Consider Your Ways

The prophet Haggai had a message from God that he was to give unto the people of God. Notice, he wanted them to know how important this message was by introducing the message by saying, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts…” before he gave the message.

In other words, he wanted them to know what he was going to tell them came straight from God, not from himself. The message he gave was brief but very clear.

Now I must confess that many times the messages we get in church are not that clear and easy to receive.

Illus: Here are some messages that actually came from churches:

• Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa will be speaking tonight at Calvary Memorial Church in Racine. Come tonight and hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

• Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

• Miss Charlene Mason sang, "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

• "Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget to bring your husbands."

• Next Sunday is the family hay ride and bonfire at the Fowlers'. Bring your own hot dogs and guns. Friends are welcome! Everyone come for a fun time.

• The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

• The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."

• Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

• Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.

• The Pastor will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing "Break Forth into Joy."

• Don't let worry kill you - let the Church help.

• At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

• The senior choir invites any members of the congregation who enjoy sinning to join the choir.

• Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

• Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person(s) you want remembered.

• Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 P.M. - prayer and medication to follow.

There are all kinds of messages we get.

Illus: One man called a coworker and got this message from the answering machine. “Hello, this is the Brown residence. We're in the middle of a family fight right now. Leave your name and number at the beep and whoever wins will call you right back.”

Remember, Haggai wanted the people of Judah to know that the message he was about to give them was straight from the Lord. This is why he said, “Thus saith the Lord.”

A prophet can do this because God speaks directly to him and speaks through him.

• Today, ministers get our messages from the WRITTEN WORD, not the SPOKEN WORD!

• Today men are called to preach the infallible, inerrant Word of God.

• Today, ministers of God can not stand before a congregation and claim God just spoke the message to us.

The messages that we preach come from GOD’S WRITTEN WORD! This is why Paul told Timothy, in 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

That is what every preacher ought to be doing! Preaching THE INFALLIBLE, INERRANT WORD OF GOD, and it will convey the message from God to man.

Many times as we preach the written Word of God, people hear it but they do not seem to get the message.

Illus: I’m reminded of the flood of 1998 that was approaching the town of Springfield, Indiana, when an elderly gentleman refused to evacuate.

• His neighbors, a friendly family with two young kids drove up to his house in their SUV and offered to take him to the shelter, but the man shook his head and said, "Don't worry about me. You go ahead but I'll stay here. I know nothing will happen to me, because God is watching from above and will come to my rescue." Faced with such a strong faith, the family left without arguing with the man.

• Disturbed by the radio reports of flood waters filling up their town they returned the next day in a motorboat and saw the man's house already flooded up to the porch and him sitting in a rocking chair in his living room, in two inches of water. Again, they offered to take him to the shelter, and again the man refused, saying, "Have no fear - it's all in God's hands and I know he'll rescue me. I'm staying here."