Build the House - Pastor Joseph Pringle

Okay, Haggai, chapter one. We're going to be looking, reading verses two to eight and focusing here on verses seven to eight. It says, thus says the Lord of hosts. These people say that the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. Man, it's a tough day when you are moved by from my people to these people, when God is delivering a word. I mean, that's a big shift. I do not want to be a part of a crowd that used to be my people. And now because you have relegated. I'm not building the house. I'm building my own life. I do my own things. It's the kingdom of Joe that is so important that I turn into a portion of people that is now referred to by our Father in heaven. That these people. I don't want to be these kind of people. I want to be a his kind of person. Amen. These people say, the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet. Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies in ruins? He's talking about the house of God now. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. You have so much and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough. You drink, but you never have your fill. This is what Cecily was just talking about before. Oh, bye bye, bye, bye bye. Oh, I want more, more, more, more, more, more, more of this. And there is this insatiable thirst to fill a hole that is not designed to be filled with anything from this world. The satisfaction of the soul has only one place. And there is a house where he resides. So he says, consider your ways. You clothe yourself, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. How many people put that money in their bank account? You look back a week later and you're like, where the heck did it all go? Oh, my gosh. Went to the California gas prices. That's it. And he who earns wages does so to put them in bags with holes. And then he goes on and he says this. Thus says the Lord of hosts. Do you know what this means? Okay, there's a couple of things. Can I just speak from my heart here today, because I love this. Okay. Thus says the Lord of Hosts, who is delivering messages to your life. Thus says the MasterCard. Thus says the Lord of this Instagram reel that I'm watching. Thus says the Lord of Doubt, Thus says, like, who is speaking into your life and bringing not just encouragement, but maybe some correction in your world? Because I do think we need to get to a place where, where we have a Lord, the Lord speaking into our world. And man, here is the best news. It says, lord of hosts. Here's what host means, the armies of heaven. So when the Lord speaks, okay, so when you take a dollar bill or, you know, $20 bill into a restaurant, that still takes cash because they're all cashless now, goes in and you say, hey, I'm going to pay for my meal, they receive that because it's backed. It's a backed dollar, right? It's backed by gold. It's backed by the US Government. There is a backing to that dollar. When God speaks and we proclaim and speak, there is a host, there is an army in heaven that is standing behind that word. So every time I speak over our family, over this church, I see an army that is released. We sing about this. It's not some, you know, like, cool visual that has no truth to it. No. There are armies in he that are waiting for a people. Not of these people, but of my people who would say, man, I stand in the house of God. I will call down his kingdom, come and seek it first. So that there would be an advancement of God in this world. And he says, thus says the Lord of hosts, who is speaking to your world. Where are you receiving your direction? Where are you receiving your correction? Lord of hosts says this. He says, consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house that I might take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord, that's purpose for you and I wrapped up right there. I love that he says, consider our ways. Is such a good opportunity, I believe, to be in consideration of why do I do what I do and why? And what am I doing with what I have been given, considering against the word of God in the presence of the Lord, my ways? Why do I do what I do? Why am I building what I am building? I need to consider the way that I live my life. And the whole point of everything that God is using haggai to say is stated at the end, that there would be a house of God that he can reside in, that he can take pleasure in and that he would glorified in. And so there is this mission that God has given us, which is to set up these houses, these spaces, these new gardens of Eden in the world. And he is calling his people to come and to multiply and to advance outward. And he said, man, I will take pleasure in the midst of that. When people surrender, when they put their main priority and their main focus. And this scripture is not like God is against us having a home with, like, a paneled house. God is against us having a blessed life and all of these things. It's. He's not saying anything against that. He's saying, is it your first priority? Is it taking over your heart? Is it driving every motive in your world? Or can you consider that there needs to be a resurrendering to building his house? That's the name of today's sermon is Build the House. Build the house. I love the house of God. My life was transformed in the house of God. This is the spaces where God resides. And the house of God can be. You know, we have a network of churches that is you and I would call them the persecuted church. They meet in rooms, and they've got to take different routes to get to church. Their lives are literally on the line to go and sit within a room. And I've even heard and seen some of these persecuted churches. They're not allowed to sing. So they're given the lyrics of the worship song, and they're not allowed to sing it out loud. And the worship leader is doing this against the verse. One, two, three. Oh, my life, I was searching. And they're singing it within their minds, within their spirits, because if they sing out loud, they're going to get found. And yet we consider like, the average attendance in America to church is once every six weeks. And these people are so hungry that we are going to make our way to the house of God. Because there is life in the house of God. There's life in the house of God. In this circumstance, the backdrop of all of this is Israel had been exiled, I think for around 70 years. They'd been exiled and Babylon had retaken over. And they allowed them to. To come back into the city and to rebuild the temple. And so that what they did is they rebuilt the foundation of the temple because it had been ransacked, it had been pulled down, and this was the temple of Solomon. Okay, that's a big deal. It was a huge temple, very expensive temple. I think around $260 billion if it was today's. So our next building fund is $216 billion. Okay, let's go. So it was a big deal. It was the rubble of that. And so they rebuilt the foundation, they rebuilt the altar, and then they stopped and they went on about their business. And they started building up the other areas of the city when the command was first to set up the temple. And so this is the reason why God is coming to them. For 12 years, God had given them this period and said that, you know, you have refocused on now building the walls around your city. When true protection comes from the house of God. And this can speak to us in various and many ways that, yeah, we live up to a minimum requirement and then we think that all of our security is going to come from everything else we build in our life. But I'm telling you, your true security, your true value in life, your true purpose in life is going to come from the Lord. It's going to come from being attached to the body. It's going to come from being grafted into the vine and abiding in Christ. And you cannot abide in Christ and be divorced from his bride. There's just no, there is no element of the New Testament that makes sense. If you are thinking that I can have a personal relationship with Christ and be kind of a Netflix and chill Tinder date with the bride of Christ, instead, we've got to attach ourselves to the body. And so this is the word that he is bringing to the people. And so God raises up Haggai and gives that word. He says, consider your ways. And here's how you're going to do that. You're going to go up, you're going to bring wood, and you're going to build the house. So point number one here today is go up is what he says in verse eight. He says, go up. This is the direction. Go up to the hills, bring wood and build the house that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified. I love the word go. It's 2/3 of the name of God. Okay? So it's an important one. And there has to be a go to our faith. It can't just be I believe. And nothing is happening within our. We have to start taking steps. There's got to be movement. And these people, they had a movement that was happening. They had a direction that they were running in. And the reason they were running in their other directions. And I'd said before, they started focusing on building the walls and then building their own homes was because there were other motives that were driving their heart. There was opposition, there was fear, and there was comfort. All the nations that were around them were threatening them. They're breathing threats upon them. We're going to come and get you. We're coming in, we're going to ransack the city again. So this opposition drove them to a space of fear where then we're living a fear responsive life and not a faith responsive life. And so we start calculating. Oh, in the urgency of all the fear that we are receiving. They wanted to build walls to secure the city first and not labor on the true security and protection that flows from the house of God. The last was comfort. It's easier to build our own houses than building his. That's seemingly the thought. They weren't idle, these people. They were really busy. They were just building the wrong things. It was their first priority in life. They were just busying their life. And sometimes I feel like we get to this point where we're just too busy, right? I'm too busy to do anything. Too busy. I'm begging you. Consider your ways. Consider your ways and the ways. Consider your calendar, consider your time, consider your finances. Consider all of these things. Consider your ways in this life and go. God, what would you have me change? What would you have me bring into your house? The greatest thing that we could determine is not just having a go in our life, but it's the direction that we are headed. That's why I love that it says, go up to the hills. Let's say go down. It doesn't say go sideways. I have gone sideways and gone down so many times in this life. Where when the pressure comes, understanding, what do we reach for when the storm starts to blow? What is it that we are reaching out for out of fear? Is it because of this opposition that is happening? Is it because I'm driven by a comfort that is within me, so I want to sit down. We read the story of Jesus who's crossing over the lake with the disciples. And a storm hits and the boat is rocking back and forth and it says, jesus, Jesus, the ever caring, ever loving Jesus. He's asleep in the back of the boat while the storm is going on. And these. These boats are not like, you know, I don't know the name of any fancy boats, but, you know, the yachts down in Newport, they're not cabins underground. These are open fishing boats as a deck on the. On the top. There's no cabins underneath. It's just open. They pull the nets in, they got sails up. And so here's Jesus sitting in the back and he's rocking around. I'm thinking to myself, it's a storm. Storm enough that these, you know, these guys are seafaring fishermen. Like, they've seen their Fair share of storms. Right. So this has got to be something that's like the deadliest catch kind of storm. They're like across the deck and going back and forth. So much so that they're going, where's Jesus? Where's. And he's at the back of the boat. And I got to consider this. Why wasn't it the waves that woke Jesus up? I got to think that there must have been water coming into the boat, that there's. He's banging his head on the back, like, what's going on? But the storm did not wake Jesus up. The thing that woke Jesus up was when the disciples ran to him and said, lord, Lord, what are we going to do? I love this because they ran to Jesus in the midst of their storm. Where do you run? In the midst of your storm, where do you run? What council do you run to? What's the first response? Is it Google? I don't know. Is it now? Chad GPT. Like, where do you run when the anxiety hits? I'm asking you to consider your ways and say, I am going to return to going up. I am going to return to prayer first. I am going to seek the kingdom first. And all of these other things should be added. So instead of just running, maybe it's alcohol that you run to. Maybe it's looking at particular things that you run to. Maybe it's just work. I'm just going to work, Work, work, work, work. I'm asking you to consider your ways to go up to Jesus first. Amen. Point number two. It says that they go up to the hills and bring wood. Bring. Carry his purpose. Carry his purpose. We don't climb up the hills just to enjoy the view. What does that mean? Well, we come to church and we have our nice worship time. Sean's wonderful voice. That sounds like Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams, just. Yeah, you got Madison, who's like Cece Winans, you know, over here. Oh, my love, I was searching. And you're like, oh, I got my personal. I got my personal time with Jesus. I got it, you know, and then that's it. There's nothing else that is changing. There's nothing else I've received that is for someone else. It's just for me, it's just. It's just. It's just a consumption for myself. And so I think that when we go up to these high places, we have to consider that God is giving you something to bring to somewhere else. I want you to know that. And here, this might sound like a bit of a Harsh statement. And I might lose some of you when I say this. Are you with me? Are you strong? You strong? I want to say this. A mature Christian does not come to church empty to be filled. A mature Christian comes to church filled to empty out to God. And our job throughout the week is to begin filling up with his purpose so that we can be activated. Because when we come to church, I want you to know this. When you are worshiping, you are ministering to God, you are pouring out to God. There is stories in the Bible, the alabaster jar, where it is broken. It is a pouring out. It is a fragrant offering that we are broken, bringing towards God. And so when we are coming up on high, we are offering to him. And he in turn is starting to create things within us, to sharpen gifts, to reveal purpose within our life. And I know this, that up high, because I know some of our prayers might be God give us. And let me just say it like this. Give me the furniture of life. Give me a table and chairs. And instead, God gives you a forest. And there is no Home Depot up on the top of the hill here. These guys aren't going up to bring wood that has been stacked and prepared by Mr. Home Depot, Mr. Lowe's. No, there is a felling that happens on top of. And there is unique trees that have been set apart for you to fell. How do you do that, man? You have to labor in prayer. You have to come and worship it. Like, when is the last time you just sat down and you've listened to worship and you said, I'm going to worship you here. I'm going to give you glory right now. Father, I pray that you would speak to me, but I have come first to seek your face and not your hands. And I'm telling you, when you begin to do that, he starts filling out things for you to bring that are useful for his house. And so there is our relationship with Christ that is so fulfilling for you personally, man. It's your call and your purpose, and he loves you, his embrace around your life. But what he gives you is not to remain within you. And it's the flow of the kingdom. If God gets it to you, it's so it can move through you to someone else. And the more it can move through you, the more he will send to you. You need more peace, man. Like, be a bringer of peace. Be a bringer of love and mercy wherever you walk. Be a bringer of truth. Be a bringer of salt and light into this world and so you and I, we have to understand that God is going to shape something and it's for a purpose. So can I get you to say this after me say this? I am a bringer. I am a bringer. Whatever it is, I don't know what God would say bring. I'm saying, like, bring a Bible to church. Like, whatever you do, bring something, bring a prayer, bring faith, bring worship, bring generosity, bring a friend, bring people, bring light, bring salt, bring hope, bring Jesus into your workplace. But consider yourself and just say, I will be a bringer. I'm going to be the person who, who goes up high, not just for the personal satisfaction of my soul, but because I am called salt. And I will not lose my saltiness. I will be in the place that replenishes me so that when I go into the world, I will be a preserver of what the world is decaying. Amen. Say this. I am a bringer. Amen. Amen. I love that I want to tell you this. This is the thing. If you're not going up on high, this is the other thing. Like, stop going to Insta Bros for, like, purpose in your life. I see these, like, guys online or these women who were like, oh, you're, you know, five points to success. If you're not making $7 million in three days after taking this, then you suck. And you're like, you know what? I don't know what it is, but it seems to be just this driving force. It's outrageous to me that we would just be turning our lives according to their word. If you don't bring back heavenly material, you'll end up bringing back things that are beneath you. It's so important that you go up so you realize what is now beneath you in the this world. Like, it's so important that we are up high. And there are things that have been shaped within our world that man don't leave them behind. I know some of it's hard to change. I know some of it is hard to swallow, but man, when you start to bring it and it's used, you go, oh, my gosh, there's purpose to all of this. Like, this actually works. There is life in my step now. And you gotta have a place in which you bring these things. Just go up, bring wood. And the final, final place that you would bring this is to build the house so that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified. Point number three is build before man. Build, you're called. More than just to sit on the sidelines and be a spectator, you're called. More than just being a critic up in the bleachers, you know, I went and saw a baseball game when we were in Toronto, and the guy sitting behind was, like, yelling at the players like he was a professional guy. And I turn around and the guy's just looks like he's never played baseball a day in his life. He does not understand. He's just a nosebleed critic. Don't be a nosebleed critic. Get in the game. Like God has designed you for purpose. He's given you the game plan in his word. Be someone who uplifts. And I'll tell you this. History never honors the critics. I don't remember. Like, where are the famous critics in this life? The famous. No, no, no. It's those who have brought hope, it's those who have brought truth, those who have brought conviction. It's a be a bringer of things that build the house, not a bringer of things that destroy the house. Does that make sense? And so God has given you things up high. This is. This is important so that you would build the house with them. Okay. I grew up in church. Okay? I grew up in church. I discovered in church a gift to sing and write songs. And it was developed in the house of God. It was exposed in the house of God. We would tour the world. We would do these big worship nights. It was fantastic. Incredible. And then I felt within my heart this dissatisfaction that began to be fed and grown. Had an opportunity to move to LA 20 years ago, had a record deal, moved here and pursued a career in whatever you call, secular music. And I'll say it this way, I cloaked selfish ambition with a holy mission. We can do that pretty, pretty easily. Like, this is what I want to do, but I'm going to cloak it in a lot of spiritual language. So then it just sounds like super spiritual. I'm still like, you know, I'm still above, you know, my own ways, and no, no. But there's this self that is in the middle of it. And so I stepped out. I got in a relationship. It all fell apart. It destroyed me. I turned into a drug addict, an alcoholic. I was chasing after so many different vacant things in this life, and I was very far from God. It is a miracle. By maybe the prayers of my mother and the prayers of intercessors for. I don't know, it was 10 years, was running around, eight years running around, lost, almost dying many times, and coming back to God. Man surrendered with a radical Encounter with him. Here's why I'm saying all of this. God is going to shape something within you that you are going to be tempted to fully use outside of the house. There is a reason that God has resourced you with the tree you have been called to fell. It might be to make money, it might be to be creative. It might be to. And it doesn't mean, oh, so I gotta be a full time vaca. Vocational, you know, minister now? No, I'm not saying that. It's a priority order in your life. Some of you would be called to preach the gospel full time, to be in ministry, to walk in that way. Some of you are called to be business people and entrepreneurs. Some of you are called to be creative geniuses. What am I saying? God has given you this gift to expand his kingdom and it's bringing it to the house that it is going to find its full potential. I said before CC Winans, but you got Whitney Houston and all of these major singers who, I will tell you this, had this massive gift that was sharpened in the house of God. You might look and be like, oh wow, that's so amazing. And all of this. What does a man gain if he gets the whole world but yet forfeits his soul? I tell you, God has given you something. And you cannot come to me and say, God, no, he hasn't given me anything. He's given you something. He always makes a deposit and that's why you got to go up on high, because he'll reveal it to you so that you can bring it and so that you can build his house. The beauty of it is this, is that when you use what God has given you to build his house, there will be no laboring in vain. There won't be this weariness that comes alongside. Yeah, there'll be days of doubt. I tell you, just as a pastor of this church and just as a fury of faith that I have within me, right? There are days of discouragement and there are days of doubt. But that doesn't mean that faith cannot rise up within you. And you can't not have command over your soul and stand up and say, man, I am called and for the joy set before me, I will endure the cross. The joy for you and I is Jesus Christ, my friend. I know it might be sold as your end retirement dream. Paying golf in Florida for endless amounts of time. Fishing in Fiji forever, Surfing Jeffries Bay day in and day out. It's not. The joy is found in Jesus Christ eternally. Today, yesterday, tomorrow, let's all stand here today. Thank you Father. Your word is good and true. I thank you that it would speak to us here today. God, I pray that we would not look in the mirror and then walk away and forget what we look like. But God, there would be transformation in our lives. God, throughout the scriptures you are called an all consuming fire. So God, I pray that your fire would consume us here today. I pray that what has fallen asleep sleep would be awoken in us here today. I pray for sleeping faith to be shook up here today. I pray that there would be a lifting of vision that what you have given us, the gifts that we have received, we would build your house, that we would build up people in faith, that we would make disciples, Father, and we would see your vision, your great commission fulfilled in the land of the living. So God, we glorify you here today and we lift up all praise and all honor and all glory to you. In the mighty name of Jesus, we all said Amen. Amen. Hey, thanks for tuning in. There's a bunch of different ways that we connect throughout the week, including Sunday mornings, and we would love to see you there. You can check out all the [email protected].