PRIORITY TO GOD'S WORK
Primary Text: Haggai 2:10-14; Haggai Chapters 1 and 2
INTRODUCTION: When God's House Lies in Ruins
Picture this: You return home after 70 years away. Everything lies in ruins. This was reality for 45,000 Jews who returned from Babylonian captivity in 536 B.C. Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest led them (Ezra 2:64-65).
God intervened through Haggai in 520 B.C. This was 16 years after their return from Babylon. Initial enthusiasm had become spiritual apathy. When they first arrived in Jerusalem, the returning exiles laid the temple foundation with tears of joy and celebration (Ezra 3:11-13). Opposition arose quickly. The Samaritans offered to help build. When refused, they became hostile enemies. They hired counselors to frustrate the work and wrote accusations to Persian authorities (Ezra 4:1-5).
For 16 years, the temple foundation stood bare. It was a monument to unfinished business with God. The people built their own "paneled houses" (Haggai 1:4) while God's house remained rubble. They rationalized their delay: "The time has not come, the time that the LORD's house should be built" (Haggai 1:2).
God raised up Haggai in this spiritual vacuum. His name means "festive" or "my feast." He delivered five precise messages over four months. Today, we examine how God calls His people back to their first priority: the work of His kingdom.
I. A CALL TO RENEW THE WORK OF GOD (Haggai 1:1-11)
A. The Danger of Spiritual Procrastination (Haggai 1:2)
The people weren't denying the importance of God's work. They were postponing it. "The time has not yet come," they said. This is Satan's most subtle deception: not to oppose God's work outright, but to delay it indefinitely.
Alexander the Great conquered the known world by age 33. When historians asked his secret, he answered in three words: "Do it now." How much more urgent is the work of the eternal Kingdom!
Consider these Biblical warnings against delay:
• "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (Hebrews 3:15)
• "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2)
• "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring forth" (Proverbs 27:1)
B. The Exposure of Misplaced Priorities (Haggai 1:3-4)
God asks a penetrating question: "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" The word "paneled" suggests luxury. Cedar-lined walls like those in Solomon's palace (1 Kings 7:3). While they lived in decorated homes, God's house lay desolate.
This mirrors Jesus' teaching: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).
C. The Command to Consider (Haggai 1:5-7)
Five times in this short book, God commands: "Consider your ways!" The Hebrew means "set your heart upon your roads." This involves:
• Self-examination of your current spiritual state
• Recognition of where your paths are leading
• Repentance from wrong directions
• Realignment with God's purposes
D. The Divine Prescription (Haggai 1:8)
God's solution is simple and direct:
1. "Go up to the mountains" - Requires effort and determination
2. "Bring wood" - Gather the necessary resources
3. "Build the temple" - Complete the assigned task
4. "That I take pleasure in it and be glorified" - Fulfill God's purpose
II. THE CONSEQUENCES WHEN GOD'S PEOPLE FORGET THEIR PRIORITIES (Haggai 1:5-11)
A. Economic Frustration Despite Hard Work (Haggai 1:6)
Notice the sixfold futility when God's priorities are neglected:
1. "You have sown much, and bring in little" - Agricultural failure
2. "You eat, but do not have enough" - Persistent hunger
3. "You drink, but you are not filled" - Unquenched thirst
4. "You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm" - Inadequate provision
5. "He who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes" - Financial instability
A businessman once told his pastor: "I'm working 70 hours a week, but I'm further behind than ever. My marriage is suffering, my children are strangers, and I feel empty inside." The pastor replied: "You're trying to fill a bucket without a bottom. Until you put God first, you'll never have enough."
B. Divine Discipline Through Drought (Haggai 1:9-11)
God declares: "I called for a drought on the land." This wasn't random misfortune but purposeful discipline:
• Drought on the grain (basic necessities)
• Drought on the new wine (joy and celebration)
• Drought on the oil (anointing and blessing)
• Drought on what the ground brings forth (fruitfulness)
• Drought on men and livestock (strength and productivity)
• Drought on all the labor of your hands (success in work)
Amos 3:6 states: "If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?"
C. The Principle of Divine Economics (Haggai 1:9)
"You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away." This shows that prosperity without God's blessing is an illusion. Compare with:
• Ecclesiastes 5:10: "He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver"
• Luke 12:15: "One's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses"
III. CONSIDER YOUR WAYS - SEARCH YOUR HEART (Haggai 1:5, 7; 2:15, 18)
A. The Call to Spiritual Inventory
The Puritan commentator T.V. Moore wrote: "The events of life are hieroglyphics in which God records His feelings towards us. The key is found in the Bible."
Questions for self-examination:
1. Where is your treasure? "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21)
2. What occupies your thoughts? "Set your mind on things above" (Colossians 3:2)
3. How do you spend your time? "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16)
4. What are your priorities? "No one serves two masters" (Matthew 6:24)
B. The Danger of Modern Idolatry
The genius of idolatry is not bowing to golden statues, but putting any idea, person, goal, or commitment on par with or above the Living God. John Calvin said: "The human heart is an idol factory."
Consider these modern idols:
• Career success over Kingdom service
• Family comfort over faith commitment
• Financial security over spiritual investment
• Personal reputation over God's glory
C. The Path to Realignment
Lamentations 3:40 instructs: "Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD."
Steps to spiritual realignment:
1. Acknowledge the drift from God's priorities
2. Confess specific areas of neglect
3. Repent with genuine sorrow
4. Return to first works (Revelation 2:5)
5. Rebuild with renewed commitment
D. The Promise of God's Presence
When priorities are correct, God promises: "I am with you, says the LORD" (Haggai 1:13). This assurance transforms everything:
• Work becomes worship
• Labor becomes love
• Service becomes sacrifice
• Duty becomes delight
IV. A CALL TO PERSONAL HOLINESS (Haggai 2:10-19)
A. The Principle: Holiness is Not Contagious (Haggai 2:10-12)
Through a priestly dialogue, God teaches a crucial lesson. If holy meat touches common food, does the common food become holy? The priests answer "No."
Key insights:
1. Holy acts do not make persons holy - Only God sanctifies
2. Religious environment doesn't guarantee righteousness - Each person must personally respond to God
3. Spiritual heritage doesn't transfer automatically - God has no grandchildren
4. Temple worship without heart transformation is futile - External religion does not substitute for internal relationship
Placing one healthy apple in a barrel of rotten ones won't heal the decay. Mere proximity to holiness doesn't produce holiness.
B. The Problem: Sin is Contagious (Haggai 2:13)
The second question reverses the scenario: Does ceremonial uncleanness transmit? The priests answer "Yes, it shall be unclean."
This teaches us:
• Sin spreads more easily than sanctity - "A little leaven leavens the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6)
• Corruption is aggressive - It actively contaminates
• Compromise is dangerous - "Evil company corrupts good habits" (1 Corinthians 15:33)
• Vigilance is necessary - "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation" (Matthew 26:41)
C. The Application: Holy Works Don't Make Holy Persons (Haggai 2:14)
God declares: "So is this people, and so is this nation before Me... and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean."
Critical truths:
1. Righteousness comes from what God does IN us, not what we do FOR Him
o "Not by works of righteousness which we have done" (Titus 3:5)
2. Clean hands require clean hearts
o "Who ascends into the hill of the LORD?... He who has clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalm 24:3-4)
3. Obedience surpasses sacrifice
o "To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22)
4. God desires relationship over religion
o "I desire mercy and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6)
D. The Promise: A Holy God Gives Good Gifts to Holy People (Haggai 2:15-19)
When holiness is pursued, God promises blessing:
• "From this day I will bless you" (Haggai 2:19)
• The 50% loss in grain harvest will be reversed
• The 60% loss in wine production will be restored
• "Is there still seed in the barn?" becomes a promise of future abundance
A farmer once noticed his neighbor's field producing twice his yield. When asked the secret, the neighbor said: "I was planting in soil I'd never properly prepared. Once I dealt with the rocks and weeds beneath the surface, the same seed produced an abundant harvest."
THE HOUR OF DECISION
We stand at a crossroads similar to Haggai's generation. The foundation has been laid. Christ has done His work. But what are we building upon it? Paul warns: "Let each one take heed how he builds" (1 Corinthians 3:10).
The message of Haggai echoes through the centuries with three timeless truths:
First, God's work must take priority over personal comfort. When we reverse this order, we experience spiritual drought despite material abundance. Jesus said: "What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Matthew 16:26).
Second, delayed obedience is disobedience. Every moment we postpone God's calling is a moment lost for eternity. The enemy's greatest weapon isn't opposition. It's procrastination. Today, not tomorrow, is the day of salvation.
Third, holiness is not achieved through religious activity alone. Building temples, attending services, and performing rituals mean nothing without heart transformation. God seeks worshippers who worship "in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).
RESPONSE TO GOD'S PRIORITY
Church leaders and pastors, I challenge you today with three commitments:
1. RETURN TO YOUR FIRST LOVE
Have you, like the Ephesian church, left your first love? (Revelation 2:4) Have the pressures of ministry, the demands of administration, and the weight of people's expectations crowded out your personal devotion to Christ? God is calling you back. Not to more programs, but to His presence. Not to religious activity, but to relationship.
Will you come today and renew your commitment to seek first His kingdom?
2. REBUILD WHAT HAS BEEN NEGLECTED
What area of God's work have you left in ruins while building your own "paneled house"? Perhaps:
• The prayer altar that once burned bright
• The evangelistic fervor that once drove you
• The discipleship commitment you once maintained
• The family altar you once prioritized
God says: "Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the temple" (Haggai 1:8). The time for excuses has ended. The season for action has come.
Will you commit today to rebuild what the enemy has destroyed through neglect?
3. REALIGN YOUR PRIORITIES WITH GOD'S PURPOSES
"Consider your ways!" This is not a suggestion. It's a command. Where have you allowed the urgent to crowd out the eternal? Where have you permitted the good to become the enemy of the best?
Remember: You do not transmit what you do not possess. You do not lead where you have not gone. You do not give what you do not have.
Will you allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart and realign your priorities today?
The altar is open. As we sing this hymn of consecration, I invite every pastor, every leader, every servant of God to come. Don't delay. Don't procrastinate. Don't say: "The time has not yet come."
The time is NOW. The place is HERE. The person is YOU.
Come, and let us rebuild the ruins. Come, and let us restore the altar. Come, and let us return to our first love. For when we put God's work first, He promises: "From this day I will bless you" (Haggai 2:19).
Isaiah states: "Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In" (Isaiah 58:12).
Will you be that repairer? Will you be that restorer? Will you give priority to God's work?
Come now, as the Spirit moves. Tomorrow will be too late. Today is the day of divine visitation. Today is the day of spiritual reformation. Today is the day to give God's work its rightful priority in your life and ministry.
Let us pray...
Closing Prayer: "Lord God Almighty, we have heard Your word through Your servant Haggai. We confess that we have built our own houses while Yours lies in ruins. We have pursued our own kingdoms while neglecting Yours. Forgive us, restore us, and revive us. Give us the courage to act now, the wisdom to build well, and the commitment to finish what we start. Let this be the day that changes everything. Let this be the moment of divine realignment. We commit ourselves afresh to give priority to Your work, for Your glory, in Jesus' name. Amen."
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Blessings,
Pastor JM Raja Lawrence
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
email: lawrencejmr@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 9933250072
