The last few years motivational posters have gotten popular. You know what I mean: those posters with a photograph followed by an inspirational saying underneath the picture. We have a few of them in the green room for our musicians on our worship team. Many of you probably have them hanging in your workplace.
Well a company came out that decided to put out some demotivational posters. I’d like to share a few of those demotivational posters with you as we start today.
Mistakes: "It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others."
Doubt: "In the battle between you and the world, bet on the world. "
Humiliation: "The harder you try, the dumber you look."
Losing: "If at first you don’t succeed, it could be that losing is just your style."
Despair: "It’s always darkest just before it goes pitch dark."
We laugh at those because all of us know what discouragement feels like. The truth be told, we spend more time discouraged in life than we do encouraged. So these demotivational posters remind us that you can’t be optimistic all the time.
Today we’re going to talk about how to stay focused on our priorities when we do get discouraged. Now we’re in the midst of a brief sermon series about priorities. This sermon series is part of our all church emphasis that we’re calling Beyond Every Limit. The purpose of Beyond Every Limit has been to help us as a congregation dream beyond our current limitations and take some new steps of faith. Our four goals of Beyond Every Limit have been to challenge our members to embrace Kingdom priorities, to see God provide enough money to relocate our coffee house and install some portable classrooms, to pay off our building loan early, and finally to envision new ministries that will extend the influence of God’s kingdom.
This all church emphasis is focused on our members, people who view Life Bible Fellowship Church as their church home. If you’re here as a guest today, you’re sitting in on some family business, and although we’re glad you’re here, this series of sermons isn’t directed to you.
As part of Beyond Every Limit, this last week we’ve been gathering for all church banquets. We’ve had over 600 people attend these four banquets, and I was very encouraged by the level of involvement in our church. If you weren’t able to attend one of the banquets, be sure to pick up Beyond Every Limit packet in the courtyard after the service. At our banquets last week we also announced the amount of money precommitted by our elder board, staff, and leadership team to Beyond Every Limit. We’ve seen over one quarter of a million dollars precommitted by 34 families. I was really encouraged by the fact that our leaders are setting the pace.
Now next weekend, Palm Sunday weekend, is Launch Weekend. On launch weekend we’ll be taking the special one time offering that will go primarily to relocate our coffee house and install portable classrooms. We’ll also be collecting commitment cards from all our church members, and based on those commitment cards begin making double or triple payments on our loan. Let me clarify one question that has come up. The cash offering will go primarily to pay for coffee house relocation and portable classrooms. The 36 month commitments will go for the debt reduction. Also, just as a reminder, we’re asking that our members give to Beyond Every Limit above and beyond what they’re already giving to our general fund here at the church. We don’t want to rob funds from our current ministries to meet these other needs. So next weekend be sure to bring whatever amount God has led you to give in the offering and bring your completed commitment card. If you have an elementary age child, also be sure to remind them to bring their Beyond Every Limit banks, because they’ll be presenting that offering to the Lord during our Launch Weekend as well.
Now we’re all excited about what God is doing right now, so we’re not feeling very discouraged at the moment. But when discouragement does come, how can we stay focused on God’s Kingdom priorities?
The people of Israel faced a similar situation in the sixth century before the birth of Jesus. After spending 70 years in exile, away from their homeland, they finally returned to Jerusalem. Seventy years earlier the Babylonians had completely destroyed the city of Jerusalem and torn down the Jewish temple that King Solomon had built. So these returning exiles rebuild the walls of Jerusalem under the leadership of Nehemiah, and they laid the foundation to rebuild a new temple under the leadership of Ezra. But then they lost their focus, and for 18 years there was no progress on rebuilding the temple. So God raised up a prophet named Haggai to challenge them to get their priorities back in sync with God’s priorities. We saw last week from Haggai’s first sermon to the people that our true priorities are revealed in how we spend our time and money, that when our priorities are misplaced, life stops working, and that when we realign our priorities with God’s priorities, God’s blessings start flowing back into our lives. The people of Israel responded to Haggai’s sermon with obedience and commitment, and soon God was stirring their hearts to rebuild the temple.
But today we’re going to look at what happened when they grew discouraged. We’re going to see the cause of discouragement, the solution to discouragement, and the result of pressing on despite our discouragement. So turn to Haggai 2:1 and take out your outline.
1. The Cause of Discouragement (Haggai 2:1-3)
We start with the cause of discouragement in vv. 1-3. Here we learn that we become discouraged when our involvement in God’s work appears to be insignificant.
The date Haggai gave this second message is very important. The twenty-first day of the seventh month in Israel’s calendar translates to October 17, 520 B.C. on our calendar. This was the last day of the week long celebration of the Jewish feast of Tabernacles. The reason this day is so significant is because on this exact day 430 years earlier King Solomon dedicated the first Jewish temple to God. Solomon’s temple was a magnificent masterpiece of architecture and ornamentation, filled with the most precious metals, gems and craftsmanship from around the ancient world. As the people of Haggai’s generation looked at this second temple they were building, it looked like nothing in comparison to Solomon’s temple.
Solomon built the first temple during the golden age of Israel’s history. Israel’s borders extended further than they’d ever extended before and further than they have ever since. During this golden age, people came from the other nations to see Israel’s greatness, to hear King Solomon’s wisdom, to witness for themselves the beauty and grandeur of Solomon’s temple. But in Haggai’s generation, Israel was occupied territory. Even though they were back in their homeland, they were subservient to the Persian empire. Their economy was struggling, and the second temple they were building seemed pitiful in comparison to Solomon’s temple.
In their minds, this second temple would never match the glory and greatness of the first temple. They felt like their contribution was insignificant.
Sometimes when we work hard to get our priorities back in line with God’s priorities, it seems that our efforts are pointless and futile. Imagine a husband who works hard to get his marriage priorities back in line with God’s priorities. He stops spending so much time at work, leaves his work at the office, and starts giving his wife undivided his attention. He takes the lead to establish a date night one night a week just for the two of them, with no kids, no work, no distractions. He feels that this is what God would have him do, to make his marriage a priority. But instead of his wife getting excited about her husband’s new priorities, his wife complains that he’s smothering her. She’s grown so accustomed to having her own life, apart from being with her husband, that she’s not so sure she wants it to change. So the husband gets discouraged, and feels like all the effort he made to rearrange his priorities are for nothing.
Or imagine a mom who becomes convicted about not passing on her Christian values to her kids. She realizes that she’s been relying on the church to pass on Christian values to her kids rather than seeing the church as in partnership with her. So she makes a commitment before God to be more active in instructing her kids in their faith, intentionally helping them grow spiritually. One of her sons has a real problem with lying, so she focuses on biblical values, especially the importance of being honest. But instead of her son getting better, he gets worse, and soon he’s lying more than ever before. So she feels discouraged, wondering if her efforts are pointless.
Or imagine about a couple that’s struggling with their commitment to Beyond Every Limit. They want to participate in what God is doing, so they start praying and looking at their finances. But as they look at what they can contribute to, what they can afford seems so insignificant that they wonder what the point would be. What difference will their little contribution make against so large a debt and such a large project? They feel like it doesn’t matter whether they give or not, because their contribution would be so small, no one would even notice if it wasn’t there.
All of us know what it feels like to rearrange our priorities only to be met with discouragement. Usually this discouragement stems from the fact that what we’re doing appears to be insignificant.
2. The Solution to Discouragement (Haggai 2:4-5)
That brings us to God’s solution to this kind of discouragement in vv. 4-5. Here we learn that we stay focused on kingdom priorities in our discouragement by remembering God’s promises.
The people of Israel needed to be reminded of God’s promises. So in addition to commanding them to be strong, to keep building, and to refuse to cave in to fear, Haggai reminds them of the promises of God.
God has promised to be with them. God says, "I am with you" about 18 different times in the Bible. Every time God says he’s with a person, that message comes at a critical point in a person’s life, a time when that person needs to hear a word of assurance from God. This phrase means more than God is present, because God is already personally present everywhere. For God to say, "I am with you," means God is on our side in what we’re doing, that he’s our advocate, our ally.
God also reminds them of the covenant relationship he has entered into with Israel. "This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt" (v. 5a). When God entered into a covenant relationship with the nation of Israel, God pledged to be Israel’s protector and provider, to be Israel’s defender and guardian. So even though they were discouraged, they should remember God’s covenant with them.
Finally he reminds them that the Holy Spirit is at work among them. The Old Testament doesn’t say a lot about the Holy Spirit. But here’s one of those rare places where we find the Spirit of God mentioned. God’s Spirit is guiding them, strengthening them, leading them, empowering them.
Even though we’re not Israel and we’re not under the covenant God made with Israel, God has give us as Christians similar promises. God is with us as well. One of Jesus’ titles is Emmanuel, which means God is with us. Jesus himself promised that he was with us to the very end of the age (Matt 28:20). In fact, God promises us as Christians that he will never leave us or forsake us, that he’s on our side forever, no matter what. In times of discouragement, we do well to remember that.
God has also entered into a covenant relationship with us. Christians aren’t under the covenant God made with Israel, but we are under the new covenant. In this new covenant, we’re assured that all our sins are forgiven through Christ’s death on the cross. We’re given assurance that God is our provider, that he will meet our needs. Jesus himself promised us that if we seek his kingdom first in our lives all our material needs will be met (Matt 6:33). When we’re discouraged, we do well to remember this as well.
Finally, God’s Holy Spirit isn’t just among us as Christians, but he actually lives inside of us. As Christians today, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, to lead us and guide us. We can be sure that whenever God’s Spirit guides us, no matter how scary it might seem, that God will empower us to walk that path with joy and with courage.
Are you discouraged today? Have you rearranged your priorities recently, only to feel like your efforts have been for nothing? God wants you to remember his promises today. You can rely on his promises, because they’re rock solid. God has never once broken a promise, and he never will.
When we’re discouraged because it feels like our efforts are insignificant, we need to remember the promises of God.
3. The Results of Staying Focused Despite Discouragement (Haggai 2:6-9)
Now we come to the result of staying focused; look at vv. 6-9. Here we learn that when we stay focused on kingdom priorities in the midst of discouragement, God uses us beyond our limits.
In these verses God makes a prediction about the future. At some point in the future God says that he’s going to shake things up. He likens what he’s planning on doing with what he did when he brought Israel out of Egypt. Just like the heavens and earth shook when God worked his miracles to release Israel from their Egyptian slavery, so in a little while, God will shake things up again.
Many people believe the "desired of nations" mentioned in v. 7 is a veiled prophecy about the future coming of Jesus. Jesus Christ is the one all the nations of the world inwardly yearn for when they yearn for peace. Although they don’t know that’s who they’re yearning for, ultimately we have a void in our hearts that only Christ can fill.
God promises that the glory of this second temple in Haggai’s generation will eclipse the glory of Solomon’s first temple. The reason the glory of this temple would be greater than the glory of Solomon’s temple is because this is the temple Jesus would come to. In fact, we celebrate Christ’s arrival to this temple next weekend, Palm Sunday weekend. After Jesus walked triumphantly into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, he went into the temple. This would be the place God himself would visit in the person of Jesus Christ. Solomon’s temple, for all its grandeur and glory, couldn’t make that claim.
God also promises that within this place he would grant peace. Now the Hebrew word "peace" here is the word shalom. Shalom in the Old Testament is the closest equivalent to the New Testament term "salvation." Shalom is more than an ending of hostility. Shalom is restoration to completeness and wholeness, forgiveness of sins, healing of brokenness, and reconciliation with people. Again, this is a prediction that about five hundred years after Haggai said these words Jesus Christ himself would appear in this very temple. Jesus, through his life, death and resurrection, would bring God’s shalom to all people who trust in him.
So even though this small beginning of a temple looks like nothing now, God has big plans for it in the future. God sees what Israel can’t see, so he gives them a glimpse of what’s to come. This glimpse is just enough to encourage them, just enough to fuel their faith to persevere. This window into the future is designed to help them believe that God will use this temple beyond the limitations of their own vision.
When we stay focused on God’s kingdom priorities in the midst of our discouragement, God uses us beyond our limitations as well. We may live to see how God does it, or--like Haggai’s generation--we may only have a glimpse of how God will do in much later.
Consider the discouragement of a young missionary named David Brainerd (Ruth Tucker, From Jerusalem to Irian Jara, pp. 90-93). In the 1700s David Brainerd felt called to bring the message of Christ to the native Americans. Brainerd faced constant discouragement, as he tried to share Christ’s love with the native Americans. You, see they’d seen too much American greed and abuse to believe Brainerd’s message of grace. Brainerd wrote in his journal, "My heart sunk. It seemed to me that I’d never have any success among the Indians. My soul was weary of my life. I longed for death." For two years nothing happened, as he constantly battled one discouragement. Finally three and half years into his work he saw about 150 native Americans come to faith in Christ. Not much by today’s mass evangelism standards, but a real start. Unfortunately, David Brainerd died a year later at the age of 29, and his work seem to stop completely.
But that’s not the end of the story. Someone published the journals David Brainerd kept during those times of discouragement. Those journals fell into the hands of a guy named William Carey. William Carey is widely known as the father of modern missions, because he ignited the modern missionary movement that continues to this day. Carey’s efforts and inspiration have been the impetus for literally millions and millions of people coming to faith in Christ. When someone asked William Carey what inspired him to devote his life to missions, he pointed to the journals of David Brainerd. God used David Brainerd beyond every limit.
Several years ago Grace Baptist Church in Philadelphia had to turn away a little girl named Hattie May Wiatt from children’s ministry because of overcrowding. That day Hattie May Wiatt started saving her pennies to help the church make more room in their children’s ministry. Two years later, Hattie May tragically died. In her pocketbook next to her bed her parents found 57 pennies and a piece of paper with a note saying that the money was to help the church build a bigger children’s ministry. At Hattie May’s funeral, her mother gave that 57 cents and the note to Pastor Russell Conwell, the pastor of Grace Baptist Church. That Sunday, Pastor Conwell shared Hattie May’s story with his congregation. People’s hearts were touched; a realtor give the church a piece of land to expand the children’s ministry, asking for 57 cents for a down payment. A local newspaper carried the story, and soon news about Hattie May Wiatt’s 57 cents spread across the country. The pennies grew far beyond Hattie May’s initial 57 pennies. Grace Baptist Church not only built a new children’s ministry wing, but also a new ministry center, today seating over 3,000 people. Out of that movement of generosity from Hattie May’s example the church built Temple University in Philadelphia, and Good Samaritan Hospital. In fact, you can visit Temple University today and find a picture on the wall of Hattie May Wiatt, a little girl who’s 57 pennies were used by God far beyond the limits of her life.
God likes using us beyond our limitations because he gets the glory for it. He likes taking a temple that seems pathetic in comparison to the first temple, and visiting that second temple with his son. He likes using a faithful servant like David Brainerd to inspire others to share Christ. He loves using people like Hattie May Wiatt to inspire the rest of us to a new level of generosity and giving toward God’s work.
When we stay focused in the midst of our discouragement, God uses us beyond our limitations.
Conclusion
When you rearrange your priorities to get in tune with God’s priorities, the time will come when you’ll face discouragement. We heard at our banquets this week about a person in our congregation who gave his children’s $25,000 college fund toward the purchase of this property back in 1980. His two sons were only seven and ten years old when he gave that money. When his sons got to be college age, he admitted that he thought a lot about that $25,000 he gave. But he persevered in the midst of his discouragement, and he saw God provide for both of his sons’ college education.
When we bring our offering next weekend, there will be times when we think about that money we give. Next time my Motorcycle Cruser magazine comes in the mail, I’ll think about how that money could’ve gone toward a new motorcycle. Or when a difficult month comes, you’ll wish you had that money sitting in the bank for an unexpected emergency. We need to remind each other when that comes that God is using what we give beyond our limitations. When you get discouraged, know that whatever you give to God for his use is significant. Not a dollar we give to God goes wasted by God.
But even beyond what we give financially, God uses whatever we give to him. The time we invest in our marriage to make it a priority is significant, no matter what it appears at the time. The efforts we put into raising our children with Christian values are significant, even if they seem unresponsive at times. The time we volunteer in ministry is significant, even if it doesn’t seem to be making a visible difference.
Also remember that God’s promises to you are true. You can count on him to keep every promise he’s ever made. Finally, believe that God will use you beyond your limitations.
