Haggai 2:1-9 - God's Encouragement
Encouragement enables. Once upon a time it was announced that the devil was going out of business and would sell all his equipment to those who were willing to pay the price. On the big day of the sale, all his tools were attractively displayed. There was Envy, Jealousy, Hatred, Malice, Deceit, Sensuality, Pride, Idolatry, and other implements of evil on display. Each of the tools was marked with its own price tag. Over in the corner by itself was a harmless-looking, wedge-shaped tool very much worn down, but still it bore a higher price than any of the others. Someone asked the devil what it was, and he answered, "That is Discouragement." The next question came quickly: "And why is it priced so high even though it is plain to see that it is more worn than these others?" "Because," replied the devil, "it is more useful to me than all these others. I can pry open and get into a man's heart with that when I cannot get near him with any other tool. Once I get inside, I can use in him whatever way suits me best."
The devil discourages but the Lord encourages us. This morning I want to look at the encouragements of God. But before we look into the Word of God, let's look to God. Let's pray (pray).
Let me give you a little bit of background in case you have forgotten or you are just joining us for this series. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed by God because of the people's sin and idolatry. The Lord sent the Babylonians against them. They captured the city, killed most of the people and burned the city to the ground. The survivors were taken into captivity where they remained for 70 years. At the end of this time, the Babylonian empire fell and the Persians came to power. The new king, Cyrus issued a decree that foreigner who wanted to return to their homelands could do so, as long as they re-established worship to their gods and prayed for the well being of the Persian empire. About 50,000 Jews responded to this offer and made the long journey to their homeland. When they arrived they only found ruins. It took them two years just to get settled down and gather supplies before they could start rebuilding the temple.
They laid the foundation amidst a great celebration but soon the surrounding peoples became alarmed at the new influx of people and began opposing them. They hired men to frustrate the Israelites and sent a letter of protest to the new Persian king. Xerxes wasn't aware of the his predecessor's decree and he order the construction to stop so the surrounding people forced the Jews to stop building.
Sixteen years pass and finally God has waited long enough. He sent two prophets Haggai and Zechariah to spur the people on to get back to their original purpose. This book is the message that Haggai prophesied to the people. In chapter one God tells the people to stop looking after their own interests and instead, build His house. He urges them to get back to their original purpose of coming to Jerusalem in the first place. At the end of chapter one we see the response of the people. They decide to obey, and in response God stirs their hearts up and the people restart the building project.
Last week we began looking at chapter two. A little less than a month has passed by since the work began and the people were becoming discouraged. A major source of this discouragement was comparison. There were some people among the Israelites who saw the former temple and the one they were building seemed like nothing in comparison. In response, the Lord gives the Israelites three commands, to be strong, to work and to not fear. But the Lord doesn't just give commands and leave them to obey. God also gives encouragements to strengthen the hearts of Zerubabbel, Joshua and the people so that they can obey. I want to look at them this morning. If you have a bulletin you can find the sermon notes inside and you can jot down ideas as you listen. Or better yet, you can write notes in your notebook.
Encouragement enables. There are three encouragements that God gives in this passage. The first is God's presence. Take a look at verse 4 (read verse). This isn't the first time God reminded the Israelites of His presence with them. Take a look at Haggai 1:13 (read verse). When I spoke on that passage a few weeks ago I said that the Israelites needed to know that God hadn't deserted them. They all knew that God had sent them into exile, they may have wondered if God had left them for good. I also said that God's presence means that we are coworkers with Christ. Matt. 11:28-30 gives the picture of a yoke. Remember that? We don't do the work ourselves, but Christ works right alongside of us.
Those are important truths that I'm sure helped the Israelites battle discouragement. But there is an additional truth that comes through in chapter 2 verse 4 and 5a, that I would like to highlight. Take a look at them again (read verses). The Lord reminds the people that His presence is what He promised or covenanted with them when He delivered the Israelites out of Egypt during the exodus. When did God make this promise to the Israelites?
It happened when Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the commandments of God. He was gone for 40 days and nights and in the meantime the Israelites made golden calves to worship. When Moses came down and confronted the people and punished them for their sin, he went back up to plead before God for their forgiveness. This is how the Lord responded in Exodus 33:1-3: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, "I will give it to your descendants," I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with mild and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.'"
Because of the Israelites sin, the Lord decided to send an angel with them, but to remove His presence. How did Moses respond to this news? Was he happy? Did he think it was an appropriate compromise? Did he reason that the angel could help them conquer Canaan and that's all the Israelites really needed? No he didn't. Take a look at what Moses said, and the Lord's response in Ex. 33:15-17: "Then Moses said to him, 'If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?'
"And the Lord said to Moses, 'I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.'"
Moses was given the offer to lead the people into the promised land with an angel as his secret weapon. He couldn't lose. Nation after nation would fall before him and the Israelites. He would be famous and successful. But that didn't satisfy Moses. The only thing that would satisfy Moses was God, Himself. In fact, if God didn't go with them, Moses didn't care about the victories and success. Without God, he would rather just sit in the desert.
That kind of attitude gave God pleasure and that's when God gave Moses and the Israelites His covenant of being with them. Exodus 33:14 says: "The Lord replied, 'My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'" And God's presence is the greatest treasure in the world. You see the Israelites in Haggai's day needed to treasure God's presence above everything else. It's true that in terms of external opulence, the new temple paled against the splendour of Solomon's temple. But the Lord said in Haggai 2:9, that the glory of the present house will be greater than the glory of the former house. This glory wasn't from the gold or silver. This glory was from the presence of the Lord. If the Israelites learned to value and treasure God's presence above everything else, then their circumstances could never discourage them. It didn't matter if they were living in rubble and they had enemies all around them. They had the presence of the Lord and that's what makes all the difference.
You know it doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing, it doesn't matter if we have plenty or if we are in need, it doesn't matter if we are outwardly successful or if we seem to be failing, if we value above all the presence of the Lord, knowing and loving, Jesus Christ, then the darkest dungeon can become a place of glory and rejoicing.
When Joseph was falsely accused that by his master's wife of trying to rape her, he was thrown into prison. If I was in Joseph's position I think I probably would have become bitter at the injustice of it all. But look at what it says about Joseph in Genesis 39:20-21: "Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favour in the eyes of the prison warden." The Lord was with Joseph in that prison cell and the presence of the Lord made all the difference. That's why Paul and Silas when they were in Philippi after they were beaten and thrown in the inner cell of a jail and fastened in irons could sing songs of praise.
How important is God's presence for you? Is God enough? If He is, then all of this world can be stripped away and still we can rejoice. Really, God's presence is the final answer to discouragement and comparison. If our relationship with God is all that matters, then we can face any circumstance with rejoicing. Is God's presence your highest treasure? Is Jesus Christ alone, enough for you? If He isn't, then you will be blown around by the circumstances of life. But if the presence of God is the greatest treasure in life, then you can be encouraged in the most discouraging circumstances.
There is a second encouragement in these verses. Not only does God promise His presence, but He also promises His power. Take a look at Haggai 2:5b (read verse). God told the Israelites that His Spirit remained with them. How is this promise different than when God told them that He was with them? In the Old Testament when God spoke of His Spirit working in the midst of a people it indicated His active power in their midst. When the Spirit came, then the people were empowered beyond their natural ability. Zechariah, another prophet sent by God who preached alongside Haggai said this in Zechariah 4:6: "So he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord Almighty."
The Holy Spirit enabled the people in the Old Testament to accomplish goals beyond their natural ability to do. When God gave Moses instructions on how to set up the tabernacle, He tells Moses of a man He had gifted. Exodus 31:2-5 it says: "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts - to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship." That's only one example of God's Spirit enabling people. We can read about how the Holy Spirit enabled Joseph to interpret dreams and Moses to lead the Israelites. And the Holy Spirit also worked in Joshua, Gideon, Samson, Saul, David and the prophets. God gave the ability to govern, wage war and prophesy. But in many cases the coming of the God's Spirit was temporary. After the job was done, or if the individual committed sin and turned away from God, then the Spirit of God would leave.
That's what makes the encouragement here so strong. God not only promised that His Holy Spirit was working in them, but God also stated that the Spirit wasn't going anywhere. The NIV translates verse 5 saying that God's Spirit would remain. The NASB translates the word "remain" as "abide". The idea is that the Holy Spirit is making a home with them. He is there to stay. That must have given the Israelites a lot of encouragement knowing that the Holy Spirit was present and working and enabling them to accomplish things even beyond their human ability to do.
As Christians we have this very same encouragement. When we became Christians, when we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit came to dwell within us. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body." The Holy Spirit has come to dwell within us. Our bodies are His temple. That is a wonderful truth.
Do you understand that if you are a Christian, that God Himself is living in you? To tell you the truth, that is hard for me to wrap my head around. This is one of the most profound mysteries of the Christian faith. That's why Paul writes in Colossians 1:25-27: "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness - the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
If you are a Christian, God lives within you. The Holy Spirit has made your body His temple. The implications of this truth are profound. That means that we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He instructs us where we should go. That also means we have the conviction of the Holy Spirit. He shows us when we have sinned against God. That also means we have the illumination of the Holy Spirit. He opens up the Word of God to us so that we can understand and be changed by it. That also means that He prays through us. Romans 8:26 says: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." And maybe most importantly, having the Holy Spirit living within us means that we have the very power of God within us.
I don't know about you, but I have a hard time believing and understanding what that means. I think that's one reason why Paul in his letters prays so earnestly for the believers under his care. Paul prays in Ephesians 1:17-19: "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he had called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms". Do you hear what Paul is praying? He wants the believers to know the incomparable great power that is at work within them because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. How great is this power? It's the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
I don't know where you are this morning. You may have come into the church feeling depressed or discouraged. You may be facing trials, challenges and loss. You may feel that you don't have the strength to keep going. Let me tell you right now: If you are a Christian then the Holy Spirit is living within you. And you have the very power of God within you, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the grave. Now you may ask, "How do I access this power?" I think there are three attitudes that we have to have before we can experience this power of God.
The first is practical holiness. God's Spirit is called the Holy Spirit. If we are living in sin, if we are disobeying His will, then we will grieve the Spirit and He will not work in us.
The second is total dependence. As Zechariah 4:6 said, it is not by human might nor power but by God's Spirit. We have to acknowledge that we are not strong enough, we aren't smart enough, and we aren't good enough to solve our problems. We must run to God and throw our problems at His feet and cry out for His help. He must save us or we are lost.
The third attitude is absolute surrender. When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, He doesn't come to be our servants, to be at our beck and call. He comes in, He comes to be our Lord and Master. When the Holy Spirit directs us, we must be willing to do whatever He says and go wherever He leads. When He convicts us, we must ruthlessly cut that sin our of our lives.
Listen to Rees Howells account of how He came to experience the daily power of the Holy Spirit in his life. After attending a revival meeting, the Holy Spirit met with him.
"I saw Him as a Person apart from flesh and blood, and He said to me, 'As the Saviour had a body, so I dwell in the cleansed temple" of the believer. I am a Person. I am God, and I am come to ask you to give your body to Me that I may work through it. I need a body for My temple (1 Cor. 6:19), but it must belong to Me without reserve, for two persons with different wills can never live in the same body. Will you give Me yours? (Rom. 12:1). But if I come in, I come as God, and you must go out (Col. 3:2, 3). I shall not mix Myself with your self.' "He made it very plain that He would never share my life. I saw the honor He gave me in offering to indwell me, but there were many things very dear to me, and I knew He wouldn't keep one of them. The change He would make was very clear. It meant every bit of my fallen nature was to go to the Cross, and He would bring in His own life and His own nature."
That might seem like a very high demand from the Holy Spirit, but the returns are worth it. If you continue to read the story of Rees Howells life, you will find out the struggle he went through to surrender himself to the Holy Spirit. He wrestled for 5 days in prayer and lost 7 pounds in the process, but he finally surrendered everything to the Holy Spirit. And as a result, God used Howells in remarkable ways. Through him, God brought revival to Africa. Upon returning to Wales Howells established The Bible College of Wales. And that is only the bullet points. You should read his autobiography, "Rees Howells: Intercessor" by Norman Grubb.
Encouragement enables. The Lord enabled the Israelites in Haggai's day with three encouragements. First, God's presence, second God's power and the third, God's purpose. Take a look at Haggai 2:6-9 (read verses). This passage is prophesy. The Lord talks about a time in the future. In verse 6, He says, "In a little while". How far in the future is that? We know that God's timing isn't our timing. His little while is not our little while. There was once a man who prayed to God and asked Him, "Is it true that one minute to you is like a thousand years?" God replied, "Yes that's true." The man kept praying and asked, "Is it also true that a million dollars to you is just like a penny?" God replied, "Yes that's true too." The man thought for a moment and then he prayed, "Lord could you give me a penny." The Lord replied, "Sure, just a minute."
When is this in a little while? Well, this passage is quoted in the New Testament in Hebrews 12:26-29. Let's take a look at it: "At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, 'Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.' The words 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for 'God is a consuming fire.'"
In this passage the time frame described is when the things created, the heavens and the earth, will be removed. When will this happen? It will happen at the end of the age when Christ returns and after the whole earth is judged. Revelation 21:1 says: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea."
It is at this point that this prophecy will be ultimately fulfilled. It is at that point where every knee will bow to Jesus Christ and every tongue confess that He is Lord. And this temple will surely surpass anything on earth, because God Himself will be there. Revelation 21:22 says of the new Jerusalem: "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple."
And of course it is in that future time that there will be real peace. There will be no more wars or fighting or dissension. Now would any of this happen in the lifetime of the Israelites in Haggai's time? No it wouldn't. In fact, this prophesy hasn't been fulfilled completely to this day. But one day it will be fulfilled. That should give us hope.
The Israelites of Haggai's day had a specific purpose given them from God. They were to rebuild God's temple. It was only required for them to do their task. It was up to God to fulfill His plan in His time. But they could take hope in the fact that God's plan will be fulfilled.
We are in exactly the same situation as the Israelites. We aren't living in the time of God's kingdom come to earth. In the meantime we have to just fulfill God's purpose for us at this time. We trust Him with the results. You know I've been going to the mall pretty faithfully week by week to share the gospel with people for a couple of years now. I don't know how many people I've talked with. Probably it's getting up to the hundreds now. Do you know how many people have come to Christ during my conversations with them? Nobody. Not one. But God hasn't called me to save souls. That's something only He can do. He has called me to share the gospel and I trust Him with the results. One promise I often claim in prayer is Isaiah 55:10-11: "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." When I go to the mall to do evangelism, I see my role as planting seeds. I trust God to bring those seeds to fruit in His time. And I believe He will.
I think we have to be careful trying to dictate to God our timetable when we want to things to happen. We pray to God and we tell Him that we want a job by the time we graduate, or we want to get married before we hit 30, or we want to be president of our company before we're 40. We can do that in church as well. We can set a church goal and say, "We want to plant ten new churches in ten years." Sometimes those slogans and goals can sound spiritual, but often I think we are trying to tell God what His plan should be. That's not going to happen.
The Israelites in Haggai's day might have wanted to restore Israel to its former glory and have it be a power in the middle east, but it wasn't going to happen, at least not in their lifetimes. They would not see the promise fulfilled. Are we willing to obey God and follow His instructions to us, even if we don't see the results of our labour? Steven J. Cole tells this story:
One day many years ago, I was jogging in the forest near my house. As I jogged, I was praying a "God-sized" prayer--that God would bless my ministry as He blessed the ministry of the great British preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I had been reading Spurgeon's Autobiography. His ministry was blessed not only by huge crowds flocking to hear him preach every Sunday, but more significantly, by thousands of genuine conversions. Since at that time I was the pastor of a small church in a small Southern California mountain resort town, to ask God to bless me as He had blessed Spurgeon was a big prayer!
Suddenly a thought popped into my mind that I believe came from the Lord. It was, "What about John Spurgeon?" The question hit me with such force that I stopped jogging for a few moments to think about it. Even many who have heard of Charles Spurgeon have never heard of John Spurgeon. I had not heard of him until my recent reading. John was the father of Charles. He was a pastor and the son of a pastor. He lived into his nineties, outliving his famous son (who died at 57) by ten years. But in spite of his long life and many years of faithful ministry, if John Spurgeon had not had a famous son, he would have gone to his grave and no one would even recognize his name.
Thousands of pastors like John Spurgeon have walked with God, shepherded His flock for a lifetime, and gone to their reward without any notice in the sight of the world. I thought, "Would I be willing to serve God faithfully, be a godly husband to my wife and a godly father to my children, even if I never achieved any recognition?" The more I thought about it, the more I realized, "Yes, that's what I want: to be faithful to the Lord in my personal walk, in my family, and in shepherding God's flock." The Lord never says, "Well done, good and famous servant," but He does say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." My job is to be as faithful as John Spurgeon and to let God take care of the rest.
That should be all of our attitudes. We need to be faithful to the task that God has given us and leave to the Lord the results. If we do that then we know that we will share in the promise of Haggai. One day we will experience the glory of the new temple, the glory of God Almighty and the Lamb.
Encouragement enables. God has three encouragements for both the Israelites 2500 years ago and for us today. We can be encouraged by: 1) God's presence; 2) God's power and; 3) God's purpose.
