Haggai (7) I Will Fill This Temple With Glory
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Introduction:We all have certain expectations that we desire on the return of our investments. If I put in the effort of planting 10 acres of corn I hope to gain the normal or even above average return on that planting. If I go to work and pay my bills I expect to eat, drink, and be happy. I expect that fulfilling the responsibilities of life should be easy, without difficulties, certainly not hard. If I spend 12 years going to school I hope to be equipped to read, write, and arithmetic. If I vote for a certain politician I hope to have that person in office to perform the responsibilities to their fullest potential. If I pray, read my Bible, and attend worship service I expect that God will keep me out of trouble. If am am diligent to raise my kids I expect they will grow up to contribute to society and make an impact on their generation. If I work for for 40 or 50 years I expect to spend some time relaxing in retirement. Church, we all live with certain kind of expectations… So what happens when they don't pan out? What happens when we are faced with the discouragement of life not shaping up just like we thought it would? Have you ever had expectations for something only to find out the glory you thought would be involved didn’t quite fulfill those expectations? Maybe a movie? Or a job? A purchase? Pumping gas? And so you were disappointed.
Today: From Haggai 2:1-9 we are going to discover God’s response to discouragement.
Questions about the past.
Questions about the past.
2:1-3
1. Now we might identify with these who are looking at the rubbish of the Old Temple and feeling discouraged. Think about what they were comparing to. (See pic on screen) The first temple that Solomon built with the resources David had collected was immaculate. I Kings records that it contained more than 285 tons of gold, and 625 tons of silver. It took 180,000 workers over 7 years to complete. Perhaps we can realize the question to those now rebuilding, “Does it look as nothing in your eyes?
2. We can see why they might be discouraged. However, the problem that the Lord was confronting is that they were reveling ing the past rather than obeying His command to work. We might imagine as the remnant were taking up there tools to rebuild there were those walking around saying things like, “This will never be what it used to.” or.. “You should have seen the old temple, now that was something.”
Transition: Quote from Alister Begg… Commenting on Ecclesiastes 7:10 references the good ole days… “The idea of taking a holiday in history to prevent us from putting our shoulder to the plow in the present isn’t something held out to us as an option.” Goes on to say… “when we are always harping about the good ole days, we've forgotten about the disappointments and the disadvantages that were a part of those same ole days…”
2. These questions that God is asking His people doesn't mean that we don't seek to learn from our past. We should. There are many wonderful things that God has done in the history of Hillcrest that we should thank Him for, celebrate, and even repeat. However, there is no room for us to be discouraged with what we have before us today in comparison to the past. We read and study history not to revel in how good it used to be, but rather learn how it is that we have arrived at the place we are. We ask questions about the past not to cause discouragement, frustration and complaint about our current situation but rather to inform our obedience in this day.
Transition: This takes us to our second point this morning in Haggai 2:4…
Commands for the present.
Commands for the present.
2:4-5
Be strong- Prevail, take courage, keep a hold of.
declares the Lord
This doesn't mean that we never let go of certain methods or ideas, but rather we have an attitude or disposition of never letting go. That we be strong and courageously persevere.
Illustration of using rope to harness a 1,200 pound bull. (tell the story) Make the point... I had to let go or I was going to die. However, i did not give up. I simply changed my strategy. It was no longer important for me to keep him away from the cows, I simply needed to get him inside the fence.
the first command to fight against discouragement is to be strong! Secondly,
Work- Make, manufacture, labor
Why? For I am with you.
the presence of the Lord is encouragement to keep at it. ( As we discovered last week from 1:13)
Also, the presence of the Lord is accountability to do the work well.
declares the Lord of hosts
Who is it doing the work ? All of the remnant. Each generation has work to do. Not everyone was doing the same things. We should be very careful of thinking that just because a person doesn’t pick up a bolder that they are incapable of doing work. Within the body of Christ we have one work to accomplish, but many tasks. One body with many parts.
For example, there has been a trend in American Christianity to place the older generation, those who saw the former glory of the temple, on the back burner. This is a foolish activity. Those to whom the Lord Jesus has grown, and shown His faithfulness to, all of a sudden because they cannot do heavy lifting are not capable of working? Foolishness. We need those who have spent years with the Lord in order to learn what they have learned. and if you happen to be one of those, please consider the work of encouragement. commit to diligent prayer for the members of the body. Write cards of encouragement. This is where we find real power!
what is the work? Building and maintaining God’s dwelling. The work is people.
Transition: How will they take courage and prevail in the work? ...according the covenant (My word)
3. Do not fear- In contrast to the fear of the Lord. 1:12
even while God’s people repented and started working on the temple, they still faced opposition.
transition: why not? See the reason starting in verse 6
Hope for the future.
Hope for the future.
2:6-9
offer brief explanation of prophecy being fulfilled in the time of Haggai’s day, in the Messiah… but in order to really get at the heart of what this prophecy really means we only need to go to Hebrews 12…
Hebrews 12:25-29 applied: When the shakable expectations of our lives are broken off, what is left?
Here is the point. If we belong to Christ , He is left. This is why His glory is the satisfying source of our soul. However, this truth also offers a gracious warning. If we do not have Christ, then all that will be left when our lives are shaken will be ashes, death, the righteous judgment of hell, eternal condemnation, forever separated from the presence of God. This should be a sobering reality.
For those who belong to Christ, all of the activities of our lives become opportunity to bring Him glory, to make eternal investments. How will I spend my life? We have hope for the future glory being better than these days. We have the promise of the Lord of hosts that He will give peace. True satisfaction, perfect wholeness, ultimate deliverance and salvation. Do you know this peace today? Are you resting in the future glory of God? Do you have hope?
Closing: “Yet, once more.. in a little while” Often, we do not always see the glory of God’s activity among us in the moment. This was true even of those walking and talking with Jesus when He was on the earth. They had right in front of them the manifest presence of God in the flesh. He who according to Hebrews 1:3 is the radiance of the glory of God. They were expecting a knight in shining armor, and here came a babe in a manger. They were expecting a king on a white horse, and here came as Rabbi on a donkey colt. They were expecting a glorious over through of the political powers of the day, and Jesus died on a cross. However, even though there expectations were shaken on Friday, their hopes were made alive on Sunday. Jesus, the temple of God, was raised up gloriously from the grave. So , what was perhaps overlooked in the moments of His death was made obvious in His resurrection. Interestingly though, some still doubted. Some were still discouraged. Even as some of us may be tempted today. So I offer the encouragement of God’s word. There is a future glory.. when our resurrected and ascended Lord will return for His people. Since we have this great confidence, let us persevere in the work that He has given us to do, without fear.