He says that He's marching through the land in indignation, that it's thresh, the heathen, and anger.
See, God is a God that is filled with anger.
Did you know that the Bible says God is angry with the wicked every day?
Today, November 22nd, is it? 21st? 22nd? I don't know.
November 22nd, did you know that God is angry right now?
On November 22nd, 2006, God is angry with the wicked right now.
Every day. Tomorrow He's going to be mad.
He was mad yesterday, and He's mad today.
God is a God that's filled with anger.
You say, why is He so filled with anger?
Well, if you've realized what sin really is, you'd be angry too.
You see, God is filled with anger not just because He's just a hothead.
God is filled with anger today because He knows that the wicked that He's angry with every day are hurting other people.
That makes Him angry.
I mean, doesn't it make you angry to see someone hurt someone else?
It reminds me of when Moses saw two of the Jews striving.
He got so angry that he actually killed a man with his bare hands.
It wasn't right for him to do that.
But he was just so filled with anger when he saw one man smiting another man,
beating another man, beating a slave, and just whipping him to the ground.
And it made him so angry to see someone abused and hurt.
And God says, I know all the abuse that goes on that you don't know about.
You live in a world where you only see the Budweiser ad, and you think that's what beer is about.
You know, you see the Marlboro Man, and you think that's what cigarettes is about.
Do you see all the pretty faces, all the beautiful facades?
Do you see all the Brad Pitt and the Tom Cruise in every grocery store?
And you think, man, sin is so cool.
I just wish I could be Brad Pitt.
Man, I wish I could be like Tom Cruise.
Man, I just wish I could be like Britney Spears.
It would be so great.
Hey, you don't want to be like them because you don't know how miserable and stupid their life is.
And then one day, hell will be their home.
You know, hopefully they get saved in the meantime.
I mean, that would be a blessing.
But chances are, let's face it, chances are they're going down to the nether parts of the earth.
They're going to burn in hell when they die.
But I'm going to tell you something.
Sin is so deceptive.
It's so pretty on the outside.
Sin hurts people.
It hurts other people.
You say, my sin doesn't hurt anybody.
Yes, your sin hurts other people.
Your sin hurts other people.
A dad who's a drunk, his whole family is going to suffer.
You know, you smoke cigarettes, your whole family and friends are going to suffer when they have to watch you suffer.
When they watch you reap what you've sown, it's going to hurt them inside.
And see, God looks at all the hurt that we don't even see.
I mean, he sees all the abuse, he sees all the pain.
He sees the real picture of what sin is like.
And he says, boy, I'm just angry.
And he says, one day I'm going to put a stop to it.
And this is how I'm going to do it.
I'm going to describe it in Habakkuk chapter 3.
And I'm going to march through the land in indignation.
And I'm going to thresh the heathen in anger.
Because I'm furious.
The Bible says at the beginning of the book of Nahum, the Lord is furious.
He's angry.
He's enraged because he says, I hate sin.
You say, I don't hate sin.
It's because you don't understand how bad sin is.
You don't understand how much it's hurting you.
And you don't understand how much it's hurting other people.
All throughout the Bible, this great theme of other people being hurt by your sin.
All throughout the Bible. Look at Achan.
I was just reading to the kids.
It was night before last.
We read Joshua 5 through 7 right before bed.
And I remember reading about how Achan, who stole the money from God.
And then they took Achan and his wife and his sons and his daughters.
And they killed all.
Now look, did that sweet little daughter of Achan do anything wrong?
I don't think she did.
And yet she suffered for Achan's sins. Isn't that terrible?
Isn't that sad when you read about that?
All throughout the Bible you see a girl like Tamar.
Every time I read that story it just makes me sick.
I feel exactly like Absalom.
Makes me want to hate Amnon.
Because I see this young sweet girl Tamar abused.
And defiled.
And her life ruined in one day at a whim.
Her whole life was ruined.
She abode desolate in the house of her brother Absalom for the rest of her life.
Her whole life was ruined.
Every time I read that story I get mad.
Every time I read it I get angry.
It makes me angry.
And that's why God's angry with the wicked every day.
That's why God marches through the land and angry.
You say, why does God bring his judgment?
And it hurts so many people.
Because God has to judge sin.
And if you knew how bad it was.
If you understood the extent of how bad sin is.
You wouldn't blame him.
And that's part of what the book of Habakkuk is teaching us.
Because at the end of all Habakkuk says you're right God.
I didn't really know why you're bringing all this wrath on us.
But he says you're right.
It's what we deserve.
Verse number 13 the Bible says,
Thou winnest forth for the salvation of thy people.
Even for salvation with thine anointed.
Of course we see that God takes care of his people.
When he brings down his wrath on a city like Sodom and Gomorrah.
He gets a lot out of the way.
He knows how to keep his people safe.