Eternal Investments Series

International Panic Day

We live in a very interesting time in history.

With all the bad news- it is easy to grow fearful.

Take heart- June 18 is International Panic Day …

day for everyone to be worried/concerned,

license for you to have- meltdown- putting off.

Phil 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing

Introduction

Begin- two week series on book of Haggai.

Haggai- book w/end time message, but it contains eternal truths we can apply to our lives today.

Today- talk specifically about Eternal Investments-

how can we invest in God’s Kingdom.

In the current economic climate-investments-unstable,

God’s economics are different from the worlds.

i.e. asked- Interior Decorator- give us advice …

two Christian ladies- own a design business-

donate their services to churches,

chosen to invest in God’s Kingdom.

i.e. dentist-purchased land- right away for sewer …

contacted- Christian lawyer-

also seeds His time for free to churches,

again- man with a Kingdom perspective.

Historical Setting

Judah had been conquered,

Jerusalem burned,

Solomon’s temple had been destroyed, and

the people were carried away into captivity.

After being captive- 70 year- amazing thing happens.

Ezra 1:1-3 Haggai/Zech/Malachi-contemporaries

God moves on the heart of- ungodly king-

puts favor in his heart towards God’s people.

If God can move the heart of a King, He can move the heart of a president/governor/mayor …

What moves the heart of God- PRAYER!

Who is called to pray- the CHURCH!

Lk 18:8 "… when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" NASU

We need God to move the heart of our President.

Current administration- whether Rep/Dem-

fiscally and morally destroying our nation,

many saying- economy- collapse in 6 months.

Important- we get an end-time, Kingdom perspective.

Church- will not be raptured out of hard times (Rev).

As God moved- heart of Cyrus thousands of years ago, we need Him to move- hearts of our leaders.

Ezra 1:4-6

Everyone has a role in building God’s Kingdom-

and we are all called to support God’s work.

The Story

Under Cyrus 50,000 Jews returned to Israel.

Built an altar- began to rebuild- foundation- temple.

They encountered resistance from their enemies, got busy w/their lives- stopped work for 15 years.

The enemy hinders us today from doing God’s will.

Under the urging of Haggai- begin to build again.

Hag 1:1-4

This is a rebuke for Israel, but it can be an encouragement to us looking at it from afar.

The encouragement is that we would have- courage to embrace the truth God conveying to Israel.

Haggai was admonishing the Jews for not physically building/restoring the Temple of God.

The temple was that place where Jews would go to corporately worship God- God’s presence.

In was in the temple that Jesus said …

Mtt 21:13 … ’MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ROBBERS’ DEN." NASU

Today, God’s temple is the church- Body of Christ.

1 Pet 2:5, 9

Church, Body of Christ- temple of God today.

Yes- our bodies- individually- temple of God- but corporately we are a spiritual house being built for-

His habitation- He wants to live in/through us,

to proclaim His Excellency to the world.

Hag 1:5

Consider- to examine our thoughts, motives, priorities

NIV- give careful thought to your ways

MSG- take a good hard look at your life

Haggai- encouraging the Jews to see the world from a heavenly perspective/understand- purposes of God.

The warning is- you are more concerned with your personal life than you are with God’s Kingdom.

Hag 1:6-7, 9-11

One of the clearest pictures of how- the adversity a nation experiences- result of national disobedience.

How much of our current moral/financial crisis is the result of- national disobedience? God is not first.

God is saying- turn your heart back to me and take care of my house- I will take care of your house.

Each of us has a life to live- take care of ourselves, family, job- but also to build God’s Kingdom.

Haggai is saying to the Jews …

It is not time for you to be so focused on your own life that you neglect the Kingdom of God.

Improper priorities- lack of fruitfulness.

God’s resistance to our efforts is not His wrath, but His encouragement to fix our hearts on Him.

Hag 1:8

It took the Jews working together to build the temple.

We are interconnected w/one another so we can …

support and encourage one another, and

do together what we cannot do alone …

two better than one Eccl 4:9-12

two or three gathered together Mtt 18:20

We need each other to fulfill God’s purposes.

i.e. one person can …

take the beam down or renovate the foyer-

how much more when we work together.

give sacrificially to a missionary-

many givers together- multiply resources.