Episode Transcript
[00:00:09] Every year about this time, I like to remind you that it's not that hard to read through the Bible in a year.
[00:00:20] And in fact, you can get this little slip of paper from somebody out there in main street, and it's got a little box for every daily bible reading.
[00:00:35] Now, look, that doesn't look so hard, does it?
[00:00:39] You could do that.
[00:00:45] You'll feel good if you do it.
[00:00:49] On top of that, I had these made.
[00:00:59] You read the Bible in a year? I'm going to give you one of these awesome certificates.
[00:01:07] Genuine congratulations certificate.
[00:01:15] Wouldn't that look great hanging in your office?
[00:01:19] So grab yourself a slip and launch in.
[00:01:29] I also need to ask you, we've got everything ready for night to shine.
[00:01:42] We need seven people who will just give away one night of their life.
[00:01:48] We're seven people short.
[00:01:51] And if Diana, stand up.
[00:01:55] And if you're willing to make a huge difference in somebody's life, that'll only take you one night, would you please see Diana?
[00:02:12] I'm certain God will riskily bless you for it. If he doesn't come and see me, and I'll bless you for it.
[00:02:21] Our dear heavenly Father, um, you have an eternal plan, and then you strategically place us in history, where we are most fit to partner with you in your eternal plan.
[00:02:45] And I pray that we could see this profound truth in the book of Haggai tonight.
[00:02:50] In Jesus name, amen.
[00:02:55] We looked at the book of Habakkuk, and then we looked at the book of Zephaniah, and now we're at this tiny little book in the Old Testament. It's really only two pages, but it's got four powerful ideas that I think have the potential to make a big difference in our life and in our thinking.
[00:03:23] About 538 years before Christ, Cyrus and Darius captured Babylon. And they said to all the jewish people who were living there in captivity, go home.
[00:03:43] You don't have to stay here anymore.
[00:03:46] In fact, more than that, we're not only letting you go home, we're going to give you everything we took from your temple so you can rebuild your temple when you get home.
[00:04:00] And so Zerubbabel the king and Joshua the priest, they led a whole group of people from Babylon back to Jerusalem.
[00:04:15] And when they got there, the place was just rubble.
[00:04:21] The Babylonians burned everything they could burn, and what they couldn't burn, they tipped over, they toppled over, and so the city was a giant pile of rubble.
[00:04:36] But the people were industrious and they got to work.
[00:04:41] And ironically, they laid the foundation for a new temple.
[00:04:48] But then they got distracted.
[00:04:52] In 520, they had been there 18 years, and they had built nothing on the temple. All that was there was the foundation. They hadn't added anything to it.
[00:05:07] So God sent Hagai to challenge the people to reconsider their life priorities.
[00:05:20] Thus says the Lord of hosts, these people say, the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.
[00:05:32] Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet.
[00:05:37] Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies in ruins?
[00:05:47] Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.
[00:05:56] They got distracted.
[00:06:01] They were more interested in decorating their own home than they were in rebuilding the temple.
[00:06:09] They were more interested in their own business, and they were more interested in the things that were about them and not about God.
[00:06:22] And Haggai starts his message by saying, consider your ways.
[00:06:30] I wonder if Haggai showed up at our church, if he would challenge us in the same way.
[00:06:40] I wonder how many things that we should be doing for God we don't do because we get too wrapped up in the details of our own lives.
[00:06:56] Church.
[00:06:58] Over the years, I've had many people say to me, doc, I would love to help, but I just don't have time. That's exactly what they said to Haggai. That's exactly what they said. Hey, we would love to help rebuild the temple. We can't wait for it to be great. But you see, it's not a good time for me right now. I'm remodeling my kitchen.
[00:07:23] It's not really a good time for me. I'm redoing the yard this year.
[00:07:30] There'll be a better time in the future, and maybe I can help then.
[00:07:36] And God said to the people, it's not healthy.
[00:07:44] Putting God at the end of your to do list is not a healthy approach to being a Christian.
[00:07:53] I got some amens on that. There's some christians left in the world.
[00:07:59] I understand how easy it is to do, but I want to say to you tonight, consider your ways.
[00:08:12] Look at your schedule for next week.
[00:08:15] What time have you scheduled for God?
[00:08:21] What time have you scheduled to serve him in some way?
[00:08:26] What time have you scheduled to be part of what he wants to accomplish in the world in your lifetime?
[00:08:35] Do you see?
[00:08:37] I bet if I look at your schedule, I can find the things that you think are important because they keep showing up in your schedule.
[00:08:50] I bet I can also find the things that you might say are important, but your schedule shows they're really not important.
[00:09:02] And then God says, you are really cheating yourself.
[00:09:11] This is what the prophet said.
[00:09:14] You have sown much and harvested little.
[00:09:19] You eat, but you never have enough.
[00:09:24] You drink, but you never have your fill.
[00:09:28] You clothe yourself, but no one is warm.
[00:09:32] And he who earns wages does so to put them in a bag with holes.
[00:09:40] Listen what he's saying.
[00:09:45] You are.
[00:09:51] You're putting God at the end of your to do list, and you're putting a bunch of other stuff in there that somehow or another you think will make you happy. Well, how's it working?
[00:10:06] See what he says?
[00:10:09] You think that fancy meal, we're going to make you happy, but somehow or another, it doesn't.
[00:10:20] You think those extra drinks will make you happy? Somewhere or another it doesn't.
[00:10:30] You think being able to buy that Versace bag will make you feel better, but somehow or another, it just gets to be another bag in your purse.
[00:10:49] You think, someday I'm going to earn enough money, and then I'll be able to do anything God wants me to do, but that someday never comes because that bag has holes in it.
[00:11:02] Church, do you hear what the prophet is saying? The prophet is saying the things you think are going to make you happy, they're not working.
[00:11:15] Because the thing that really is fulfilling to you is being the person God created you to be and accomplishing with your single life what he created you to accomplish.
[00:11:30] Each and everyone in this room, as I have told you on many occasions, excuse me, you have a divine purpose, and it is in doing that purpose that we find meaning in life.
[00:11:46] And all of these other things, they're elusive.
[00:11:52] They seem to shine and attract us, but in the end, they leave an empty spot in our inner self.
[00:12:03] And so haggai says, consider your ways.
[00:12:09] Is your approach to life working?
[00:12:13] Or is it possible, is it possible that your life would be better if you created more time to do some of the things that God wants you to do?
[00:12:34] God says, you see, there are some things I will bless, and there are some things I won't bless.
[00:12:43] Listen to the prophet.
[00:12:48] You looked for much, and behold, it came to little.
[00:12:54] And when you brought it home, I blew it away.
[00:12:58] Why? Declares the Lord of host. Because my house lies in ruins while each of you busies himself with his own house.
[00:13:08] Therefore, the heavens above you have withdrawn the dew, and the earth withheld its produce. I called for a drought on the land and on the hills and on the green and on the new wine, the oil, and what the ground brings forth on man and beast and all their labors.
[00:13:30] That's what God is saying.
[00:13:32] God is saying, when my favor rests upon you, you'll see it in a multitude of ways in your life.
[00:13:47] When my favor doesn't rest upon you, there'll be less blessings.
[00:14:06] Listen what God is saying. God is saying, you're my partners, and when we work together to accomplish my purpose, I'm going to bless you. I'm going to bless you in ways that are beyond what you can imagination, what you can imagine.
[00:14:24] But when you're supposed to be my partner and you're not showing up, I can't bless you with those things.
[00:14:34] Does that make sense to you? Can you hear what God is saying? Consider your ways. The favor of the Lord will bring blessings upon you in multitudes of ways.
[00:14:46] He'll bless you in your home, he'll bless you in your business, he'll bless you in your friendships, he'll bless you in a multitude of ways.
[00:14:55] But when our priorities are wrong, we defraud ourselves of these blessings.
[00:15:04] Well, how do you think the people heard it? Haggai tells us how they heard it.
[00:15:13] Then Zerubbabel and Joshua and all the remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord, their God, and the words of haggai, the prophet.
[00:15:25] Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message. I am with you, declares the Lord.
[00:15:34] And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and the spirit of JOshua, the high priest, and the spirit of the remnant of the people, and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.
[00:15:55] They heard the message, and they responded not by nodding their heads and saying, that's a good idea, but they actually put into their schedule, we're going to get to work on the temple.
[00:16:11] And they all put it in their schedule, and they all started showing up working on the temple.
[00:16:18] Do you know what can get done when a variety of people with a variety of gifts all work together to accomplish a common thing?
[00:16:29] It is remarkable what can get done now when you have two or three people who don't know what they're doing, it's remarkable what can't get done.
[00:16:41] Um, standing there looking for ten minutes, where do you think the nail goes?
[00:16:49] Okay.
[00:16:52] God's idea was not for any one person or any group of people to do it all.
[00:17:00] God's idea was for everyone to show up with their unique Ability and their understanding and make their contribution.
[00:17:11] Do you see, every Saturday morning I come to work here, and they're pickleballing in the gym. I go in there, and there's like a music to that pickleball Game.
[00:17:28] And I see them pickleballing in there, and somebody always says, when are you going to start playing? And my usual response is, don't hold your breath.
[00:17:40] All right.
[00:17:44] Do you see? For some people, that is a wonderful life experience for me. I like to look in there. There's happy people. I go winning, and I go to get to my office and get to work. All right, this is God's good idea that each one of us make a contribution. And as each one of us make a contribution, God gets more done than would get done if just a few of us brought the few talents we have to do the work of the Lord.
[00:18:27] And then Haggai wrote, speak to Zerubbabel and to Joshua the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, say, who is left among you? Who saw this house in its former glory?
[00:18:50] How do you see it now?
[00:18:55] Is it not as nothing in your eyes?
[00:18:59] All right, now we have to go back and remember that about 700, 970 years, 965 years before Christ, or about 600 years before this.
[00:19:22] I mean, all right, I'm not doing the math. Well, whatever.
[00:19:28] Nines, 965 minus 520, whatever that is, all right, remember what Solomon's temple looked like.
[00:19:42] Now we go back to nine, to 970, when Solomon became king and David saved up tons of gold and silver and bronze and iron.
[00:19:55] They paid stonemasons to cut the stones perfectly.
[00:19:59] They bought cedar from Lebanon and the temple of the Lord.
[00:20:07] It was a worldwide wonder.
[00:20:12] People were stunned when they looked at it. It was the kind of place that you couldn't turn your eye away from. You just kept looking at it because it was so beautiful and so unique.
[00:20:25] The best craftsman in the world at the time had worked on it, but the Babylonians had destroyed it, and now they're rebuilding. But they don't have all the gold that David had.
[00:20:41] They don't have all the silver.
[00:20:43] They don't have all the bronze.
[00:20:46] They don't have the best stone cutters in the world, and they're not getting cedar trees from Lebanon. They're going up into the hills and cutting down whatever's growing up there.
[00:20:59] And they build a temple.
[00:21:02] And when they look at it, the ones who remembered the former temple, something sank in their heart.
[00:21:12] Something in their heart said, this is nothing compared to the original temple.
[00:21:25] But God met them in their disappointment, and listen what he says.
[00:21:32] Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares, the Lord, be strong, o Joshua, be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord.
[00:21:46] Work for I am with you, declares the lord of hosts. According to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt, my spirit remains in your midst. Do not fear.
[00:22:01] Listen to what God's saying. God is saying this is not the end of the story. This is only one chapter in the story.
[00:22:12] This isn't what you wanted it to be. But guess what? This isn't what it's going to be either.
[00:22:18] This is the beginning of something that generations will work on. And when this is done, the latter glory of this place will be greater than the former glory.
[00:22:32] You know what haggai is saying? We all serve the Lord in our generation.
[00:22:38] We all serve the Lord in our generation.
[00:22:42] 20 years ago, our church looked very different than it looks today.
[00:22:50] 20 years ago, our building wasn't nearly as nice as this building.
[00:23:00] 20 years ago we didn't have the ministries we had.
[00:23:04] 20 years ago we didn't have the influence we have.
[00:23:08] But that was one phase of us being faithful to God in our generation. And because we were faithful to God in our generation 20 years ago, God has continued to do his good work among us in the very same the way that he said, I am in your midst to Haggai and Zerubbabel and Joshua, he says to us, I am in your midst.
[00:23:36] We look around here and we say, this is a place that could only be this way because God was among us.
[00:23:46] Because he was in our midst.
[00:23:48] Because generation after generation, God was faithful and he took the little that we started with and made it better and better and better and better.
[00:24:01] And by the grace of God, he's not done by the grace of God. This is just one more phase in what God is doing. So don't ever look around and say it should be better than this or this church has it. Better than that or they have it. I'm telling you, God is in our midst. And just like Haggai said, this is just one phase of what God is doing. Brothers and sisters, where we are right now is just one phase of what God is doing.
[00:24:37] I shared with you in our vision cast this year. We are already a fourth generation church. Do you know how few churches get to the fourth generation?
[00:24:48] We are already a fourth generation church.
[00:24:54] And the fourth generation, I don't know if you were at CC midweek or you watched it online. That fourth generation is an awesome bunch.
[00:25:05] I believe God is going to do incredible things through those kids.
[00:25:10] So Haggai said, this is what God says. Don't see this as the finishing line. See this as one phase in what the God who is in your midst is doing.
[00:25:28] For thus, says the Lord of host.
[00:25:31] Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.
[00:25:39] I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of host.
[00:25:52] The silver is mine, the gold is mine, declares the Lord of host. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of host. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of host.
[00:26:09] Listen what God is saying.
[00:26:11] God says, you're looking around right now, and you're seeing what you don't have, and I understand that.
[00:26:20] You're seeing what you had hoped for, and you can't see, and I understand that. But listen, I am God, and I'm going to shake things. And when I shake things, you're going to have absolutely everything you need.
[00:26:38] You can look up in any Bible dictionary. You can go online and Google Herod's temple.
[00:26:50] About 50 years before Christ, Herod started remodeling the temple.
[00:26:58] He didn't just remodel a temple. He remodeled the whole temple mound.
[00:27:05] He remodeled the courtyards on the temple.
[00:27:10] He built the porched Stoa called Solomon's porch. He rebuilt the gates.
[00:27:21] He refurbished the temple.
[00:27:24] And Jesus'own disciples looked at it one day and said, look at this magnificent place. Isn't it just awesome?
[00:27:37] Haggai prophesied the temple that Jesus Christ would enter in.
[00:27:46] He prophesied a temple that received Christ. And Christ did incredible ministry in.
[00:27:54] And he said, the latter glory of this place will be greater than the former glory.
[00:28:01] Listen to what Jesus said.
[00:28:04] Jesus said, the queen of Sheba came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon, but greater than Solomon is here.
[00:28:16] The glory that Solomon brought to the temple was inferior to the glory that Jesus Christ brought to the temple. Do you hear it? The great glory of the temple wasn't in the stones and in the silver and in the gold. The great glory of the temple was the presence of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. And when Christ is present in our church, there will always be the glory of God in this place.
[00:28:52] And then Haggai tells this odd parable, and it's based on the law of Moses.
[00:29:02] He said, if a priest has a piece of meat that was sacrificed on the altar, and he puts that piece of meat in a bag, and that bag touches something else, does that holy meat make the thing it touched holy.
[00:29:23] And all the people said, no, it doesn't.
[00:29:27] And then he said, if a priest touches something dead and then touches something holy, does the holy thing become desecrated? And they said, yes.
[00:29:45] And Haggai said, can you see the bigger principle?
[00:29:55] Are you bringing to the Lord holy hands?
[00:30:02] Are you bringing to the Lord a holy life?
[00:30:08] If you think just touching church will make you holy, you're wrong. It doesn't.
[00:30:17] The holiness comes from an experience with God.
[00:30:23] And if I'm not having these experiences with God that sanctify my heart, then the things I do for him, they're tainted.
[00:30:32] Do you understand that?
[00:30:35] I can tell this parable in an easy way.
[00:30:40] If your hands are clean and you touch mud, does the mud stop being muddy? And you say, no.
[00:30:49] And I say, if your hands are muddy and you touch something clean, does it stop being clean?
[00:30:57] Yes. And that's just exactly what Haggai is saying. Haggai is saying, okay, you have agreed to serve the Lord. Now think about the condition of your heart when you do serve the Lord. Are you bringing to the Lord a clean heart?
[00:31:13] Are you bringing to the Lord a holy life? Are you bringing to the Lord the experience of his grace and his goodness?
[00:31:23] Or are you offering God whatever you offer from a dirty life church?
[00:31:44] And then Haggai ended his short prophecy with this.
[00:31:50] He said, on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will make you, o zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shiatiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring. For I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.
[00:32:14] Signet rings were used to show the authenticity, that the seal had been sealed by the person who owned the ring. We don't understand this because we live in a world where it's easy to seal stuff. But in the ancient world, it wasn't easy to seal things.
[00:32:34] If you put five pounds of grain in a bag and you sent it to somebody and you can't seal that bag, what's to keep a pound and a half of that grain from disappearing on the way?
[00:32:48] Right?
[00:32:49] Or if you have a jar of wine and it's good wine and you can't seal it, what's to keep somebody from pouring out half of it and filling it up with water? And then the person gets a half water, half wine jar. So sealing was a big deal. So they came up with this unique way that they would take a piece of rope and it would be untied, and they would tie it to the bag or to the handles of the bottle, or they would take wax and melt it on the top of the bottle, and you'd take your signet ring and press it into the wax.
[00:33:33] Now, if anybody broke that wax seal, they couldn't replace and they could put more wax on there, but they couldn't put your signet on it.
[00:33:44] It was the symbol.
[00:33:46] It was the proof that the thing inside was authentic. It was what you said it was. All right, all right.
[00:33:56] Now listen to what haggai is saying. God is saying, I'm going to put my seal on you, and when I do, it's going to be evident that you are the authentic followers of God.
[00:34:14] I'm putting my seal on you. It's going to be obvious to everyone that you are my people and I am your God.
[00:34:23] When I look at our church, I see the seal of God on us.
[00:34:30] I sense that it's obvious to say, God is in this place. God is in our lives. God is working through us in a divine way.
[00:34:45] We are authentic followers of Jesus Christ.
[00:34:51] This little book of haggai, it's got four big ideas. Number one, put God first in your schedule.
[00:35:01] Don't give him your leftover time.
[00:35:05] Get serious about serving him in some way that you're gifted.
[00:35:11] His second message is, ah, you're my partners.
[00:35:21] I am your God. I am in your midst. We do this together.
[00:35:27] God is not asking us to do this alone. He's saying, I have created you for this generation. I've put you in this place. You are my partner in accomplishing in this generation what I want to accomplish. His third message is, don't judge anything too soon. This is just one phase of what God is doing in a multigenerational work that he wants to do.
[00:35:55] And then the final phase is, we bear the symbol of the Lord our God. His signet is on us. We are sealed by his grace. We are sealed by his spirit. We are the authentic people of God.
[00:36:14] Our dear heavenly Father, thank you for Haggai and thank you for his wonderful message.
[00:36:24] I pray that your spirit could apply it to our hearts.
[00:36:29] I pray that we would have this sense that we are working with you in this generation to accomplish something that has a greater destiny in the future.
[00:36:45] I pray that it would make sense for us to include you in the rhythms and the schedule of our life.
[00:36:55] Then, Father, I thank you that we get to bear the seal of Jesus Christ.
[00:37:00] I thank you that you authenticate us as genuine followers of yours. In Christ's name, amen.
