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Consider Your Ways
The Book of Haggai
- In 538 B.C., King Cyrus of Persia issued a decree permitting the Jewish exiles to return to their homeland to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s and Isaiah’s prophecies.
- The first company of Jews to return to Jerusalem laid the foundation for a new temple in 536 B.C amid great excitement and expectation, exactly 50 years after its destruction.
- Soon after, the Samaritans and other neighbors physically opposed the building project and discouraged the workers so that the work on the temple stopped.
- Spiritual lethargy set in, and the people turned to rebuilding their own houses.
Series of 4 messages
- Haggai 1:2-7
- Having become so busy with their own interests, the returned Jews were neglecting the construction of God’s house. Their own houses were beautiful while God’s house laid in ruins. Haggai insisted that God and His work had to come first.
- The people had lost God’s blessing because they were living self-seeking lives; they showed minimal interest in the Lord’s plans and purposes.
- What does it mean to you?
- God’s kingdom and righteous concerns must be the first and highest priority in our lives.
- What we set as a priority indicates the love the we have for our Lord.
- Ex: I read an article titled “50 Reasons why I don’t drink.”
I could not believe the rebellious nature of people when I read all the replies, all the “me” centered replies, not Christ-centered.
The American church is “ME ME ME” it is selfish, self-centered and rebellious, and then we wonder where is God? Why is He not blessing me? Why is my life always in ruins?
We don’t think about how do my actions affect God? or how do they affect others?
WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT OUR FATHER’S BUSINESS, AT ALL TIMES.
This means that my ways and my plans are completely forfeit to the LORD.
I’m tired of people calling Jesus a “rebel”, he was not rebellious, He was an obedient Son.
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.
There are things I do not do because of how it affects others- tattoo piercing pastor. I have friend a dear God-fearing friend that when she came to the Lord, she was convicted to not get any more tattoos because it was a reminder of the sins of her past.
I will abstain from ANYTHING that causes my brother or sister to stumble.
Why, because it GREIVES God when I wound my brother’s conscience.
Philippians 3:8-11 “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Paul’s greatest desire was to know Jesus intimately, to be found in Him, to know the power of His resurrection so as to minister the gospel in power and life and to share in His sufferings and so he laid down his life for Jesus and the church.
Are you building God’s house, or tearing it down?
CONSIDER YOUR WAYS
- The Greater is coming.
Haggai 2:1-9
When the post-exilic temple was completed, some people were discouraged and disillusioned because they viewed the present temple as nothing in comparison to the magnificence of the first temple built by Solomon.
Thus God encouraged them with 3 promises:
- God Himself would be with them to fulfill all His covenant promises.
- God’s Spirit would remain among the people.
- The latter glory of God’s house would be greater than the former because of the great demonstration of His power there.
What does it mean to you?
GOD IS NOT DONE WITH YOU. Your story is not over.
This thing you are going through is only for a season, THE GREATER IS COMING.
DO NOT QUIT BEFORE YOUR MIRACLE.
Do not give up before you see His promise to you fulfilled.
You have to stop looking at your circumstances and keep your eyes FIXED on Him.
He is FAITHFUL to fulfill ALL His promises to you and He will not fail–BUT YOU CANNOT QUIT.
His Spirit goes with you wherever you go.
This is that promise that God will live in His people.
The Creator of the universe lives inside you! AMAZING.
GREATER is He that is in you than He that is in the world- there is NOTHING that you cannot do, overcome or get the VICTORY over! GOD IS WITH YOU AND IN YOU.
He wants to demonstrate POWER in your life.
The Day of Pentecost brought the power of the Holy Spirit into the lives of God’s people.
John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
We are supposed to be walking in the POWER of the Holy Spirit. We should be healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons, WALKING in all power and authority of the Holy Spirit.
THIS WAS GOD’S PROMISE TO HAGGAI AND THE PEOPLE OF GREATER GLORY- Holy Spirit power.
The book of 2 Thes tells us that we quench the Holy Spirit when we despise prophesy.
Let me take that a step further, we quench the HS when we despise any of the charismatic gifts that He works whether it be tongues, prophecy, healings, miracles, signs or wonders.
The Holy Spirit wants to glorify the Lord Jesus in the midst of His people and through us to the world.
Is the Holy Spirit manifested greatly in your life? or is there little or no evidence of His presence and power in you?
CONSIDER YOUR WAYS
- The Call to Holiness.
Haggai 2:10-14
God explains to the people that whereas holiness could not be transmitted by contact, the corrupting influence of sin could; in other words, living in the Holy Land would not make them holy, but sin in their lives would defile everything they did, including their worship.
What Does it Mean to you?
Sin defiles you.
1 John 3:7-8 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
God has shown me a terrible state the American church is in, far passed lukewarmness.
If we are going to experience any kind of revival, we must repent.
James 4:7-10 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
One of the greatest sins I see right now is sexual immorality, and it is rampant in the church and no one wants to talk about it, let alone preach about it.
Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”
Ex: friend telling her daughter not to live with her boyfriend because you won’t receive God’s best, “but mom, everyone is doing it”
I hear this all the time.
You will not receive God’s best; no, you will receive God’s judgment.
Revelation 22:14-15 “Blessed are those who do His commandments,[a] that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But[b] outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”
1 Corinthians 6:18 “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.”
Sin not only defiles your body, but the WHOLE BODY.
What does God require? Just repent, “IF we repent of our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
This literally means to TURN AWAY from. Don’t just give God lip service.
Consider your ways.
- Jesus is Coming Soon.
Haggai 2:20-23
The prophet encouraged Zerubbabel by saying one day God would destroy the power of kingdoms and nations throughout the earth; that day is the time Jesus (as a signet, the mark of supreme authority and pledge of favor towards God’s people) will reign over all the inhabitants of the world.
We are living in the final days of history.
Jesus could come at anytime, whether it be 20 days or 20 years; we are supposed to be living like He is coming NOW.
JESUS is coming SOON!
Matthew 24:43-51 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’[a] 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
I read the book of Revelation when I was 16, and it began my process of believing. I knew Jesus was real and alive and was coming back. I would be partying and at the end of the night ask Him not to come because I knew I wasn’t ready.
Christ’s unexpected return cannot be a motive for present vigilance if they believe it is impossible for Christ to return NOW.
evil servant- one who claims to be a follower and servant of Jesus
appointed his portion with the hypocrites- weeping and gnashing of teeth, i.e HELL
It is significant that Jesus associates unfaithfulness with the belief and desire that Christ will delay His return.
Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
- That day is fast approaching, Christians are being persecuted all over the world, the great apostasy is taking place right before our eyes.
- We are to continue to meet together regularly in order to encourage and strengthen one another to hold fast to Christ.
- If we withdraw from one another, we become weaker, not stronger, and more susceptible to deception and the schemes of the devil.
- I read an article talking about why kids fell away from the Lord, even kids raised in good homes with good parents- They fell away because they didn’t treat the BODY like family.
- It made me think about those who missed church in order to watch the football game.
- Yes, I read all those things on FB. “I can do what I want to do, I still love Jesus”, but at the heart of it is rebellion.
- Ps Chance- “You should be here every time the doors are open” I remember getting angry at him because I didn’t understand, but now I do and those words ring in my ears. He had nothing to gain by telling us that, but WE, his flock, had everything to gain.
- I AM NOT BEING LEGALISTIC, BUT WATCHING OUT FOR YOUR SOULS AS ONE THAT MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT.
- Do you ever even think how your absence effects the whole BODY?
- YOU provide something for the body, and if you are absent, the BODY feels it. Church is not an organization, it’s the BODY OF CHRIST.
1 John 3:10-17 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother[c] abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
Be ready. Be vigilant. Watch and pray. Jesus is coming.
CONSIDER YOUR WAYS.