Sharpen Your Pencil: Notes from CBOQ Assembly 2025 (Habakkuk 2:1-3)

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There's bad news, there's good news, and there's no news 

The bad news (as Habakkuk would agree) is this: the world is not as it should be. We are not as we should be. We can fix neither. 

We like to picture ourselves as floating on a lake, each in our own little canoes. We’re paddling around, just trying not to bump into anybody else on the lake, because they’re all doing exactly the same thing. What we haven’t noticed is this: we’re not on a lake. We're on a river. No matter which direction we’re paddling, that river is taking us somewhere. It has a destination, and we cannot escape its current. That's the bad news.  

What’s the good news? We are not alone in the boat.  

When [Jesus] got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”  Matt 8:23-25 

What are some of the storms that we face in our lives?  

• Family conflicts.
• Loss of a job.
• Illness.
• Addiction.
• Bullying.

These are all things that hit us hard, that shift the direction of our boat. The good news is that we may be caught in the current, but we are not alone in the boat. 

What did the disciples do when that storm rose up? They went to Jesus. They went to Jesus and they said, “Help us!”  

When our life is in crisis—when we realise that the things we’re being told aren't connecting with what we are perceive to be true, when we're trying to figure out who we are and how we fit into the big picture... When those storms of life come against us—against our families, our churches, the Church around the world, and (I don't think anybody would argue) our world itself... Remember that the kingdom of God is not in crisis. Delay is not denial. Just because Jesus hasn't done it yet doesn't mean it's not going to happen.  

Yes, the apostles saw those waves come over the gunwales, and the wind whip the sail. They had to pull the oars, struggle with the spar, fight to aim the boat into the wind. They worked to keep it afloat, they yelled at each other against the noise.  

Yes, they had to do what they had to do against the storm. But only until it was God's time... And Jesus stood up, and spoke. “Ok. Enough."  

The bad news is that storms rise and we can’t escape the current. The good news is that we are not alone in the boat. Jesus is with us every moment.  

There’s bad news, there's good news... 

There’s no news. 

Nothing has really changed since the day Habakkuk stood on his ramparts yelling at God. Though worldviews have shifted, the situation has remained the same. 

We are a multi-generational church. There are people regularly attending our services who belong to the Silent Generation, the Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha. What we all have in common across and down the generations is that we have all been shaped by our culture.  

There are things that make perfect sense—that seem obvious—to someone who is 13 years old, while making no sense at all to someone who is 90. Both are impacted by the culture of which they are a part. There are differences and gaps between worldviews, but what has not changed is that Jesus is still in the boat. The Son of God is still here with us, still doing the same work he was doing in the days of Habakkuk. 

We as a church cannot define ourselves as though we exist in a vacuum, anymore than we can as individuals. We as a church need to understand who we are in our context: across generations, as individuals, in our families, at our workplaces, and (more than anything) from God's perspective. 

We must stand on our ramparts like Habakkuk. Ask God questions. Wait for the answer. Figure out how to respond.  

Habakkuk's nation was failing. So he went to God. The apostles were being swamped by a storm. So they went to Jesus. So whatever we are wrestling with, we go to God. We ask Holy Spirit who we are. Who we are made to be. Who we are called to be. Who we are called to become. What we are to do. 

What does that mean for us today?  

I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the ramparts. Habakkuk 2:1a

The first thing we need to do is sharpen our posture. Habakkuk was facing the same challenges that we face today from within and beyond ourselves, within our church and beyond, within our borders and beyond. We have to begin by, like Habakkuk, showing up where we're supposed to show up.  

• Showing up in community with other believers. 
• Showing up on the margins where the needs are greatest. 

Like Habakkuk, we sharpen our posture by staying awake, by standing strong, by being ready, by doing what we are given to do what we must against the storm. 

I will watch to see what he will say to me and how I should answer when corrected. Habakkuk 2:1b

Second, we need to sharpen our focus. Sharpen our senses. Open our eyes wider. Perk up our ears to hear not just all of the voices that are out there (because we do need to be aware of what is being said and what is being sold in the world) but to hear above all the voice of the Spirit. Keep our eyes open to see what it is he has for us to see and to understand. Sharpen our focus, see the vision, hear the message.  

Then the Lord answered me: “Write down this vision clearly. Inscribe it on tablets so that the one who reads it may run.” Habakkuk 2:2

Third, a herald is one who runs to deliver the message with which they’ve been entrusted. We need to know and remember what the mission is. 

What’s the message? Write it down.  

Who are we? Write that down. 

What are we supposed to be doing? We're supposed to be doing what Jesus did, so that's not super hard to figure out.  

Might forget? Might be distracted? Write it down. On your heart. On your wall. On your bathroom mirror. On the back of your hand. 

Clearly understand what the message is. Run to tell it. 

So as I stand on my ramparts and I look out over my people, what do I see?  

I see a small church in a small town. I see a church that is built on a solid foundation. I see a church that has eyes to see and ears to hear what's happening in our world, our families, our workplaces, our neighbourhoods. I see a church that has the resources to respond. I see people with the smarts, and the unity of purpose, to ‘write down the message.’ 

Write it on your hearts, write it on a piece of paper and stick it to your fridge, that God is calling us to be His herald. To be the ones who run with the message, to speak truth to people who need to hear it...  

People are not necessarily going to listen to the preacher on Sunday morning. But they might listen to you.  

They might hear what you have to say.  

That is your task: to understand the message, to write it clearly, to carry it with you wherever you go, to speak that message... To be the Church that Jesus built. 

To hear the full message: