Text: Haggai 2:1-9, Title: God’s Cure for Depression, Date/Place: NRBC, 3/11/07, AM
A. Opening illustration: Have you ever had one of those weeks where it seems like there is not enough time in a day to get it all done…where you forget who your spouse or family is because you don’t see them? And to top it off Murphy’s Law begins to become reality in every circumstance in your life? How about a month like that? And you feel like just giving up, crawling into bed, and sleeping for three weeks? Abe Lincoln--below
B. Background to passage: The date of this second prophecy of Haggai is Oct 17, 520 (a little over a month from the first message, and less than a month from the time that they began work again on the temple). It seems as though disc. and depr. had set in hindering or stopping the work. App: godly encouragement is needed for God’s people to do God’s work. The root of the discouragement was stress, fear, and embarrassment at the grandeur of this second temple compared to the first. Exp the seventh month. And so God confronts the problem directly of those who remember the former glory of the temple, and are stuck in one of those “I wish it could be like the good ol’ days” mentalities. Preach a little here about this methodology of handling problems and about this mentality, and the people who usually hold it, and goal not to recreate the past, but…. But even if it is not a mood like that that causes us discouragement and depression, we all wrestle with it. When we have great expectations and grand dreams, and they don’t turn out that way…when we are trapped in a relationship, marriage, or job that is not fulfilling…when everyone close to us is pulling away, moving, or leaving…when our children or grandchildren are not living up to God’s plan for their lives…when we try and try to get ahead financially, but just can’t seem to do it, we can all experience discouragement.
C. Main thought: In our text, God speaks to all you who are weakened from discouragement in two ways
A. A 3-step plan based on God’s presence (v. 4-5)
1. After bringing up the problem in the clearest of terms, saying that the sight of the temple is equal to nothing in the eyes of those who had seen the former temple, God gives them three things to do be begin to remedy their depression. And all of these things are based on God’s presence with them. Note the word “for” after the command to work. First He says to “be strong.” Note the repetition. Note “for I am with you.” In telling them this, He is not telling them to be strong in themselves, but to further rely on an outside source of strength. Secondly, He tells them the central command of this text, and of this book—work. God tells them to get to work. Work, for I am with you. He calls them to remember their purpose as a generation, what He has called them to do. Thirdly, he gives them a negative command, do not fear. They were afraid of other nations, of embarrassment, of lack of resources. Don’t fear, My Spirit is with you. This is esp imp. to the leaders. And he follows these with promises.
2. 1 Chron 28:20, Zech 4:6, Eph 6:10, Isa 40:29-31, 41:10, 2 Cor 12:9, Phil 4:13, Eph 3:16, 20-21, Prov 10:16, 12:11, Matt 6:30-32, Rom 8:31, 37, 2 Cor 2:14, 1 John 4:4, 5:4-5, Heb 2:14,
3. Illustration: Above the caption "Strong Man" was a photo of a workman displaying what seemed to be superhuman strength. He appeared to be lifting a piano up to a second story apartment porch. An explanation under the picture plus one discernible clue, however, told the unseen story. By looking closely I could see a cable attached to the piano. The real power to lift it was coming from a crane above, rather than from the man below. The man riding the bear with the rattlesnake in his hand—see below, tell about Dr. Patterson’s son-in-law who was discouraged as a pastor and called Dr. P to whine, and Dr. P told him to go to the ten doors beside the church and tell them about Jesus. Tell about the guy who was praying that God would show him His will, and all the people kept coming by, and he kept blowing them off. Quote the third verse of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” the family who read Ps 23-see below,
4. For NT and OT believers a command to be strong means for us to further trust and rely on God’s strength. He is calling us to remember where the greatest true reservoir of strength lies—in Him. During times of doubt, depression, and discouragement we must actively, consciously turn our thoughts toward God and reaffirm our trust in His grace. So don’t tell others to “suck it up, get over it, and do better.” Remind them of the greatness of their source of strength. Look to the word. Nine times in this text today, we are reminded that these words are from God. So, track down God’s word for you at this time. Come to me, and I will give you some verses to meditate on. Yes, meditate. Sometimes the best medicine for discouragement and depression is to get to work on something meaningful. And since earthly things are temporary, look for something with eternal significance. There is much to do here at NRBC for the kingdom. If you are bored, discouraged, depressed, etc, come drive the van for ESL and witness to the children who all speak English; let’s get together and go to Americus and help there; the road in front of the church can always be picked up. You will find satisfaction in giving yourself away in service to Christ. You will live when you begin to die. Remember that ultimately nothing can hurt you, and God is with you and will give you strength to endure. Preach to yourself, renounce fear openly. Pray and praise.
B. A 3-step promise based on God’s action (v. 6-9)
1. God didn’t just stop with commands, He encouraged and reassured them with the promise of his provision in three ways. First he says, “I will shake the heavens and earth…all the nations.” God promises an eschatological moving of His Spirit upon the earth. One of their fears was a lack of resources. Solomon’s temple took over 600 lbs of silver, 500 lbs of gold, a ton of other resources, 183K laborers, and 7 years to build it. These post-exilic Jews had no such resources. But God reminds them of His absolute sovereignty over the nations, and His ownership of all their resources. He tells them that that He will pick of the other pagan nations, and shake their desirables from them to supply the resources necessary to rebuild the temple. By the way, this happened, from Darius all the way to Herod the Great’s renovation project funded by the Roman Empire. The next thing that God says is that He will fill this temple with more glory than the first. This is an amazing statement, but it too came to pass. This would have been unbelievable. No doubt many workers quit when they heard this statement. What was lacking was not material beauty, but heavenly glory. God said He would glorify this temple more than the first. For He showed up through Christ. The third thing that God says to encourage them with his action is that He will give peace. When this temple is funded, built, and glorified, peace with reign in the land. It is difficult to say exactly what peace his is talking about. So, God encourages the discouraged with the promise of financial provision, divine infilling and exaltation, and peace. This vision of God is supposed to elevate their perception of God back toward the awesomeness that is reality. It was supposed to inspire this discouraged people.
2. Ex 19:18, Isa 60:5, Ps 50:10, Phil 4:19, 2 Cor 4:18, 5:7, Rom 5:1-2, Phil 4:7, Matt 11:28-30
3. Illustration: I am told that after the great Chicago fire that destroyed his lecture hall and schools, Dwight Moody was in desperate need of funding--big funding—to re-build. As he was walking down the street, he approached a man he knew, and asked him for a million dollars. It was all illusion. It was a false front. There really was nothing there that could harm us, but we humans happen to be so dependant on our natural senses that we will often times look through those 3-D glasses of the natural world instead of seeing our circumstances through the eyes of faith and we fall prey to our senses and loose faith in the promises of God. Talk about Patch Adams and Ronnie Owens always seeing things as they could be instead of what they presently are.
4. Hermeneutics is the study of interpretation, as you will learn on Sunday night in DT. And it would be error to say from this text that God will take all the unbelievers money and give it to us to build churches, although there is at least one sense in which that happens. And the health and wealth gospel tells you that God wants you to be rich, healthy, and happy, but this is also an error. God does want us to be prosperous in what we do, but that does not always mean financially. However, I would say that we need to be reminded that God owns the cattle of a thousand hills and all the beasts of the forest, and if we are short of resources, it is probably because of our own mismanagement, and it is no trouble to God to get us out if He sees fit. If we are without, it is for a reason. Pray and seek his face, and figure out what it is. We are required today to look not with physical eyes, but with eyes of faith. We must remove the 3-D glasses that make us see things only presently, and look for potential. We must realize that the most important thing in all of our lives is the presence of God working in our midst, and that changes everything. God will fill up our lives with His glory, drowning out what we think we see. So if you are discouraged, remember that with spiritual eyes you can see that God will do much more than you see now. So pray the prayer of the psalmist in Ps 25:21, and believe God that the best days for NR, for your family, for your job, for your joy are yet to come. But we know that in the ultimate fulfillment of the temple was Jesus Christ who grants you not only peace within your circumstances that passes all understanding, but peace with God, which is huge. God promises to act on our behalf to provide resources, his glorifying work, and inner peace. What a Savior is that! Let this vision of God sustain you during dark times. Allow this Divine Warrior to be the backdrop and foundation of every doubt, fear, depression, detour, dry hole, dead end, discouragement in your life. Our God is really big! Don’t just tell God about your problems; tell your problems about your God! And dream big dreams for yourself and for NRBC.
A. Closing illustration: Kim Duk-Soo will never forget November 20, 1950. That was the day Communist troops found him hiding with his father in a root cellar. "When we heard the soldiers coming, I was sure we would be killed," says Kim, his eyes filling with tears. "My Daddy told me we could not tell a lie to save our lives." Kim’s father had pastored the same church for 42 years. He had helped his wife hide their children by covering them with rice bags and dirt. But after two days of hiding, Kim uncovered himself. Just then, Communist troops approached the house. Kim and his father ran to the back yard and hid in the root cellar. "I told God I would serve him all my life if I got out of the root cellar alive." The soldiers found Kim and his father and took them off to a makeshift prison. They were to be executed the next morning. That evening, a captain approached Kim. "Are you a Christian?" he asked. For a fleeting moment, life for a lie seemed the only logical way to go. But the young boy remembered his father’s instruction. "I am a Christian," Kim said. The captain drew closer, and whispered, "I am a Christian too. I used to be a Sunday school teacher before the war. You must escape tonight. I will help you." Kim fled that night, having to leave his father under heavy guard awaiting his eventual death. The young Kim reached an American army base, and while "hanging around" there discovered an organ and began teaching himself to play. An American he remembers only as Captain Shoemaker learned of his musical interests and ordered a spinet from the States. For the next ten years, Kim played that organ for chapel services at the base. It is Mother’s Day at First Presbyterian in Taegu. "A Mighty Fortress" reverberates from 2,000 Korean voices. As he has done for 30 years, Kim plays the organ. "I should have been killed after the Communists found me, but God sent that Christian guard to help me escape.”
B. Are you in a moment of crisis with your family, your job, your life? This is your moment of truth, do you succumb to discouragement and depression, or do you boldly stand and say I know Christ, I am a Christian, and I will faithfully do what God has commanded. I will be strong in Him, I will work for Him, I will not fear for His Spirit is with me. Some of you need to pray that prayer today…
C. Invitation to commitment
Many years ago a young Midwestern lawyer suffered from such deep depression that his friends thought it best to keep all knives and razors out of his reach. He questioned his life’s calling and the prudence of even attempting to follow it through. During this time he wrote, "I am now the most miserable man living. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell. I awfully forebode I shall not." But somehow, from somewhere, Abraham Lincoln received the encouragement he needed, and the achievements of his life thoroughly vindicated his bout with discouragement.
The man shouted and screamed as he brought the bear to a skidding halt, bit the head off the rattlesnake, and flung it into the brush. Then he slid off the bear’s back, turned, and hit him between the eyes, knocking him unconscious. The camper was speechless as this wild-eyed renegade walked over to the fire, tossed the boiling coffee down his throat, drank the hot grease from the skillet, and ate all of the bacon in one bite. As he wiped his hands with poison ivy and slapped the bear back to consciousness, he turned to the camper and said, “Partner, I’m sorry I can’t stay around and visit with you a while, but I’ve got to keep moving ‘cause a real bad dude is chasing me!”
Richard Wurmbrand tells the story of a church leader he met while imprisoned in Romania. He was sentenced to 22 years for his goodness. The man, his wife, and six small children were eating breakfast when the police burst into his home. They had just read Psalm 23. When the police arrested him, the minister said, “You are the fulfillment of what we have prayed today. We just read…that God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. We had a table but we had no enemies. Now you have come. If you would like anything that is on the table, I would like to share it with you. You are sent by God.” The captain screamed. “How could you speak such stupid things? We will take you to prison where you will never come out. You will die there. You will never see your children again.” We have also read about this today, that I pass through the valley of the shadow of death and will not fear it.” “How in the world should you not fear this?” shouted the officer. “Everyone fears death!” “…The shadow is not something to fear,” the minister said calmly. “A shadow of a dog can’t bite you, and a shadow of death can’t kill you. All these things are shadows. We will have another life, not only one of this world. We can be killed. We can be put in prison. Nothing bad can happen to us. We’re in Christ, and He takes us to another world.”
