Respectable Sins: Apathy

Good morning. We all have a system for ranking sin.

There are ones which we think are major sins, ones which we think we're not quite so concerned about

because they don't seem so important to us as others.

Over the centuries, Christians have tended to categorise certain sins as being the really bad ones,

the ones that are sexual sins, the getting drunk, the swearing, smoking,

the ones that happen on Friday night at Lan Kui Fong.

And then there are the other ones, the ones like a little bit of gossip or a little bit of criticalness,

those ones which may be not quite so bad.

And so we live our life segregating our lives into the major things and the minor ones.

But the commandment that Jesus says is the greatest one is,

love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and with all your strength.

And it's easy for us as Christians to think that we are good, respectable Christians

who have avoided all the major bad sins in our lives,

when actually there's this whole other area of sins which we are not concerned about,

which we have said, that's okay,

and yet maybe we are not loving God with everything that we're called to love him with.

So today we're going to look at one of those more subtle sins,

which is called apathy.

Now when Tobin asked me to talk on apathy, I said,

I'm afraid I just can't be bothered.

But in fact, this is a topic which really resonates deep with my heart.

And so I am speaking as much to me as to anyone else here this morning.

Three years ago, in China, a two-year-old girl was knocked down by a truck.

She was left bleeding and dying by the roadside.

Eighteen people walked past her and not one of them stopped.

The rest of the world was shocked.

China started morally questioning itself.

How could we be so callous?

How could we be so indifferent to the suffering of someone so small and young?

One of my ex-students in Hong Kong was going down an escalator in Central, in rush hour.

Got halfway down and then tripped and fell down the rest of the escalator,

collapsed on the floor, hurt their leg and was lying on the floor.

For 15 minutes during rush hour, not one single person stopped to see if they were okay.

Apathy.

Nobody really cared.

And someone said that out of 20 of the world's major civilizations,

19 of them have collapsed from within side because no one really cared enough to sustain them.

Now the word apathy comes from a Greek word which means without strong passion,

indifference or simply who cares.

And we're going to look today specifically at the issue of spiritual apathy today in the book of Haggai.

Now Haggai is one of those books in the Old Testament that we rarely read.

In fact, when my wife told me, asked me, what are you going to be preaching on?

And I said Haggai.

She thought I said Hangai, which is the Cantonese word for shopping.

Now you may prefer that I'm going to be talking about shopping this morning.

But in fact, we're going to be looking at this book of Haggai.

And to do so, we need to just do a little bit of background before we really get into the book.

Now, in the Old Testament, Israel had kings.

Kings who were supposed to lead God's people to follow God.

But God's people ended up rebelling and rebelling against God

until the point where God sent in the Babylonian army to destroy Jerusalem

and to take some of the most influential people off into exile, into Babylon,

which is now in modern day Iraq.

And at the same time as they destroyed the city, they also destroyed the temple.

Now, in Hong Kong, the shopping mall is at the center of Hong Kong society.

But in Israel's day, the temple was really what defined the people as the people of God.

Israel was a nation because God had made them a nation.

He was what defined them as a people.

And the temple represented God being at the center of his community.

And without the temple, the people struggled to know who they really were.

Now, for 70 years, this group of exiles in Babylon

waited until one day the government changed

and they were allowed to go back into their land if they chose to.

And a group of committed Jews went back to Israel

in order to rebuild the temple, to restore their nation.

And they come back enthusiastically.

And they start rebuilding the temple

and they start building the foundations and the altar.

And then they get opposition and they're forced to stop.

And 14 years go by and nothing happens to the temple.

And then Haggai comes to speak to them.

So this morning we're going to look at three questions.

What is your passion?

Where has your passion got you?

And how does God become your greatest passion?

Okay, what's your passion?

Where's your passion got you?

And how does God become your greatest passion?

So what's your passion?

It's 29th of August, 520 BC in Jerusalem,

right in the middle of the busiest time of year, the harvest.

And we know the date because Haggai tells us

the date according to the year of a pagan king.

Now, elsewhere in the Old Testament,

dates are given by the reign of Israelite kings.

So what you know from this is that Israel is still under foreign domination

and the people are still insecure.

They're not in their own place, under their own rule.

But what have the people of Jerusalem been doing for the last 14 years?

Have they been lazily sitting on their backside doing nothing?

No, not at all.

These guys have been busy.

And remember, it's an agricultural society.

There's no park and shop or international.

You have to grow your own food.

If you don't, you're going to die.

And they've been busy trying to make a living,

trying to support their families,

trying to find accommodation,

trying to make a secure, comfortable life for themselves

and their kids and their spouses.

And Haggai comes along to them and says,

God's got something to say to you.

These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.

Now, you know, when God starts calling Israel these people and not my people,

you know there's a problem in the relationship.

The people have not been building the temple.

Every day they've been walking past it,

getting on with their own life,

looking at it there,

lying run down,

dilapidated in ruins.

And nobody's done anything to change it.

Now, if you'd have said to one of the Jews at that time,

is God important to you?

They'd have said,

absolutely.

If you'd have said,

do you want the temple to be rebuilt?

They'd have said,

absolutely.

That's the reason we came back to this land,

was to rebuild the temple.

But why weren't they?

Well, they got distracted,

overwhelmed by life,

stressed out by other things.

They were feeling insecure,

and they'd taken their focus off of God.

They'd forgotten who they were,

and they'd forgotten what they were here for.

They'd become apathetic,

indifferent.

And they kept saying,

later,

not now,

but later.

And I don't think if you'd have accused them of being apathetic,

they would have said,

yes.

No,

they would have given you a thousand good reasons

why they couldn't have been building the temple.

I can imagine them.

It's the end of the financial year.

It's the busiest time,

Haggai.

Just when I've got some breathing space,

then I'll have time to think about the temple.

Just not now.

Economically,

things aren't so great.

These are tough times.

How are we going to find the resources to start a building project?

Listen,

it's all very well to start talking about building.

We've got to be practical.

We've got mouths to feed.

Or maybe,

I'd love to help,

but the kids are just taking their tomato planting class,

and I've got to be there to bring the manure.

Just not now,

later.

Or maybe,

they thought it was somebody else's responsibility.

You know,

that temple's been looking really bad lately.

It's about time the elders in our community did something about it.

You know,

that other temple that we had before,

that was so much better.

But look at this one.

I can't believe it.

It's so bad.

But Haggai comes to all of those reasons and excuses,

and he uses incredible sarcasm.

I think he must have been British.

He says,

verse 4,

Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your panelled houses,

while this house lies in ruins?

What he's saying is,

yeah,

it's interesting,

isn't it?

It's not a time for building God's house,

but it seems a perfectly great time for you to build your own.

In fact,

not just building it,

but adding extra panelling features on the side.

Renovating the kitchen,

adding a jacuzzi in the bathroom,

making sure that gold-plated toilet seat,

which has fallen off so many times,

well,

it's going to be fixed again,

and you know,

I've got to wait for the builder.

I'd love to be helping building the temple,

but you know,

not now,

later.

I'm busy.

And apathy comes with a whole list of seemingly legitimate excuses.

Not now,

later.

And I don't think God had anything against panelled houses.

Panelled houses weren't on God's top ten list of major sins in the Bible.

The issue wasn't either,

okay,

you've got to stop all your farming,

and starve yourself,

and prove how much you love God.

No,

the question that Haggai is bringing is,

where's your passion?

What is it that you plan for,

that you spend your time thinking about?

What is it that you talk about,

what you pray for,

what is it that you delight in?

Because it seems like you've been so busy,

that your heart has lost its passion for me.

It's lost its passion for what pleases me.

And that can be like so many of us,

busy with the day-to-day things of our lives.

Good things,

but we forget who we are,

and that we're here to glorify God with our lives.

And speaking from experience,

I'm often the most indifferent to God when I am busiest.

I get distracted by good things.

I can become indifferent to my wife's needs,

indifferent to other people in the church.

I can become indifferent to sharing the gospel with other people,

because I've got so many other things going on in my head,

even doing lots of Christian activity,

that it's not now,

but later.

Listen,

I was even preparing this sermon,

and a friend sends me a message

asking them to pray for something specific at this time.

And I read the message,

and you know,

you kind of say these things like,

oh, praying for you.

And then I just carried on preparing.

Completely forgot about praying for the person.

I got distracted,

and I just carried on preparing

until I got to this part of the sermon,

and suddenly I remembered.

And now,

I thought about it.

What happened there?

Now,

I didn't kill anybody.

I didn't abuse her.

I didn't send any nasty messages to her.

But did I love her?

No.

I didn't.

Because it didn't seem as important.

That important.

To what I had to do.

I was indifferent.

And over time,

that is deadly.

In our lives,

and in the life of the church.

The number of people I've known over the years

who are even leaders in the church,

active,

doing so many things,

and then you ask them,

how it's going with reading the Bible.

How's your relationship with God at the moment?

And they say,

well, like,

yeah, I'm struggling with that.

But, you know,

I've got so many other things to do,

I just don't have the time.

And maybe God is sitting there in central,

and we just walk past,

and he calls out to you,

come and spend time with me.

And we say,

not now,

but later.

Or maybe he's calling to you

to text that lady from your CG

who you haven't seen in two weeks,

and we say,

not now,

later,

I'm busy.

Or he says,

listen,

I want you to go

and offer to pray for the cleaner

in your office

whose husband is leaving her,

and you don't know

because you haven't taken the time

to speak to her.

And we say,

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

I'll do that,

it's great,

but it's not time now.

I'm in a hurry,

I've got to get to the tutoring classes

for the kids.

Jesus,

I'll do it another time.

I'm a little busy right now.

Don't you know

the new iPhone's coming out?

And you know what that means?

It means, actually,

I don't really care enough about it.

It's not that important to me.

And we need to strip away

some of our excuses

and come to the fact

that sometimes we are so distracted

because other things

have become more important

to us than God.

We say things like,

I know I should be reading my Bible,

but I really struggle

with self-discipline.

And Haggai would say to us,

isn't it amazing

how disciplined you can be

with your investments,

with your revision for exams,

for your yoga classes,

and yet you can't be disciplined

for my word?

Strip away those excuses

and we need to be honest

with ourselves and with God

and to say,

the reason I don't get into

God's word daily

is because I'm more passionate

about my Facebook profile

than about you.

That's scary,

but it's honest.

And that's the first step

to God breaking our apathy.

So that's the first thing.

Where is your passion?

Next,

where has your passion got you?

You may be saying,

oh, thanks Haggai,

you really know how to make me

feel good about myself.

But here's the next step

God takes his people on

to move them out of apathy.

He says this,

consider your ways.

In fact,

he says it twice

in verse 5

and in verse 7

so you know that this is important.

Literally,

he says,

set your heart

on your ways.

Bring everything

into the open

and see your life

as it really is.

Think about things

deep and hard.

Be real.

Examine yourself

and consider

where has your

ceaseless activity

got you?

What is your real passion?

Switch off

your technology

for just five minutes

and actually begin

to take a real

assessment of your life.

You know,

people often complain

about the education system

in Hong Kong

not producing people

who can think critically.

But I think

the ultimate lack

of critical thinking

is our inability

to examine our own lives

in true perspective.

Haggai verse 5 or 6

says this,

you've sown much

and harvested little.

You eat

but you never have enough.

You drink

but you never have your fill.

You clothe yourselves

but no one is warm.

And he who earns wages

does so

to put them

into a bag

with holes.

Does that not sound

like Hong Kong to you?

Look at all your activity

where you're focusing on.

Where is it actually

getting you?

You're working yourself

to the bone

but are you truly satisfied?

You're trying to make

yourself secure

but are you secure?

I mean deep down

are you lastingly satisfied?

Or are you just saying

okay, nearly there

but just a little bit more?

We say just a little bit more

and then they raise

the school fees

and we say a little bit more

and then the rents

are going up

and a little bit more

and the education

is becoming more competitive

and a little bit more.

The jobs are harder

to come by

and we've got to work harder.

We've got to be busier.

And it's not just

the work we're doing

but underneath

all that activity

we're all trying

to prove ourselves

because we think

once we prove

that I'm valuable

that I'm worth something

then I'll be satisfied.

I want to prove

I'm a good mother

prove that I'm a good student

valuable employee.

I want to prove

I'm smart enough

cool enough

good looking enough

Christian enough

prove that I'm worth something.

As that great Christian thinker

Madonna once said

in an interview

in Vogue magazine

after having achieved

some success

she said

now I've got the verdict

that I'm somebody

but the next day

I realise that

unless I keep going

I'm not.

My ego

cannot be satisfied

my sense of self

my desire for self worth

my need to be somebody

it is not fulfilled.

I keep thinking

I've won it

from what people

have said about me

and what the magazines

and newspapers

have written

but the next day

I have to go back

and look somewhere else.

Why?

Because my ego

is insatiable

it's a black hole

it doesn't matter

how much I throw into it

the cupboard is bare

I've become somebody

but I still need

to become somebody

I've become somebody

but I still need

to become somebody

and she concludes

my struggle

has never ended

and I guess

it never will.

Madonna at least

has some more self-awareness

than many of us have.

I wonder how many of us

we're told by society

that ceaseless activity

is essential

where we're pressured

by the competitiveness

of society

where we're pressured

by the comparisons

with everybody else

and we keep going

trying to prove ourselves

but I wonder

if we looked at our life

in perspective

and on our tombstone

was written

in a summary of our life

what they would write.

I wondered

if they would write

she worked hard

or would they write

she loved God

and the difference is

not in the amount

of activity you do

the difference between

working with God

as your great passion

and working with yourself

as your great passion

isn't in how much

or how little you do.

You see

a Christian knows

that no matter

how many tutorial classes

their kids attend

or how many exams

they pass

or how many promotions

they get

that's not really

the ultimate thing.

Achieving success

is not ultimately

where my worth is found

that that's not

what is ultimately

going to satisfy me.

My identity

and satisfaction

whether I succeed

or fail

are not at stake

because Jesus

is the one

who died a death

to satisfy

that thirst

which otherwise

is unquenchable.

He declares us

of infinite value

he says

we are right in his sight

he gives us freedom

in a world

that is enslaved

to this insatiable desire

that will never be satisfied

except for Christ.

So where's your passion

got you?

What is your passion?

And thirdly

how does God

become

your greatest passion?

To move out

of that apathy

we need to look at

being honest

with what our passions

really are.

We've got to think about

how valuable

are those passions

where are they getting us?

And then in verse 8

Haggai says

go up to the hills

and bring wood

and build the house

that I may take pleasure

in it

that I may be glorified.

And then in verse 12

it says

then the governor

the high priest

and all the remnant

of the people

obeyed the voice

of the Lord their God

and the people

feared the Lord

and then God spoke

and he said

I am with you.

How does God

revive the hearts

of the people

of Israel?

Because he then

stirs the hearts

of the people.

He does it

in three ways.

First

God speaks to them.

He speaks

through Haggai

and he speaks

through the circumstances

that he brings.

That's what verse 9

and 11

are all about.

He says

I brought you drought

I brought you famine

I brought you hard times

because I wanted to wake you up

to what is really important

in your life.

American pastor

Tim Keller

tells of

how he made a deal

with his wife

that he would go around

be around

less at home

for about three years

while he planted a church

in New York.

And three years go by

and he's still working

like crazy

not listening to his wife's

plea for him to

engage in the family.

And then several months later

he arrives at home

to hear the sound

of smashing crockery

on the balcony

shaking and trembling

he goes over

to the balcony

to find

his neglected wife there

smashing

some of the best

plates and saucers

on the floor

of the balcony.

That got his attention

and he told his wife

come on

we need to talk

and he went and sat down

and he said

I'll listen to whatever

you want to say to me.

At that point

he began to change

and reprioritize

his life.

And sometimes

God does that

smashing of the

sources in our lives

by making us lose

our jobs

by moving home

the things which

stress us out

the things which

cause us fear

and panic

he smashes those

sources down

to say

wake up

see what is

really important

where your passion

for me

has gone

and come back

to me

to find

satisfaction in me.

because as God

speaks

then the people

respond

by obeying God

and in the Old Testament

this is so rare

God's people

hardly ever

respond

but the Israelites

here do act

and they act

because deep down

they do love God

and they do

want to follow

his ways

but you see

sometimes

we say

oh I've got to

wait for this

kind of feeling

I've got to

wait for

the passion

to stir in me

before I can

obey God

before I can

read my Bible

I need to

really want it

but actually

now here

Haggai is saying

no

obey me

and then

I will stir

your heart

and

if you look

at the way

Jesus

when Jesus

comes

there are so

many spiritually

apathetic people

who respond

to him

and when they

hear a sermon

on forgiveness

they say

things like

that was a

very inspiring

message

I wish my

husband was

here to hear

that

but then

they continue

to harbour

that resentment

towards their

boss

their spouse

and the real

people in their

lives

because we

say

even when

you hear

this sermon

when you

go and

read your

Bible

we say

oh that's

a great

message

but I

won't have

to deal

with it

I don't

have to

respond

now

I'll do

it later

now's

not the

time

and we

have a

thousand

excuses

why we

just walk

past

that little

girl

like all

those other

Chinese

people did

but people

who listen

to God

they know

that he's

telling them

something

and they

respond

when he

says

cut

something

out of

your

diary

slow

down

spend

time

with

me

prioritize

going

to

CG

they

say

I

know

that's

what I

need

to do

and they

act

and whenever

you come

into a

circumstance

where God

is smashing

the plates

whenever

you come

to hear

God's

word

you need

to say

and I

need to

say

God

where do

you want

me to

obey

you

this

week

something

specific

not in

just general

terms

because if you

just make it

general

it's always

going to be

not now

but later

but no

this week

God

where

how do you

want me to

obey you

and respond

because when

we do

that

when God

speaks

when we

respond in

obedience

God

God

God

God

God

God

God

God

God

God

revive

your

heart

your

community

group

this

church

with a

greater

passion

for him

then we

need

his

word

we need

to respond

step by

step

with

obedience

and God

says

he

will

be

with

us

but we

need to

remember

this

the

apostle

Paul

said

that the

gospel

is

Jesus

Christ

came

into

the

world

to

save

sinners

of

whom

I

am

the

worst

there

have

been

few

Christians

who

were

as

passionate

for

God

as

Paul

and

Paul

knew

that

spiritual

apathy

is not

a

one

off

problem

as

you

walk

in

obedience

to

him

you

will

continually

struggle

in

that

fight

between

loving

God

above

all

other

things

and

placing

other

things

before

him

apathy

is a

continuous

fight

that we

need

to do

but here's

the beautiful

thing

when God

exposes

the areas

of your

life

where you

need to

love him

more

and where

you are

loving

something

else

he

does

it

so you

can

understand

the gospel

better

because

though we

may be

indifferent

to God

in many

areas

of our

lives

walking

past

like those

18

Chinese

people

did

he

is

never

indifferent

to us

Jesus

passion

was

shown

in

dying

on

a

cross

for

apathetic

unloving

people

like you

and me

so that

our hearts

will be

changed

to have

a consuming

passion

for him

to be

obeying

him

to not

just walk

past

to not

say

not now

but later

but to say

God

now here

I am

what do

you want

me to

do

change

my heart

I want

to be

passionate

for you

let's

pray

to be

what do

you have

to be

an

ью

to be

one

of

four

his

but

he

has

to be

as

he

said

he

has

one

some

he

and

he

has

clged

away

and

he

but

I

wanted