Consider Our Ways

Last year I challenged us to think about having an ordinary year, an ordinary decade. Just ordinary stuff like spending time with others, reading the Scriptures, simple things.

What would happen if you decided to spend something like 2 hours per week really getting to know somebody. Maybe you make it a goal to ask somebody out for lunch at least once a week, or have a coffee with someone. You dedicate 2 hours per week to engaging another human being. You know that would be 1,040 hours over a decade. Can you imagine the relational depth that could be fostered in that time? What if you said, I’m going to pick one person and actively disciple them. 2 hours per week. You do that for a decade…what is that 1000 hours going to do?

Or consider reading. At even a below average speed if you had read for 30 minutes a day that would have led to 73,000 pages. Can you think of all the great books you could have devoured?

But, did you know that the average person spends 4 hours per day on their phone. That’ll be 14,600 hours per decade. Or 608 days. That means of a decade you’ll spend almost 2 full years of that on your phone. Now it’s pretty hard to actually judge what you are doing on your phone. It might be something relationship building. It could be something that truly is of value. But I can tell you that statistics show that half the time on your phone is spent on social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat). That’s a lot of cat videos. So cut those 14,600 hours in half and you’ve got 7300 hours on social media in the next decade.

We’re also watching on average 5 hours of television per day. Again when you math that out it means 2 of the 10 years is going to be spent watching TV. Granted most people are on their phone and television at the same time. But I’m sharing all of this to say that ordinary activities shape us. Just an ordinary activity like checking your phone. Scrolling through Facebook. Watching a video on YouTube is shaping you. Why? Because while those big epic moments are shaping and transformative for us we truly are what we do in those ordinary moments. That shapes us far more in the long run.

And then it was March. COVID hit the US. We had to shut down gathering as a church for what was it eight weeks. We weren’t able to gather on Easter. What a unique time. Do I change then what I was saying—how do you respond to extraordinary times?

We’re going to read today about one particular response in the book of Haggai. Before I read the text let me set this up for you:

In 606 B.C. many of the Jews were taken into captivity. By 586 B.C. not only were the people taken into captivity but the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. But when the Persians defeated the Babylonians (and you can read about this in Ezra) in 539 events were set in motion for the Israelites to come back to their land. In 538 the people of God were stirred up to begin rebuilding the temple. But in 536 they stopped. They had actually completed the foundation but the Samaritans began stirring up trouble. This is why you see the Jewish opposition to the Samaritans in the New Testament (we’ll see that in the coming weeks in Luke). To make a long story short the Jews stopped building the temple. 16 years later a prophet by the name of Haggai comes onto the scene.

We actually know the date on this one: August 29th 520 BC. They stopped for 16 years. They knew what God had called them to do. So why stop?

Listen to Haggai.

Haggai 1:1–11 ESV

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.”

Sermon Introduction:

I wanted to pick right back up in Luke but I couldn’t get this message from Haggai out of my mind. It stirs my heart and honestly it’s convicting. It’s convicting because I can see their rationalization in my own heart. I can see how they get punched by difficult years and they stop doing the ordinary everyday things that they were called to do.

Have you seen pictures of the Jewish temple? Or even those other massive structures in the ancient world. How did they build them? One brick at a time. It’s an ordinary thing really. Just people working. Brick upon brick upon brick. Until eventually you have something beautiful. The epic was created moment by moment and not in some big lasting thing.

But a neglected foundation is created the same way. Day after day of deciding to do something else. And then 16 years later you look up and all that other stuff is built up but the temple lies in ruins. Let me show you this in the text.

Now we aren’t called to build a literal temple. This text isn’t meant to be used as a building campaign. The NT church is fundamentally NOT about the building. It’s about folks who are committed to the Great Commandment (love God and love people) working to fulfill the Great Commission (making disciples, working for justice and redemption). So that’s what we’re talking about here.

If you notice in verse 2 the people are saying, “The time has not yet come, the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt. Now, why are they saying “the time has not yet come”? In essence what they are communicating is this; it is not the Lord’s will for us to rebuild right now. I think J. Vernon McGee adds to this point very nicely. He tells the story of a rebuilding program at his church in LA.

As McGee tells it, “The church in its long history had never been remodeled, and the seats, which numbered four thousand, were built to take care of people who lived fifty or sixty years ago. We discovered that people today are about 2 ½ inches wider than they were fifty years ago! We decided to put in new cushioned seats. Some of the very pious folks said, “We don’t feel that money should be spent for cushions. We should give that money to missions.” Now the majority of the people wanted the cushioned seats, and I did too, so I made a proposition to the congregation. I said, “There are so many people enthusiastic about remodeling that they are going to give enough money to cushion their seat and yours too, so those of you who don’t want to pay for cushioned seats can give you twenty-five dollars to missions. I hope that we can take an offering today for several hundred twenty-five dollar checks”. Well, there were very few twenty five dollar checks. Why? The truth was that the folk who were objecting to the cushioned seats never intended to give at all, and ‘missions instead of cushions’ was their excuse. But what they said was, “it isn’t God’s will to have cushioned seats. The time hasn’t come to remodel the church”.

That is really close to what the Israelites were saying. They were making excuses. The times were difficult. They would have to face opposition to build the temple. It would be hard work. Some even used prophecy to back their argument. They remembered Jeremiah and Ezekiel said it would be 70 years…well if the temple was destroyed in 586 then it will not be rebuilt until 516. But that is not what the prophecy was concerning. They were only using religious talk as an excuse, they did not intend to build.

Same with Judas saying we could “give that money to the poor” when Jesus allowed a passionate worshipper to break a whole bottle of perfume on his feet. We can use lots of religious talk to keep ourselves from doing the one thing necessary.

So what were the excuses, the religious sounding excuses, that I used in 2020 to not engage in the Great Commandment or the Great Commission?

I love what the Lord says in verse 4. Actually it kind of stabs…saying I love it is probably an overstatement. I appreciate it.

Notice verse 4. “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” The people are saying, “it’s not time to build God’s house”, and God is saying, “so it is time to build up your house?” Now, I want us to notice something about the “paneled houses” that they are building. In order to have these paneled houses you would have to have cedar. There are two places the Israelites could have gotten their cedar. 1) Lebanon 2) from the stockpile that was to go towards building the temple. Either way it is a pretty bad deal. Either they were working really hard and putting all of their energy into building their own kingdom, or they are actually stealing from the Lord to build their own houses. We also need to know that living in a paneled house meant that you were living large. It means you are living in luxury.

So, just picture the scene for a moment and then we will try to place ourselves into this setting. The Lord’s house lies desolate, laid waste. The temple in the Old Testament meant God’s presence. When the temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 it symbolized a departure of God’s glory. So in essence what the Israelites are saying is that they care more about their own lives than about the presence and glory of God. Yet the people are living in beautifully adorned houses.

Am I laboring to build my own kingdom? Or to build the kingdom of the Lord? Again, don’t think in big cataclysmic moments. Think in those little moments. Those little ordinary moments. Am I laying bricks today? Is the Great Commandment motivating the Great Commission in my life?

Guys, I know that 2020 was brutal. And I hate to break it to you but just because the calendar flipped it doesn’t mean that we’re going to be living in shalom now. 2021 might be just as difficult. And I know that when we get punched in the gut like this that it’s hard. I’ve found these wise words from that great philosopher Mike Tyson to be true, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Can we just be really honest with ourselves. The trial of 2020 displayed much about our hearts. It displays who we are. It displays priorities. If a pandemic causes me to put the Great Commandment or the Great Commission on the back burner then it reveals what place building the kingdom of God really has in my life. If a heated presidential election causes me to put love for neighbor as secondary, if it consumes my time and my thoughts, and it becomes the thing in my life....well that tells me about the grip that Jesus really has on my heart. It tells me where my hope really lies.

We’ve got to...

Friends, the Great Commandment (love God, love people) and the Great Commission must be the governing thing in our lives. If it isn’t, then we’ll look up and that which we’re supposed to be building will lie in ruins while we will be living in luxury....

But I want you to notice something else about this. It never actually works. It never satisfies. Listen to verses 6, 9, 11.

Haggai 1:6 ESV

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.

Haggai 1:9 ESV

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.

Haggai 1:11 ESV

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.”

You cannot enjoy the gifts of God while you spurn the Giver. Spending them on our own kingdom. It’s always going to come up empty. If I’m not living for the Great Commandment and the Great Commission then I’m going to be on this endless cycle.

2020 popped us in the mouth. Grief was deep last year. For some it was a deep deep grief. And nothing I’m saying here is meant to minimize that. The people of Israel had deep hurt too. I mean think of some of the Psalms that came out of this time period. Ever read the book of Lamentations? It was a dark time.

And there is something that happened to them that we see sometimes with those battling cancer or other sickness. It’s painful. It’s difficult. But you get through it. Hope is on the horizon. The cancer is gone. (For the Israelites you’re back in your homeland. The exile is over. A miracle has taken place. You’re rebuilding the temple. Things are looking up). And then when you start feeling like you’re gaining strength. The cancer is back. Or for the Israelites the Samaritans are warring with you and making it impossible to complete this temple work.

That’s deeply deeply discouraging. It’s easy to lose hope in those moments. It’s easy to hunker down. Take your eyes of the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. But it’s a trap. It’s always going to come up empty.

I’ll illustrate this. I see many believers taken in by politics. Fear. This is the most important election. If we give up here then all is lost. Is that EVER satisfied? Does that ever NOT come up empty? Do you ever get to a place of peace there? No. It’s an endless cycle. An endless stream. And people are making bank off keeping that fear machine going. But you know what it’s doing to those who claim the name of Christ? It’s getting our eyes of The Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

ALWAYS EMPTY. It doesn’t matter what you fill in that illustration. I’m going to focus on me for awhile. Yes, self-care is important. If you’re so burned out and traumatized and hurting, etc. then you aren’t going to have much to give. But friends that isn’t healed by self-focus. It’s healed by…you guessed it Great Commandment and Great Commission.

So I want to close...

We’re probably all guilty on this front. Our priorities aren’t always what they should be. But do you know why God is saying this? Why does God thwart those other things? Because they cannot satisfy. Only He can. And so he doesn’t allow us these lesser loves because He cares for us too much. He wants the temple rebuilt because in AD70 he’s going to destroy it. But why? Because it’s who is going to set foot in that temple. It’s who is going to be crucified outside the gate. It’s Jesus.

Haggai is quoted in Hebrews. In Haggai it talks about the Lord shaking the earth. That’s picked up in Hebrews 12.

The people that Hebrews was originally written to were in danger of falling back and saying, “You know I like the voice which booms from Mt. Sinai a little better”. There’s something about the Law…and you can hear this today and think. Yes, I’m guilty. I’ve gone astray. I have to buckle down. And you’ll make resolutions about being better in the Great Commission, reading your Bible more, coming to church more, and it’ll fizzle. Because the law doesn’t motivate. The gospel does.

Hebrews talks about God shaking the world again. And he’s saying that there is going to be a time when God shakes the heavens and the earth. Finding a ring in the ground, shaking dirt off. The house built on the rock. When the storm comes what stands...

And then the author turns and says but we are of an unshakeable kingdom.

There is a great shaking which occurs much of what you give your life to is but dust and it’s not going to hold up. Only that which is of the unshakeable kingdom is going to last. Or that God is a consuming fire—the only thing that lasts is pure metal. But that message is only a hard message if you’re not within that unshakeable kingdom. I picture a great storm and finding refuge in a cave. You’re safe within it but out there you aren’t going to make it. And sometimes our message sounds harsh to those who aren’t in the place of refuge. “Get in here! Get in the place of refuge. You’re going to die out there. You can’t make it out there on your own. And that’s truth. You will not endure the wrath of God against sin. If you reject the better word of Christ it will not go well for you. That’s not because God is mean—it’s because we gave ourselves a disease and then stubbornly refused His antidote. If you’re life and your identity is built on that which is shakeable then it’s going to fall.

But we can err in emphasizing the wrong thing. We decry the shakeable stuff and ignore the beauty of the fact that there is an unshakeable kingdom. And the church can sometimes sound more like Mt. Sinai than the unshakeable Mt. Zion. You are what you’ve done. No you aren’t! You are cherished. You are loved. Your identity is found in Christ. You are his.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 ESVOr do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

You had better change and then God will accept you. You’d better clean your act up. You’d better stop it! Get your life straight!

Romans 5:8 ESVbut God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:4–6 ESVBut God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

It’s by your effort that you’ll be made righteous. If I do good stuff then God will bless me with good stuff. I need to build and build and work towards building God’s kingdom so that he’ll be pleased with me.

Luke 12:32 ESV“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Matthew 11:28–30 ESVCome to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

So what word is speaking over you today?

So when we’re talking about Great Commandment and Great Commission, let’s talk good news of Jesus. Let’s talk gospel. Let’s build that into our lives. Day by day. Brick by brick.

We’re not building a law house. It’s a grace house. Loved. Accepted. Treasured. Valued.

God saves sinners. Yes, we blow it. Yes, you’ve blown it. Jesus didn’t. Repent and believe.

But really grasping the good news of Jesus doesn’t motivate us to build paneled houses. It propels us into Great Commission living.

Calvary is a church that I know is passionate about the Great Commission. But we’re in danger of being distracted. We cannot allow a pandemic to cause us to be frayed.

Be able to get smaller quickly....small groups...Who can I disciple?

Who can I read the Bible with?

Who in my circle doesn’t know Jesus? How can I have gospel conversations with them?

A praying church. Prayer. No pandemic can stop that.

Love for one another. Get creative in ways of doing this. May we be about ordinary things, ordinary days, captivated by the gospel of Jesus.