Hag 2:1 in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, 2 "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3 'Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? 4 Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts, 5 according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit abides among you; fear not. 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts. 9 The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts.'"
Some common synonyms of renew are refresh, rejuvenate, renovate, and restore. Renewal it is a process of shedding the old outer covering and putting on the new. This takes place in the 'spirit of your mind'. As we come to know God, our minds are renewed in accordance to the knowledge of Him. In Romans 12: 2 Paul speaks of 'proving' what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God. Is It Time for Renewal? Ro 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The first message of Haggai to the people encouraged them to consider their ways and then reprioritize their lives. Misguided priorities had led the people of God away from their assignment. The work was neglected 18 years. After the first message from Prophet Haggai, the whole nation repented and returned to the work. The first order of business was to secure the needed materials and start to build again. The enemy of our souls works continuously to pull us away from our God-given assignment. What Satan failed to do through misguided priorities and outward opposition, he tries to accomplish through discouragement. The world is going through a lot of pain. But in dark times, we also see that people stand together as bright torches shining through the blackest night. When people in great suffering cannot keep their faith and kneel to the ground in discouragement, let us who still can share our faith and our courage with them.
"A long time ago, there was a rumor that the devil is going out of business and he is selling his tools to whomever bids the most for them. One night he opened doors to his customers and showcased all his tools: hate, jealousy, fear, deceit, and many more. But somewhere in a dark corner of the room was a very old, harmless and worn-out object, looking as if it has been used throughout eternity. It had the highest price of all. Somebody asked the devil what that instrument was and why was it so expensive.
"Discouragement," answered the devil. "It is the most expensive tool because it is the one, I use most on people. When nothing else works, I can enter slowly in their minds and hearts, and nobody notices. Once I am there and get them discouraged, I can do whatever I want with them. This tool is so worn out because I've been using it since the dawn of humanity and it works with everybody."
"Very few people know this tool belongs to me. When they get discouraged and lose hope, they think it's them to blame, other people or the world around them," laughed the devil. "People hit obstacles in life, they encounter problems, but when they get discouraged, when they lose hope, that's just me doing my job."
The second message of Haggai was sent to combat the high level of discouragement among the people. The present difficulties created by the pandemic has discouraged many. First because of how long it has impacted our lives with no end in sight. The mixture crowd in Haggai were made up of young and old, many who could remember the former temple and temple worship with all its beautiful form, rituals, and glory. The former temple had a glorious history and drew people from all over the world. The floor was black and white marble, the walls were the finest cedar overlaid with pure gold, the curtains were made of fine linen with embroidered work of angel wings. The veil was made of woven materials nine inches thick, and all the instruments of temple were forged and beaten from fine gold and silver. The returning exiles had no fine gold or silver, no fine linen cloths, or embroidered works. The temple that they were building was only a shadow of its former self. They were discouraged and started losing hope. But God sends a word of encouragement.
God word does several things for His people: (1) it reminds them that He is with them (2) it reminds them not allow their past to rob them of their future (3) It reminds them not to allow comparison to blind them and hinder their work. (4) It reminds them that their success does not depend on what they do not have, it depends on what they have. They have the Presence of God. They must renew their minds. A renewed mind sees differently. What you see can make all the difference in the world.
1. How You See Still Makes a difference 3 “Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not in your sight as nothing?” The most important influence on your life depends on how you see and what you see. The opinion of others is limited. We are discouraged or encouraged by how we see things. They saw their building efforts as no match to Solomon’s temple. They saw limited resources, inferior materials, and ill prepared laborers. Although God was pleased with them doing the best, they could with what they had. Their strong memory and proud hearts would not allow them to be pleased. Ezr 3:12 “But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy;”
The work had begun well, and the foundation was completed. Yet the older saints were overcome with disappointment and discouragement. The younger crowd celebrated the foundation but were discouraged by the opposition. They were using the wrong standard for measuring success. God does not use worldly standard to measure the accomplishments of His people. God measures the faithfulness of his people to their God-given assignment. God saw the people discouragement and disappointment, so He sends the word. “I am with You” now be strong and work! Sometimes we may be tempted to quit or to give up because the church changed, the crowds have changed, the music has changed and even the attendance has changed, be strong and work. Today’s music is different, commitment seems shallow, prayerlessness prevails, salvation seems like an empty confession, society is more self-centered, and materialism seems to have taken over, yet all is not lost. Our hope is in God! A renewed mind sees differently; and A renewed heart believes differently!
2. What You believe Make a Difference. 4 “Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts, 5 according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit abides among you; fear not.”
Ro 10:17 “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ. As people of God, we must trust in God’s promises and in God’s power to provide every need. These Jewish believers had history with God. After 430 years in Egypt, God kept His promises. Now after 70 years in Babylon, God kept his promise. No matter how long and no matter what must be done, God will do what He Promised. The command is to “take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts, 5 according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit abides among you; fear not.”
What we believe inspires us to take courage, to keep on working and move forward without fear! It is true that these Jews lacked many things: gold, silver, fine linen, supplies and support, but they had the one thing they needed. They had the presence of God and the Power of God active among them. God is everywhere, but He does not always manifest his presence. Faith in God drives out fear and intimidation. God promised to be with them and us. We have the presence of God as we face every trial. If God is for us, He is more than the world against us! We have God’s word on it. God has not changed his mind. An agreement has been made, prayers have been made, and God is committed to success of His project. ….” I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts. 9 The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts.'" How You See Still Makes a difference; What You believe Make a Difference and finally, What we will experience the manifested Glory of God.
3. What We Will Experience is the Manifest Glory of God. God promises glory after this. The manifested Glory of God appeared in the temple. Simeon and Anna saw it firsthand. Lu 2:27 “And inspired by the Spirit he (Simeon) came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, 28 he (Simeon)took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; 30 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel."
If we renew our minds on the word of God, renew our faith in His word and recommit to our assignment, How can we fail? How can we fail to do God’s work if He is with us? If he is with us, peace is with us, power is with us, and nothing can stop us but ourselves. The promise of God was fulfilled, the earthly temple was completed, even though it was only a type and shadow of the real! Then God fulfilled His promise again by sending his son, the real temple of God, Jesus the Christ, who shed His own blood to purchase the redemption for the world. We must renew our minds and hearts, for we are a part of God’s glorious Church. We are not perfect, but we are being perfected. We belong to Him. He gives us life and breath and health and strength and everything else.
Ac 17:24-28 “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, 28 for 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.'
1Co 6:19, 20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (RSV)
The challenge is to take courage and journey on. Jesus makes two powerful statements in John’s Gospel: Joh 4:23 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
Joh 9:4 “I must work the works of him that has sent me while it is day. [The] night is coming, when no one can work.” Jesus though the earthly temple was important, it pointed to some thing more important. Christ himself is our dwelling place and we are charged to work while it is day. Do not allow discouragement and disappointment to stop you. We are called to continue to work. We are called to take courage and be strong. His presence is with us, His power is available, His promises are sure. We have history with God. He is covenant keeping God and we can depend on Him. Yes, we need renewal. " A renewed mind and heart will determine “How You See” Still Makes a difference; “What You believe” Make a Difference and finally, “What we will experience” the manifested Glory of God. Ro 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
