Keeping living for God
Notes
Transcript
Planning
Planning
Passage
Passage
1 Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
1 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest: 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’ ” 3 Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” 5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” 7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.” 12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord. 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month. In the second year of King Darius, 1 on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 2 “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’ 6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” 10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai: 11 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Ask the priests what the law says: 12 If someone carries consecrated meat in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?’ ” The priests answered, “No.” 13 Then Haggai said, “If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?” “Yes,” the priests replied, “it becomes defiled.” 14 Then Haggai said, “ ‘So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the Lord. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled. 15 “ ‘Now give careful thought to this from this day on—consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. 16 When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. 17 I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord. 18 ‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. “ ‘From this day on I will bless you.’ ” 20 The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 “Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. 23 “ ‘On that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
Dates
Dates
Generated with ChatGPT, confirmed with the ESV Study Bible
Bible Verse Hebrew Date Gregorian Equivalent Event Description Days Since Previous Event
Haggai 1:1 1st day of the 6th month, 2nd year of Darius August 29, 520 BC Haggai's first prophecy: call to rebuild the temple —
Haggai 1:15 24th day of the 6th month September 21, 520 BC Work on the temple begins 23 days
Haggai 2:1 21st day of the 7th month October 17, 520 BC Haggai encourages the people with a second message 26 days
Haggai 2:10 24th day of the 9th month December 18, 520 BC Haggai gives a message on holiness and God's promise of blessing 62 days
Haggai 2:18–19 24th day of the 9th month (reiterated) December 18, 520 BC Reminder: foundation laid this day, blessing to follow 0 days
Ezra 5:1 2nd year of Darius (general timeframe) 520 BC Haggai and Zechariah begin prophesying Occurs within same period
Ezra 6:15 3rd day of the 12th month, 6th year of Darius March 12, 515 BC Temple completed ~1,180 days (~3.2 years)
Connections to other books
Connections to other books
2 Sam 7 descendant of David
Jeremiah 22:24–27 “24 “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians. 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to return to.””
Hebrews 12:25–29 “25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.””
Passage structure
Passage structure
Oracles 1 and 2 - Rebuild the temple
1:1-11 - God commands them to rebuild the temple.
1:12 - The people obey.
1:13-15 - God tells them he is with them.
Oracle 3 - Be strong and work (to rebuild the temple), because God is with them and he will fill the house with glory.
Oracles 4 and 5 - God will bless them
2:10-19 - Despite their uncleanness, God will bless them materially. (Ezra 6:14 mentions prosperity.)
2:20-23 - God will shake the heavens and the earth and bring about a day of destruction and of exaltation of a Zerubbabel figure
Feedback with Tim
Feedback with Tim
Length: 2:43 - 3:17 =
Good
God’s timing application was good.
Improve
Third point was a bit long.
Remove 2 Sam 7 and Jer 22 passages.
Since second and third point both talk about new creation, those sections can be shorter.
Intro has two points -> shorten to one
God’s pleasure by building the temple/church is a bit convoluted
Sermon structure
Sermon structure
Intro
Sean giving up on God and trying to find the fulfilling life her own way.
Q, Where is the fulfilling life found?
A, The fulfilling life is found in God.
Haggai in Ezra-Nehemiah.
1. Live for God’s pleasure, not your own.
Explain Haggai 1:1-11
Working on building the temple -> building the church (not building the church building) because it brings God pleasure
Ephesians 2:19–22 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Challenge to work on building the church in all of life
Work
Using money - more money for your own pleasure or for God’s pleasure?
Spare time
It’s doable.
Haggai 1:12-15
The radical change from working for your own pleasure to working for God’s pleasure is doable.
Transition: Disappointment when it doesn’t happen.
2. Live by God’s timing, not your own.
Explain Haggai 2:1-9
Connect to Hebrews 12:25-27
Encouragement to work to God’s timing, not your own.
God’s timing in our sanctification
God’s timing in disappointment with church
God’s timing in evangelism
God’s timing in justice
Transition: Is God withholding his blessings?
3. Live under God’s blessing, not your own.
Blessings now and forever.
Haggai 2:10-14 - Not under their own blessing
Challenge not to bless ourselves
Haggai 2:15-19 - God will bless his people.
Encouragement to work on the temple and not give up.
Ezra 6:14 “So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.”
Mark 10:28–30 “Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.”
Blessings now aren’t the same as the blessings in the Old Testament and aren’t the prosperity gospel.
List present blessings, including Mark 10 blessings.
Encouragement to remember blessings when we feel like giving up.
Transition to eternal life.
Haggai 2:20-23 - God will bless his people in eternity.
Zerubbabel and the signet ring
2 Samuel 7:12–13 “When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
Jeremiah 22:24 ““As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off.”
We don’t see anything in the Bible about Zerubbabel being great.
Revelation 22:16 ““I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.””
Challenge to non-Christians against living for yourself
Encouragement to Christians to remember eternity
Conclusion
Jess and hedonism
Jess and living for God
Sermon
Sermon
Intro
Intro
Let me tell you about my friend Sean.
Sean and I went to church together when we were in high school.
We used to meet up for eight years as we spoke about God, Jesus, and the Bible.
Sean struggled with Christianity.
He had heard the gospel clearly.
He knew about Jesus’s death and resurrection.
But it was hard for him to be a Christian.
For Sean, it was hard work living for God.
Hard work with seemingly little payoff.
Living for himself seemed better.
He could do what made him happy.
So that’s what he tried to do.
He gave up on God.
He lived for his own pleasure.
Pleasure in partying.
In relationships.
In a successful career.
Sadly, that short-term pleasure led to long-term pain.
It resulted in broken relationships.
Life felt meaningless.
For Sean, it seemed like a lose-lose situation.
Life with God was restrictive and unrewarding.
Life without God was painful and without purpose.
It led Sean to more questioning.
What is life really about?
What is life really about?
Today’s passage gives us the answer.
And it speaks to the Christian who is tempted to give up on God.
It speaks to person who realises that there’s more to life than living for themselves.
It speaks to all of us because it shows us that life is about serving God.
Life is about serving God.
Our passage today is the Book of Haggai.
Why are we looking at Haggai when our church is doing a sermon series on Ezra and Nehemiah?
Well, we’re up to the part in Ezra where the Jews have stopped building the temple.
It’s 520 BC.
They’ve given in to the opposition around them.
They’ve effectively given up on God.
They’ve stopped building the temple.
So God sends them two prophets.
Haggai and Zechariah.
These prophets speak God’s message to the Jews and tell them not to give up.
Don’t give up, but get back to rebuilding the temple.
It’s at the start of Ezra chapter 5.
Let’s read that to set the context of Haggai.
Ezra 5:1.
1 Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.
We don’t have time in this sermon series to go through the Book of Zechariah.
It’s pretty long.
But today, we’ll look at Haggai’s prophecies.
They show us that life is about serving God.
And we’ll see this in three points.
1. Live for God’s pleasure, not your own.
2. Live by God’s timing, not your own.
3. Live under God’s blessing, not your own.
Live for God’s pleasure, not your own.
Live by God’s timing, not your own.
Live under God’s blessing, not your own.
1. Live for God’s pleasure, not your own
1. Live for God’s pleasure, not your own
Let’s get into the first point.
Live for God’s pleasure, not your own.
In Haggai 1, God rebukes the Jews for not building the temple.
The Jews have prioritised their own houses over the place where they were to worship God.
Let’s look at verses 3 and 4.
3 Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
Now remember, these Jews are living under the Old Covenant.
Under the Old Covenant, faithfulness to God leads to blessing.
Under the Old Covenant, rejection of God leads to curses.
And that includes physical curses.
Curses of poor harvest, a lack of food and drink, of drought, and difficult labour.
So God reminds the Jews about these curses.
They stopped rebuilding the temple because they wanted to look after themselves.
They wanted to build nice houses for themselves rather than putting God first.
They had rejected God, and now they were facing the consequences.
Let’s look at verse 6.
Haggai 1:6.
6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
So what does God tell them to do?
He commands them to rebuild his house.
That is, to rebuild the temple.
But why does he command them to do that?
Does he motivate them to build the temple by telling them that he will bless them?
Well, in chapter 2, he does, but that’s not the motivation here.
Let’s read chapter 1 verse 8 and see why they should be rebuilding the temple.
8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.
Why should they rebuild the temple?
For God’s pleasure.
They should be working not for their own pleasure but for God’s pleasure.
Now, that reminds me of a comment a friend once made about God.
He said it sounds like God’s a bit narcissistic.
Like a self-obsessed tyrant.
Is that what’s happening here?
If it was just a finite person demanding others to work for his pleasure, that would be narcissistic.
But God isn’t just a finite person.
God is... God.
He is infinite and glorious.
He created every single one of us and deserves all our worship.
He knows all things and is in control of all things.
And he is the greatest good there is.
So it makes sense for God to call on his creation to work for his pleasure.
Because God is the highest good and deserves our worship.
The Jews in Haggai’s time should’ve been living their lives for God’s pleasure.
We now should be living our lives for God’s pleasure.
How do we do that?
How do we live our lives for God’s pleasure?
For the Jews in our passage, it was specifically building the temple.
So what’s the equivalent for us of building the temple for God’s pleasure?
Well it’s helpful to understand how the temple has changed from Haggai’s time to our time.
In Haggai’s time, the temple was the place to worship God.
Now, the metaphor of the temple is applied to God’s people themselves.
Ephesians 2 and 1 Peter 2 describe us as a temple.
We as the church, as God’s people, have God’s Spirit dwelling in us.
We are the temple.
So we still please God by building up the temple.
But for us, that looks like building up the church.
God’s people, not the physical structure.
We please God by building up the church as God’s people.
So God is pleased when we teach and encourage each other in the faith, because that builds up the church.
God is pleased when we show love to each other, because that builds up the church.
God is pleased when we share the gospel with others.
When someone believes the gospel, that grows the church.
Because building up the church pleases God.
Haggai challenges the Jews to build the temple to please God.
God is the greatest good and deserves all worship.
So the challenge for us now is: are we building up the church to please God?
Are we living for God’s pleasure or living for our own pleasure?
It can be hard to figure out the answer to that question.
So one way to figure it out is to see what we do during the week.
But not just what we do.
We need to look at why we do what we do during the week.
Imagine, for example, Harry the Hairdresser.
Harry the Hairdresser cuts hair for a living.
That by itself doesn’t tell you what he’s living for.
So we need to ask why Harry cuts hair.
Perhaps Harry says it’s because it earns him a good amount of money.
Again, we ask why he wants to earn this money.
Maybe Harry says he wants to go travelling and enjoy different countries, to buy the latest games, to experience the latest adventures...
And we see that Harry the Hairdresser is living for his own pleasure.
What if he answers differently?
What if we ask him why he wants all this money.
And he says he wants to be generous to his church, to the local university ministry, and to his missionary friends.
Perhaps we ask Harry why he cuts hair.
And he says it’s a great way to share the gospel with people.
In this case, asking the why helps us see that he’s living for God’s pleasure.
So what about you?
What do you do during the week?
Why is that?
And ask why again.
And again.
Eventually, you might come to a stopping point.
Is that final answer, “I’m doing this for God’s pleasure?”
Another way to see who we’re living for is by examining our spending.
Putting aside the money that you spend on necessities...
How much money do you spend on yourself for your own enjoyment?
And how much money do you give for the sake of God’s kingdom?
Where our money goes shows us whether we’re prioritising our own pleasure or God’s pleasure.
And the third way of seeing who we’re living for is to see how much time we’re dedicating to church.
Are we committed to coming regularly on Sunday?
Do we take time to serve the church?
Because the time we dedicate to church, to building up the church...
That shows us whether we’re living for God’s pleasure.
Living for God’s pleasure and not your own is a radical challenge.
But it’s doable.
I know many people here who are living for God’s pleasure.
And even in today’s passage, people hear the challenge and respond positively.
The Jews respond by building the temple.
It’s at the end of verse 14.
14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God,
The same event is recorded in Ezra 5:2.
Ezra 5:2.
2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
Let’s follow their example.
They heard the challenge and they obeyed.
Let’s live for God’s pleasure, not our own.
I do hope we will come out of church today being greatly convicted about living for God.
And maybe we try living wholeheartedly for God and it actually seems very mundane.
Perhaps even disappointing.
What happens when we’re disappointed?
We’re tempted to give up.
So we need to be encouraged to live by God’s timing, not our own.
We’re at point 2.
Live by God’s timing, not your own.
2. Live by God’s timing, not your own
2. Live by God’s timing, not your own
Some of the Jews in Haggai’s time were also disappointed.
The older Jews had seen what the previous temple looked like.
That temple was impressive.
For example, it had gold everywhere!
A golden altar, golden lampstands, golden chains, golden nails...
And the interior walls, the ceiling, the floors, and doors were covered with gold.
2 Chronicles mentions this requiring at least 600 talents of gold.
That’s around 20 tons of gold for a temple!
That’s an impressive temple.
Fast forward to Haggai’s time...
What’s the current temple like now?
It’s just a construction site.
Very unimpressive.
Disappointing.
So roughly a month after they begin rebuilding, God sends them a message of encouragement.
Despite how disappointing the construction site was, he calls on them to keep going.
He hasn’t abandoned them.
No, God is with them!
He will sustain them.
Let’s look together at Haggai 2:1-5.
1 on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 2 “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’
The Jews shouldn’t give up.
They should keep going because God is with them.
But it’s not just that.
See, both the Jews and God want the same thing.
They both want a glorious temple.
The difference though is in timing.
The Jews want a glorious temple now.
But God promises that the temple will be glorious in the future.
It’s a time when God himself will make it glorious.
Let’s read verses 6 to 9.
Chapter 2, verses 6 to 9.
6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
When will the temple be glorious?
Verse 6 says it’s “in a little while”, but when is that?
Well the New Testament book of Hebrews explains this passage to us.
Hebrews 12 quotes from Haggai 2 about the shaking of the heavens and earth.
And there, it's explains this shaking in more detail.
This shaking will be a one-time, ultimate event.
God himself will shake the whole world.
And the things of this age will disappear.
We'll be left with the things of the new creation.
The new heavens and earth.
The things that are everlasting and will remain forever.
Let's read Hebrews 12:26 and 27.
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Do we see what's happening here?
Hebrews 12 is describing Judgement Day.
God will shake the whole world on Judgement Day and bring about the glorious new creation.
Our passage in Haggai 2 is describing this very thing.
So God is encouraging the Jews in Haggai's time about a future that will be glorious.
Peaceful.
And God will do it.
That is a powerful encouragement to the Jews.
Some of them were disappointed because they had seen the previous temple, a glorious temple.
They were disappointed at the state of the current temple, which was still being built.
They want a glorious temple.
And they will have one.
God himself will make the temple glorious.
It's what we now know as the new creation.
And in the meantime, they should keep working on this current temple.
Because that's what God wants them to do now.
And he is with them to do it.
God wants them to live by his timing, not their own.
That's very true for us too, isn't it?
God wants us to live by his timing.
See, there are many things where we desire what God desires.
We want to put our sin to death.
God wants us to put our sin to death.
We want justice.
God wants justice.
We want people to be saved.
God wants people to be saved.
But we don't see all that happening now.
Haggai chapter 2 validates our good desires.
And it reminds us to live by God’s timing, not our own.
He will bring about what he wants in his timing.
I shared about my friend Sean.
I had been catching up with him for eight years because I wanted him to trust in Jesus.
We had deep chats about theology, philosophy, and apologetics.
But he kept doubting.
Eventually, we drifted apart.
And Sean isn’t the only person who I’ve shared the gospel with multiple times.
I’ve been discouraged when people don’t come to faith.
And I’ve been tempted to give up on telling people about Jesus.
What is God telling me in this passage?
To keep going.
Why should I keep going?
Because I should rest in God's timing.
I do want people to have eternal life.
And in the new creation, those God has called will be living out that eternal life!
They will be worshipping Jesus forever.
And God is reminding me that he is with me in the meantime.
So I should keep doing the work he has called me to now.
Which includes continuing to share the gospel with people.
I need to live by God’s timing, not my own.
That’s true for the person struggling with sin.
That’s all of us, really.
We wish we didn't struggle with sin.
We get disappointed when we give in to temptation.
We’re tempted to give up because it's too hard.
But God is reminding us to live by his timing.
There is a time when we won't struggle with sin anymore.
All God's people will be in the new creation.
There will be no more sin and it will be glorious.
So we’re to keep doing what God wants us to do now.
Keep putting sin to death.
We know that God is with us now by his Spirit.
And we know that he will bring about the sinlessness that we desire when Jesus returns.
Live by God’s timing, not your own.
And it’s true for the person struggling with injustice.
Perhaps there are some injustices in your life and that really weighs down on your heart.
God hates injustice.
And in his timing, he will bring complete justice on Judgement Day.
If you're struggling with injustice, how do you keep going?
You remember that God will bring perfect justice when Jesus returns.
We have many good desires, desires that match God's desires.
And when we're disappointed, we should look to God.
It's his timing that matters.
So we're to keep working in the meantime.
To live for his pleasure and to live by his timing.
But sometimes that disappointment causes us to be self-reliant instead.
Sometimes we want results now.
That was also the case for the Jews in our passage.
We're at the third point.
Live under God’s blessing, not your own.
3. Live under God's blessing, not your own.
3. Live under God's blessing, not your own.
In Haggai's context, the Jews are discouraged.
They have experienced opposition from the nations around them.
Their temple is looking quite miserable.
So it's easy to try to take things into their own hands.
We saw that in chapter 1.
They had given up on the temple and were renovating their houses.
They were trying to bless themselves and not relying on God's blessing.
What does God say about that?
Well he shows them how their efforts without him will fail them.
Working without respecting God leads to failure.
And he uses the Old Testament picture of clean and unclean to make that point.
See, the Jews are unclean.
They are relying on themselves and not God.
If they were relying on God, they would focus on his way of doing things.
And that includes worshipping him at the temple.
So what happens when something unclean touches something clean?
Well the uncleanness spreads.
Nothing they do can make them clean.
So they remain unclean.
They are defiled.
None of their own efforts make any positive difference because they’re doing it without God.
Let's read Haggai 2, verse 14.
14 Then Haggai said, “ ‘So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the Lord. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.
God is showing these Jews that their efforts mean nothing when they don't rely on him.
Is that what God is showing us too?
Some of us are trying to get results without relying on God.
It’s similar to what we saw in chapter 1.
We were challenged to live for God’s pleasure and not our own.
Because when we try to find ultimate fulfilment in a romantic relationship, in doing good things, in our careers, in our hobbies...
When we try to find blessing in the things of this world without relying on God,
We will be sorely disappointed.
These things are good gifts from God but they don’t last.
They don’t fully satisfy.
And when they’re placed above God, that will push people away from the God who is life himself.
We cannot rely on ourselves to bless ourselves.
That blessing must come from God and doing things his way.
So God shows them that he is the source of blessing.
We saw this in chapter 1 as well.
In the Old Covenant, those who had abandoned God experienced curses.
Including physical curses like poor weather and scarce resources.
Those who were faithful to God were blessed.
Including material blessings like having plenty of food and drink.
God shows the Jews that blessing comes from following him.
They experienced difficulty before they obeyed God in working on the temple.
And now that they've started on the temple, God blesses them.
Let's read Haggai 2:15-19.
15 “ ‘Now give careful thought to this from this day on—consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. 16 When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. 17 I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord. 18 ‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. “ ‘From this day on I will bless you.’ ”
God is reminding the Jews that blessing comes from him, not from themselves.
And that's what he's reminding us today.
He's calling on us to live under his blessing, not our own.
What sort of blessings does God promise us today?
Well we're not under the Old Covenant.
God doesn't promise us material blessing right now.
It’s not the prosperity gospel either.
That promises that following God will lead to health and wealth now.
We have something better.
Ephesians 1 tells us we have every spiritual blessing.
For us who have our faith in Christ, we are dearly loved by God.
We are his children.
We have a secure, stable identity as children of God.
We have brothers and sisters in Christ.
We have a true, unchanging purpose in living for God's pleasure.
And I could go on and on and on.
The Jews in Haggai's time were tempted to give up on God.
So God shows them that true blessing is found in him.
When we're tempted to give up, what do we need to remember?
True blessing is found in Jesus, and nowhere else.
And it's not just blessing now.
It's blessing forever.
We’re at the end of Haggai's prophesying and it’s quite confusing!
But the short summary is there’s complete blessing in the new creation.
God is telling the Jews that he will bless his people in eternity.
See, the prophecy at the end of Haggai 2 is about the day when God will shake the heavens and the earth.
We saw earlier that that's Judgement Day.
On Judgement Day, Jesus will return.
He will overcome all opposing authorities.
And he will bring in the new creation.
A glorious eternity with God and his people.
The prophecy also mentions a man called Zerubbabel and the idea of a signet ring.
That might be a bit confusing.
But it makes a lot of sense in the context of the whole Bible.
In 2 Samuel 7, roughly 500 years before Haggai, God made huge promises to King David.
God promised that David's offspring would have a kingdom established by God himself.
And that this kingdom will be established forever.
So the Israelites were always looking to the king in David's line for the fulfilment of God's promise.
And yet, when Israel turned away from God, it seemed like God had abandoned this promise.
When God sent them to exile in Babylon, it seemed like God had abandoned all of the Israelites.
And that included their evil king, even though that king descended from David.
See, the prophet Jeremiah spoke about this evil king.
We don’t have time to read it all but that prophecy is recorded in Jeremiah 22:24.
Jeremiah 22:24.
That prophecy described that king like a signet ring.
A signet ring is a ring that has a design etched into a flat surface.
So a king can put some wax onto a document, press his signet ring down into the wax, and his emblem will be in the wax.
When the evil king was taken to exile in Babylon, he was said to be like a signet ring that God pulled off.
It seemed like God has abandoned his promise from 2 Samuel 7.
So when we get to Haggai's prophecy about Zerubbabel being like a signet ring, it's God affirming his promise in 2 Samuel 7.
God is emphasising again that a king in David's line will have an eternal kingdom.
Let’s read the last four verses of the book.
Haggai 2:20-23.
20 The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 “Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. 23 “ ‘On that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
Does Zerubbabel himself receive the promised eternal kingdom?
Well we don't actually see much in the Bible about Zerubbabel.
We don't see God establishing a kingdom for Zerubbabel.
So who is this promise fulfilled in?
You guessed it: Jesus.
If you look at the genealogy of Jesus, you see Zerubbabel.
You see David.
These promises to David and Zerubbabel find their fulfilment in Jesus.
They will be fulfilled when Jesus returns on Judgement Day.
Jesus will overthrow all his enemies.
Everyone who has rejected God.
And he will reign over his kingdom forever.
His people will experience the blessing of eternal glory.
Again, this is an encouragement to the Jews and it’s an encouragement to us.
It’s an encouragement to us to keep persevering in our faith.
We must not give up.
We don’t want to be on the opposing side that Jesus will overthrow on Judgement Day.
And if we persevere, we actually look forward to that day.
It’s a day when everything will be made right.
There will be complete justice.
We will be made perfect and sinless.
We will live in joy as we worship God with the rest of his people.
“There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
So let’s live under God’s blessing now, and look forward to the fulnes of God’s blessing in the new creation.
Conclusion
Conclusion
I shared a bit about my friend Sean.
I’ve tried quite hard to helping him trust in Jesus.
And I’ve been discouraged when it seemed like Sean was just drifting further and further away from God.
Actually, Sean called me on Tuesday.
“Hey, uh, we haven’t chatted in a while.
But we used to catch up a lot to talk about Christianity.
And I thought you might want to know that I became a Christian a few weeks ago.”
Wow!
Praise God!
As I reflected on Sean’s journey, I think itencapsulates so well what we’ve seen in Haggai.
I asked him what led him to Christ.
And he said he tried living for himself but it was just so empty.
So he continued exploring the big questions about life
He was convinced there was more to life than just himself.
That was a big step towards Jesus.
He started living for God’s pleasure, not his own.
And Sean was a reminder to me to live by God’s timing, not my own.
I wanted him to come to Christ back when we were at church together, in 2013.
But in God’s timing, Sean became a Christian in 2025.
And we will be worshipping God together in the new creation for all of eternity.
And Sean shared about how there’s more purpose and joy now that he’s a Christian.
He’s living under God’s blessing, not his own.
He also shared about how things are still quite difficult for him.
And so we spoke about how we’re both looking forward to the new creation.
Only then will we experience the fullness of God’s blessing.
So we keep persevering in the meantime.
Let’s live our lives for God.
We live for God’s pleasure.
We live by God’s timing.
And we live under God’s blessing.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father,
We are often tempted to give up on you. Our own pleasures pull us away. Our disappointments pull as away. So thank you for the challenge and the encouragement that you have given us today.
Help us see that life is about you and not ourselves. Help us live for your pleasure, and not our own.
We thank you that all things work according to your sovereign plan. So we pray that you would help us live by your timing and not our own.
And thank you that you are a loving God who continues to bless us, now and forever. We pray that we would continue being thankful for the many blessings you have given us. May these spur us on to keep living for you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
[Introduce ‘Only a Holy God’]
