The Day God Blessed Me

“The Day God Blessed Me!”

Haggai 2:10-19

Intro.

· What are some important dates in your life?

o The day you were saved!

o The day you got married!

o The day you children were born!

· Here’s one more: The Day God Blessed You!

· This isn’t…

o an average, every day blessing.

o A huge, supernatural material blessing.

· This is the day that God Almighty began to do a new work in your life, in response to your readiness to follow Him!

· How does this day come about?

Before God Can Truly Bless You, He Must…

I. Confront Your Sins, 10-14

A. My Sin Of Unholy Contacts, 12-13

- Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

1. Contact thru touch

2. Contact thru sight (eye-gate)

3. Contact thru hearing (ear-gate)

4. Contact thru ingesting (consuming)

5. Contact thru influence (Thoughts)

B. My Sin Of Unholy Contaminations, 14

- Sin will take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, keep you longer than you want to say.

- Sin affects every aspect of your life.

a. You cannot compartmentalize sin

- If it’s in your mind, it’s in your heart!

- If it’s in your hand, it’s in your feet!

- If it’s in your words, it’s in your ways!

b. Ps. 19:12 “…cleanse thou me from secret faults.”

1. Unholiness affects every act of work in our life!

2. Unholiness affects every act of worship in our life!

Before God Can Truly Bless You, He Must…

II. Expose Your Stubbornness, 16-17

A. Stubborn, In The Face Of Conflicting Numbers, 16

1. What we anticipate, isn’t what we get!

a. Paycheck less than what we anticipated!

b. Raise less than what we anticipated

c. Gas mileage in your car, less than what we anticipated!

d. Ability to live on what we make, less than what we anticipated!

2. What we believe isn’t what we get!

a. Some people have “Wrong-Strong” faith

i. Wrong-Strong faith is a strong faith, that’s misplaced.

ii. Il.: Once, when a stubborn disputer seemed unconvinced, Lincoln said, “Well, let’s see how many legs has a cow?” “Four, of course,” came the reply disgustedly. “That’s right,” agreed Lincoln. “Now suppose you call the cow’s tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?” “Why, five, of course,” was the confident reply. “Now, that’s where you’re wrong,” said Lincoln. “Calling a cow’s tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”

B. Stubborn, In The Face Of External Opposition, 17

1. Notice Where The Opposition Came From, ‘I’ (God)

2. Notice Who The Opposition Was Focused On, ‘You’

3. Notice What The Opposition Consisted Of

a. Blasting - Wind

b. Mildew - Rot

c. Hail - Destruction

- All of these are ‘Harvest Killers’

4. Even in the face of Harvest Killers, Israel was Stubborn. (Hard Headed. Stiff-necked.)

Ill.: The pastor of a local church decided to take drastic action on stewardship: he hired an electrician to wire the pews. The next Sunday he said, "Today is Stewardship Day. We will be making our pledges publicly, in church, this morning. Who will pledge $50 a week?" As he said this, he motioned to the electrician to pull the switch, and about half the congregation jumped to their feet. The church treasurer quickly began recording names. As the pastor called for those willing to give $75 per week, he once again motioned to the electrician, and the switch was pulled. This time, however, the voltage was increased, and as the dollar amounts increased, so did the voltage. Needless to say, it was a tremendously successful Stewardship campaign. As they were totaling pledges after the service, an elder came to tell the pastor that there might be a problem--four members were so stubborn about their pledges that they remained in their seats the whole time, and were now seared to the pew.

Before God Can Truly Bless You, He Must…

III. Prophesy Over Your Seed, 18-19

- ‘Little Is Much When God Is In It!

A. Prophesy Focuses On The Future, Not The Past, 18

1. Requires you to look forward (Have Vision)

2. Requires you to ‘consider’ what’s ahead (Have Faith)

B. Prophesy Focuses On The Field, Not The Barn, 19

1. Where’s Your Seed?, 19a ‘Is the seed yet…’

2. Where’s Your Blessing?, 19b ‘I will bless you’

a. Found in the Person of God, ‘I’

b. Found in the Promise of God, ‘will’

c. Found in the Purpose of God, ‘seed’

i. God gave you your seed to be used in His harvest.

ii. God gave you your seed to plant them in His field, so as to produce His harvest.