006 It Is Not Yet What It Will Be - So Keep Working! (Part 1)

Haggai 2:1–9 ESV

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.’ ”

Introduction...

Less than two months after their obedience and the Jews are already getting discouraged.

The people were discouraged by two things.

The enormity of the task.

Solomon’s temple was built in 7 years by 180,000 men during peace time with an abundance of resources at their disposal.

Now there was a remnant with limited resources.

How many of you walked away from the seminar last weekend overwhelmed by the task?

The results were not what they thought they would be.

They had a picture in their mind of how they thought the Temple should look.

This might have been superficial thinking.

This might have been a genuine concern for God and His glory.

They were using experience to interpret God’s command.

God told them to build the temple.

Their experience was Solomon’s temple.

Rather, they should have been shaping their reality with God’s commands.

God told them to build the temple.

He knew it wasn’t going to look like the first one.

Once again we see there is nothing new under the sun!

Thousands of years ago the Jews were given a task to do.

They were excited about it until they started.

They quickly became discouraged because of the size of the task and it wasn’t turning out the way they thought.

Let’s look at the first two verses.

Haggai 2:1–2 ESV

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,

We see the same pattern...

The Word of the Lord came through Haggai

To the leaders and it is assumed then to the people.

Just like chapter 1.

1. God confronts their discouragement with three rhetorical questions questions.

Haggai 2:3 ESV

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?

QUESTION 1: Who actually saw the Temple in its former glory?

This question came over 65 years after Solomon’s temple was destroyed.

There would have been a few old men who had seen it.

Most hadn’t and the memory of those who had was fading.

But there was a longing for the good ‘ol days.

Let’s be fair to the Jews… let’s also learn a lesson.

Solomon’s temple had been dedication more than 4 centuries earlier around the same time.

In the 7th month during the Feast of Booths.

Naturally the Jew’s mind was on Solomon’s temple.

We would call it circumstances causing excuses.

The timing was not outside of God’s plan.

Therefore, they couldn’t use their circumstances as an excuse nor can we.

We too easily get sucked back into “the good ‘ol days”.

Ecclesiastes 7:10 NASB95

10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

Philippians 3:13 ESV

13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

QUESTION 1: Who actually saw the Temple in its former glory?

We should not live in the past.

It is fine to enjoy memories, even to long for days with loved ones we miss.

We should not wish for the “good old days” of America.

We should not wish for the “Good old days” of the Church.

Celebrating the past is good.

Longing for the past is not.

Nostalgia has a power grip on us.

If we live in nostalgia we are forced to watch helplessly time ticks and generations slip away.

Living this life is living a defeated life.

QUESTION 2: How do you see this temple ?

They were looking at every flaw.

Ezra 3:12–13 ESV

12 But 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, 13 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.

QUESTION 2: How do you see this temple ?

Back when they first started building people were unhappy with the results.

The were weeping at the contrast of the new temple compared to the previous one.

There were five major things missing from the second temple.

1. Shekhina Glory

2 Chronicles 7:1–2 ESV

1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house.

1. Shekhina Glory

2. Ark of the Covenant

3. Fire from Heaven on the alter

Leviticus 6:13 ESV

13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.

3. Fire from Heaven on the alter

4. The Urim and Thummim

Exodus 28:30 ESV

30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.

4. The Urim and Thummim

Passages seem to indicate the High Priest used these to help determine the will of God.

5. The Holy Spirit

In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit indwelt in special occasions.

The HS gave special gifts.

Especially prophecy.

Preparing them for 500 silent years.

Malachi to John the Baptist.

QUESTION 3: Don’t you see it as nothing?

They were discouraged.

They were overwhelmed.

They didn’t have the right perspective.

The were looking at the present not the future.

Their disappointment could only be summed up as nothingness.

Hebrew grammar would be put like this: “It and nothing, are they not identical in your sight?”

Let’s not judge them...

1 Kings 6:21–22 ESV

21 And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 And he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

QUESTION 3: Don’t you see it as nothing?

It is believed that within the Holy of Holies there was over $4,000,000 worth of Gold in the temple Solomon built.

God’s estimate of things is very different from our own.

Too often we see our own work as nothing.

But God has a different view.

1 Corinthians 1:18–29 ESV

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

QUESTION 3: Don’t you see it as nothing?

We think we are nothing.

We think we can’t do it.

We think we aren’t getting anywhere.

2. God follows His questions with three commands.

Haggai 2:4–5 ESV

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.

COMMAND 1: Be strong.

to make strong or prevail.

To seize, grasp, or take hold of.

As is seize the day. Seize the moment.

Never the less seize the opportunity to build the House of the Lord!

These are the same words David gave Solomon.

1 Chronicles 28:10 ESV

10 Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.”

COMMAND 1: Be strong.

In times of prospering and times of hardship we need to be strong.

This is a command that was echoed all through the Old Testament. Given time and again to the Israelites.

We are told the same thing.

Ephesians 6:10 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

COMMAND 1: Be strong.

Be strong - put on your fighting gear.

We do not live in peace time.

We are living during a time of war.

1 Peter 5:8–9 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

COMMAND 1: Be strong.

The people in Haggai’s day quit because the enemy threatened them physically.

Every day our enemy is not simply threatening, but actively trying to kill us.

Everything we do is during a time of war.

We get caught up in physical struggles and forget, in the best times we are at war.

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

This verse ties in with perfectly with the idea of being strong.

Steadfast - knowing what you believe.

We are relentless learners.

Reading books.

Studying on our own.

Studying together.

Learning corporately.

Walking faithfully with a discipler.

From relentless learning comes growth.

You can’t be strong if you don’t know what you believe and why you believe it.

Immovable - standing strong on what you believe.

Once you know what you believe and why, it is much easier to stand firm.

Don’t move.

When we are more actively putting ourselves in the world we need to know what we believe so we can stand on what we believe.

Our natural inclination as parents is to protect our kids.

But we need to teach them so they can be immovable.

We have the book of Haggai because of a group of people that were not strong.

They were not relentless.

They were not resilient.

They took the easy way out.

Imagine the world our kids will live in.

Do we want them taking the easy way out?

You need to use wisdom, but we need to walk through this with them.

I want my house and my family to be the tip of the spear.

We have to be strong!

COMMAND 2: Work hard.

Labor.

Put in the time and effort.

I know you it is a big task. I know it isn’t turning out the way you want it to...

The bottom line is they were told to do it!

We see the same picture from the New Testament.

Do the work and leave the results to God.

God has called you and I to labor as well.

Matthew 9:36–38 ESV

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

COMMAND 2: Work hard.

God has called each of us to shepherd someone.

God has called each of us to be a laborer in the harvest field.

Laboring in the field...

Means long days.

Means getting getting dirty.

Means being tired.

Means missing some meals.

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Always - without wavering. It is a priority.

No excuses.

No distractions.

Single minded.

Abounding - super abundant.

Over and above.

You can’t out give God - You can’t out work God.

How will I find time for pastor’s and churches?

We need to understand our Work for God is worship!

We have to guard ourselves.

Romans 12:1 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

COMMAND 2: Work hard.

God told the people: Work for I am with you.

Work because you know your labor is not worthless.

COMMAND 3: Fear not.

Take courage. I am with you.

Let those words sink in this morning.

There are a lot of heavy things going amongst our church family.

People are walking down life changing roads.

Things are being thrown our way to discourage us.

Fear not.

Isaiah 41:10 ESV

10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Philippians 4:6–7 ESV

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God doesn’t just tell us not to be afraid. But...

1 Peter 5:7 ESV

7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

COMMAND 3: Fear not.

God calls us to work.

But He promises to be right there with us through it all.

We have no reason to fear.

We have no reason not to work.

Be strong.

Work hard.

Fear not.

These commands together draw us a picture of persistent obedience.

A couple of months before this they were ready to go.

God shook them up.

They had a holy discontentment.

They went to the hills and started cutting trees.

Then they realized how slow it would be.

They realized how much work and how hard it would be.

The saw it wasn’t turning out like they thought it should.

And they got discouraged.

They were discouraged because they were not seeing things from God’s perspective.

Next He will tell them that their persistent obedience would lead to greater things than they could imagine.

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God encourages them with three future promises.

Haggai 2:6–9 ESV

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.’ ”

PROMISE 1: I will shake the heavens, the earth, the sea, the dry land, and the nations.

To precede the Messiah’s coming.

Shaking all the nations so they would long to come in to Christ.

Creating upheaval.

Creating a lack of peace.

Magnifying the need for the Prince of Peace.

Romans 8:20–22 ESV

20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

Should this not give us a better perspective of what is happening around us?

God shook the universe to create a greater urgency and sense of need for Christ.

Are we taking advantage of that?

By the way… “a little while”… over 500 years until the birth of Christ.

If 500 years is a little while, what is a few months or years to God?

All of this shaking is ultimately preparation for the reign of Christ.

The people of Haggai’s day feared world powers.

Haggai is assuring them that these powers will fall.

Christ will be victorious.

PROMISE 2: The glory of this temple will be will be greater than the former temple.

The first temple was filled with the cloud of glory.

2 Chronicles 5:14 ESV

14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

God is preparing the way for the stick built temple to no longer be needed.

Of itself this temple would not have the glory the first one, but a greater glory is coming!

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

PROMISE 3: I will give peace in this place.