[0:00] Open it up, wonderful words of life. You tell that brother really liked the Christ Liveth in Me song. I really like that song too. It's kind of something that I'm going to be going over.
[0:14] Very important passage, Haggai chapter number one. I know it's in the sticky pages, so I'll give you a second.
[0:26] Haggai chapter number one. We could do a sword drill. Maybe that will excite people, but I won't do that now. Haggai chapter number one. Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai.
[0:47] Haggai chapter number one. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, and then the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and Joshua the son of Josedek, the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time has not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built.
[1:13] Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it a time for you, O ye, to dwell in your sealed houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.
[1:26] Ye have sown much, and bring in little. Ye eat, and ye have not enough. Ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink. Ye clothe you, but there is none warm. And he that earneth wages, earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
[1:41] Thus saith the Lord, consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house. And I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, sayeth the Lord.
[1:52] Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to little. And when ye brought it home, I did blow on it. Why, sayeth the Lord of hosts? Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.
[2:07] Therefore the heaven over you has stayed from dew, and the earth has stayed from her fruit. And I call for a drought upon the land, upon the mountains, upon the corn, and upon the new wine, upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands.
[2:24] Let's pray. Father, please be with this message. Help it to be short and clear and precise. I pray that you would help your people now, as you've helped me with this passage.
[2:35] And Lord, help us to build your house, and just to find our place. And we love you, and just give you all the glory and honor in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right, so the title of the message is The Holy Building.
[2:47] The Holy Building. I've been doing a series throughout the year on holiness, and this is The Holy Building. And Haggai, right here, Haggai and Zechariah are contemporary prophets, and they're preaching to the children of Israel after they've returned from the captivity.
[3:03] In 606 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive. All the people of Judah left some remnants and put some people over them and whatnot, but they got carried away captive, and 70 years went by, and then they started coming back into the land under the guidance of Nehemiah and Ezra.
[3:24] And so during this time, 536 is when they end up getting back into the land, and Ezra chapter number 3, you don't have to turn there, but they start to lay the foundation.
[3:37] And so Ushers' chronology puts it, that 606 to 536, that's at 70 years. They end up laying the foundation under Zerubbabel and Joshua, the son of Josedek, which is there in verse number 1.
[3:50] And Cyrus, king of Persia, if you read in 2 Chronicles, there in the last bit, and Ezra chapter 1, Cyrus is commissioning them to be able to go back into the land and rebuild the temple.
[4:04] So they end up going there, and then in 534 BC, they start to receive some opposition, and the work is stopped. And so they end up getting some hate mail, essentially, from people, and the work is stopped, and those people send letters to the current king of Persia.
[4:23] And so they were really laying the foundation for like two years, and then it gets stopped there in 534 BC. And then from 534 to about 520, there's no work on the temple done at all.
[4:40] If you count and you do your math right, that's 16 years. 16 years. So they come out of a 70-year captivity, they build for two years, and then 16 years of nothing.
[4:51] And the Lord puts the blame on them for not doing it. So it must have been a situation where we ought to obey God rather than man.
[5:02] And God would have protected them. So there's this stagnation that takes place until the time of Haggai and Zechariah. They come and they preach and get them off their rear end, so to speak, and get them back up to work.
[5:18] Get back up, build a house. That's what I want you to do. And so there's this stagnation that happens, and so the work resumes, and then from 520 to 516, under the decree of Darius, which is, you know, Daniel and the lion's den right in there, during that time, the work resumes, and then they end up just needing about four years to complete the thing.
[5:42] So now we find ourselves in Haggai, which this is during that stagnation that 16 years have gone by, and the people still said it wasn't the right time.
[5:57] And I mean, I'm sure you've probably dealt with this, brother, is that, well, you know, I know God wants me to do this, but it's just not the right time, but God's clearly pointing them to do this, you know, and then it's like just a matter of timing, you know, and there's a thing, it's like if God has made it clear for you to go, you can't use timing as an excuse to kind of get out of it, okay?
[6:19] So God's told you to do something, and He wants you to do it, but they, you know, the setting behind this is that they received, you know, it's just too much opposition that's been going on.
[6:30] It's just too much, you know, we got some hate mail. I mean, that's really all that they got is just kind of a nasty text. I mean, that's it, that's all they got, right? So they got a nasty text, and then they said that they can't build a house of God?
[6:45] I mean, how fickle are they, but how much, how many of our folks do that as well? It's just one little thing, just a little bit of pressure, just a little bit of opposition, just a little bit of just uncomfortability, and so now I won't build the house, of God.
[7:03] I mean, then, you know, here's another thing that they have, is that they, they're dwelling in their sealed houses, so it's too much of their own stuff.
[7:14] And I'm not saying that you go shave, you know, the top of your head, maybe some of you don't have to do that, or whatever, but then you go and be able to go to this monastery somewhere, and you just sell everything you have.
[7:28] There was a monastic period where people had sold all their stuff, and then they got together with a bunch of guys, and they left their wives, and they ended up basically all turning queer, essentially, for God, right?
[7:42] I'm not saying that you do that. But I'm saying is your priorities more so on the work of God or on your own house.
[7:56] Okay? Your own house, look, Seek ye first the kingdom of God, his righteousness, all these things shall be added unto you. This is more like continuation from Sunday school, okay? So, too much of the own stuff is getting in the way.
[8:09] How much stuff just gets in the way? Oh, well, I've got this house thing to do, I've got this thing to do, and my car is this, and whatever. Some people have too much stuff in the way to where that just because they have all that stuff, that's why they're not serving God.
[8:23] And you would realize that it's kind of a freeing thing to not have stuff so that you're for the Lord.
[8:34] Okay? And I'm not saying that you just go live in a shack somewhere or whatever. You know, God blessed you with money, great, praise the Lord. Right? I'm not saying they that will be rich, right? It's not a sin to be rich.
[8:45] It's not a sin to have money. It's not a sin to have all of this stuff. But they that will be rich to fall into temptation and snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. So, these riches, you know, it's just too much of their own stuff.
[8:59] Verse number nine, look, you looked for much and lo, it came to little and when you brought it home I did blow upon it. Why? Because my house lies waste. Too much materialism.
[9:13] It's all about the stuff. Just, and supposing that gain is godliness from such withdraw thyself. Right? That, so much stuff that we have and, and all of what it gets in the way of the Lord, 16 years goes by just because of stuff.
[9:33] How many of you have teenagers in here? Okay, think about when they were young and then now they're teenagers and then nothing for the Lord was done during that entire time.
[9:46] Because, why? Because of stuff. Just doing this, just making a living, just going and, you know, whatever. Trying to be true to my wife and whatever and doing all of these things and trying to just keep up with the Joneses and stuff and whatever and not the Lord's house.
[10:02] It's like, well, I'll get to that later. Another day, another day, another day, another day, and it's just sooner or later 16 years went by. 16 years. Because it's too much of their own stuff.
[10:15] You know, God has something for you to build. the Bible says that the church is a building of God fitly joined together. Right? Every single person here. What? Me? Yeah, you.
[10:25] I'm talking to you. Everyone here. Everyone. Okay? Everyone. No, you. Okay? You. Are part of this church and this church needs that spot filled and God is trying to get you into that spot so that you can make increase of God.
[10:47] That's what the Bible says. Okay? And so, the pastor, he's got his position. Now, God had to work in his life to get him into this position. Okay?
[10:58] Just like God has to work in your life and he's gave you gifts and abilities and differing things and all this stuff and whatever and puts you into a position to where you can be appropriately used in that spot.
[11:12] Okay? So, it's like, well, there's nothing for me to do. Well, you ain't looking. You don't have your eyes open to the fact that God wants to use you. He wants to do something with you.
[11:24] He wants to build his church. Look at all the people out here driving around like in the rat race and focusing on all their stuff and all the stuff that they have and I got this to do and this appointment to make and that stuff and I got this family member and this occasion to make and all this and they're going 80 miles an hour and it's like a 55 and stuff and you're just like, ah!
[11:49] And instead of being so just tense and mad at them and how dare they not like Bible believer like me and stuff, instead of being like that, why don't you, having compassion and making a difference and you can make a difference and I'm not saying this to shame you but the thing is is that you're responsible for what God has given you and I know that you get a lot in this church.
[12:13] You get a lot. You know how much it takes to be able to put stuff together and all the sacrifices and all the crying and stuff? You don't see all the crying that he's doing and whatever and I'm not saying that he's being some baby or something like that.
[12:26] You don't see the sacrifices that the staff makes and stuff like that so that you guys can get the Word of God and that that Word of God can take root in your life and then that Word of God that can get out and that the church and the building can be built.
[12:42] You see? So we have a holy building and now the question is is that it's going to take you 16 years to get going when it's something that it's only taking maybe a couple years.
[12:57] 16 years? I mean, haven't you done enough waiting? Well, it's just not time, brother. Is it a time for you? To dwell in your sealed houses while this house lieth waste?
[13:15] While those people are dying? Lost? Without hope? Without God? Someone probably right across the street just had an argument with their wife and it's going to end in divorce.
[13:29] Right? And then the hope of the Bible and the gospel can come in and pierce into that family and transform it and make it new and make it alive. And all we have to do is tell them.
[13:42] Right? Maybe some kid like in Utah just on the verge about to commit suicide and and I can do something about it.
[13:53] See? You're responsible. God made you an ambassador of Christ as though God did beseech you by us be reconciled to God and hath committed unto us us us us the word of reconciliation.
[14:08] So it's committed to you. Well, just God's sake guess what? You're enlisted. Okay? You're a builder. Okay? Now get to work. Let's build. Okay? Well, I just don't even you don't need to know everything.
[14:21] We are on the job training. Okay? So let's just do this thing. Okay? And if I know anything about building which I spent some time in construction is that you know you've got the plumbers you've got the electricians you've got the drywall you've got the insulation you've got all this stuff and whatever and everyone is doing things and it's decent and it's in order.
[14:39] Okay? And guess what? Wouldn't it suck if you were in your house and the plumbing didn't work? But some of you guys are the plumbing of this church. And some of you are the electric electricians of this church.
[14:55] Okay? Some of you you know isn't it nice to have some like drywall so you're not being like having all this irritation and stuff from the fiberglass and the dry and the insulation?
[15:06] Isn't that kind of nice? Well sometimes you know there's some insulator Christians here that kind of insulate from the rest and help and they have that gift of mercy and they're able to minister in that way and they kind of keep away from that fiberglass getting in the throat and irritating everyone around and they just kind of they kind of soothe things and they kind of help things and you have that ability and you're just sitting there not doing anything about it and well they'll take care of themselves.
[15:31] I'm glad that Jesus didn't feel that way about us. Right? Oh well they'll take care of themselves they got this down. Who had it down before salvation?
[15:43] Anyone? No. So we need to build for God. Sixteen years goes by. You know what I see here the first point and these points will be fast trust me and we'll go and get some food is that I see God calling them to a reflection.
[16:01] They need to reflect upon what had been happening. Five times in the book of Haggai alone is the word consider. You know five is the number of death in the Bible and Joab he's smote in the fifth rib and that fifth rib it goes to the heart and so there's a connection with that death and that heart and what has a hold over you of that number.
[16:25] Five. And he says consider, consider, consider, consider which is in the heart position. Right? Consider your ways. He wants them to consider that they had been sitting around not doing anything and that the Lord one, that the Lord's house was lied waste.
[16:42] You know, like Nehemiah he's riding on that ass and he's going around and he's assessing the damage as to what happened in Jerusalem. That's kind of what you got to do. You have to get your head out of the sand and do some reflecting and say look at what the needs are in this church.
[16:57] Look at the needs in this community. Look at the needs. You see, you have to get your head out of yourself and your sealed houses and all of your stuff and look at the need.
[17:09] Look at it. So consider the Lord's house that it's lied waste. Verse number four points to their priorities. Is it a time for you to dwell in your sealed houses?
[17:20] You know what you got to do? You got to get your head out of the sand and look at your priorities. Where do your priorities lie? Is it God, wife, kids, like that?
[17:33] Or is it wife, kids, work, somewhere, and then God just like, like, I'll throw him a bone every once in a while to kind of keep him from gnawing on my leg.
[17:47] We got to have more heart toward our Lord. Look at what he did for you. Where would you be without him? Where would you be? I know where I would be. I'd be under some bridge somewhere with a needle in my arm.
[18:02] That's where I'd be if I was even here anymore. But God saved me and bless his name he did that and he gave me something to pay attention to which is my priorities need to be in line biblically with what he says is my priority.
[18:21] Okay? And like the words that Bob Jones Sr. said, he said, duty is never conflict. I'm still trying to figure that one out all the way. But the thing is is that God has given you some priorities in this church and God's will in your life that should be a priority in your life.
[18:38] That should be something that you hold on to. And so they consider that the Lord's house is waste that their priorities are not in line and look at verse number six.
[18:52] You have sown much and bring in little all this stuff. Verse number nine, verse number ten, verse number eleven. You know, he wants them to consider that they have been walking with the Lord is what they were thinking and nothing was working.
[19:06] Everything was blowing up on them. They so much there. I'm just trying to work. I'm just trying to serve the Lord. And I'm just trying to do things. And it's just work, work, work, work, work.
[19:17] And those priorities are overcoming the Lord's house. And then God's like, okay, well, then I'll just, all the wages you're earning, you're putting it into a bag with holes in it. And then now this relationship's kind of falling apart.
[19:30] And now this thing is happening and whatever. And I'm not saying if you don't obey the Lord right away, he's going to blow up your water heater or something like that. I'm just saying that there's some times where God has to get your attention and sometimes it does have to be dramatic.
[19:44] Because if it wasn't for that, then you wouldn't have reflected on what you're supposed to be doing. Last time I checked in my Bible, it says, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive honor and glory, for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
[19:59] So why are we here? That's why you're here. That's the answer to life. Okay? He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath no life.
[20:13] He wants think about how nothing's working. And why? And what does that mean? Oh, that means I need to change the gears here a little bit.
[20:29] Number two, I want you to see the Lord's requirement. Not only he wants the reflection, but he wants the requirement. Look at verse number eight, go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the house. You know, what I see there is that going up to the mountain and bringing wood that, that, uh, with going up to the mountain, there's a specific place that God would have you to be. You know, they, they, they said, he said, go up to the mountain. He didn't say go up wherever you want. He said, go up to the mountain. You know, it says in one place, it says, take heed that you worship not on every hill.
[21:05] He said, but in the place which the Lord and I, God shall choose. So I wonder how many of you are here because God showed you that this is the church that he wants you to be in. Okay. Because then when you're here, then you're being attentive and then you, then you get the word of God and then you do something with it because you know, okay, I'm here. I've gone, I've gone to the mountain and now I need to bring wood. I need to bring my resources and all of these things. So what's the specific place?
[21:34] Maybe that's within this church, the specific thing that he wants you to do, the specific thing. Maybe that's physically, maybe that's an emotional space that you need to be in the emotional state of mind or a spiritual state of mind that you need to be. And he wants you to be in this place.
[21:50] Go to that mountain, right? For henceforth, uh, look onto the hills from once cometh my help, my health cometh from the Lord. Maybe you're going through something and it's like your mind is not on the mountain. It's on all the stuff. It's not on the mountain of the Lord.
[22:08] Promotion cometh not from the East or the West or from the South, but God, right? The mountain of God. And God has a specific place for you. You know, Jacob was told to go to Bethel and instead he went to Shechem. And instead, you know, he had some stuff happen in his family, some stuff that, that he had, he had suffered an immense loss because of, because he was just 20 miles away from where he was supposed to be. Well, God would do that. God would take it that seriously. Yeah. That got, well, I'm in the general area. No, Jake, you're not. And he had to do something to get him to consider his ways. You know what I see also there is to go up to the mountain and bring wood. You know, he didn't say, bring what you don't have. You know, I think that if they had to bring wood, they had to bring something that they possessed the wood. I know that I'm not trying to be elementary here or whatever, but if they had, if he said, bring wood, then they must've had wood.
[23:07] Okay. So, you know, what's interesting about that is because that's biblical. Cause he says, he says, if there first be a willing mind, it's accepted according to what a man hath, not what he hath not. So, you know, what happens is that when you're being called of God, and you're like, Oh, well, I'm too young. I'm too, I'm not equipped. I, I don't have this resource and I don't have that. And you know, they have their wood, but I have mine and my woods, not like their wood and all of this stuff. And I don't have the resources that, you know, God would have.
[23:36] And God's not asking for that. God's asking for you to bring the wood. You know, what Moses did is that he brought his, he brought a rod. You know, God, the Jehovah God said to him, he said, what, what's in thine hand? And he says, a rod. He said, throw it down and became a serpent. And with that rod, he delivered a whole nation of people with a rod, the rod of God, because that rod, it was more than just a stick because it was surrendered to God. It was God's rod. He gave it to God, to God.
[24:15] Just like that boy with the five barley loaves and two fishes. He gave it to God. God multiplied it. He's not saying for you to bring something that you don't have. Well, I don't have this yet. It's not time because I don't have this. He didn't say, go with the things that you don't, that you think you need. You need me. That's all he's saying. Bring wood, bring what you have. Jeremiah, you know, he said, I can't speak. I'm but a child. I can't go and I can't do all of these things. Who am I that I should go? He says, say not that I'm a child for I will put my words in thy mouth. So with a voice, he was able to preach to those people. Gideon, he, he just had a trumpet. He just had a trumpet, but only, only a boy named David, only a little sling, right? With that brought down Goliath.
[25:12] And with that essentially charged up the children of Israel to go after Jehovah God with what? A sling. How is that going to, you're not wearing Saul's armor. You're not having all these things.
[25:25] It doesn't matter what you don't have. What matters is what you have. What you have. Paul, he turned the world upside down with a pen and paper. Martin Luther, same thing. Just a hammer and a nail and a piece of paper nailed to a door. And you're sitting here today with that freedom because of some things that were laid back all the way back then, the 1500s. Okay. So bring what you have, go to the mountain, the specific place, bring what you have. Thirdly, I see finally a rendering verse number eight. He says, and build the house and I will take pleasure in it and will be glorified.
[26:10] Doing what God has called you to do is praising him and glorifying him. I've heard so many people say, oh, well, I'm, I'm praising God. I'm glorifying God. I'm serving God. And I'm like, you're not even in church.
[26:26] I'm just serving God. What, by what? Doing what I want to do. That's not serving God. I don't know if you know that, but that's not serving God. Oh, I just, I serve God because I just, I go to church. When you know, deep down, God's told you to maybe preach or maybe go in the nursery or maybe go up and make some cookies for someone. Okay. You're like, why would God care about that? He cared about that with the woman, the widow woman, giving it to Elijah. Right. Okay. You have, there's a rendering.
[27:09] There's a reason why you were created and God has a design, a specific thing. And if I've said it too much, I'll say it again, that God has a purpose in your life and he has that and he has you in a specific spot. And that right there is praising and glorifying God. Not what you think, not what you think. Oftentimes you can think, Oh, if I do the church like this, then I'll be praising and glorify God. But God didn't say that. God didn't say it to do it that way. Oh, it would be praising and glorifying God. If I did it at this rate. No, he didn't say it. Did he right? He said to just go and bring the wood, bring what you got, bring what you got, surrender it to God. That was praising and glorifying God. In conclusion, look at verse number 12. It says, then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel and Joshua, the son of Josedeck, the high priest of all the remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord, their God. And the words of Haggai, the prophet, as the Lord, their God had sent them and the people did fear before the Lord. Then spake Haggai, the Lord's messenger and the Lord's message unto the people saying, I am with you, sayeth the Lord. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of
[28:21] Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Josedeck, and the high priest and spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and did the work of the house of the Lord of hosts, their God. In conclusion, I see that that obedience and fearing God brought God's support and restoration. Fearing God and obeying what he says is what brought the I am with you. You see, that's what brought that was because they had decided to say, you know what, enough of me and let's get with the Lord. Enough fooling around. I'm going with the Lord now.
[29:02] That brought the support from God. That brought the restoration and it stirred the spirits of the people and it brought them into a place of, you know what, we need to be one person doing that because no man live it to himself. No man die it to himself. A couple of people, the leaders, they did that and then the people ended up having stirred up spirits as well because they decided to have their spirits stirred by obeying God specifically. And I see lastly that there's that remembrance of their personal relationship there. Verse number 14 is that at the end it says, and they came and did the work of the house of the Lord of hosts, their God. You know that God?
[29:51] He's your God. He's your God. He's been with you all along. All along his hands been guiding you. And now it's come to this and it's been 16 years and it's long enough. Is it time for you to get and build a house of God? Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for just calling to us, chasing after us when we've gotten away from you so easily. And Lord, help us to focus on your house and not so much on all of our stuff and getting it so out of whack. Help us to draw near to you, God.
[30:36] You're our God. You're our rock. You're our fortress. And so please, God, I just pray that you would stir up our spirits and help us to fight the good fight of faith and build this house and use what you've given us to build the house. And I just pray in Jesus' name. Amen.