WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.179 Our first reading comes from the Old Testament, from the prophecy of Haggai, and we're going to read chapter 1. 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:23.820 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:26.320 This is what the Lord Almighty says. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:32.079 These people say the time has not yet come for the Lord's house to be built. 00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:35.659 Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai. 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:42.600 Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses while this house remains a ruin? 00:00:43.539 --> 00:00:45.560 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says. 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:48.039 Give careful thought to your ways. 00:00:48.780 --> 00:00:51.579 You have planted much, but have harvested little. 00:00:51.579 --> 00:00:53.760 You eat, but never have enough. 00:00:54.219 --> 00:00:55.960 You drink, but never have your fill. 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:58.560 You put on clothes, but are not warm. 00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:02.299 You earn wages only to put them in a purse with holes in them. 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:04.900 This is what the Lord Almighty says. 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:06.859 Give careful thought to your ways. 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:15.760 Go up to the mountains and bring down timber, and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord. 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:16.760 You expected much. 00:01:16.760 --> 00:01:17.620 You expected much. 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:19.859 But see, it turned out to be little. 00:01:20.580 --> 00:01:22.439 What you brought home I blew away. 00:01:23.080 --> 00:01:23.439 Why? 00:01:24.020 --> 00:01:25.140 Declares the Lord Almighty. 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:30.500 Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:36.060 Therefore, because of you, the heavens have withheld their Jew and the earth its crops. 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:48.460 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains on the grain, the new wine, the oil, and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle and on the labor of your hands. 00:01:48.459 --> 00:02:00.079 Then Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai. 00:02:00.639 --> 00:02:04.639 Because the Lord their God had sent him, and the people feared the Lord. 00:02:05.399 --> 00:02:09.740 Then Haggai, the Lord's messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people. 00:02:10.459 --> 00:02:13.539 I am with you, declares the Lord. 00:02:13.539 --> 00:02:25.599 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. 00:02:26.180 --> 00:02:37.299 They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty their God on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius. 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:41.120 Our second reading comes from the New Testament. 00:02:41.419 --> 00:02:43.099 It's Peter's first letter. 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:46.359 Chapter 2 and verse 4. 00:02:47.900 --> 00:03:08.680 As you come to him, the living stone, rejected by man but chosen by God and precious to him, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house, to a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:10.680 For in Scripture it says, 00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:40.659 See, 00:03:40.680 --> 00:04:10.659 Amen. 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:14.200 Let's turn our attention to Haggai chapter 1. 00:04:14.200 --> 00:04:27.560 If I was to give this a title, we'd maybe have the statement that the people of God should prioritise God's presence, God's honour, and God's glory. 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:33.180 But we'll get into that by thinking about good and bad investments. 00:04:33.180 --> 00:04:44.360 I saw a news headline this week announcing that rural house prices have been soaring as people have realised they can relocate as more people work from home. 00:04:44.459 --> 00:04:47.800 And the home improvement sector is booming also. 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:57.819 So it seems like many people are regarding homes and property as a safe investment in our global crisis that we find ourselves in. 00:04:57.819 --> 00:05:02.560 Well, we jump back from 2020 to 520 BC. 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:10.019 So two and a half thousand years ago, Haggai, we discover in this book that bears his name, has a four-month ministry. 00:05:11.019 --> 00:05:19.399 And for Judah, and we see this in chapter 1, the message is, your home improvement investment is not sound. 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:21.399 It's a bad investment. 00:05:21.919 --> 00:05:22.779 Why is that? 00:05:23.379 --> 00:05:29.779 Well, we'll hear it from Haggai, but it's also a lesson they should have learned from their history. 00:05:30.219 --> 00:05:34.639 Maybe as we begin, it's probably helpful to have a very quick timeline. 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:36.800 So quick history lesson. 00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:53.019 606 BC and then 597 BC, in response to the unfaithfulness of the people of God, twice, different groups are led into captivity by the Babylonian Empire. 00:05:54.159 --> 00:05:58.300 And in that period, we have Ezekiel, the prophet, his ministry. 00:05:58.300 --> 00:06:09.360 In chapter 11 of his work, you find the tragedy of God's glory departing from the temple. 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:21.040 But then as you get towards the end of the book of Ezekiel, chapters 40 to 48, the focus and the hope is that God's glory will return when the temple is restored. 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:24.259 And that's going to be significant for what Haggai has to say. 00:06:24.259 --> 00:06:28.519 So from 597, jump to 586. 00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:36.839 And that's when Jerusalem falls, the city and the temple are burned and more exiles are led away. 00:06:38.500 --> 00:06:47.180 And then 50 years after that, so 538 BC, we're in now, the Babylonians are defeated by the Persians, led by Cyrus. 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:49.500 They conquer the Babylonian Empire. 00:06:49.500 --> 00:07:00.600 And then in 536, led by God, this pagan king Cyrus, the king of Persia, issues a decree that the exiles in their empire can return home. 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:04.839 And Cyrus actually helps to fund a temple rebuilding project. 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:10.079 So this first group of exiles, somewhere around 50,000 of them, so a significant number, 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:16.060 they return to Jerusalem and they begin rebuilding the temple. 00:07:16.199 --> 00:07:21.319 But very quickly, local opposition comes largely from neighbouring Samaritans. 00:07:21.459 --> 00:07:23.039 And so that work stops. 00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:27.339 And so we come to 520 and Haggai's ministry. 00:07:27.459 --> 00:07:29.120 And for 16 years, the tools have been down. 00:07:29.339 --> 00:07:30.719 Nothing has been happening. 00:07:30.899 --> 00:07:34.979 And so Haggai, walking the streets of Jerusalem 2,500 years ago, 00:07:34.980 --> 00:07:39.180 brings the message, you need to focus on temple rebuilding. 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:46.980 To enjoy true restoration as the people of God, you need to have God's glory and God's presence with you. 00:07:47.080 --> 00:07:49.020 So you need to honour God. 00:07:49.140 --> 00:07:50.759 And that's going to involve rebuilding the temple. 00:07:51.420 --> 00:07:56.460 Haggai has in mind that hope of Ezekiel being realised in their day. 00:07:56.459 --> 00:08:03.419 But maybe you're still asking the question, it's a legitimate question, why are we studying Haggai's now? 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:08.139 What's that temple rebuilding project got to do with me, got to do with us, got to do with where we are? 00:08:08.439 --> 00:08:12.000 Why be interested in figures like Joshua and Zerubbabel? 00:08:13.299 --> 00:08:16.500 And my answer is because of the coming of Jesus. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:21.539 Because we're told that the coming of Jesus is the coming of the true temple 00:08:21.540 --> 00:08:27.540 and what the temple represents, God's dwelling with his people, God's glory on the earth among his people. 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:33.320 The coming of Jesus represents the coming of the true priest-king, Messiah, who is now here. 00:08:33.700 --> 00:08:38.800 Joshua and Zerubbabel represent who Jesus will be and his mission. 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:44.680 And the coming of Jesus is also the beginning of his great temple-building project. 00:08:44.800 --> 00:08:48.800 He is building his kingdom, he's building his church, he's building the temple. 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:53.919 A church, a people who will live to enjoy his presence and his glory. 00:08:54.539 --> 00:09:00.839 So these are some of the reasons why I hope as we study Haggai we'll find it engaging and helpful, 00:09:00.959 --> 00:09:03.479 especially as we think about Advent and the coming of Jesus. 00:09:04.579 --> 00:09:07.539 But into our text, three things to say. 00:09:07.620 --> 00:09:12.139 First of all, we need to concentrate on the bulk of the chapter, 00:09:12.279 --> 00:09:16.019 which is God's word of complaint against his people. 00:09:16.079 --> 00:09:17.539 We find that in the first 11 verses. 00:09:17.539 --> 00:09:19.819 This comes almost like a lawsuit. 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:22.059 So who's being charged here? 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:28.299 Well, the message comes to the spiritual leadership, comes to Joshua the high priest. 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:32.799 The secular leadership comes to Zerubbabel, who's the governor, and it comes to the nation. 00:09:34.179 --> 00:09:38.240 And the charge against them is of selfish priorities. 00:09:39.339 --> 00:09:39.839 Verse four, 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:51.160 So they're charged with selfish priorities and they're charged further with dishonouring God. 00:09:51.220 --> 00:09:55.160 And we see that in verse nine. 00:09:55.159 --> 00:10:04.600 This is all happening because my house remains a ruin while each of you is busy with your own. 00:10:05.439 --> 00:10:06.759 The temple is in ruins. 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:11.319 And it seems like the question is, or the decision from the people is, well, let's not rebuild now. 00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:12.680 Let's not do it just yet. 00:10:13.160 --> 00:10:13.960 Why is that? 00:10:14.820 --> 00:10:20.280 Well, perhaps, sort of looking at the situation they find themselves, perhaps it was because of their poverty. 00:10:20.500 --> 00:10:23.480 We just don't have much sort of spare income at the moment. 00:10:24.520 --> 00:10:27.879 Perhaps it was the force of that opposition that was against them. 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:30.960 Maybe it was simply convenience. 00:10:32.840 --> 00:10:45.559 But for whatever reason, Haggai is sent by God to issue a rebuke that they have put personal comfort over God and God's temple. 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:52.080 God, as it were, is pulling back the curtains to reveal what they're truly living for. 00:10:52.580 --> 00:10:54.440 And it's not God and it's not his glory. 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:57.759 Rather, it's their own personal comfort. 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:02.559 But the result hasn't been years of prosperity. 00:11:02.860 --> 00:11:06.539 Rather, there has been so much in the way of frustration and futility. 00:11:07.299 --> 00:11:09.120 Listen to verse five. 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:11.159 God says, give careful thought to your ways. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:12.439 Reflect on this. 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:14.700 You've planted much, but harvested little. 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:16.080 You eat, but never have enough. 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:17.799 You drink, but never have your fill. 00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:19.899 You put on clothes, but are not warm. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:22.720 You earn wages only to put them in a purse with holes in it. 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:23.200 What is that? 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:34.180 That's a life of frustration and futility because they've been following this God of comfort rather than the God of the Bible, the God of creation, the God of glory. 00:11:34.179 --> 00:11:39.359 And it's not a coincidence that this frustrating time is happening. 00:11:40.139 --> 00:11:44.239 Rather, verse nine, you expected much, but it turned out to be little. 00:11:44.459 --> 00:11:44.799 Why? 00:11:46.259 --> 00:11:47.959 God says, I blew it away. 00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:55.820 Verse 10, because of you consequence, the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:03.060 Verse 11, I called for a drought on the fields, the mountains, the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else. 00:12:03.059 --> 00:12:12.919 Here are the covenant people of God receiving covenant curse because of their disobedience. 00:12:13.139 --> 00:12:16.819 They are being shown the seriousness of their sin. 00:12:20.939 --> 00:12:25.559 And it all ties up to temple rebuilding and the fact that they're not. 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:28.939 And so why is temple rebuilding such a big deal? 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:32.959 We'll think about it for them, but also think about it for us. 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:38.519 We need to see what the temple represents so that we can apply this to the church and to ourselves in 2020. 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:44.259 Rebuilding the temple or not is a public statement. 00:12:45.540 --> 00:12:52.620 It is revealing how much the people value God and what their desire is for God. 00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:59.740 You know, for the nation, for Judah, it reveals their values and desires. 00:12:59.740 --> 00:13:03.539 But also it would be a public statement to those on the outside looking in. 00:13:04.980 --> 00:13:10.039 If they were to rebuild the temple, this would be their way of saying, listen, God is at the heart of our life. 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:13.080 This is what defines us as a people. 00:13:14.539 --> 00:13:17.180 Temple rebuilding also speaks of priority. 00:13:17.179 --> 00:13:22.339 It would reflect them putting God first. 00:13:23.339 --> 00:13:26.679 Remember, Jesus said, seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. 00:13:27.439 --> 00:13:30.579 That's what God's people in every generation are called to do. 00:13:30.819 --> 00:13:34.559 And in this case, that would be shown by rebuilding God's house. 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:41.819 We also think about temple rebuilding in the context of presence, the presence of God and the glory of God. 00:13:41.899 --> 00:13:43.000 So remember Ezekiel. 00:13:43.819 --> 00:13:51.179 The great hope promised is that when the temple was restored, so would God's presence with his people be restored. 00:13:51.179 --> 00:13:56.979 The high point of the covenant is that God would live among his people. 00:13:58.739 --> 00:14:05.519 That's why it's so significant in the new covenant that Jesus comes as Emmanuel, as God with us. 00:14:05.579 --> 00:14:06.879 This is the high point. 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:11.759 This is the climax of all the hopes of the people of God. 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:12.879 God and his people. 00:14:13.359 --> 00:14:17.019 Us enjoying the glory of God in our lives. 00:14:17.019 --> 00:14:21.740 And the temple rebuilding should also represent their praise. 00:14:22.100 --> 00:14:23.699 Because what's happened in their story? 00:14:23.819 --> 00:14:25.100 We saw it in their timeline. 00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:26.319 God has rescued them. 00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:27.819 God has restored them. 00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:31.539 Not because they deserved it, but by his grace and love and mercy. 00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:34.639 And their heart response then should be praise and worship. 00:14:35.639 --> 00:14:42.720 A saved by grace people, our reflex action should be worship, praise, obedience. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:50.560 So Haggai is sounding a warning in 520 BC, 2020 AD. 00:14:51.300 --> 00:14:53.060 Watch how you invest. 00:14:54.639 --> 00:15:02.460 And particularly, he would say to them and to us, don't neglect the temple of God. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:05.759 What does that mean for us in the New Testament era? 00:15:06.460 --> 00:15:08.580 That's why Bob read for us in 1 Peter 2. 00:15:08.580 --> 00:15:13.600 Quite simply, you and I must not neglect Jesus. 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:14.540 Who is Jesus? 00:15:14.660 --> 00:15:15.580 He is the true temple. 00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:17.280 He is the living stone. 00:15:17.379 --> 00:15:19.320 He is the cornerstone. 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:23.340 He is that one chosen and precious to God. 00:15:23.420 --> 00:15:24.860 He is the heart of our faith. 00:15:25.180 --> 00:15:27.580 He reveals the glory of God to us. 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:30.540 He is our way back to God, way into the presence of God. 00:15:30.660 --> 00:15:35.140 And so we are not, as a church and as individuals, to neglect Jesus. 00:15:35.139 --> 00:15:38.879 But we're also not to neglect the church of God. 00:15:38.980 --> 00:15:44.679 So Jesus is the living stone, but the people of God are also living stones. 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:50.399 We are built up into this spiritual house in which God dwells by his spirit. 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:52.240 And so we are not to neglect one another. 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:55.539 To be positive, we are to build one another up. 00:15:55.539 --> 00:15:58.899 By sharing the word of God together. 00:15:59.559 --> 00:16:02.299 By praying with and for one another. 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:05.699 By enjoying fellowship together. 00:16:06.339 --> 00:16:08.839 By loving and serving each other. 00:16:09.439 --> 00:16:11.500 This isn't time for isolation. 00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:13.839 That's really hard because we're naturally more isolated. 00:16:14.459 --> 00:16:16.480 We are not to neglect Jesus. 00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:20.240 We're not to neglect the church of Jesus. 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:24.100 So that's God's word of complaint. 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:29.519 But in the middle of that, we hear God's word of grace. 00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:32.139 Now we talk about grace. 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:34.799 It's one of those words that we hear often. 00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:37.279 We sing amazing grace. 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:48.940 But I wonder if sometimes you find in your experience you can lose sight of the sense of wonder and awe and privilege at God's grace. 00:16:48.940 --> 00:16:55.480 Haggai's message to the people then was that God was being dishonoured. 00:16:56.640 --> 00:17:00.260 The people were saying, I'm going to worry about my house and ignore God's house. 00:17:01.180 --> 00:17:02.360 God had saved them. 00:17:03.100 --> 00:17:05.120 God had restored them to the promised land. 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:11.779 But as Haggai walks around and as the people walk around Jerusalem, the temple in the middle lies in ruin and rubble. 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:15.620 God is offering himself. 00:17:15.619 --> 00:17:20.759 He made that great promise to Ezekiel, rebuild the temple and enjoy the glory of God. 00:17:20.979 --> 00:17:21.979 But they're choosing what? 00:17:22.059 --> 00:17:23.459 They're choosing panelled houses. 00:17:25.479 --> 00:17:27.479 Choosing their home improvement projects. 00:17:28.459 --> 00:17:30.500 And it seems so unforgivable. 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:34.859 But before we point fingers and say, well, I'll never do that. 00:17:34.919 --> 00:17:35.639 What about us? 00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:43.680 When we reflect on our own life and experience, do we find ourselves sometimes being self-centred? 00:17:44.280 --> 00:17:48.540 Our hearts being drawn inwards rather than upwards and outwards? 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:56.819 Do we ever find ourselves pursuing my own comfort over God's honour? 00:17:57.559 --> 00:18:02.000 My comfort and convenience over serving God in various capacities? 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:09.180 Do I ever rebel against my Redeemer? 00:18:10.700 --> 00:18:16.500 Am I unwilling to listen to him to show him the honour that he deserves? 00:18:17.940 --> 00:18:20.380 Do I ever take Jesus for granted? 00:18:20.380 --> 00:18:33.640 I think if we are honest, that if God could sue the church in 520 BC for breach of contract, covenant contract, 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:40.500 I think in the same way, because we are fallen sinners, 00:18:40.500 --> 00:18:48.220 God could sue the church in 2020 for also breaking the terms of the covenant. 00:18:49.180 --> 00:18:57.079 We stand in need of God's grace and the good news of grace every bit as much as the people in Haggai's day. 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:01.660 Which takes us to verse 7 and verse 8. 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:06.299 A second time we read, give careful thought to your ways. 00:19:06.299 --> 00:19:07.000 And look who's speaking. 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:07.980 It's the Lord Almighty. 00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:10.420 14 times in the book of Haggai. 00:19:10.900 --> 00:19:12.579 God is called the Lord Almighty. 00:19:13.180 --> 00:19:19.180 They'd lived under the rule of Babylon, and now Persia. 00:19:20.259 --> 00:19:24.640 And they're still, relatively speaking, very weak, but they're being reminded of the greatness of their God. 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:27.120 And in verse 8, 00:19:27.120 --> 00:19:30.579 Go up into the mountains, bring down timber and build my house, 00:19:31.120 --> 00:19:36.480 so that I may take pleasure in it and be honoured, says the Lord. 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:39.700 Give careful thought, God says. 00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:42.579 Reflect so that you would change. 00:19:44.539 --> 00:19:48.599 And then Haggai brings this message about temple rebuilding. 00:19:49.259 --> 00:19:53.579 And it's important for us to see that God's goal is not that they would build the temple for him. 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:58.480 You know, God hasn't been homeless and needing to find adequate shelter. 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:04.259 No, God wants the temple built for them, for their sake, for their spiritual good. 00:20:05.339 --> 00:20:13.059 Yes, they have been restored to the land, but their restoration as the people of God will not be complete until God is dwelling with them. 00:20:13.120 --> 00:20:15.200 They need the temple for that reality. 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:21.299 They need the grace of God in their lives, and so they need to rebuild. 00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:26.919 And so God calls them to that and gives them that promise of his grace. 00:20:27.500 --> 00:20:32.799 That his presence and his glory would be with them. 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:38.339 That that Emmanuel principle, God with his people, stands at the heart of the covenant, 00:20:38.819 --> 00:20:44.059 and God in his grace gives an invitation to the people to enjoy that once again. 00:20:44.059 --> 00:20:51.859 And he also calls them to rebuild the temple because that's how the relationship, the covenant relationship, 00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:54.940 is maintained between a holy God and sinful people. 00:20:55.099 --> 00:20:56.039 What happens at the temple? 00:20:56.179 --> 00:20:58.259 There are washings. 00:20:58.259 --> 00:21:06.099 There are reminders that before a holy God, we are sinful and unclean, and the people needed to be washed. 00:21:07.019 --> 00:21:12.859 At the temple, there were sacrifices to make atonement and to secure forgiveness for their sins. 00:21:12.859 --> 00:21:22.019 And there were priests there who were mediating for them, who were, as it were, giving them access to God's throne of grace. 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:26.599 So the temple was really significant for their ongoing relationship with God. 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:33.979 And then you think about where the New Testament goes with this and point us to Jesus as the true temple. 00:21:35.419 --> 00:21:39.319 Jesus as the greatest gift of God's grace. 00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:49.240 So he read John 1, 14, the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we have seen his glory. 00:21:49.679 --> 00:21:58.799 And then in John chapter 2, verse 19, Jesus said, destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days. 00:21:59.059 --> 00:22:03.679 They replied, it's taken 46 years to build this temple and you're going to raise it in three days. 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:06.880 But the temple he'd spoken of was his body. 00:22:07.220 --> 00:22:10.400 Jesus sees himself as the true temple. 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:14.000 And Jesus comes to be our great high priest. 00:22:15.080 --> 00:22:20.100 So Jesus is the one who reveals the glory of God and who brings the presence of God to us. 00:22:20.460 --> 00:22:24.799 Jesus is the one who washes us from our guilt and our sin by dying on the cross. 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:33.619 Jesus is the one who offers himself as the once for all perfect sacrifice to cover all of our guilt, all of our shame, all of our sin. 00:22:34.259 --> 00:22:42.039 Jesus is the high priest giving access to God, now constantly living to pray, to intercede for his people, 00:22:42.659 --> 00:22:49.379 pleading our cause on the basis of his completed work by his cross and resurrection. 00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:58.780 And Jesus is the one who, although living in perfect obedience to his father, fulfilling all the demands of the covenant, 00:22:59.120 --> 00:23:08.680 goes under the covenant curse there on the cross, feeling abandoned, dying in the darkness, 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:18.420 so that by grace and through faith we might live enjoying covenant blessing, 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:26.039 peace with God, life from God, forgiveness as a gift of God, his presence in our lives. 00:23:26.900 --> 00:23:35.000 And Jesus is the one who is also building the living temple, the church of God, in all times, in all places. 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:43.019 And that temple, those living stones, they are made up of sinful people like us who have been saved by God's grace. 00:23:44.980 --> 00:23:48.299 So there is a word of complaint, but in there, there is a word of grace. 00:23:48.740 --> 00:23:56.759 And then just as we finish, I want to see how the people in Haggai's day respond to God's word. 00:23:56.839 --> 00:23:57.839 And to think about that for ourselves. 00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:04.779 I'm thinking of parents and teachers here. 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:16.959 Have you, in a sense I know you have, felt the frustration of instructions or warnings falling on deaf ears in your family or in your classroom? 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:20.859 That was something the prophets knew very well. 00:24:20.859 --> 00:24:23.939 It was the typical pattern in the Old Testament. 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:30.219 The prophets would come and they would announce a message that God was not pleased with their disobedience, 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:33.259 that God would come in judgment and people didn't listen. 00:24:33.899 --> 00:24:37.519 Haggai's story is remarkable because Jesus would say in the New Testament, 00:24:37.619 --> 00:24:43.019 the usual pattern, Jesus said to the Pharisees, he usually killed the prophets. 00:24:43.019 --> 00:24:48.799 But here, in the space of 23 days, there's a total turnaround. 00:24:49.019 --> 00:24:51.940 16 years living for comfort, not rebuilding. 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:57.819 And then all of a sudden, everybody is busy at it. 00:24:58.220 --> 00:24:59.379 How do we explain this? 00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:05.400 How do we explain anyone changing from being deaf to God's word, deaf and blind to God's glory, 00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:07.119 to hearing God's word and responding? 00:25:07.779 --> 00:25:10.079 And the answer is faith. 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:13.720 And that faith comes as a gift of God's grace. 00:25:14.159 --> 00:25:18.960 Here, the language in verse 14 is this. 00:25:19.399 --> 00:25:25.500 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the spirit of Joshua, 00:25:26.059 --> 00:25:28.039 and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. 00:25:28.500 --> 00:25:30.559 The Lord stirs them up. 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:36.859 The Lord gives the gift of grace so that they have obedient faith, which leads them to action. 00:25:36.859 --> 00:25:44.619 Verse 12, Zerubbabel, Joshua, the whole remnant, they obeyed the voice of the Lord their God. 00:25:45.299 --> 00:25:46.799 So now they're going to start working. 00:25:47.139 --> 00:25:53.579 Now they're going to sacrifice their income and their time for the sake of God's glory, 00:25:53.679 --> 00:25:54.639 for the sake of God's temple. 00:25:54.740 --> 00:25:55.579 And what's their attitude? 00:25:55.579 --> 00:26:01.179 The people feared the Lord. 00:26:03.179 --> 00:26:10.339 They have a proper sense of awe and reverence for the glory of the God who saved them. 00:26:12.259 --> 00:26:15.779 And what's their motivation as they begin to get to work? 00:26:16.619 --> 00:26:22.399 Verse 13, Haggai, the Lord's messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people. 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:26.820 I am with you, declares the Lord. 00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:32.820 And the beautiful thing is like after they hear I am with you, that we see them set to work. 00:26:34.300 --> 00:26:37.340 It's not the warning that motivates. 00:26:37.900 --> 00:26:39.980 It's not the fear of punishment. 00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:51.539 What gets this people worshipping and obeying and fearing and serving is the promise of God's gracious presence. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:55.900 Grace motivates in the Christian life. 00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:57.880 Likewise, today, what do we need? 00:26:57.980 --> 00:27:00.319 We need the gift of faith. 00:27:01.400 --> 00:27:04.620 We need God's grace in our lives. 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:11.299 We need to believe the promises of God's word and especially to believe that Jesus is God with us. 00:27:13.539 --> 00:27:27.299 What's going to move us from spiritual apathy to having a spiritual appetite to hunger and thirst for God's word and God's righteousness and fellowship with God's people? 00:27:27.299 --> 00:27:36.139 What will shift us, just like Haggai's day, from self-interest to self-sacrifice of our time, our resources, our gifts? 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:45.079 It's only as we see with the eyes of faith Jesus as our Emmanuel God with us, 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:51.359 to recognise Jesus as God's great gift of grace to his church, 00:27:51.359 --> 00:27:56.019 to be received with faith, with gratitude, with worship. 00:27:56.019 --> 00:28:05.019 So today, as we finish, to use the words of verse 5 and verse 7, 00:28:05.799 --> 00:28:09.059 let's give careful thought to our ways. 00:28:10.220 --> 00:28:15.480 Let's reflect on our priority when it comes to God. 00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:29.799 And let's receive God's promised grace to know I am with you because we are trusting in, we are walking with the Lord Jesus.