What reboot means? To reboot is to reload the operating system of a computer: to start it up again. Booting is starting a computer's operating system, so rebooting is to start it for a second or third time. ... Rebooting allows the computer to restart and get back to working normally. After a crash, the computer is useless until you reboot. Though it is a computer term, many times, lives, and ministries are in need of a reboot.
Let me share a story with you about some church people in need of a reboot… It’s about 4 people in the church whose names were Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody…”The church had some financial responsibilities and Everybody was asked to help… Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it… Anybody could have done it… But you know who did it? Nobody… It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done…Then the church grounds needed some work, and Somebody was asked to help… But Somebody got mad, because Anybody could have done it, and after all, it was really Everybody’s job… In the end the work was given to Nobody, and Nobody did a fine job…On & on it went… Whenever work was to be done, Nobody could always be counted on… Nobody visited the sick, Nobody gave his time, Nobody shared his faith… In short, Nobody was a very faithful member…Finally the day came when Somebody left the church and took Anybody & Everybody with him… Guess who was left. Nobody! Isn’t that a sad story?
Today our lesson challenges us about our priorities in life – It asks the questions: “Do we still trust God today?” “Do we have Him in His proper place in our life?” “Do we still trust God in a pandemic?’ But do we really? Is God in 1st place on our priority list today? The church today faces the same issue that Haggai did in his time; the believers had convinced themselves that it’s not the right time to work on the House of the Lord. The believers in Haggai’s day put off work on God’s House to focus on their own homes. Today many believers have their priorities in life mixed up just like in Haggai’s day and it will cost them the blessings of God in their life just like it did the Israelites in Haggai’s day.
Scripture Text: Haggai Chapter 1(NKJV)
Hag 1:1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 "Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: 'This people says, "The time has not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built."3 Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" 5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways! 6 "You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes." 7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways! 8 "Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified," says the LORD. 9 "You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" says the LORD of hosts. "Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. 10 "Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11 "For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands."12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the LORD. 13 Then Haggai, the LORD'S messenger, spoke the LORD'S message to the people, saying, "I am with you, says the LORD." 14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius."
The Israelites returning from Babylonian captivity came back to rebuild Jerusalem and God’s temple. But somewhere along the way of rebuilding their priority list got turned upside down. Whether it was the persecution from the surrounding people, the threats, the criticism or the business of life, they put God’s House on the back burner and focused on their own personal wants first. They had forgotten to put first things first and God is always to have first place in our life. Today we need to talk about our own personal priority lists – you know what I mean the unwritten list on which you order your lives around. Every one of us has one – we have all chosen to put certain things on the top of the list – these things get our time, our money, our resources and really our hearts.
Though the returning Jews started well, with a clear vision and a commitment to purpose, they got off course. They need a reboot because were not working as they should. “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" says the LORD of hosts. "Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. 10 "Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11 "For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands." Everything designed to bring joy, peace and fulfilment brought dissatisfaction and frustration.
The book of Haggai deals with how we arrange priorities in our life. The Temple was a sign of God’s blessing on Israel and was at one point considered one of the ancient 7 wonders of the world. God’s presence dwelled in the Temple and the temple represented God’s dwelling among the nation of Israel. The Temple testified to God’s presence, existence, supremacy, holiness, mercy and authority. It was a marvelous site to look upon in its day.
After King Solomon’s reign, the kingdom of Israel was divided. Eventually both the Northern and Southern parts were taken captive because of their rebellion and idolatry. The Northern Kingdom (called Israel) was overtaken by the Assyrians and the Southern Kingdom (called Judah) by the Babylonians. In 586 B. C., the temple was destroyed and Judah was taken captive. But in 538 B. C., Cyrus, ruler of the Medo-Persian Empire, defeated Babylon and took charge. He allowed conquered nations, including the Jews, to return to their homelands. He even decided to finance the reconstruction of the Jewish temple. In 536 B.C., only about 50,000 returned to the land. This was a sign of their faithfulness to God. Many of the other Jews had become comfortable in Babylon and prospered; they were not interested in the difficult journey to the once-conquered homeland to undertake the difficult job of rebuilding. Their way of life was more important to them than re-instituting the public worship of God. Yet the faithful Jews made the journey and began the job. They laid the foundations of the temple in 536 B.C. But they encountered opposition. And they put the work on hold. They started to focus on building up their own homes and neglected the house of the LORD. In fact, the rebuilding of the temple was on hold for sixteen years, and that’s why God sent His Word by His prophet Haggai.”
The people felt that the time was not right, they convinced themselves that it was not time to build! Why would people not want to build the house of the Lord? Why would they not want to take care of the house of the Lord? The Prophet warns them to take careful thought about their priorities. He then reveals to them why the house of the Lord still lies in ruins – it’s because of their priorities in life – it’s because they are centered on their own homes, wants and needs and not on God’s wants or needs.” He challenges them to look at their hearts and take careful thought of their lives. The truth revealed through the prophet was that these believers were dishonoring God with their current priority lists! They put their selfish desires before the Lord and that is idolatry!
“A group of friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under an eight-point buck. “Where’s Harry?” he was asked. “Harry had a stroke of some kind. He’s a couple of miles back up the trail.” “You left Harry laying there, and carried the deer back?” “Well,” said the hunter, “I figured no one was going to steal Harry.”
Many people today have their priorities upside down and they don’t see the danger. There focus in not on God and His House but it’s all on their homes, their ways, their wants their wills. The result is many in the kingdom of God are in danger of having God’s blessing in their lives removed! What happens to our life when our priorities get turned upside down with God and service to God? I see three things that happen from our text today.
I. They Became Deceived - They deceive themselves into thinking that serving in and for the House of the Lord can come later in life (verses 1-4). We cannot afford to build a house for God or put money into His Kingdom because our own house takes up all the money. Timing is not right! When I have more money then I will give it to God’s House.
The truth is the timing will never be right because the heart is in the wrong place! The Scriptures are clear that if you withhold from God what is His, you then remove yourself from his blessings. They were caught up in the “Pursuit of Happiness.” Their mindset rationalized God out of picture. I want to remind you that the people Haggai was speaking to for God, where the ones who were faithful enough to leave their homes in Babylon and return to rebuild. These people were at one point committed to honoring God and placing Him first in their life. They chose to follow the call of God to return and to rebuild the house of the Lord but something happened – deception creped in and stopped their mission.
2. They Became Lost: Sheep get lost one nibble at a time! Sheep get lost by nibbling away at the grass and never looking up. The same can be said for us. We can focus so much on what is immediately before us that we fail to see life in larger perspective. I believe this is what happened to the Israelites here in our story. Greg Ebie notes the following about our arch enemy Satan: “Satan cannot destroy the church, nor can the devil stop the building of the church, BUT HE CAN SLOW IT DOWN. Satan can coerce or entice any of us to forget our role in the building of the church; the devil seeks to blur our perception and distort our priorities leading us away from Christ and His church”
The Devil is the master at deception, and he is relentless in trying to get us to buy into his deceiving ways and to take our focus off of our purpose in life for God. When deception leaves us astray, takes root in a mind and heart then it does not take long for selfishness to move in and take over the priorities of a person life.
3. They Became Selfishness – They convince themselves that they need to pursue their own personal goals first – God can come later (verses 1-4). Many are too busy with their own houses and pursuits of happiness and the American dream than for God’s house or service in His Kingdom. It may not look like much on the surface, but to God it was huge. They wrongly thought that the pursuit of happiness and wellbeing superseded the pursuit of God and His call. When your priorities are messed up and you are focused on yourself you can miss the lessons of life: “An elementary school teacher was lecturing to her class on the dangers of not bundling up properly to face the winter cold. She told them a dramatic story about a naughty little boy who disobeyed his mother and went sledding one afternoon without his mittens, cap, and snow suit. Because of it, he caught pneumonia and died. When she finished her story, one boy raised his hand. "Mrs. Johnson, may I ask two questions?" "Go ahead, Tommy," the teacher replied. "Who has his sled now and could I have it?"
The result of this self-centered mindset is that their expectations in life have not come to pass because they are robbing God to meet their own selfish goals. Focus on self will never bring contentment or satisfaction to our life. Focusing on me-myself and I will only result in a self-centered lifestyle which is called sinful in the Bible. And remember “God will never bless sin!” When you rob God you lose more than you gain – it’s as if the money blows out the window. When you steal from God you set yourself up for failure – because you will lose what you already have.
God speaks through the Prophet Haggai and he tells the Israelites that they will never get ahead as long as they put God on the back burner and focus on themselves. When you dishonor God you lose His help and His blessings! Famine, storms, calamities, and pandemics come to get our attention. Their selfish ways caused the Lord to take away His blessing on their life and they suffered as a result. Through the prophet Haggai the Lord helps the nation of Israel to reassess their current situation (verses 5, 6).
“No matter what these people did, God was working against it. They built it up and God pulled it down. They planted it; God didn’t water it. They watered it; God wouldn’t let it grow. No matter what it is, you name it and God was working against those people all because they had turned away from Him and their assignment: turned from God and the things of God, and in so doing communicated that not only did they not need Him, they did not want Him.
They never had enough resources because it just blew in and out. Selfishness causes you to lose what you already have. Greed will cause you to be in need. The people in Israel at this time were facing a severe famine and it was result of their own selfish ways. God will always send us wake up calls in our life to get us to examine our situation. Jesus said “Mt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” God has the ability to withhold His blessings from the disobedient. Ps 34:9 “Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.” These people were missing the blessings of God because their priorities were turned around. They were not serving the Lord – following his plan, his will and his way instead they were following their plan, their will and their own way! Mother Teresa, after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, decided that she would not travel to accept any more recognition, because the accolades were beginning to interfere with her work. She knew that she was not in the business of accepting prizes and making speeches; her calling was to serve the poor of Calcutta. The only way to get pass deception, lostness, and selfish is a reboot. When a computer is shut down, every thing falls back into place so that when it restarts, components have been stirred or shaken back into their proper place and working order.
4. They Became Stirred - 13 Then Haggai, the LORD'S messenger, spoke the LORD'S message to the people, saying, "I am with you, says the LORD." 14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,”
Stirring begins when the Lord’s Messenger proclaims the Lord’s Message by the power of the Holy Spirit. What happens when the spirit stirs up the misguided individual and reveals to them their misguided priorities for life? God used the Prophet to open their eyes and help clear their minds again. They became obedient – when their eyes were opened to their downward cycle of their lives, they repented and obeyed. Revival begins with repentance and always leads to obedience. Obedience to God brings a return of God’s favor. Obedience leads to revival. The Lord stirred up their spirits and opened their eyes. The Spirit’s stirring took the blinders off of their deception. We need this today in the Church. The Lord challenged the people “To pay careful attention to their ways.” I need to challenge you today to evaluate your ways – try god and see what happens. The Spirit’s stirring awakened the believers and they honored the word of the Lord and went back to work.
5. They Experienced a Reboot - They experienced a 3-month Turnaround! The reboot caused them to have a healthy fear of the Lord! They went to work to fulfill God’s call to His house they discovered His blessings again. The stirring of the spirit opened the blinded eyes to realized that they needed to work for God not only for themselves. When they focused was on themselves, they never had enough – their purses seemed to have holes in the bottom. The Stirring of the Spirit helped them to reprioritize their lives. They put things in proper order: God 1st – Your relationship with God – the nation did not just neglect God’s house they really put God on the back burner personally! Family life 2nd, Ministry life 3rd, and Work life, next!
Conclusion: Will you honor the Word of God today by hearing the message and being obedient to it? Will you recognize that God has been trying to get your attention and it’s time for you to make some adjustments? It’s time to fall at His feet in healthy fear of Him and plead for forgiveness for our sin? Will you ask God to have mercy on you and repent for neglecting Him? Will you repent for splurging on yourselves while God’s work lies in need? Will you repent for refusing to use your talents for the Lord? Will you turn back to Him and let Him use you? Will you say to God today that you know He has created you for His pleasure and glory and that you’re going to go up into the mountains right now and demonstrate your love for Him?” It’s time to rebuild, no more excuses. It’s time to put first things first in your life. Put God first, follow His call and get to work When you get back to work for God then the blessings will come, and everything will work out.
