Haggai: Am I Wasting My Life?

God Is For Us

WELCOME

Romans 8:31—What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Welcome!

Before we say anything else, let me tell you some great news this morning. If your faith is in Christ, no one can be against you. Not really, not finally. If your faith isn’t in Christ, I can’t think of a better place for you to meet Him than here.

In just a moment we’ll hear a reading from the text for today’s sermon in the book of Haggai. Turn there now.

While you’re turning, 3 Announcements

1) Sunday School

The one area of PBC life that has not rebounded since Covid-19

We have a number of recurring classes for all ages that meet every week [blue flag for information]

We want to tell you specifically about two new short-term classes that launch next Sunday

Derick Dickens is teaching an overview of the OT. Derick, will you tell us why people may want to consider your class?

I’m teaching a class called Apologetics

Not about apologizing, the word apologetics means defense

It’s a class about defending the truthfulness of the Christian faith

You might be interested in this class if...

You want to know how to explain why you believe what you believe

You want to know how to critique unbiblical ideas

You want to persevere amidst all the temptations to stop believing

2) TableTalk: report on the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, tonight at 5:30

3) Giving

It has been over a year since we last passed an offering plate at Poquoson Baptist Church

Started as a precaution due to Covid-19, but we’ve realized that you continue to be faithful in your giving. THANK YOU!

That said, I think it’s important for us to be reminded occasionally that giving is an important part of worship

If you’re not a follower of Jesus, we’re not asking you to give us anything. In fact, we hope to give something to you. We hope when you leave here you one step closer to following Jesus yourself because we’ve given you a glimpse of what it means to be loved by Him.

If you are a follower of Jesus...

... and you’re not faithfully giving we invite you to give. That’s part of what it means to follow Him!

… you are faithfully giving let’s make sure we do so as an act of worship.

Now look in your Bibles to Haggai 1:3 as Bibi Laborte comes to read for us.

Scripture Reading (Haggai 1:3-11)

Prayer of Praise (God is jealous)

Your Will Be Done

In Christ Alone

Prayer of Confession (Jake Rogier)

Come As You Are

NCC #26

Pastoral Prayer (Mike Lindell)

SERMON

On May 20, 2000, 40,000 college students spread out on the damp, grassy fields of Shelby Farms in Memphis, Tennessee. They didn’t gather for a rock concert or a sporting event. They were there to hear a preacher. And what they heard that day changed many of them forever.

Pastor John Piper began his sermon that day with a story. He said this:

“About three weeks ago we got news at our church that Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards were killed in Cameroon.

Ruby Eliason. Over eighty. Single all her life. A nurse. Poured her life out for one thing: to make Jesus Christ known among the sick and the poor in the hardest and most unreached places.

Laura Edwards. A medical doctor in the Twin Cities. And in her retirement, partnering up with Ruby. Also pushing 80. And going from village to village in Cameroon.

And the brakes give way, over a cliff they go, and they’re dead instantly. And I asked my people: Is this a tragedy?

Two women, in their 80’s almost, a whole life devoted to one idea: Jesus Christ magnified among the poor and the sick in the hardest places. And twenty years after most of their American counterparts had begun to throw their lives away on trivialities in Florida and New Mexico fly into eternity with a death in a moment. Is this a tragedy I asked?

It is not a tragedy. I’ll read you what a tragedy is.

I’ve got a little article here from Reader’s Digest. . . . This is a tragedy. The title of the article: Start Now, Retire Early. . . .

“Bob and Penny took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells.”

That’s a tragedy. That’s a tragedy, and their are people in this country that are spending billions of dollars to get you to buy it. . . . Don’t buy it! With all my heart I plead with you, don’t buy that dream.

The American Dream: a nice house, a nice car, a nice job, a nice family, a nice retirement, collecting shells, as the last chapter before you stand before the Creator of the universe to give an account with what you did.

“Here it is Lord, my shell collection! Look Lord, my shell collection!” . . .

Don’t waste your life. Don’t waste it. [1]

If John Piper was preaching to the exiles in the days of the prophet Haggai, he might have used a different illustration.

He might have imagined God’s people standing before the Creator of the universe saying, “Here it is Lord, my nice paneled house! Look at my paneling Lord!”

In every age, in every generation there’s a temptation to waste your life by investing in things that don’t matter.

This morning I want each of us in this room to ask ourselves, “AM I WASTING MY LIFE?”

Turn to Haggai

SHOW MAIN TIMELINE

It’s about 100 years since Habakkuk and Zephaniah prophesied to the Southern Kingdom of Judah

Just as God promised, He sent Babylon to discipline His people

In 586 B.C. Jerusalem was destroyed, and Solomon’s temple

Many Jews were taken captive and brought to Babylon (Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)

In 539 B.C. Babylon was conquered by King Cyrus and the Persians

SHOW CYRUS CYLINDER

If you were to visit the British Museum in London, you could see an artifact called the Cyrus Cylinder

In that cylinder, King Cyrus writes of how he returned deported people to their homes and restored their temples of worship.

The book of Ezra tells the story of how God’s people returned to Judah during the reign of King Cyrus

SHOW HAGGAI TIMELINE

By the time Haggai is written, nineteen years have passed since Cyrus conquered Babylon

King Cyrus has died, and King Darius the Great is now ruling Persia.

Even though King Cyrus had given God’s people the freedom to rebuild their temple, the work has stalled.

And much like an elderly John Piper preaching to a crowd of young people in Memphis, an elderly prophet named Haggai preaches to a crowd of returned exiles in Jerusalem. And like Piper, this old prophet pleads with God’s people not to waste their lives.

This book is a collection of five messages given by Haggai the prophet from August 29, 520 to December 18 of that same year. In those five messages I want us to ask ourselves...

Three Questions:

And as we answer each of these questions we’ll answer our big question, “Am I wasting my life?”

For the clockwatchers, just know we’re gonna spend the most time on the first question so don’t freak out

Am I FOCUSED On the Mission of God?

Once Albert Einstein was on a train bound for New York City. As the ticket taker came through the car, Einstein reached into his pocket to retrieve his ticket, but he couldn’t find it. He frantically searched his coat pockets, turned his pants pockets inside out, but still he couldn’t find the ticket. The ticket taker said, ‘Don’t worry, Mr. Einstein, we all know who you are.”

Einstein looked up at the railroad employee and said, ‘Young man, I know who I am. But I don’t know where I’m going.”

In 520 BC, the Jewish people were in the same predicament. They knew who they were, but they didn’t know where they were going. They had forgotten their mission.

So on August 29, 520 BC, Haggai gave his first message...

1:2-6—“Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.” 3 Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 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.

God’s people are busy, but not with anything that matters!

They’re building, sowing, eating, drinking, clothing, and earning, but they’re not satisfied!

Busyness is not the path to lasting happiness! Not if you’re busy collecting seashells!

Have you ever wondered why all the things you’re working for aren’t bringing you happiness?

What does God want His people to be busy doing? What should we focus on?

1:7-9—“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 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. 9 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.”

You will waste your life if you do not align it with the mission of God!

What does this mean for me? Are we supposed to rebuild the temple?

Applying the Bible—must understand where text is and where we are in term’s of the Bible’s overall story

Let’s zoom out and see the story of the temple in the story of the Bible...

If you were to ask any ancient Israelite, “What is the most important place on earth,” without hesitation they would answer, “the temple in Jerusalem.”

Why? Because that’s the place where heaven and earth met. It’s the place where God dwelled with His people.

There was a day when a temple was not necessary. God dwelled with His people in a garden paradise that functioned kind of like a temple.

But when Adam and Eve sinned, they were banished from God’s presence. But not forever.

In time, God created a place for His people to meet Him. First a tabernacle, then a temple.

And yet, despite all its grandeur, the temple was a reminder that God didn’t fully dwell with His people. There were sections in the temple, like the Most Holy Place, that separated the average person from the presence of God.

But God still showed up at the temple. And it was the pride of every Jew. But over time they began to desecrate the temple with their sinful worship.

So in 586 B.C. the temple was destroyed. Imagine the horror: God is no longer with us. Who can bridge the gap between God and man? Who can make a way for God to dwell with His people?

Eventually, through the work of Haggai and others, the temple was rebuilt.

But Ezra tells us it was a bittersweet moment:

Ezra 3:12-13—many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.

What’s going on?

Shortly after Solomon’s temple was destroyed, the prophet Ezekiel prophesied about a future temple that was far larger and grander!

Surely there must be something better than this!

Over 500 years later, a new and better Temple appeared on the scene...

John 1:14—And the Word became flesh and dwelt [tabernacled] among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Matthew 12:6—I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.

Jesus is the One to whom the temple was pointing!

Just like Solomon’s temple, Jesus would also be destroyed, but unlike Solomon’s temple, Jesus would rise from death in greater glory than He had before...

John 2:19—Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Through His death, Jesus would make a way for anyone to dwell with God!

Mark 15:37-38—And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

Hebrews 10:19 says because of this “we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.”

What does any of this have to do with me wasting my life?

How can avoid Einstein’s predicament, knowing who we are but not where we’re going?

Jesus has died, rose again and ascended into heaven. Is there any place now on this earth where God dwells with His people?!?

1 Peter 2:5—You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:19—Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?

Ya’ll’s body! = the church!!!

God’s mission for you is to build up His church!

Haggai doesn’t tell everyone to quite their jobs and become prophets like him. He just tells them to stop hoarding their resources for themselves and use them to help build up the temple. How might God be calling you to do the same?

Giving

Disciple-making

Prayer

Service

Elder/deacon

God will be with you!

Three weeks later, on September 21, Haggai prophesies again

1:13—Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD’s message, “I am with you, declares the LORD.”

God’s people focusing on God’s mission always have God’s presence.

Matthew 28:18-20—And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Are you focused on the mission of God? If not you may be wasting your life.

There’s a second question we need to answer...

Am I FUELED By the Glory of God?

Have you ever watched the baking show Nailed It on Netflix? Rather than most baking shows, which depict amateur bakers performing at professional levels, Nailed It celebrates imperfection.

Wannabe bakers are tasked with ridiculously challenging designer cake recipes and the results are hilarious.

Nailed It Pirate

Nailed It Emoji

I can’t help but think about Nailed It when I think about the rebuilding of the temple during the days of Haggai...

It’s now October 17. It’s been six weeks since the rebuilding project began.

Long enough for God’s people to see this project isn’t looking good...

2:1-3—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: 2 “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, 3 ‘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?

Nailed it!

This is why the older men and women wept when the foundations for the new temple were laid

But God is doing something glorious through the flawed efforts of His people...

He tells them not to give up or be discouraged.

2:6-9—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. 7 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. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. 9 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.’”

What does Haggai mean when he says “the latter glory of this temple will be greater than the former”?

Pointing to Jesus, the true and better temple!!!

You were created to give your life for something glorious!

Several years ago, a commercial enticed its viewers with these words: Don't deny yourself the glory, fame and power you so richly deserve. Don't settle for less when you can get more. Don't settle for anything less than greatness. Don't settle for anything less than PlayStation.

If you want greatness, if you want glory, it’s not coming through a video game console Through the church, God is building a temple better than Solomon’s. How?

What are “The treasures of the nations” ? (v.7)

Not silver or gold, God doesn’t need that and already has all of it. (v. 8)

It’s unbelievers from every tribe, tongue, and nation who will be brought into the family of God through the faithfulness of His people!

Greatness awaits!!! Not by pursuing your own glory, but by pursuing God’s glory in the salvation of the nations!

Are you fueled by the glory of God? If not you may be wasting your life.

There’s a final question we need to answer...

Is My FAITH in the Promises of God?

Two months have passed. It’s now December 18. The temple work has been going on for four months. Haggai delivers two prophesies.

The first prophecy is for the people...

2:11-19—“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: 12 ‘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.” 13 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.” 14 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.

There is a world of difference between busyness for God and blessing from God.

Your hard work can never make you clean!!!

Ephesians 2:8-9—For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Unbeliever: repent and believe!!! Trust this promise!

But what about for those who have believed?

The second prophecy is for their leader...

2:21-23—“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 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.”

God will overthrow every evil kingdom!

God will use him like a signet ring

Like having access to the president’s e-signature

But it’s more than just this...

Years before, God gave a prophesy through Jeremiah to Zerubbabel’s grandpa, Conaniah...

Jeremiah 22:24—As I live, declares the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off

God will reverse the curse!!!

Zerubbabel can trust this because GOD CHOSE HIM!!!

Do you believe God loves you like this?

Last week, God sings over us (Zeph. 3)

What does He sing?

Perhaps something like Ellie Holcomb’s new song, I Will Carry You...

I know you're tired, I see it in your eyes All that anxiety that rules your mind I'll be your shield when you don't feel Like you've got strength enough to fight I'll stand by your side You are not the sum of your mistakes You don't have to hide the parts of you that ache I’d choose you as you are a million times 'Cause I am not ashamed of you I won't walk away from you

I will carry you Through your darkest night When you're terrified I will carry you When the waters rise When your hope runs dry I will carry you

I promise you this: whatever it is it’s far better!

Do we believe that God is really this good?!?!

William Carey—“Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”

Could it be that we don’t attempt great things for God because we don’t expect great things from Him? Could it be that we don’t really believe His promises?

Is your faith in the promises of God? If not you may be wasting your life.

Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards wasted their lives if this life is all there is. If this life is all there is, than give your life for the pursuit of seashells!

But if the Gospel is true, than an unwasted life is a life focused on the mission of God, fueled by the glory of God, with faith in the promises of God.

The greatest promise is about the coming future for God’s people...

Revelation 21:22—And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

I still remember when I first heard Piper’s sermon, about six years after he first preached it.

So I gave God my life as a blank check… “it’s yours. Use me where you want, when you want, however you want.”

The rest is history.

What about you?

Shape up—becoming a Christian; not wasting retirement, singleness, parenting, etc.

Lean in—pursuing eldership, deacon ministry, greater involvement (service, SS, FGs, etc.) church membership

Go out—Missionary? Church planter? Church revitalizer?

GO TO WHITE FLAG FOR PRAYER, BLUE FLAG FOR NEXT STEPS

Even now, some of you are tempted to give God a gift card version of your life. “You can have this much, but no more. You can use me here, but not there.”

Don’t do that, friend. Give Him a blank check. Don’t waste your life.

For the Cause

Benediction (Matthew 28:18-20)