The "Meh" Generation

Okay, folks, with Haggai open in front of you, and if you're struggling to find it,

a wee inside tip is find the first book of the New Testament called Matthew,

and then skip back three wee ones, and you'll hit Haggai.

Let me tell you a conversation I had recently.

My oldest daughter came home from school and asked her that question,

that annoying question that parents always ask.

And if you're a parent here, you've probably done it.

And let me tell you from experience, I've subsequently realised there's better questions to ask

that provide better inroads into our conversation.

So I asked her on this occasion, I said, how was school today?

And walking back from her, it wasn't so much an answer, it was just a noise.

Okay, she just went, meh.

Here's what I want you to do, turn to your neighbour for ten seconds,

have a go at translating meh into English, okay, go for it.

Okay, ten seconds.

Here's what I took from meh.

I took from it, I'm really not all that fussed.

Say something like that.

Kind of happened, went through the motions,

and let's not pretend we don't do that as adults as well.

Some of you have heard you do it when you talk about work.

It was a bit meh.

A bit meh.

But here's the thing, as we get into Haggai this morning,

we're going to be in this for the month of January,

thinking about this big challenge that this book presents us.

It's maybe a book that you've never thought about before.

The generation of God's people that Haggai's addressing,

he's an Old Testament prophet,

could well be nicknamed the meh generation.

Because the problem in Haggai is not so much apostasy.

They've not abandoned the faith.

They've not thrown it out.

The problem's not apostasy.

The problem is just apathy.

They're just not really all that fussed about the Lord.

They've just grown a bit meh towards him and his ways.

Now let me ask you as you start this, as we start this,

if I was to ask you honestly in your heart of hearts

how you would describe your current view of the God of the Bible,

would it be meh?

The fire in your belly that maybe once was there for Jesus

has gone cold.

The zeal to serve him with your life,

to give it your all, isn't quite what it used to be.

Let me just say, if that's you here today,

then Haggai's the book for you.

And these are always big questions to ask about our lives, isn't it?

My biggest fear for my life, dear brothers and sisters,

is that I'm just going to go a bit meh, right?

In life, in ministry, just go a bit lukewarm

in my love for Jesus.

And this book prompts us to take in the panorama

of who he is.

Now, a great question to ask of this book

is how did this generation of God's people

get to this place?

And these are always wonderful opportunities

to grasp the fact that when it comes to the God of the Bible,

as we think about the background to this letter,

we're not dealing in mythology.

We're not dealing in mythology.

We are dealing and diving into history.

And maybe that's a new concept for you this morning.

You had the Bible up there with kind of Aesop's fables

and the little book of Chinese Proverbs.

Let me ask you lovingly, have you read it?

Have you read it?

Maybe you're watching this and you've never thought

about the claims of Christianity.

Have you read it?

Would you like to read it?

I'm game.

If you are, would you like to read it?

How do we get to know the God of the Bible?

We listen to his voice as he speaks to us.

If you're a Christian here today, let me ask you,

have you got plans to read the Bible this year?

It's always what they say, isn't it?

Fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Do we know the story?

There's French philosopher, Emile Calais,

who having asked some big questions

of his atheistic worldviews,

he sat in the trenches during World War I

and thought, what is life all about?

A friend gave him a Bible and has returned to France

and he said of it, this at last was a book

that would understand me.

And that's the claim that God would make in his word.

Why?

Because the God of the Bible, our creator,

is the God of history.

He is the God of history.

And the Babylonians are the world superpower in 600 BC.

It's kind of roughly where we are.

And as part of their territorial expansion program

in the year 586,

they conquer Jerusalem in the south.

And what happens is they gradually carry away

God's people to Babylon.

And just short of 50 years later,

I mean, this really is like a great big game of risk.

Another superpower emerges on the world stage

called Persia.

And the Persians defeat the Babylonians

and they take over everything that belongs to them,

including the exiles from Judah

who happen to find themselves away from their homeland

in Babylon.

And the Persians have a different tactic

to the Babylonians.

The Babylonians take and try and convert.

What the Persians do is they send back

so that the people that they send back

will think favorably of them.

And so what happens under the orders and support

of King Cyrus of Persia,

the exiles from Judah are allowed to return

to their homeland.

So you imagine they make their way back.

Zerubbabel, you read about them in verse 1,

he leads the first wave of God's people

to come back home.

But what the Bible is explicitly clear on

is that these things didn't happen to God's people

because they were the unfortunate victims

of power politics.

These things happened because God made them happen, right?

The exile happened not because the Babylonians

are in control,

but because standing above it all

is a God who is punishing his people

for their disobedience and flagrant sin against him.

And just like Adam and Eve were,

they have to be banished from the promised land.

God would not be faithful.

He would not be holy if he allowed them to stay.

And the people returned to the land

not because Cyrus was a decent bloke,

but the people returned to the land

because this God is kind,

this God is gracious,

and this God has purposes to fulfill,

plans to bring blessing to the nations of the world,

and he's going to do it through this people.

And so God's people, to much fanfare and rejoicing,

they begin to build the temple again

in Jerusalem in 536 BC.

And you can read about that in Ezra chapter 4.

Ezra 4 · chapter mention

But the thing is,

16 years after that initial bit of enthusiasm,

Project Temple 2.0 has completely fizzled out.

The people have just lost the spark for the Lord.

They've lost the dream for the project.

And what God does,

because he's gracious,

because he is good,

because he is loving,

he raises up the prophet Haggai to be his messenger.

And God's purpose through Haggai

is to breathe new life into his people's hearts

through a mixture of challenge and encouragement

and get them building the temple again.

And so you want to tap into Haggai chapter 1 this morning.

Haggai 1 · chapter mention

Here's what God knows his people are saying.

Verse 2 of chapter 1.

This is what the Lord Almighty says.

These people say,

And you might ask,

why is God getting so animated about a building?

Why does he care so much about some bricks and mortar?

The answer is because of what the temple represents.

The temple is about God's presence.

This God, despite of who we are,

should have said to Israel,

he longs to dwell with us.

He lives slap bang in the middle of our presence.

It's an incredible thing.

The God who created all things,

he looked on us not because we were good.

He looked on us because he's gracious

and he lives with us.

All the gods of the world live up there.

They live out there.

Our God lives in the middle of us.

And the temple is about God's peace.

This is where the sacrifices happen.

This is the place where you would go

to know that your sins against a holy God

have been dealt with.

You want to be right with him?

You want to be right with him?

You're an Old Testament.

Israelite, you've got to go to the temple.

You've been given of your sin

and the temple is about God's promises.

In other words,

this building points beyond itself

to a time when the peoples of the world

are going to come in

and see how good this God is

and the whole earth

will one day be filled

with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

This is about way more than a building.

That's why we call the series

More Than a Building.

And let me try and distill that

into one really simple,

accessible truth for us.

In Haggai, it's almost as if God

is laying his heart on the line

and saying to his people,

my heart's desire

is that you would come to a point

where the number one reason

that you exist,

the greatest longing in your heart

is to know me

and enjoy me forever.

And so that's the question

that God would ask us this morning.

This is all about priorities.

This is all about what you and I

most long for in our hearts.

And this is why it's such a brilliant book

to study at the outset of this year

when we sit down

and we think about the things

that our lives are going to be about this year.

Are they going to be about the Lord?

Are they going to be about serving him?

Are they going to be about knowing him?

Are they going to be about other things?

And so in the time remaining,

I just want us to focus on two things

in these first 11 verses

of Haggai chapter 1.

Haggai 1 · chapter mention

Right, two things.

What can we say about these people?

What we can say is that

they've lost the spring

in their spiritual step.

They've just gone a bit flat.

And there's two reasons

why they've gone a bit flat.

And just notice as we go through these

just how close to the bone

and relevant these things are for us.

The first reason is in the text.

And the reason is

it's just really simpler to settle down.

Right, you know that in your life?

Really just simpler to settle down.

Now any good estate agent will tell you

that a good investment strategy

is to find the most expensive street

and to buy on it the cheapest house.

Right, buy the doer upper.

That's what they say.

Well, in Jerusalem Main Street,

the cheapest house going

is the temple.

Have a look at what God says at verse 3.

Here's the challenge.

Is it a time for you yourselves

to be living in your panelled houses

while this house remains a ruin?

So it's not like these people aren't busy.

Right, they're really busy.

Really busy.

Verse 9, God knows that they're busy.

Verse 9, you are busy with your own houses.

There's nothing wrong with being busy.

It's God's people were called to be productive.

But what's happened is that

they've confused primary and secondary things.

Right?

Primary things have become secondary things.

Secondary things have become primary things.

How true is that in the Christian life?

This is a challenge to keep the main thing

the main thing.

They are prioritising panelled houses.

They are prioritising their own little DIY projects.

Right?

The extension on the side,

going up to the attic,

out to the garden.

They're pursuing their own agendas

for bigger and better

over and above God's purposes.

Yeah, think about it, guys.

Think about my conversations

over the holiday there

and how much of them

centred around our home,

our next move,

the next project,

the next promotion at work.

Do you know these kind of things?

I was challenged over those conversations,

thinking to myself,

what would somebody listening in on that?

That, Shanks,

what would they conclude

is the thing that drives your life

from what you've said

in that conversation?

What gets you going?

What gets you up out of bed

in the morning?

What would they derive

from that conversation?

Is you going to work tomorrow?

Is you going to school?

Is you going to school?

Is you going to school?

What is it?

Is people looking at us

that they would deduce

to the things that make us tick?

It's easier to settle down

and reason two, I think,

is behind the text.

And it's just safer to blend in.

I heard it in Ezra chapter four

when the people started rebuilding.

There came a wave of opposition

from their neighbours.

Because for them to get back in the land,

and remember, it's not just them.

There's people from all over the nations

round about in there.

For them to start building the temple,

for them to erect a structure

right in the middle,

is to declare to the world

that our God is the true God

and all the other gods

that you worship are pretenders.

So you can imagine the people

of the world looking in at that

thinking, we're not having that.

Not for that.

We really don't like

what you guys stand for.

And that can be hugely discouraging.

Do you know that in your own life?

Discouraging when people say,

I don't want anything

to do with what you stand for.

You know, I was taking the kids yesterday

to the rope park at Craig Miller,

telling a lady I met there

what I did for a job,

and her face dropped.

Not interested.

It's discouraging, isn't it,

when people say that?

And after a while,

that discouragement can lead

to despondency.

And after a while,

it can just leave us

with the feeling

that it's just easier

to duck a conversation.

Yeah?

And I find it as a parent

not to try and constructively

try and speak to the school

lovingly about why

they're asking my children

to wear purple

to celebrate Pride Day.

Right?

It just becomes easier

to duck that conversation.

not because I want to do

anything other than love

and welcome and respect

every human being

who's made in God's image

and hear me right clear on that.

But because as a Christian,

I just cannot affirm

any, any lifestyle

that would run contrary

to what the Bible teaches.

I just can't do that

in good conscience.

But after a while,

it just becomes easier

to duck a conversation.

It becomes easier

to avoid a certain question.

When people ask you

what you did at the weekend,

how easy is it just to say

that you spent time

with friends?

And all of a sudden

you see how this becomes

really close to the bone.

It's just simpler

to settle down

and it's just safer

to blend in.

And you bring those

two things together.

Here's what happened.

Here's what's happened

in the background

here to these people.

The ideal of comfort.

We just want

a comfortable life.

Right?

You're not doing away with God.

We just want a comfortable life

has taken the throne

in these people's lives.

And they've just lost

a sense of the buzz

for who the Lord is.

But what we can say

secondly about this God

is that he won't settle

for second place.

For here's the question

God asks

verse 5 and 7.

He says,

give careful thought

to your ways.

He says,

stop and think

about how you're living

and stop and think

and consider

how it's going.

Right?

God knows

what these people

are throwing themselves

into.

You get a list there

from verse 5

and from verse 7.

Planting,

harvesting,

eating,

clothing,

earning.

These are busy people.

And particularly

if you consider Haggai

because of the dating

he begins to speak

at the harvest season

when the people

would begin

to think

that they might see

results from these things

but they're not.

God says,

consider your ways.

What's it telling you?

I love that image

you get there

of putting money

in a purse

with holes in it.

That constant cycle

of money coming in

and going out again

and it didn't even

hit your bank account.

You know that feeling?

It just comes

and it goes.

I've never seen it.

What's going on?

That's what he's saying.

These things

that you're plowing

yourselves into,

do you see

just how fragile

and unsteady

it all is?

I read a fascinating quote

from Jim Carrey recently,

Hollywood actor.

He said,

I don't blow money.

I don't have tons of houses.

I know things can go away.

I've already had

that experience.

And it's true,

isn't it?

The things of our lives

that we so often pursue

are here today

and often gone tomorrow.

And God says,

where is this getting you?

What is it telling you?

But more than that,

God says,

and this is,

this is difficult

for us to hear,

but this is true

when you think about it.

God says,

I brought these things

to pass.

Right?

Verse nine,

what you brought home,

I blew away.

Verse 11,

I called for a drought

on the fields.

And if the people

were on the ball,

they'd remember

that these are

the covenant curses

that God said

he would bring in them

for their disobedience.

What does this signify?

It signifies that

things aren't good

between them

and the Lord.

Now we need to understand

that we live

at a different time

in history

from these people

when Jesus has taken

the covenant curses

that we deserve

on himself

on the cross.

Okay,

he has died

for the curses

and punishment

that I deserved.

So this is not

a straight line application

for us today.

But the heart of God

in this remains the same.

The love of God

in this remains the same.

What does he want?

He wants his people

to wake up

and remember

who he is.

Remember who he is.

Seven times

in these verses

God's covenant name

capital L

capital O

capital R

capital D

that was a mouthful.

The Lord is used.

Do you see it?

Seven times.

Thirty-four times

in these three

sorry,

these two chapters

God says

I am the Lord,

right?

I am the God

who has loved you

with an everlasting love.

Remember that.

I am a God

who has fully committed

myself to you

in love

and to my plans.

I am the Lord.

Don't forget that.

I am the Lord.

Not changed.

You've gone and come back.

I've not changed.

And he is the Lord Almighty.

He's the God of angel armies.

That's what that means.

God wants his people

to know

in a world

of scary opposition

that he's always

in control.

that he's always bigger.

That he's always better.

And why are they

to build the house?

See that magic word

beginning with P

at verse 8.

God says

that I may take pleasure

in it.

This God

is a jealous God.

He's not jealous

of his people,

right?

That's us.

We get jealous

of things

all the time

in my heart.

It's our twisted hearts.

I see someone

having a better time

than me in Facebook.

I want it.

That's my

jealous heart.

We get jealous

of things.

But this God

is jealous

for his people.

And there's a world

of difference

between being jealous

of something

and being jealous

for something.

There's a world

of difference

between him and us.

He wants

the sole affection

of his people's hearts.

He wants

the people,

his people

to find their

all satisfaction

in him.

And so this God

says,

I will not

settle

for second

place.

And fast

forward to

Mark's gospel

in the New Testament

and we see

Jesus saying

the exact

same

thing.

So in Mark

Mark 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10,

this rich young man

comes to Jesus

with a burning

question.

He says,

what must I do

to inherit

eternal life?

For all

intents and purposes

as a reader,

you read it

and you think,

this guy has it

sorted.

This is the guy

that we would

look at and think,

we want to be

like him.

And Jesus gives

him the commandments,

do not steal,

do not murder,

honour your father

and mother.

And it's almost

as this guy goes,

tick, tick, tick,

tick, tick.

Done it all.

I've kept them.

And I love it,

you read Mark 10

and it comes

across as you read it,

Jesus could have

quite easily

left the conversation

there and said,

that's great mate,

off you go.

But no,

he didn't leave it

there.

Because Jesus

loves us too much

for us to make

him second place.

Mark lets us know

that Jesus,

and notice this word

in the text,

you've got to

notice it,

okay?

Jesus looked at him

and what did he do?

He loved him.

And that's why

the conversation

kept going.

And that's why

Jesus asked the

searching question

of this man's heart

because he loved him.

And that's why

God would ask

of us this morning

as he searches

our hearts

through his words,

doesn't do it

to out us,

he does it

because he loves us.

Jesus looked at him

and loved him.

Jesus isn't simply

after this man's

surface obedience,

he longs to have

first place

in this man's life

because true life

will only be found

in making Jesus king,

letting him have

the driving seat,

and allowing him

to reshape

and reform

our minds.

So I was thinking

about this

over the holidays,

remember driving out

and I'm driving

behind somebody

with L plates on.

Do you remember

doing that?

Maybe some of you

are doing it,

maybe some of you

will do it.

Remember doing it.

What is it they

made us do?

Remember before

we sat our test,

just put the L plates

on, saying to the

world, I'm still

learning.

Let me just say

the Christians

that have made

the biggest impact

on me over my

Christian life

are the people

I could look at

and I could say

at whatever age

they are,

they've never

stopped learning.

They've never

stopped learning

Jesus.

And it's almost

as if Jesus

at this point

is this man

comes to him

and says,

what will it take

for me to follow

you?

He is saying

that you need

to put an L plate

on your life

and you need

as a disciple

to be all about

learning me

for life.

To be a disciple

is to learn

Jesus.

Learn Jesus.

And the thing

is when you

come to Jesus,

and I love

this in the

Gospels,

people flock

to him.

Why?

Because in him

they don't find

someone with

arms folded.

They find

somebody with

arms open wide

who welcomes

them in and

says,

come to me

all you who

are weary

and heavy

burdened

and I will

give you

rest.

And that's

the Jesus

who we meet

in the Gospels.

And that's

why Jesus

goes after

the idol

in this

man's

heart

and he

says,

go and sell

everything

that you

have and

come follow

me.

Because that's

the idol

in this

man's

heart.

And Jesus

loves him

too much

to let

him settle

for that.

But the

decision's

in his

core.

And it

turns out

he loves

money more

than Jesus.

And Mark

tells us

that he

goes away

with his

face sad.

heart.

But let

let's

he

see him

what would

define success

for you this

year?

If you're

thinking about

what's on the

throne of

your life,

what if it

didn't happen

this year would

leave you

feeling gutted?

the grades at school you need to get into that college or uni getting into that friendship

group you've been trying to tap into get your foot in the door for years what about that holiday

that it might happen or might not happen that time off what about that partnership promotion

at work whatever it is Jesus would say because he loves us he would say is following me your

greatest priority is following me your greatest priority the thing is we don't go to a temple

anymore we go to Jesus as new testament believers the true meeting place between God and man

and so the question becomes are we prioritizing knowing him are we investing what we have

in the spread of the gospel do we love and serve and care for the people that are so dear to Jesus

his heart have we got a heart for the peoples of this world who do not know this Jesus because life

is to be found in him you know as we close I had something to close with and I just from the drive

up I thought I'd change it in light of this morning let me just tell you about a man who had his priority

is right so three years ago I remember speaking to Archie at an evening service and he sat right there

and I asked him Archie how can I pray for you this week

and let me just say if we want to change the spiritual temperature amongst us that's a great

question to ask how can I pray for you this week so I asked him the question and he sat there for

but 10 seconds just in silence and I could see that he was staring just thinking about it and the guy at

that point in his life was not sure of physical ailments could have said anything could have said hip

could have said all sorts of things physical stuff he could have also said pray for my family

pray for my family pray for their interest pray for what's going on in their lives because you know

the Naismith family is big right could have said family but you know what he said he said would you pray

for my walk with Jesus

and to my dying day that will stay with me as a man who had his priorities right

so the question that comes from Haggai chapter one and the question that's going to come at us through

this book Jesus says am I number one am I number one do you see that I love you to ask you enough

am I your greatest priority

let's just pause for a moment just before I pray and let's just allow God to do his work by his spirit

through his words in our lives as we respond to this challenge this morning let's pause for a moment

and then we'll pray so heavenly father we ask that by your spirit you would show us this morning the areas where we need to change

thank you that you love us so incredibly much

that you would take the time to send your son Jesus in pursuit of us

to search us out to save us to rescue us to reconcile us to yourself and you are committed to forming us

more than to the likeness of him

and so Lord I pray that you would help us this year to prioritize above all the other things that are important

and that we need to think about would they all fall into place

under the number one priority of seeking first the kingdom of God

and your righteousness

and we thank you that you are a God who is committed

to lovingly

meeting all of our needs

in Jesus

prone to wander Lord I feel it

prone to leave

the God I love

here is my heart oh take and seal it

seal it for thy

courts above

Amen