The Best Is Yet To Come
Notes
Transcript
Haggai 2:1-9
Haggai 2:1-9
Sermon Series: The Book of Haggai :: Living With Kingdom Perspective
Sermon Title: The Best Is Yet To Come
Sermon Passage: Haggai 2:1-9 (ESV)
INTRO:
Motivation
layaway
Journey song “Don’t Stop Believin’”
Don't stop believin'
Hold on to that feelin'
Remember when you started something new? How it felt? It’s not always going to be easy, but remember what motivated you to start off
recap last week:
God’s people had gone back to their homes after leaving captivity in Babylon
they had originally planned on rebuilding the temple but when faced with opposition and difficult times, they fell back into an uncomfortable status quo.
they focused on their own homes and lives while God’s house laid in ruins and remained that way for nearly 20 years!
the prophet Haggai came with a message from the Lord, told them to get back to work… and they listened.... the people heard God’s word, they repented and obeyed God’s word
all good right?
well..... let’s see what we find in chapter 2, less than one month after the people had gotten back to work
1 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? 4 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, 5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. 6 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.’ ”
PRAY
what’s your spiritual journey been like?
have you defeated all the sin in your life?
has it been easy going?
you wake up and crush this christianity thing every morning????
if we’re honest, i’m guessing that there are good days and there are bad days...
times when it seems like we can’t get over the hump
why would Jesus die for me?
Can my life be fixed?
Is it even worth it?
i want us to find that answer today
The Feast of Tabernacles
you’ve probably noticed that the book of Haggai is very concerned with dates and times of the year. the date that we find here at the beginning of chapter 2 (21st day of the 7th month) was near the end of the Fest of Tabernacles (the last and greatest of the annual feasts of Israel)
this would have been a major gathering so the timing was good for Haggai to address Zerubbabel, Joshua and the people of the nation
the Feast of Tabernacles was a time of remembering God’s great deeds of the past… especially during their time wandering in the wilderness
during the festival, the people had to live for 7 days outside in shelters made of branches, reliving the wilderness experience.
this would have also been a good time to remember the dedication of solomon’s first temple which was also during this festival
not just the past generations but these people had their own “exodus” to celebrate
.. coming back to the promised land after being in captivity in babylon,
but their situation just didn’t seem to match up to the great times in the life of Joshua when he led the people into the promised land for the first time.
where were the mighty acts of God now?
where was the glory?
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?
only a couple of weeks in and the people were discouraged
the re-built temple would be the same dimensions as the old, but something was missing!
you see, before babylon destroyed the temple, God’s presence had left. because of the people’s sins… generation after generation.... and he left them at the hands of their enemies
so, it was all good and well to rebuild the temple, but unless God filled it with his glory again, the people were starting to wonder, “what’s the point?” “is it even worth it?”
They wanted to see the promise in Ezekiel 43 come true. that God’s glory would return to the temple
BODY:
Haggai’s message to the discouraged israelites is a reminder of Four Foundational Truths On Which They (and We) Can Safely Build Our Lives
the first truth is that there is...
1. A WONDERFUL PLAN
a plan of renovation that is the perfect balance of activity and dependance
- God tells the people (in vs. 4) to be strong, work, and remember that I am with you!
yes, the people have a role (be strong, get up, work…) but God also has a role
the people work AND they depend on God to do what he has committed to do
God is faithful… even when we’re not… Haggai is telling them to stick to the program… even when it seems things aren’t going to plan
Remember your motivation! right? “don’t stop believin” ---- God is God and his plans AND his timing are perfect
you might not be able to see around the corner just yet, but keep walking
it’s the same for us… transformation, our sanctification doesn’t happen by us just sitting back and wishing that it would happen…
we’re to get up and set out to work in pursuing God and obeying all of His commands
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
of course our work is not enough… just like we can’t justify ourselves without the work of god… we can’t glorify ourselves without the work of God
Psalm 127:1 (ESV)
1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain...
- the people, and us… need to remember that when God is with us, when his presence dwells with us.. his favor is with us.
- we don’t work hard just because God tells us to but because of his promise to do what he has committed to do…
we’re joining him… the Lord is our team captain!
- because of this, we can be sure that our work will not be done in vain
-this is the promise God made to the people when he rescued them from slavery in Egypt.... that he would be their God and they would be his people
moses went so far to say that “without God’s presence we’re pretty much worthless”
15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”
moses is saying, without God’s presence, there is nothing to mark the people of Israel as different from all the other nations on the earth.
church family, without God’s presence, there is nothing to mark US as different from all the people of the world.
God’s presence and what that symbolized, is the reason it was so important for the people of Haggai’s day to rebuild the temple.
God is continuing to keep his covenant promise he made all those generations ago
5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.
God finishes what he starts. he was still working in the people of israel and it is promised to us that he will finish what he started in our lives as well
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
when things aren’t going well....
when God seems far away....
when we just can’t beat that sin....
our tendency is to pull away
from the church
from our time in prayer
from our time in the Word
from the places where we serve the Kingdom
but that’s not God’s plan… do you know who’s plan that is? The ENEMY! SATAN! that is the devil’s plan and we play right into it when we give up and stop trusting God
God’s Wonderful Plan is for us to work, keep moving forward… AND remember that God is with us and he is working in us
the next reminder is that we have....
2. A WONDERFUL GOAL
being filled with God’s glory
the people quickly realized (only a few weeks into construction) that it didn’t look or feel the way the first temple did
they started to wonder where they would get all the silver and gold… all the things that made the first temple “LOOK” so incredible
the nation of Israel at this point looked way different than in King Solomon’s time
they just got back from captivity… and only a remnant of them… and they were still under control of the Persians
it’s not like they had a bunch of extra silver and gold just laying around
but God encourages them....
Haggai 2:7 (ESV)
7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in,...
8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.
God says, “I got this”… don’t stress about the little things… all the gold and silver in the world is mine.. we’re good
i’m going to shake the nations and they’re going to come and pay for all that for us!
oh, and in case you’re wondering.... that’s exactly what happened
King Darius, ruler of the Persians makes a decree
8 Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River.
not only did God provide everything, but it didn’t even cost the Israelites anything
all they had to do was be obedient and let God provide
great reminder for us… when we struggle and even resist God’s call on our lives… whatever it may be.... because we lack faith in God’s provision…
church family, God is always enough
but it wasn’t just the outward appearance of the temple
the people knew that without what the temple symbolized, God’s presence being with them, the whole thing didn’t matter that much
- a new shiny temple wasn’t the point… it had to be filled with God’s presence and glory to have the power
- can i tell you something? god doesn’t only want to change you a bit.... change your habits and patterns… he wants your life to shine in the world.... to display his glory and his grace to those around you
- Paul puts it like this in Ephesians 1:5-6
“God predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ SO THAT we might be to the praise of his glorious grace!”
our main purpose in life is to bring glory to God!
you can dress it up on sunday mornings, you can act a certain way in front of your “church friends”, you can even slap a “Jesus is my homeboy” bumper sticker on your car, but if you’re not filled with the glory of God there will be no power!
that is the wonderful goal
thirdly, the people are reminded of the promise of.....
3. A WONDEFUL SAVIOR
the people wanted to see the fulfilment of the final promise in our passage.... that the glory of God would once again fill his house, and give them peace
glory & peace
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.’ ”
the feast of the tabernacles was designed for when God’s people entered into the Promised Land. it was to remind them of their time in the wilderness and their deep longing for the promised land
the people Haggai was talking to though… in a way are like the generation that died in the wilderness and never got in to the promised land the first time
haggai’s generation all died still waiting, still hoping, never seeing the fulfilment of this promise.
this promise was for the long awaited messiah… jesus… the one in whom the fullness of God’s glory dwelt
at his birth of Jesus the angels sang to the shepherds of God’s glory and of peace on earth
glory & peace
Luke 2:13–14 (ESV)
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
glory & peace
and when they took the baby Jesus to the TEMPLE for the first time, a man named Simeon described him as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
just like Haggai had promised some 500 years before, the glory of God had returned to the temple to bring peace to the world!
look at verse 9
Haggai 2:9 (ESV)
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.’ ”
the latter glory of this house shall be GREATER than the former, says the Lord of hosts...
when the pharisees tested jesus about the sabbath, he reminded them about king David and the priests and how they acted wrongly in the temple yet were not considered guilty.
listen to what he said...
6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
JESUS IS the greater glory!! because in him the fullness of God’s glory dwells
and he comes to offer peace to the nations
when God sent Jesus into the world, God shook the world... fulfilling the promise of Haggai
God will definitely finish what he started... bringing us and the world into his peace
he has done this through Jesus
we have a wonderful savior!
4. A WONDERFUL HOPE
finally, this passage looks to a wonderful hope…
the feast of the tabernacles was a time to look back but also to look forward
in the same way, Christians today are to look back at the cross of Christ, remembering how God gave us salvation and established peace with us by imputing to us Christ’s righteousness
on that day God shook the world and changed everything!
but there is also a day coming that we should be looking forward to. one last time when God will shake the world
[*****this is on a slide*******]
with the first coming of Christ:
God established His Kingdom
showed His glory
and made peace with us
with the second and final coming of Christ:
God’s kingdom will be fully established
his glory will fill the whole world
and his peace will reign forever and ever
this backward and forward looking is what we do every time we take communion or the Lord’s supper… just like last week.
in 1 Corinthians 11:26, Paul says, “for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
we look back at the cross and look forward to Christ’s return
this is the answer for those times when life is difficult
this is the answer for when you ask the question, “is it even worth it?”
CONCLUSION:
some here today… there’s nothing to look back at… no time in your life when Jesus’s act on the cross was counted to you as righteousness,
when his act on the cross made your sins forgiven and gave you peace in your life
because you’ve never commited to following Jesus with your life
you’ve never trusted Jesus and his act on the cross to be enough to cover your sins
you’ve not received God’s gift of grace because you’ve not accepted it by faith in Jesus
and because you don’t have this to look back on.... you have no hope to look forward to either
and i can understand why you would ask, “can my life be fixed?”
i can understand why you would ask, “is it even worthy it?”
but i can confidently tell you today, that the answer is, “YES”
a resounding yes!
your life CAN be fixed
but there is only one way
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life… NO ONE comes to the Father except through me.”
trust in Jesus and have your sins forgiven
put your faith in jesus and receive God’s gift of grace
look at the cross of jesus and you will have an unwavering hope for your eternal future!
PRAY