Prioritizing God’s Kingdom

Rebuilding the Kingdom: Prioritize What Matters

God’s People are Called to Actively Participate in Restoration (Haggai 1)

Bible Passage: Haggai 1

In the book of Haggai, God speaks through the prophet to challenge the returning exiles. Even though they had returned to the land, they had neglected the most important task: rebuilding the temple. Instead, they focused on their own homes and personal comfort. Haggai’s message is a powerful call to put God’s house and God’s kingdom first.

Haggai contains four dated messages. The first calls the people to finish rebuilding the temple. The second promises the temple’s future glory. The third confronts their spiritual impurity. The fourth affirms God’s chosen leader. Together, these messages urge us to examine our own lives. Are we investing our time, energy, and resources in God’s kingdom, or are we distracted byour own pursuits?

Jesus echoes this priority in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

When we neglect God’s purposes, we experience dissatisfaction and withheld blessing. But when we realign our lives with God’s will, we step into true fulfillment.

Lets

1. Consider Our Ways

as we read Haggai 1

“In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” 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. 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.”

Notice how;

God’s People are Called to Actively Participate in Restoration (Haggai 1)

So God issues a;

2. Command to Rebuild

and;

God confronts the empty striving and misplaced priorities of his people. (vv. 1-11)

God was not content with their complacency. Through Haggai He commanded them: “Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified.”

The phrase “consider your ways” appears five times in Haggai. It is a call to honest, moral self-examination — to stop looking at everyone else and examine our own hearts and habits. Modern culture discourages this kind of reflection, but God demands it.

God was essentially saying: “Do My will. Build My house first. Put My kingdom before your own ambitions — and I will bless your obedience.”

So;

Did they have the;

3. Courage to Respond

Do we?

You see;

God’s declaration of His presence emboldens his people to act. (vv. 12-15)

Thankfully, the people responded with courage. They obeyed the voice of the Lord. They feared God, and He responded with a wonderful promise: “I am with you, declares the Lord.” Then God stirred up the spirits of Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the people, and they began the work.

When we are confronted with our misplaced priorities, we have a choice. Will we stay in denial, or will we respond in humility and obedience? True repentance brings us to our knees, but God’s promise of His presence lifts us back to our feet to serve Him again.

Question: Have we let our ideas of thriving in earthly kingdoms consume us to the point that we have forgotten God’s Kingdom ?

Pause...let the people think on this for a few moments.

Lets move now to chapter 2 as we are told again to

Build God's Kingdom First

Haggai 2:1–23 “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? 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. 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.’ ” On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: ‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’ ” The priests answered and said, “No.” Then Haggai said, “If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.” The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother. 23 On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts.”

In Haggai 2 the prophet continues to encourage the people of Israel to prioritize the rebuilding of the temple and God's kingdom over their own personal ambitions and comforts, reminding them that God's presence and promises still stand.

We must understand the importance of putting God's work and kingdom above our personal goals and struggles. When we prioritize God, we find the strength and direction to serve in His Kingdom.

When we truly seek God's kingdom, it results in His blessings and presence, even in challenging circumstances. And God promises that our needs will be met as we focus on His work. That is the promise of Matthew 6:33.

As;

God Encourages the People's Perseverance in Kingdom Work (Haggai 2)

Three months after the work began, the people were already feeling discouraged. The new temple looked nothing like the glorious temple of Solomon. But God sends encouragement:

“Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel… Be strong, all you people of the land… Work, for I am with you… My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.”

God promised that He would shake the nations, bring their treasures in, and fill this house with greater glory than the former one. In this place, He would give peace.

As;

1. God’s Assurance Abides

and;

God exhorts his people to find strength in Him, not in what they produce. (vv. 1-9)

Even if what we build looks small and imperfect, God is not limited by our weakness. His glory, not our performance, is what matters. As Paul later wrote, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

God’s

2. Promise of Greater Glory

Points forward to Jesus Christ — the true Temple and the One through whom God’s glory would ultimately fill the earth.

As;

God reminds them of the futility of their ways without Him and promises future blessing. (vv. 10-23)

Haggai 2:10-19 was delivered three months after reconstruction began. Using a powerful object lesson about ritual purity, the prophet shows the people that uncleanness spreads easily, but holiness does not. Before they started rebuilding, everything they touched was contaminated by their disobedience and misplaced priorities.

But from the day they laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple, everything changed. God declared: “From this day on I will bless you.”

Spiritual restoration must come before material blessing. Holiness and blessing flow from a right relationship with God. When we realign our priorities and put Him first, the flow of blessing is restored.

Question: How can you find your strength in God in this season? Do the rhythms of your life and family put God and His kingdom consistently first?

Pause...

Bottom Line: God calls us to the abundant life that comes from prioritizing His Kingdom!

Amen.

The lord Bless you and keep you

The Lord turn His face to you and be gracious to you

The Lord turn His Countenance upon you and give you peace