid to stand up and ask God the hard questions. And you know what? God wants us to ask Him the hard questions. God does not want us to be afraid to ask him the hard questions. God invites us to ask him the hard questions in prayer. We do not come to God groveling in prayer. We come to God in prayer as faithful, obedient children coming to their loving Father. And our loving Father does not want us to be afraid to ask him the tough questions. Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Yes, we are to humble ourselves before God, as Peter tells us. But keep reading after Peter tells us that, 1 Peter 5:6-7. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him for he careth for you,” Peter says. Casting all your care upon him, not just some of them, not just the cares we think are presentable, not just the cares we think are holy enough or the cares we think are safe enough. God wants to hear all of our cares. Why? Peter tells us that too. “For he careth for you.” God loves us. God cares for us. He wants to know what’s on our mind and what’s troubling us. He wants us to take that to him in prayer. If we have a concern, if we have a question, no matter what it is, God wants to hear about it. God wants us to tell him everything that is troubling us. God does not want us to be afraid to approach him with our problems, with our cares. Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Don’t we see that with other great biblical figures? Moses asked the hard questions. Jeremiah asked the hard questions. What about Job? Job knew he’d done nothing to deserve what happened to him and he confronts God about it. Job’s friends tell him to be quiet. Job is not quiet. And what does God say when God shows up at the end of that book? Job 42. God’s wrath was kindled against those friends of Job, but God accepted Job. This book of Habakkuk has a lot in common with the book of Job. One of my favorite verses in Job was found in Job 40:6-7. “Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind and said, gird up thy loins now like a man.” Reminds me of something else Peter wrote. 1 Peter 1:13, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind.” When it comes to prayer, God wants us to gird up our loins. God wants us to stand up. God does not want us to be afraid to take anything to him in prayer. Habakkuk asked God the hard questions. So can we and so should we. Prayer involves standing.

Second thing we learn about prayer from Habakkuk is that prayer involves watching. Habakkuk 2:1 again, “I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower and will watch to see what he will say to me.” After we have asked God the tough, tough questions, we need to watch for the answer. Jesus told us we need to be a watchful people in Mark 13:33-37. “Take ye heed, watch and pray. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, watch.” God’s people must be a watchful people, but for what are we watching? Well, many things. We’re watching for the return of our Lord. We’re watching for the providence and the loving care of God. We’re watching for answers in God’s word. We’re watching for open doors of opportunity. And you know what? Watching can be difficult. Because when we watch for God, we step off that mindless treadmill of this earthly life, and instead we direct our attention upward to God, to watch, to wait. One of the most difficult commands for modern man is found in the book of Psalms. Psalm 46:10. “Be still and know that I am God.” It reminds me of a verse from Habakkuk. Habakkuk 2:20. “But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him.” Be still. Be silent. Watch. After we pray, we watch.

The third thing we learn about prayer from Habakkuk is that prayer involves listening. Habakkuk 2:1 again. “I will stand upon my watch, set me upon the tower, will watch to see what he will say unto me.” When God answers our prayers, we need to listen to that answer. Now, God is not gonna speak to us directly as he spoke to Habakkuk. But God does speak to us today. He speaks to us through his word. And after I’ve asked God those hard questions in prayer, the very next thing I should do is open up God’s word to find the answer. And the answers are there. But am I listening? You know, so sad today, there are many people looking for a message from God with their Bibles closed. We have a message from God. We have answers from God. But we need to read that message and read those answers in God’s Word. But is the Bible really all we need? Does the Bible really have answers to all those tough questions? Hebrews 4:12, “Word of God is quick, powerful. Sharper than any two edged sword.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “it’s profitable for doctrine, for reproof, correction, instruction.” It makes us perfect, makes us complete. The Bible is complete. The Bible makes us complete. We just need to open it and listen to it and obey it. We can learn much about prayer from Habakkuk. Prayer involves standing. Prayer involves watching. Prayer involves listening.

We can also learn a great deal about faith from Habakkuk.

Now, if I ask you to turn to the Old Testament book that teaches us the most about faith, where would you turn? You know some might wonder if there’s any Old Testament book that teaches us much about faith. I mean after all isn’t faith a New Testament concept? Wasn’t the Old Testament just focused on works until the New Testament came along? No, not at all, not at all. We’re about to see God has always, always been focused on faith. So where would we turn? Well, we might turn to the same Old Testament book that Paul turned to when he told us about faith. And that would be Habakkuk, particularly Habakkuk 2:4. “The just shall live by faith.” “Just shall live by faith.” That verse is one of the most important verses in the entire Word of God. When the New Testament explains faith to us, it often does so by quoting that verse from Habakkuk. Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” Habakkuk 2:4. Galatians 3:9, 11, “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, ‘Curse is everyone that continueth not in all the things that are written in the book of the law to do them.’ But no man is justified by the law in the sight of God. It is evident, for the just shall live by faith.” Paul quotes from Habakkuk again Hebrews 10:36-39 “for you have no need of patience that after you have done the will of God you might receive the promise for yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry now the just shall live by faith.” Habakkuk 2:4. Habakkuk has a lot to tell us about faith.

The first thing we learn about faith from Habakkuk is that faith is not just a new concept. People were also saved by faith under the Old Covenant. In fact, faith is the only way anyone has ever been saved. Why is that? Because the only other way to be saved is to live a perfect life and no one but Jesus was ever able to do that. Romans 3:23 tells us we have all sinned. If we are to come to God we must come in faith and that has always been true. That’s what this verse from Habakkuk is telling us. We know we’re saved through faith under the New Covenant, Ephesians 2:8. But Habakkuk 2:4 tells us that was also true under the Old Covenant. Now we know there are huge differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. But the faithfulness of God’s obedient children is not one of those differences. Not one of those differences. Faith has always been the way to God, and that faith has always been a living, active, faith. Habakkuk teaches us that as does the New Testament when it repeatedly points us back to Habakkuk 2:4. “The just shall live by faith.” James 2:20 tells us that faith without works is dead. No one will ever be saved by a dead faith. God’s people have always been a faithful remnant, an active, obedient. We see that faithful remnant all throughout the Old Testament, we see it today in the church. Faith is not just a New Testament concept. A living, active, obedient faith has always been the way to God.

The second thing we learn about faith from Habakkuk is that faith is a way of life. Notice that key phrase in Habakkuk 2:4, “the just shall live by faith.” That phrase shall live has two aspects to it. First, it tells us that faith is the pathway to life. You want life? You better find faith. But it also tells us that faith is our way of life. It’s how we live. We can see that most clearly by looking at the next verse in Habakkuk, Habakkuk 2:5. That verse contrasts the faithful with the proud. It shows us that by showing how the proud man lives apart from God, away from God. The proud man transgresses by wine, he enlarges his desire as hell. The contrast between the just in Habakkuk 2:4 and the proud in Habakkuk 2:5, it’s not just a contrast about how they’re thinking, it’s a contrast about how they’re living, which includes how they’re thinking. But it’s more than just how they’re thinking, it’s how they’re living. The just do not live as the proud live. Instead, the just shall live by faith. They walk by faith, they think by faith, they act by faith, they speak by faith, they live by faith. 2 Corinthians 5:7, “we walk by faith, not by sight.” How we walk, how we live, it’s our way of life. That’s what it means to be the people of God. Faith is how we walk. Faith is how we live.

The third thing we learn about faith from Habakkuk is that faith is a two-way street. Yes, it’s a pathway, but that pathway goes in both directions. What do I mean by that? What I mean by that is that a saving faith involves our faithfulness and it involves God’s faithfulness. 1 Peter 4:19 “wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their soul to him and well-doing as unto a faithful creator.” 1 Corinthians 1:9 “God is faithful.” 2 Timothy 2:13 “if we believe not yet he abided faithful.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3, “but the Lord is faithful.” What does Habakkuk teach us about the faithfulness of God? A great deal. In fact, some have said that the central theme of the book of Habakkuk, the central theme of the entire book, is living by faith in light of the faithfulness of God. Habakkuk knew that God loved his people. Habakkuk knew that God could not tolerate or look upon evil. Habakkuk knew that God would be faithful to his promises and to his word. Habakkuk was asking God the tough questions not because he doubted God’s faithfulness, but because he was certain of it. That’s why he was puzzled. If he had doubted God’s faithfulness, there would have been no reason to ask the tough question. Why is the world in a mess? Well, it’s in a mess because God has turned his back on his promises. Habakkuk knew that was not the answer. He had no doubt about God’s faithfulness. That’s why he asked those questions. We can learn a lot about faith from Habakkuk. It’s not just a New Testament concept. It’s a way of life and it’s a two-way street.

We can also learn a great deal about hope from the book of Habakkuk.

We’ve talked about Habakkuk’s tough questions to God. We haven’t really said much yet about God’s answers. How did God respond to those tough questions? Well, first Habakkuk asked God in Habakkuk 1:2 why God had been waiting so long to do something about all these problems. God responds in Habakkuk 1:5 by telling the prophet that he would soon be sending the Babylonians to “work a work in your days which you will not believe though it be told you.” Habakkuk doesn’t seem to understand that answer. I think he wonders how can sending a godless foreign nation solve the problem of violence and iniquity in the land? Aren’t the Babylonians even worse than the people who are living here now? And that’s the question of Habakkuk in Habakkuk 1:13. And then in chapter 2 God responds again and says it tells Habakkuk the coming judgment is certain, it’s coming but in Habakkuk 2:4 He tells Habakkuk “The just shall live by faith.” God’s answer to Habakkuk is simple. Habakkuk needs to look at the big picture. Habakkuk needs to lift up his eyes and see things from God’s perspective. I think Habakkuk, like us, was focused on his own situation. When you look at the history of the time, no wonder. But God tells him in Habakkuk 1:5 to “look among the nations and see.” Look around and see what I’m doing Habakkuk. Look up. Look around. Look and see. God’s response to Habakkuk’s tough questions was to look up rather than down. And it was to tell Habakkuk that he needed to trust in God, God who loved him, who knows what’s happening in this world, the God who had a plan for Habakkuk, a God who had a plan for his people. And how did Habakkuk respond to those answers? We see it in chapter 3. And as one commentary described it Habakkuk “breaks forth in prayer, praise and joy. He makes a triumphant expression of undaunted faith.” That’s how Habakkuk responded. Yes, Habakkuk had hard questions for God, but Habakkuk found the answers to those questions in the greatness of God, in the majesty of God, in the love of God. In his prayer in chapter 3, Habakkuk remembers all the great things that God had done for his people, how God had proved faithful over and over again at all points. Regardless of how bleak the situation may be or may become, Habakkuk resolves to watch for God, to wait for God, to hope in God. And in this beautiful prayer of Habakkuk 3, we see God’s power in Habakkuk 3:2, we see God’s glory in Habakkuk 3:3, we see God’s splendor in Habakkuk 3:4, we see God’s wrath in Habakkuk 3:8, we see God’s mercy in Habakkuk 3:13, we see God’s grace by faith.

How does that great prayer end? You know when Habakkuk opens it looks like Habakkuk thinks the situation is hopeless. That is not what Habakkuk thinks at the end. Habakkuk chapter 3. His prayer ends with one of the most beautiful and powerful descriptions of hope ever penned. Look starting in Habakkuk 3:17. “Although the fig tree shall not blossom neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, the field shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, there shall be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength. He will make my feet like hind feet and he will make me walk among the high places.” Habakkuk is not the prophet of doom and gloom. Habakkuk is the prophet of hope.

What can we learn about hope from Habakkuk? Well, one thing we can learn about hope from Habakkuk is that it is hope that keeps us going in the tough times. When Habakkuk penned these verses, he was waiting for the destruction of his city. He was watching violence and sin all around us. He was seeing change everywhere and not for the better. What kept Habakkuk going in those tough times? What kept him trusting in God? Hope. Hope. No matter how bad things may look for a Christian, one thing is absolutely certain. We always, always have hope. Always. A faithful child of God always has hope. Hebrews 6:19 describes that hope as an anchor for our soul. It’s what keeps us from drifting when the storms of life roll in, hope. Those without Christ have no hope, Ephesians 2:12. But those who are in Christ have a hope laid up for them in heaven, Colossians 1:5. That’s why we’re different. That is why we’re different. That is why no matter how bad things look we know we sorrow not even as others who have no hope, 1 Thessalonians 4:13. What is it that moved Habakkuk from chapter 1 to chapter 3? What is it that moved him from those questions in chapter 1, “Oh Lord, how long?” to the expressions of hope in chapter 3? What is it? It’s that hope, his hope in God, in the power of God, in the promises of God, in the faithfulness of God, the love of God. We have that same hope today. And it’s that hope that keeps going in tough times.

The second thing we learn about hope from Habakkuk is that hope is the reason we rejoice. Look at Habakkuk 3:18. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Hebrews 3:6 tells us that “we are the house of Christ if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of hope until the end.” Hope is the source of our rejoicing. Hope is why we can rejoice even when the world throws its very worst against us. Hope is why Habakkuk could rejoice as the Babylonians were marching toward his city. Psalm 146:5, “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord God.” And perhaps the Apostle Paul gave us the very best summary of the entire book of Habakkuk. It was our scripture reading this morning. Romans 12:12, “Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer.” Isn’t that Habakkuk? Exactly what Habakkuk did. And that is what we too must do when we too are faced with those seemingly impossible situations.

The third thing we learn about hope from Habakkuk is that hope is the secret of our strength. Look at Habakkuk 3:19. “The Lord God is my strength. He will make my feet like hinds feet, and He will make me to walk upon my high places.” How can we be strong in the face of persecution? How can we be strong in the midst of suffering? How can we be strong in the face of temptation? The answer is the same for each question. We’re strong because of our hope in Christ. Because of our hope that we know this persecution is temporary. Because of our hope that we know that this suffering will end. It’s because of our hope that we can reject the temptation of the moment. Instead look toward the eternal joy that awaits. That’s hope. But our hope is not a hope for this life only. If it were, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:19, that we would be of all men most miserable. Our hope is in Christ. Our hope is built on Christ, on the promises of Christ, on the return of Christ to claim His own and deliver His faithful people to God the Father. Hope. It’s because of hope that we, like the poet, “see truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne. But understand that scaffold sways the future and behold, behind the dim unknown standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own.” Hope, hope in God. It is because of that hope that we can stand strong no matter what this world does to us. That hope is our anchor. You know Paul tells us the reason we have Habakkuk and the other Old Testament books is so that “we through patience and comfort of the scripture might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Habakkuk teaches a great deal about hope, and also about faith, also about prayer. How can we survive the trials and tribulations of this life? Through prayer, faith through hope. That’s how Habakkuk did it. That’s how we must do it.

But if you are outside of Christ this morning, you don’t have any hope. Hope is only in Christ. And how do you become in Christ, part of his church? By being baptized for remission of your sins. It’s the only way to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. To hear it, to believe it, to have faith in God, to repent, to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to be baptized for remission of your sins, and to live a faithful, obedient child of God unto death. That is the gospel. That is the good news. That is the only way to have hope in this life. And that door is open today for you. And if you’ve fallen away from Christ, now is the time where you can come back and be restored so you can once again have that wonderful hope that comes only through Christ. We can help in any way. Please come while we stand, while we sing.