“When God Builds His Church”
Haggai 2:1-9
January 9th 2011
“'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the Lord Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the Lord Almighty."
Haggai 2:9 (NIV)
Introduction:
> We’ve all seen motivational posters hanging around offices encouraging people to dream dreams and focus on a great vision.
> Well one company, Despair, Inc., has created a line of demotivational products—posters and t-shirts that present things in grim reality. For example…
Insanity — It’s difficult to comprehend how insane some people can be. Especially when you’re insane.
Mistakes — It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.
Doubt — In the battle between you and the world, bet on the world.
Humiliation — The harder you try, the dumber you look.
Losing — If at first you don’t succeed, failure may be your style.
Despair — It’s always darkest just before it goes pitch black.
And finally,
Defeat — For every winner, there are dozens of losers. Odds are you’re one of them.
> It’s funny how motivational speakers always make it sound like there is a rainbow over every tragedy.
> But the truth is, disappointment is a reality of life. No matter how hard we try, we will all face death some day. For every winner there are dozens of losers. And in the battle between you and the world, the world often ends up getting the best of you.
> This is the way the remnant of Israel felt in Haggai chapter 2. Verse 1 says, “On the twenty-first day of the seventh month…” This was the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles which coincided with the dedication of the first Temple by Solomon.
> The remnant of Israel was standing around looking at what they had built so far and they were getting discouraged. Those who remembered the first temple continued to point out how sad the new temple looked in comparison.
> And, on top of all of this, the deadline for completion had come and gone. It would have been the desire of these builders to reach a significant milestone or even completion on the anniversary of the dedication of the first Temple—Solomon’s Temple. Instead, the day of dedication was continually being pushed back. It seemed that the Temple would never be completed.
> To recap…
The second Temple was a pitiful comparison to Solomon’s Temple.
The second Temple wasn’t beautiful or luxurious like Solomon’s Temple.
The second Temple didn’t have the Ark of the Covenant—the central fixture of Solomon’s Temple.
The second Temple was facing all kinds of construction delays and problems.
All in all,
The second Temple was falling far short of Solomon’s Temple in every way!
> The exiles who had returned from Babylon were beginning to feel like they were losers who couldn’t win for losing! They were giving their best, and their best just wasn’t good enough.
> Last week God’s message to Israel was, “Give careful thought to your ways.” In last week’s message the remnant had given up on the Temple and had become apathetic to the spiritual condition of their nation.
> However, We saw how the they listened to Haggai’s message and the Spirit of the Lord stirred them to obedience and they returned to work on the Temple.
> This week, it’s not apathy toward God’s business—it’s discouragement. There is sadness over what is and what used to be in the past. They are growing discouraged and considering giving up.
> God asks the question, in vs. 3, “How does it look to you now?”
> What God is asking is, “What are you looking at?” and, “What lens are you looking through?”
> In Ecclesiastes 7:10, Solomon writes…
Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.
Eccl 7:10 (NIV)
> Solomon is warning that we shouldn’t compare the past with the present. It’s a faulty perspective.
> The Israelites, in Haggai 2, are looking through a faulty lens. They are using a wrong perspective to evaluate their present circumstances.
> We do this today. We look at our circumstances or surroundings and we make judgments based on very worldly perspectives.
People often ask, “How big is your church?” because numbers are a measure of success.
We look at the car someone drives and evaluate how wealthy they are.
Or,
We compare the way things are today with they way they used to be and we begin to get discouraged and think God has abandon us.
> Let’s look at the faulty perspective of the Israelites and consider at look at our own perspectives…
First,
I. Our Efforts or God’s Efforts (vs. 4-5)
> The first wrong perspective of the Israelites was that they were thinking to themselves that they were all alone, striving in their own strength and working in their own power on the temple.
> They were thinking that they were building the Temple in their own strength and they were getting discouraged.
> But this was faulty thinking on their part. Three times God reminds them to, “Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the Lord, 'and work. For I am with you…”
> Why does he repeat the words “Be Strong” three times?
During the Feast of Tabernacles (the festival that Haggai brought his message), the book of Deuteronomy was read to the people. At the close of the Book of Deuteronomy, at Deut. 31, Moses summoned Joshua before all the people of Israel and said to Him, “Be strong and courageous.” He said this three times to Joshua.
Again in the Book of Joshua, the people would be reminded that God told Joshua three times to, “Be strong and courageous.”
> Haggai was simply reminding the people to draw strength from God’s promises. He was reminding them that when the people first entered the Promise land they had a massive undertaking, but they were not alone! God was with them.
> Haggai was reminding the people of Israel of God’s presence!
> They were not building the temple on their own and in their own strength and power. God was with them and He was their strength and their power. Look at what He says in vs. 5…
'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'
Hag 2:5 (NIV)
> Even in exile, God’s spirit was with them (Fiery furnace, Lion’s Den, Etc.). They were never alone—they could always turn to God in their time of need and He was there!!
> The first encouragement to God’s people is God’s presence—He is with us! Be strong and courageous!
> The first perspective change the church needs to make is that God is with us—so be strong and don’t give up!
Second,
II. World’s Value or God’s Value (vs. 3 & 8)
> Secondly, Haggai didn’t deny that the new temple was “as nothing (vs. 3)” compared to the first temple, the one Solomon built.
> On the outside this one was much less beautiful. It was not constructed out of the beautiful material the first one was constructed with.
It did not have the massive 6 ft. wide, 27 ft tall bronze pillars in the front of it, or the huge bronze bath that held over 24,000 gallons of water and sat upon the backs of 12 bronze oxen.
It did not have the glorious inner walls of the holy place and the holy of holies, carved out of cedar from the hills of Lebanon, overlaid with pure gold—even the floors and the ceiling. Nor did it have the Ark of the Covenant, the mercy seat that contained the presence of God.
It did not have the glorious hewn stone that was polished so smooth that it nearly glowed.
It did not have the workmanship of Solomon’s Temple.
> This temple didn’t even come close to the glories of the first temple.
> And, the economy was bad, and they sorely lacked the wealth needed to build the temple even to a semblance of it’s original glory.
> This temple would never live up to the glory of the original.
> From the world’s perspective, why build at all. Why not quit instead of embarrassing yourself.
> But God reminds them in vs. 8…
'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the Lord Almighty.
Hag 2:8 (NIV)
> He doesn’t need wealth! He doesn’t need silver or gold! Those things aren’t nearly as important to God as our willing hearts to serve.
> He tells the people, “'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the Lord Almighty.” Hag. 2:9 (NIV)
> We measure the success of a thing by silver and gold standards—are we wealthy?, are we famous?, are we powerful?—but God measures the success of a thing by His own standards. The new temple was being built by the hands of willing servants who loved Him and had decided in their hearts to serve Him and do His work.
> The second perspective that needs to change in the Church of Christ is the perspective of what is valuable.
> Don’t be discouraged because you don’t look successful in your service to God. He is not concerned with silver and gold! God measures everything by His standards—just continue to be obedient and faithful to Him and give Him your all and let Him worry about the rest.
Finally,
III. Our Glory or God’s Glory (vs. 6-7; 9)
> The exiles who were discouraged didn’t see the glory of God in what they were doing. They simply saw the failure of men!
> Every day they were reminded that it was the failure of Israel that had brought Solomon’s temple to ruin and had put them in exile.
> They couldn’t see the work God was doing today.
They couldn’t see the plan of God for the salvation of the world through the labor of their hands.
> Look at what God tells them in vs. 6-7…
"This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the Lord Almighty.”
Hag 2:6-7 (NIV)
> God had a plan that was not about brick and mortar. God had a plan that would shake the nations and bring the world to Him.
> It was through the foundation of this temple, the work of these exiles that would bring about the Messiah, the savior of the world.
> God was preparing Israel to once again be the spiritual center of the modern world so that His Son could come at just the right time— “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son…” Gal 4:4 (KJV)
> This is what vs. 9 is saying…
'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the Lord Almighty.
Hag 2:9 (NIV)
> The fact is, Solomon’s temple led to the downfall of Judah and the exile of Israel. But this house would lead to the arrival of the Savior of the World.
> God was working through the hands of those exiles in Haggai’s day to “shake the heavens and the earth.”
> The third perspective change that we need to make is to not undervalue what we are doing in God’s Kingdom. God’s glory is not our glory. God is doing something far greater than we can see through our small perspective.
Conclusion:
> Some time ago, I shared a little bit about the life of a young missionary named David Brainerd.
> In the 1700s David Brainerd felt called to bring the message of Christ to the native Americans. Brainerd faced constant discouragement, as he tried to share Christ’s love with the native Americans.
> You, see they’d seen too much American greed and abuse to believe Brainerd’s message of grace. Brainerd wrote in his journal, "My heart sunk. It seemed to me that I’d never have any success among the Indians. My soul was weary of my life. I longed for death."
> For two years nothing happened, as he constantly battled one discouragement after another. Finally three and half years into his work he saw about 150 native Americans come to faith in Christ. Not much by today’s mass evangelism standards, but a real start. Unfortunately, David Brainerd died a year later at the age of 29, and his work seem to stop completely.
> But that’s not the end of the story. Someone published the journals David Brainerd kept during those times of discouragement. Those journals fell into the hands of a guy named William Carey. William Carey is widely known as the father of modern missions, because he ignited the modern missionary movement that continues to this day.
> Carey’s efforts and inspiration have been the impetus for literally millions and millions of people coming to faith in Christ. When someone asked William Carey what inspired him to devote his life to missions, he pointed to the journals of David Brainerd (Ruth Tucker, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, pp. 90-93).
> Throughout the entire ministry of David Brainerd, God was working to build His kingdom. David Brainerd could not see what God was doing. He was simply being faithful to God’s call.
> What about you and me today?
Are you discouraged because of perspective?
Don’t give up!
It’s God’s presence, not yours.
It’s God’s resources, not yours.
It’s God’s glory, not yours.
> Just keep on building—and let God do the rest!
Closing Song: “In The Presence of Jehovah”
Closing Prayer:
