Sermon Central
-
Putting First Things First
Contributed by Allan Kircher on Nov 25, 2013 (message contributor)
Summary: Where is the “moral paralysis in your own life? • What is God calling you to do that you are resisting right now? • Do you see where your resistance is hurting yourself?
Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
Sermon: Putting First Things First
Oct 27th, 2013
Scriptures: Haggai 1:2-9
Intro:
The book of Haggai:
• Second shortest/OT
• Right after/Zephaniah…just before Zechariah.
• Doesn’t help much! Can’t find Haggai/Can’t find Zephaniah.
Let’s begin with an observation.
• 3rd from last book/OT------placed there on purpose.
• One/easiest books/Bible to date.
• Haggai prophesied/second year king Darius of Persia (1:1).
• First prophecy came/first day/sixth month/second year of his reign.
• Works out/exactly August 29, 520 B.C/or basically 2500 yrs ago.
• 520 B.C. is very near/end/OT history
• Only books come later/Nehemiah 444 B.C. Malachi 420 B.C
• Post Exilic prophet
Written to people like us, would say God must be first.
• But they had drifted away from this truth.
• lived with misplaced priorities.
• Haggai/sent to help God's people get their priorities in line with what they knew they should be.
• Spoke his message to Jews who had returned to Jerusalem after living in captivity in Babylon.
As you recall, Babylon had destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple some 70 years earlier.
When Jews returned/exile they faced/daunting task of rebuilding.
First returnees made preliminary attempts to clear the debris and lay the foundation for a second temple.
Samaritan neighbors offered to join/work, Jews refused them.
Samaritans, threatened/workers and sent men to Persia to lobby against the Jews, bringing the work to a halt.
As years passed, slowly but surely, Jerusalem came to life again
Homes were built, stores opened, commerce established, fields planted, crops harvested, and life began to resemble normalcy.
• Israel got used to life without the Temple.
• Foundations were overgrown with weeds.
• Stood/mute reminder/Jews' failure/take care of God's house.
• 16 years passed/then Haggai appeared/scene with one prevailing message:
• Time/finish rebuilding/Temple.
• It was/message of priority: Put first things first.
• Temple was/center for worshiping God.
• The heart/soul/OT religion.
• Although God is everywhere/Temple/place/earth where God dwelled in a special sense.
• Temple to lie in ruins was to neglect the worship of God.
• Testimony of misplaced priorities.
• Embarrassment to God and a blemish on his reputation.
Haggai's message was blunt.
• He pulled no punches and wasted no words.
====================================
I. Stop making excuses
First, Haggai confronted excuses for the Temple lying in ruins.
