TITLE: HOW DOES IT LOOK TO YOU NOW?
SCRIPTURE: HAGGAI 2:3-7
Our scripture text this morning is a difficult book to find in the Old Testament. The easiest way to find it is to go to the end of the Old Testament and turn back a couple of books because Haggai is the third book from the end of the Old Testament. This is an exciting text tucked away in the History of the Old Testament. It holds a wonderful History Lesson as to the lives of God’s people and a testament to God’s love toward the same. There is a positive lesson in these short Five Versus as we celebrate this Wonderful Pastor and his Beautiful Wife as on the occasion of the Conclusion of their Second Year serving as servants for this branch of Zion – the NEW HOPE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH of Boley, OK. I consider it an honor and privilege to celebrate with this my brother and my friend. We have been like brothers since meeting one another almost 12 years ago.
Let’s examine our text and discover what God is saying to us on this day of Celebration. I want to place my focus this afternoon and TAKE NOTE OF THE MIDDLE OF THE THIRD VERSE - “AND HOW DO YOU SEE IT NOW.” The NIV says it like this - “How Does IT Look To You Now?” I lift that as our thought this afternoon.
• That is a good question to ask as you close your second year of this Pastorate and begin to move into your third year of Spiritual Leadership
• How Does IT Look To You Now?
• Look back at your Installation Service until Now
• It probably looks a little different than it did then
• Not talking about pounds we gained or lost
• Talking about what we have Gained and Lost Spiritually
We can ask this question in relation to moving forward and beginning your Third Year. “How Does IT Look To You Now?” I suspect it looks different now than it did when this marriage between Pastor and Congregation began two years ago. And it should look different. How does this new chapter look to you now? Are you looking forward to greater things at the conclusion of this day of celebration?
• What are you expecting after this day of celebration?
• Do you expect to do wonderful and exciting things at New Hope going forward?
• Do you expect to take this ministry to another level in this community?
BEHAVIORAL SCIENTISTS - have discovered that we usually see things that we are prepared to see and that this is all centered in a network of nerve cells called the "RETICULAR ACTIVATING SYSTEM." And everybody here today has a "Reticular Activating System."
The Reticular Activating System works like this. Once something has been brought to our attention and we have been prepared to see it, we’ll see it virtually everywhere we go.
• For example, if you decide to buy that new car and you make up your mind that you are going to buy a certain brand, a certain body style, and a certain color
• All of a sudden you’ll see those cars everywhere
• You’ll see them on the roads, in TV advertisements, in newspapers and magazines
• They’re everywhere
• Now what has happened?
• They were always there, but the moment you were prepared to see them, your Reticular Activating System kicked in and suddenly you saw them everywhere
It happens in other areas of life as well. WE SEE WHAT WE ARE PREPARED TO SEE. If we are prepared to see FAULTS and DESPAIR than that is what we’ll see. If, on the other hand, we have prepared ourselves to see PROGRESSION and OPPORTUNITIES - then that is what we are going to see. People often say to me – Pastor, do you always see the Good in every situation? That is what I am prepared to see. No matter what it looks like, when we understand that God is ultimately in control then we should be able to see his hand of Mercy moving in all situations.
• I grow so tired of hearing Preachers talk about “God is Getting Ready to Do Something”
• God is Getting Ready to Move on Your Behalf
• God is Getting Ready to Bless You
• With this mentality we can fall into seeing Negativity and what’s not right around us
• That’s why all we see is God not doing anything, but Getting Ready To
• When we understand that God is not getting ready to do something – that He already is
• God is not Late – God is not Tardy – God is not Lost
• God is moving even now, in spite of what the eye may see
• My Reticular Activating System is Programmed to see the Hand of God active and moving
• I prefer calling it FAITH
Some of you this afternoon are much too young to remember FLIP WILSON’s TV SHOW that aired in the early 1970’s -- Matter of fact TIME MAGAZINE featured him on their cover in 1972 and called him “TV’S FIRST BLACK SUPERSTAR.” During his comedy show he dressed up as GERALDINE and one of the characters punch lines was – “HONEY, WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET.” Well, that may not have been exactly true as far as Geraldine went.
• But psychologists tell us that if we see ourselves as successful, if we see ourselves as strong and healthy, chances are good that that’s what we’ll be
• If we see ourselves able to persevere in spite of our condition, we do much better
• On the other hand, if we see ourselves as failures and defeats
• If we see ourselves as weak and sickly, chances are pretty good that that’s what we’ll be
• So let’s ask the question once again –“How Does IT Look To You Now?”
Firstly, I want to ask you Church – HOW DO YOU LOOK AS A BELIEVER? When you look in the mirror and see yourselves – What Kind of Believer Looks Back? What is it that you see about yourselves? Do you see a Christian that is simply spinning their wheels, just going through the motions? Or do you see an EAGER, OPTIMISTIC believer who can hardly wait for what God is going to do for you next? There is so much work to do for the advancement of God’s kingdom.
• I hear people say things like, "Why, we can’t do that." Or, "That’s just too hard"
• Why does Pastor expect us to do that
• He knows we are a small congregation?
The Bible declares that once the Holy Spirit enters into our lives, He can and will bring about DRAMATIC CHANGES, if we allow Him to. Remember what happened when He entered into the life of SAUL OF TARSUS who was breathing out threatening and slaughter on the church? The Holy Spirit changed Saul into the Gentle and Yet Strong APOSTLE PAUL. He can do the same for our lives as believers. Most of it depends on how we see ourselves. How Do We Look as a member of this Congregation? Let me take you to the Scripture - PHILIPPIANS 2:13 “FOR IT IS GOD WHICH WORKETH IN YOU BOTH TO WILL AND TO DO OF HIS GOOD PLEASURE.”
• Paul is saying that we are a part of God’s investment in the future
• We are bundles of unlimited opportunity and potential
• God wants to change us that we can change our community
• God wants us to turn our community upside down for the sake of the Gospel
I know what you are thinking. We understand that Bishop, but we are not like they were back in the Bible times. ABRAHAM IS GONE – MOSES IS GONE – DAVID IS GONE – SOLOMON IS GONE – PETER IS GONE – JOHN IS GONE – PAULS IS GONE - But, my Brothers and Sister, the HOLY SPIRIT is still here. We need to keep our focus and understand the Holy Spirit will give us the strength we need to make positive changes even when it appears to be Impossible. Don’t be Intimidated by Daunting Circumstances. How Do We Look As Believers. Do we Look like a People of Faith or do we look like people that have been defeated?
Second Question - I would like to ask you - HOW DOES THE WORLD LOOK TO YOU? Depending upon how we view the World will directly relate to how strong our ministry will be. The Bible teaches us that “GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON…”
• God sees the world as Redeemable
• He sees each of us as channels through whom His message of love might travel
• So what do you feel when you look at the world?
• Sometimes I wonder if Christendom Feels anything at all
• One of the crippling influences in the church today is the apathy, the indifference that is so prevalent
• As long as my world is secure, as long as I am comfortable, then I don’t really give the world a second thought
• As long as our church is doing alright, that’s all that counts
• As long as the community issues don’t affect our church, then we are okay
God challenges us to see a world that needs REDEMPTION and to see ourselves as channels through whom the message of salvation may reach the world. I am reminded of the AUTHOR – TIM HANSEN in his book "HOLY SWEAT" tells about teaching a group of boys in High School who were totally uninterested in what he had to say. Any educators or retired educators in the house? These High School boys TOTALLY UNINTERESTED so he decided that he was going to get their attention one way or another. He tried every innovative way he could think of to get them to listen. But day after day passed and they just defied him to get them interested in anything.
I remember growing up at St. Paul Baptist Church, Red Bank, NJ – one particular Sunday when the Youth Ushers were serving one of the boys passed out at the back door of the church. One of the Mothers seated in the front of the Church shouted “MY BABY” and ran to the back of the church. A few seconds later she returned very calm saying – Oh it wasn’t my child. Concern gone because it was not her child.
Finally, he walked into the classroom and in desperation wrote the word, "APATHY" in great big 3 foot letters across the blackboard, "A P A T H Y." Then he turned around and looked at his class. He said that there was one big senior boy, just about to be unleashed on the world, sitting at his desk, squinting at those great big 3 foot letters and reading them aloud, "A P A T H Y."
• “A-pa-thy"
• The boy scratched his head for a moment
• Then again spelled it and tried to pronounce it aloud.
• Pretty soon he turned to his buddy next to him and said, "A-pa-thy
• What’s that mean?"
• His buddy shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Who cares?" Who cares?
I wonder if we don’t have the same attitude sometimes when we look at our world. Do we have the attitude of – WHO REALLY CARES?
• Who really cares that there is suffering
• The lost are crying out for help
• Who cares about the situation of our world?
• What do you see when you look at the world?
• How do you see it now?
• Is it an opportunity and a challenge for the church?
• Is it a world to be reached with the message of Jesus Christ, or do you care?
• Does it make any difference at all?
• As long as my congregation is fine and doing well
• That’s all that counts
• We can only do but so much
• As long as my little corner of world is okay
Jesus issued the GREAT COMMISSION in ST. MATTHEW 28:19-20 “GO YE THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST, TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU AND, LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD, AMEN.”
Can I present One Final Thought? -- HOW DOES THE CHURCH LOOK TO YOU? How do we look as the Church of Jesus Christ? Our TEXT IS AN EXCITING PASSAGE IN THE OT BOOK OF HAGGAI. God instructs the prophet to speak to Governor Zerubbabel, to the high priest and to all the people. It is a very interesting occasion.
• They had been set free from their Babylonian captivity
• They had come back to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple of God
• So God says to the prophet Haggai, "Speak to them and ask them first this question
• `How many of you remember what the Temple was like before it was destroyed?’
Few of the elders, old enough to remember the temple built by Solomon before it was destroyed could remember the GOLD and SILVER and JEWELS and treasure that dominated the temple structure. It was ‘the old’ who could reminisce on the visual glory and majesty of the temple. There were very few elders that remembered the temple as it was before. The Israelites had been in captivity for 70 years, then another 14 years waiting for it to get to this point—so for those that would be old enough to remember the old temple, they had to at least be around 93 or so.
Several hands must have gone up, however. There were some who could remember when the temple stood in all of its glory, when people came and worshiped, when sacrifices were offered, when prayers rose up to God. Those had been exciting times of worship and fellowship as people came together in God’s house.
• Then God asks, "“How Does IT Look To You Now?” ?"
• And what they saw was just a pile of rubble, because the temple lay in ruins
• But then three times God says, "Be strong." "Be strong," to Zerubbabel. "Be strong," to the High Priest. "Be strong," to all the people
He said, "Here is the reason you can be strong, I’m with you. I’ve made a covenant with you. My spirit remains among you. Do not fear, for I’m going to shake the heavens and the earth. I’m going to shake the sea and the dry land. I’m going to shake all the nations." Then He said, "The desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this new house with glory."
• How do you see your church?
• As you look around, what do you see?
• Do you see just a building, or do you see a room full of people with the potential to make a difference in the lives of men and women, boys and girls, for the glory of God?
What do you see as you look at your FUTURE? What do you see when you look at your Leadership? Do you see God’s Man who has connected with God to move this Church body to Higher Ground? Do you see and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit operating in this place and the lives of every believer? Do you hear the Words of Life flowing From the Pulpit each week?
• What does the world see when it looks at this Church?
• Do they see Despair and Hopelessness or do they see the Unlimited Potential in this place?
• Can they feel the Redeeming Power of God flowing from this place?
• These are important questions to people because we see the things we are prepared to see
• What you see is what you get
Let me tell you why these questions are important. The SEASONED SAINTS see the Church different than the YOUNGER SAINTS. Pastor you have the responsibility to ensure the Church is RELEVANT for both age groups. Seasoned Saints need to hold on to some of the important traditions at the same time the younger saints don’t embrace those same traditions and they see the church differently. You must ensure there is a blending so all can come in this place and worship together and have their needs meet during the worship experience. Yes, I stopped by to ask you “How Does IT Look To You Now?” ?
The harsh reality that the Jewish people were confronted with was because the elders could remember what the OLD TEMPLE was like they realized that they didn’t have the resources to rebuild the temple. They were currently in drought and had not the wealth of King Solomon.
• They had stone but they had no gold
• They had men to labor but had no silver
• They had enthusiasm but no treasure and jewels
• They had memories and a pile of rubble
There was no way they could restore the temple to its former glory; it would be nothing in comparison to King Solomon’s temple. It is at this point that God began to teach them, it is not about how IMPRESSIVE the Sanctuary is. It’s not about how many millions you spend building the new Church. It is about what are you going to do in an effort to make a difference in this world? “How Does IT Look To You Now?” . We spend so much money on building projects while there is an all time high of UNEMPLOYMENT in our nation. Spend so much money trying to impress the world instead of impressing them with our FAITH and our WORKS. For FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD.
This Year is quickly coming to a close. Have we accomplished what we set out to do this year? God is alive and on His Throne. With God nothing is IMPOSSIBLE with Him.
• He waits for a willing church to answer His call
• To respond to His challenge
• To reach out to a world that desperately needs to hear His message
Daughter had some challenges while living in Texas and eventually moved back to Oklahoma. She was part of a large ministry in Dallas. Could not get assistance for herself and her child. She called her little home church in OKC that was able to meet her needs temporarily. NOT being critical of the large church, all I’m saying – IT’S NOT THE SIZE OF THE SANCTUARY IT’S THE SIZE OF THE MINISTRY that makes the difference. Ministry reaches out to the world.
God SHOOK THINGS UP in the lives us His people found in our text. GOD SHAKES THINGS UP TO PREPARE US FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF OUR LIVES. This phase brings about a new movement, a massive awakening of the need for Christ. We as believers will understand that when God turns things upside down, He does so with the intent of preparing His people for a NEWNESS OF LIFE. The PAIN OF DISRUPTION that was experienced will eventually bring about magnificence in our lives.
• When God causes our world to tremble, His purpose is to reposition things so that they are in proper place for His glory
• He assures us that we can claim His Kingdom that can never be shaken
--“How Does IT Look To You Now?”
To move this church to the next level you must do what is found in Scripture Text:
--Encourage your Pastor – important to know that you are praying for him that He can do what God has called him to do
--Encourage your Church Family – let them know that you are behind them and you want to help them in any way possible
--Encourage the Younger Generation – Don’t let the young one’s zeal frighten you. Get with them and apply your wisdom to their zeal and get some work done
--How do I encourage all these people? - Lead by example
--Encourage prayer – but only after you have prayed
--Encourage service – but only after you have served
--Encourage dedication – only after you are dedicated
--Encourage giving – but only after you have gave
