Boxing with God

Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham.

Now, if you are alive, you will deal With that. We must all pass through this doorway. Of doubt. Faith will be tested. On today's PowerPoint, Dr.

Graham brings a message about how God can help you move from doubt to confidence.

Now here's Dr. Graham with his message, boxing with God. Take God's word and turn with me, please, to the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk. Was a prophet of God who lived twenty six hundred years ago.

He faced doubts. And fears, but ultimately he overcame and discovered authentic and abounding faith. He was a man who knew how to super conquer. And yet, there was a time in his life when he faced struggles and trials and difficulties. His name means the one who embraces or one who is wrestling with God.

Now, if we're going to take these steps, of faith. And to win, We have to take several steps through. And the first step. Is what I'm going to call the doorway of doubt. And that's in chapter 1, verses 1 through 3.

The prophet says, O Lord, how long shall I cry? and you will not hear. even cry out to you violence and you will not save. Why do you show me iniquity and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me, and there is strife and contention arises.

Therefore the law is powerless and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous, therefore, perverse judgment. Proceeds. Habakkuk is wrestling with God. He is sparring with the Almighty.

He speaks of his burden. For he is fighting for his faith. And when we first meet him in this passage, He is angry. and argumentative and anxious. And he's asking God in chapter 1, why, O God?

Three times. He questions God. Why? Why? Why?

And Lord, how long?

Now what's the problem here? He is disillusioned. Because he cannot understand why God will not destroy. The wicked. He's upset and angry with God because he was living in a terrible time of moral decay and spiritual decline.

And he's asking. God How can you allow this evil to exist. He realizes his life is not making sense. Nothing seems to be making sense. It's just not Computing.

He could not believe that God was allowing these injustices. to exist. And so when we're introduced to this Old Testament prophet, He is a perplexed prophet.

somewhat pouty. And he is the doubting disciple. of the Old Testament.

Now perhaps you can identify with a backup. Because I'm speaking to many today who are grappling with God. And you are questioning, fighting. For your faith. Maybe you're questioning the ways of God and even the will of God.

In your life, and you're wondering, and you're asking questions like these: God, if you are God, And if you were good... And Lord, if you love me. Why are these things happening to me? Why am I facing suffering? Why am I dealing with evil in my life or the effects of evil?

And there seems to be. No answer. And when that happens for some people, Doubts. Like a fog. Begin to settle in.

Chilling. Our face.

Now, if you are alive. You will Deal With doubt. You show me a believer. Who says, I've never doubted. Or I've never asked sincere questions.

And I will show you a person who is shallow. and superficial. in their faith. The fact is We must all pass through this doorway. of doubt.

Faith will Be tested. It will be challenged. We will deal with the fiery darts of the enemy.

So if you find yourself with questions, And dealing with doubt. Maybe you're even in the dungeon. of doubt. Please remember that you're in good company. Not only this prophet, along with other prophets of God.

The psalmist. But you just simply read the biographies of Christians who have greatly influenced the world, and almost without exception. These great men and women of faith have dealt with trouble and tests to their faith and challenges to all that they believe, questions about God and about life. Jesus said that John the Baptist was the greatest man born of woman who ever lived. It was John the Baptist who introduced Jesus to the world.

He said, Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. And yet, there came a time in John's life that he was imprisoned for his preaching, the preaching of repentance. And because John was the kind of man who calls sin by its first name, and preached repentance to even the king. And he was thrown into jail. He was in the dungeon of doubts.

And he became so afraid and confused. That he sent word to Jesus asking, Lord. Are you the one who was promised Jesus? Are you truly the Messiah? Or should we expect another?

Even John, in all of his greatness, in all of the powerful personality of his life, felt the smog, the fog of doubt. Perhaps you're feeling it. as well. But you know, Habakkuk did the right thing. Rather than Talking about God, running to someone else with the question, he went straight to the source.

He went straight to God. And that's what we need to do if we have questions. is to bring our doubts, our fears, our anxieties. Our questions to him. Because it is when we go to him with our doubts and our fears.

that we find faith. You see, this is why I'm calling it The doorway of doubt, because doubt is like a doorway. If you move through the door and move into faith, You will find that the muscles of faith are stretched and strengthened, and you will go on from faith into faith. And That's good. But on the other hand, doubt is a doorway.

If you turn away and go the other direction, you will move into failure and faithlessness. The fact is that I've known people whose faith was weak. but because of challenges to their faith. A crisis of faith. Their faith is now strong because it was tested.

And proven to be God, proven to be faithful and faith, authentic and real. I have known people who had religious faith, but because they were challenged with their religious faith, they now have real faith. Faith in Jesus Christ. Moving from the doorway of doubt, maybe putting aside childish faith and immature faith for growing and developing faith. I know this: that the fruit of the Spirit ripens in the darkness.

And the fruit of the Spirit among the fruit of the Spirit is that of faith. You know, the test of faith, the problems of life, the questions of life teach us many things about our faith. and about our lives. For one, it teaches us the content of our faith. It also teaches us the character of our commitment.

What is our commitment to Christ? It teaches us the caliber of our maturity. where we are in our Christian growth and are Christian maturing. The challenges and the problems and the pressures and the perplexities of life teach us the condition of our attitude. and the capacity of our teachability.

Because it brings us to a place of absolute dependence and trust.

Now, the question is: how does that happen? How do we move through the doorway of doubt and into faith? That's what happened to Abaka. For now we see. the wisdom of waiting.

The wisdom of waiting. Look in chapter 2. of this same book of Abaka, verses one through three. And here we see the next step from doubt to faith. He said, I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart and watch to see what he will say to me and what I will answer when I am corrected.

Now here's what is happening. The prophet says, God. Why don't you do something? about this evil, about our enemies. About all this injustice, the murdering, the treachery.

Why don't you do something? And God said, all right, I'm going to do something. I'm going to send the Chaldeans or the Babylonians. and use them like a rod. I've discipline upon my people Israel.

When Habakkuk that, he said, maybe I need to sit down and shut up for a while. And he said, I'm going to go to a tower, and there are these watchtowers all over Israel.

Some of them remain today. And so he climbed up into this strategic place. And he said, I'm going to wait on God. And then the Lord answered in verse 2 and said, Write the vision. And make it plain on tablets that he may run who reads it.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it will speak and it will not lie, though it tarries, mark it, wait for it, because it will surely come. It will not. Terry. If we're going to move through the doorway of doubt and into authentic and enduring faith, It begins with waiting, listening to God. You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message boxing with God.

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Now let's get back to today's message boxing with God. When God is silent. What are we to do? There is a key Password. For connecting with God.

It's a password we all need to know. P A T I E. N C E. Patience.

So often Rather than waiting on God, we forge ahead. We do something, even if it's wrong. And when we do that, we find ourselves in a bigger mess than we started. Have you made the discovery that God is never in a hurry? But he's always on time.

Some of us, if God doesn't answer our prayers in the next 15 minutes, we're ready to quit. But when you find yourself in a struggle with doubt, or uncertainty. And you don't have a clue. As to what to think. Or as to what to do.

Wait on God. When in doubt Don't. To wait on God is to trust God. It's not Passivity is not just sitting back and doing nothing, but it is actively pursuing the heart, the will, the mind of God. To wait on God is to hope in God, to put our trust and faith in God.

And sometimes, And I emphasize the word sometimes. God strips us of everything. Bringing us to the end of ourselves and facing questions. And issues that we cannot answer in order that we may discover that all we have is in Him. And discovering that all that we have is in Him, knowing that He is enough.

To wait on God is what the prophet did. He climbed up in this tower and stood and waited. He trusted God. And listen for God to speak. He began to see from that elevated position.

Life From a different perspective, God's perspective. And that's what the Bible calls wisdom. You can't get wisdom on the run. It is only by waiting on God and listening to Him. And the promises of God and the plans of God give us a place to stand, a place of security.

Now, this is not ignorant faith, this is informed faith. It is trusting God. It is tenacious faith. It is faith that. Perseveres and presses on through perplexities and problems.

And it is in waiting on God. That we move from Doubt. to believe. I'll back at 2-4. is the key.

that unlocks this doorway of doubt. and opens to faith. Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him. But note these words. but the just shall live by his Faith.

Seven monosyllables. But you change the world. The just shall live by his. Faith. Simple words, but so profound.

Repeated three times in the New Testament. It became the cry of the Reformation. The just shall live by his faith. And many Bible commentators believe that it is most accurately interpreted The just shall live by his faithfulness.

Now don't miss this. It's not a matter of my faith.

So often we think we need. Great faith. in order to survive. But we don't need so much great faith, but we need faith. In the faithfulness of God, in the greatness of God.

And what he is saying here is. We shall live by his faithfulness because God is faithful. Paul put it this way in Galatians 2:20. This is how to plug into the power. I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, yet not I.

But Christ lives in me, and the life that I now live by faith, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. It is our faith in him and His faithfulness. That enables us to persevere and to press on. He's been so faithful. to me.

So often we think if I could just get the answers to these questions. that I would know what to do or what to think or how to believe. But so often if we had the answers It wouldn't settle the issue. It might even complicate the issue. One of these days we will see by sight, and we will know even as we are known.

And everything will be clear. That's when we get to heaven. He makes all things new. But until then, we live by faith. Faith in the Son of God.

The faithfulness of Jesus in our lives, who has been faithful, faithful. And in waiting upon Him, trusting in Him, hoping in Him, we find our strength. And that's when we move then to that next step, which is what I'm going to call the wonder of worship. From the doorway of doubt To the wisdom of waiting now, to the wonder of worship.

Something happened to the heart of Abakuk as he waited on God. His wise were turned to worship, and his pain perplexities to praise. Chapter 3 contains a beautiful expression of the worship of a believing heart. of enduring faith. He offers a prayer, a petition to God, and then he offers praise.

Look at verse 1 of chapter 3. A prayer of a backup O Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid. Oh Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make it known. In wrath, remember mercy.

Now just stop right there. Habakkuk is saying, God, now I know. And you have every right to do exactly what you choose to do. And if your plan is judgment. Lord, you don't know me an explanation.

I may not understand it all. I might not even like it. But Lord, I'm trusting you. But I only ask that in the midst of the wrath that is going to come, revive your people, O God. And along with the judgment, send mercy.

And grace. And here we see something of the heart of the prophet. For the people of God. And he calls upon a God whom he knows to be the God of mercy. He says, God, I fear you.

But now I'm willing to submit to your will. And to offer myself to you. I'm afraid. But you do what is best. Give us grace.

And from the sighing, He now begins to sing. And praise God. And this entire chapter. is an expression of worship and praise. To the mercy of God, to the might of God, to the majesty of God.

But he concludes in verses 17 to the end of the chapter. with a promise that he makes to God. is the same promise that we need to make this morning. And though the fig tree may not blossom, No fruit beyond the vines. Though all the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food, and though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls.

In other words, God, when it all falls apart, and if it all falls apart, and I lose everything. Here is my promise to you. Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on high.

My high hills. What praise? What a promise.

Now he's taken his gloves off because he now knows that his arms are too short to box with God. And he's taken the gloves off, and now he's offering up holy hands of worship and praise to God. And he's saying, God, no matter what. Whatever you choose to do, God. You are sovereign.

And you are God and I'm not. But I, Lord, promised to rely upon your strength to rejoice in you, God, my Savior. You see, our joy is not in our circumstances, not in our possessions, not in our things. But our joy is in Jesus. Our joy is in him.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. I love this man, Habakkuk. There's nothing phony about him. His faith is real, sometimes raw, but it's real, it's genuine. And now his doubt has moved to a determination.

To trust in God. No matter what. to rejoice I love that phrase, in God my salvation. Our hope is in him and only him. You see, a troubled faith is better than no faith.

But growing faith is a rejoicing faith. And the key thing we need to remember today is that when your faith is troubled, When you are troubled. Go to him. Run to him. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message.

Boxing with God. Your support of PowerPoint Ministries makes a profound impact, helping more people discover the truth and hope of Jesus Christ. And to thank you for your generous gift today, we'd love to send you Dr. Jack Graham's new book, Living Hope in a Hostile World. It's a timely resource that reminds you how to stand firm in faith, cling to God's grace, and live with courage even in your most challenging times.

As you grow in your walk with the Lord through this resource, may you be encouraged to know that your generous support is helping others do the same. Text Febb to 59789. Again, text Feb, as in February, to 59789. Easter is just around the corner, and we want to help you prepare your heart for the season. When you sign up, we will send you a video devotional every day beginning February 18th until Easter to remind you of the sacrifice Jesus made so that we can be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God.

Dr. Graham will share a short devotional about the final words that Jesus spoke from the cross and what they mean to us today. To sign up, just text Cross to 59-789. Again, text cross to To 59-789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Okay.

Well, so many people get frustrated when they look at the many injustices in the world, and because of this, they're tempted to argue with God just as our friend Habakkuk did. But the wonderful thing about this servant of God is that he learned some important lessons from his experience. He learned to keep moving forward in his faith. And that's just what we need to do. When we first meet Abaka in the scripture, he is frustrated and angry and even arguing with God.

He's telling God how bad things have gotten on earth. He's living in terrible times of moral decay and spiritual decline, and he's saying to God, How can you allow this evil to exist? Habakkuk was demanding answers to some very difficult, hard questions. But God was silent. and in that silence Habakkuk learned something very important.

he learned to be patient and to wait on God.

Now, you need to see this. Waiting on God is not passivity. It is not just sitting back and doing nothing. When you're waiting on God, you're living by faith and you're. Actively pursuing his heart, living in obedience to his will, and seeking the mind of God.

and Habakkuk's faith told him to trust God and to live therefore by His promises. You see, this is the kind of tenacious faith that perseveres through life's most challenging times. And finally we see in Habakkuk's example that something happened in his heart. As he moved beyond doubting God, he began actively waiting on God, his whys turned into worship and his pain into praise. Habakkuk, the man who was boxing with God, finally lays his gloves down and offers up holy hands of worship and rejoices in the presence of the Almighty.

So when our world, when your world seems to be falling apart, And you must resist the temptation to blame God and find faith in Him. Keep your hope alive. Keep looking to him. Keep trusting in him. Keep obeying him.

Keep pursuing him. And with Habakkuk, you will be able to say, in any of your circumstances in life, yet will I rejoice in the Lord. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we will send you Dr. Graham's book, Living Hope in a Hostile World.

Just text Feb to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how to survive seasons of suffering in your life. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.