Haggai 1:12-2:9

Last week we left off with a cliff hanger

The returned exiles could not make ends meet

Haggai the prophet warned them that they have ignored the worship of the Lord

Their lack of physical security was the result of spiritual deficiency

The same can be said for me and you

So what do we do about it?

How to change your life in 2 easy steps!

We are a culture obsessed with finding the quick solution

We will throw money at anyone who will promise the easy win

And we can treat God in the same manner

But He does provide a way for His people to experience freedom and contentment

Step 1: Make the Lord the most important priority in your life

This means becoming a “Bible thumper” or “Jesus freak”

This whole hearted commitment is where the Lord leads His people

Haggai 1:12 ESV

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.

When the Lord speaks, do you listen?

Change starts when God is the most important voice you hear

He becomes the most important voice when we remember who He is!

“and the people feared the Lord.”

Step 2: Obey the Lord

Yep its that easy

But it is also the key to your contentment

Haggai 1:13–15 ESV

Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

Obedience comes with three advantages:

Assurance

“I am with you”

Motivation

“And the Lord stirred up the spirit of...”

Contentment

John 15:10–11 ESV

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

If you are missing any three of these advantages, the first place to look is your obedience

But obedience requires more than just “work”

The advantages that the Israelites were given were meant for the “daily grind”

Haggai 2:1–3 ESV

In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?

Obedience does not equal instant gratification

Many remembered the prior glory of the Temple

There was at least 4 years of work ahead of them

4 years of tending the farm, the house, the finances AND building a temple for the creator of the universe

Obedience means accepting reality

The Israelites had to confront the reality of their past failure

Part of moving forward is accepting the past

Obedience is using the past to move into the future

1 Peter 1:14–16 ESV

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Trust God to uphold His promises

You are called to obedience, He promises provision

So trust the Lord to keep His promises

Haggai 2:4–5 ESV

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. 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. Fear not.

Our only responsibility is to be trustworthy with the mission He has given us

God’s responsibility is to fulfill His covenant

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

He is the provider

Haggai 2:6–9 ESV

For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’ ”

How many times in Scripture do we have to hear it?

But we know better than God

Matthew 6:25–34 ESV

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

We are not to worry about the provision, only our faithfulness

And His provision includes peace

Obedience looks like the Israelites

One brick at a time

One day at a time

And the Lord as the center of your life