I WILL REJOICE IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION

CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION

SUNDAY OCTOBER 13^TH 2024

Sermon By Pastor Marc Simeon

YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD I WILL JOY IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION

HABAKKUK 3:17-19

Hab 3:17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls-

 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

 19 The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.

INTRODUCTION

• The theme for this year’s anniversary of the church is found in Habakkuk 3:18  Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
• Christians are the most under estimated people in this world.
• The most valuable possession one may have is salvation.
• One’s salvation set him as the most privileged of all men.
• The salvation that God offers entails the past, the present and the future.
• Unfortunately, most people give no value to the salvation of their souls.
• There is however a class of people who seem to be more drawn to seek salvation.
• God has specially chosen the weak things, meaning you and me to make an army to represent Him on this earth.

1Co 1:26-27 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

• Christians are the only group of people who can talk about eternity with assurance and peace of mind.
• The bulk of the worth of the Christian will be revealed on the other side of death.
• This life is a temporary Journey; no matter what one does it will end soon or later.
• God limits the span of the human life to 70 years; the strongest will go to 80 years.
•  All others beyond 80 years old are considered on overtime.

WHAT IS VALUABLE IN THIS WORLD?

• A valuable thing is something has a worth.
• A valuable thing is something that is beneficial.
• A valuable thing is something that is long-lasting.
• Money, wealth, knowledge, beauty are valuable in this world, but they are temporal.

Example: Travelers

•  When you see people in an in the airport, you cannot determine who is rich and who is poor.
• Some can be seated in the first class section because the company that they work for paid for it.
• Some could be sitting in the coach section because all the first class seats were already booked.
• To know who is doing well financially and who is not, you would have to follow them home and see in what neighborhood they live in.
• To see if where they live is a rental or own property.
• You would have to know if they are not struggling to pay their mortgages.
• You would have to check that person’s bank account to see if he or she has any saving or other assets.
•  After you put all the dots together, then you can make an honest attestation on the financial status of that person.
• Most of the times, if you knew all about a person, you would never envy their apparent success.
• It is the same way for all human beings without salvation.
• No matter how good they look in this short life on earth, they will spend eternity in vanity.
• Habakkuk and all other saved persons have every reason to rejoice in the God of their salvation.

WHAT IS IT “TO REJOICE IN THE GOD OF YOUR SALVATION?”

• Habakkuk says “I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
• Habakkuk valued his salvation and the God who gave it to him.
• Salvation is the greatest assets imaginable that a man can acquire.
• Salvation can be viewed as present protection or the heritance of eternal life that the believer receives only in Christ.
• Being reconciled with God; being forgiven for your sins; walking and fellowship with God;
• Having the holy spirit of God dwelling in you; being granted Heavenly citizenship;
• Been protected 24/7 by God’s angels; having the assurance to be taken away from this world to a better one;
• Having the hope of a glorified body for all eternity; having to spend eternity in the presence of God;
• Being selected to be part of the new world that God is going to create; being presently tenderly cared for and loved by God;
• Being made to be co-heir with Jesus, and the list of privileges goes on.
• When you put it all together in the balance, the believer is the luckiest person on the planet.
• The rich of this world cannot escape death.
• The rich of this world cannot transfer their wealth after to the afterlife.
• The rich of this world cannot avoid sickness and aging and the common plights of the human experience.
• The closer one without Christ gets to his grave is the closer he gets to his doom.
• Christians have every reason to boast about their salvation.
• Since salvation is a free gift from God, then the believer rejoices in the God of His salvation.
• I may not have fame in this world, but I have salvation.
• I may not have physical beauty in this world, but I have salvation.
• I may not have the best of mind in this world; I may not be a clever person, but I have salvation.
• I may not have success, I may be an underdog by all means in this life, but I have salvation.

WHAT IS THE WORTH OF HUMAN EXISTENCE WITHOUT SALVATION?

Mt 16:26 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

• There was an intellectual guy who was travelling by sea but who did not know how to swim.
• While ready reading his newspaper, he exclaimed: “anyone who doesn’t know how to read looses ¾ of his life.
• The boat worker who did not know how to read felt vexed and embarrassed.
•  Soon thereafter the boat hit a rock and began to sink, the intellectual guy became anxious.
• Upon informing of his dilemma, the boat worker replied: “ He doesn’t know how to swim loses his entire life.”  
• When Habakkuk heard that a lot of calamities were heading his way, and that the Judgment of God was imminent upon his beloved Nation,
•  Habakkuk braced himself for the worst. Habakkuk put his faith on overdrive.

Hab 3:18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

• I have nothing wrong to say about God.

19 The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.

• Your faith in God is for such a time like this when all hell break loose on you.
•  When they announce that they are going to lay people off in your job, that’s when you need to repeat what Habakkuk said:
• Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
• You will rejoice in God because you know that God has everything under control.
•  When you are on the pathway of war and destruction and your life is on the line, you can rest on the God of your salvation.
• You can barrow the words of Psalm 46 to claim your assurance on God.

WE SERVE THE GOD OF DELIVRANCES

Psalm 46:1-5 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

 2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

 3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

 4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

 5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

• This kind of faith in God gives you the bravery and the audacity necessary to face life and all its troubles head on.
• You can say like David, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
• The God of you salvation is all that you need in this life and the life to come.

Psalm 27 says

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

 2 When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.

 3 Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident.

• The God of your salvation has gotten you through the past storms that came to claim your life.
• The God of your salvation is getting you through whatever you are going through right now.
• The God of your salvation will assist you to your last breath on this earth.
• The God of your salvation will cross over this life with you to usher you to His throne of Grace.
• The God of your salvation will be with you for all eternity.
• Only Christians can talk about eternity with certainty.
• We don’t have to wait to get to heaven to begin to enjoy the God of our salvation.
• Rejoice in the God of your salvation right now as Habakkuk did when he knew that the worse was ahead of him.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls-

 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

 19 The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.

AMEN!