Sunday October 4 - Haggai(Part 1)

Speaking of blessing, I have a word from the Lord for you this morning.

There are some times I preach sermons, and there are some times that the word of the Lord wants to come and be heard in the house this morning.

And the title of today's message is I look at the book of Haggai.

The title of today's message is consider your ways.

Consider your ways so that you can have a life that is built for blessing.

I know I'm gonna preach on Haggai again next week.

I might preach on it the week after that.

I'm gonna do as the Lord directs.

Now, if you're wondering where in the world is the book of Hagai, you need to go there if you have a tree Bible with me.

I read from the English Standard Version.

I encourage you to bring a paper Bible to church.

Fewer distractions, number one.

It's a reprieve from screen time, number two.

And number three, your grandchildren do not want you to hand down to them your Bible app.

They want your Bible.

So Haggai chapter one.

You're wondering, I thought it was Haggai.

Listen, the brother ain't from Alabama.

I was studying scripture with my rabbi friend Arthur the other day, who is a who is a Jew, and Jews do not say Haggai or Haggai, they say Haggai.

And so I'm gonna honor the Lord's people by honoring this right here.

And we are his Lord's, the Lord's people as well.

Listen now to the word of the Lord in chapter 1, verses 1 through 11.

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehosadak, the high priest.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, these people say the time is 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 a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while the house of the Lord lies in ruins?

Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.

You have sown much and harvested little, you eat, but you never have enough, you drink, but you never have your fill.

You clothe yourself, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages does so to put him in a bag with holes.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.

Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it, and that I may be glorified, says the Lord.

You look for much, and behold, it came to little, and when you brought it home, it blew away.

Why?

declares the Lord of hosts.

Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.

Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce, and I have called for a drought on the land and the hills and on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth on man and beast and their labors.

The other day I got a golf lesson, which means I paid somebody about a dollar a minute to watch me swing a metal stick.

I used to be really good at golf.

Now I'm trying to just be good at golf.

And he videotaped me with his iPhone as I'm hitting, hitting, hitting.

And I thought I looked a lot better in reality than I did on that screen.

And I saw some things, and he saw some things, and he said, You need to stop doing this and you need to start doing that.

I said, Okay, got it.

And I went right back to it.

And he videoed me again.

And I watched it.

And he said, You're still doing the same thing.

And I said, But I'm trying a lot harder now.

If you're going to do the same thing and expect different results, not only is that the definition of an insanity person, an insane person, but you're not going to get the results that you want.

And the prophet Hagai clears his throat and he has a word from the Lord, and he wants the people to stop doing the same thing and thinking they're going to get better results.

Now the prophet Haggai springs onto the scripture with no pedigree, no family genealogy.

He just appears, a prophet with a word from the Lord.

Usually it says the word of the Lord came to the prophet, but here it says it came through the prophet.

He was just a vessel, a little funnel, a little instrument that God was blowing the wind of his spirit through to try and wake up the hearts of the people of Israel.

And so it's not the important thing, it's not the messenger, it's the message.

Now the children of Israel have been in a real pickle for a long time.

I've got some dates on the screen.

Forgive me the history lesson, but you need to know the story that you're stepping into.

In 605 BC, the people of God, the children of Israel, were exiled in a first wave of exile into Babylon.

Babylonians conquered them and they took some of the people.

And then it got worse in 597.

Now, when you're going BC to C E or A D, however you want to say it, when you're going BC, the numbers get smaller as they move into the future.

So 605, it began.

597, there was a lot of people being deported.

Babylon took the king and thousands of others, including the prophet Ezekiel.

Then in 586, this is the date you need to know.

In 586, the Babylonians ransacked and destroyed Jerusalem and with it the temple.

Now, 539.

Cyrus, the king of Persia, conquered the Babylonians who had conquered the Israelites.

So now the conquerors were conquered.

And Cyrus had a program that allowed the people of God to return to their homeland.

In 538, that return is authorized.

And Cyrus permits the Jewish exiles to return and rebuild the temple.

But because they were discouraged by the threats of surrounding people, they stopped rebuilding the house of the Lord.

536, the temple foundation was laid.

As I said, in 536, they grew discouraged.

520, Hoggai the prophet is sent.

God calls the people to renew their priorities, and construction resumes.

Here's what I need you to hear if you don't hear anything else.

18 years passed between the time the people started to rebuild the house of the Lord and the time they actually rebuilt the house of the Lord.

And the reason 18 years passed is because people grew discouraged whenever they faced opposition.

How many of you know when God is doing something in a church that the enemy is going to bring opposition against it?

How many of you know when God is doing something in your life that the enemy is going to bring opposition against it?

How many of you know when God starts working in your friends that the enemy is going to bring opposition against it?

The reason you face opposition is you're going in the opposite direction of your enemy.

And if you never face opposition, it's a sure sign that you are going the same direction as the enemy of your soul.

Because the great move of God is always met by a great resistance of the enemy.

But if God's people, who are called by his name, will humble themselves and pray and seek his face and turn from their wicked ways, then he will hear from heaven and he will forgive their sin and he will heal their land.

The move of God is met by the opposition of the enemy.

But God's people ought not to be afraid.

Because if God's not afraid, we shouldn't be afraid.

And into this situation, the prophet Huggai clears his throat and speaks the word of the Lord.

Says the Lord of hosts.

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

And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Huggai the prophet.

Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in paneled houses while this house lies in ruins?

I was growing up, my granddaddy, we called him Paw Paul.

Paw Paul came to me one time and he handed me a wooden circle and the letters T-O-I-T were scratched into it.

I said, Paul Paul, what in the world does T-O-I-T mean?

He said, Son, a lot of people, when they know what they should do, instead of doing it, they decide that they'll do it whenever they get around to it.

And I'm giving you a round to it.

That way you can never say, I'll get around to it because you already got around to it.

When the word of the Lord comes into your life, you obey.

You don't do it when you get around to it.

And if you needed around to it, there's your round to it.

You all got it.

Take a picture.

I don't care.

You got around to it.

The Lord was tired of hearing the children of Israel say, We'll get around to it.

We'll rebuild the temple whenever the time is right.

There was a drought in the land.

They weren't getting the results they wanted.

They could have said, We'll do it when the times are better.

And the Lord was saying, You're not gonna do it when you get around to it.

I want it done now.

There's never a good time to do something.

You just gotta do the thing because any time is a good time when God says do it.

Some people's favorite word is tomorrow.

I'll do it tomorrow.

The writer of Proverbs says, Don't talk about tomorrow.

You don't know what the day may bring.

The Lord is calling the people out of their procrastination to prioritize the purposes of God.

Meanwhile, they lived in paneled houses.

That's not talking about style.

Now, growing up in Freeport, I had panelin everywhere.

You remember the paneling?

If you got paneling, for the love of God, don't take it down.

It's coming back in style in about five years.

Everybody will be doing it.

He's not talking about decor.

He's saying, Your houses are finished and my house lays in ruins.

And they had been back for two decades.

What had happened was they were putting their priorities before God's priorities, and that's easy to do.

And because it's easy to do, we do it.

The average American churchgoer attends church 1.6 times a month with all due respect.

That's terrible.

In my experience, it's not because they're sick, it's because they prioritize what they want over what God commands.

It's because they have other priorities, it's because church is a convenient part of their life that makes their life better.

And it's not a priority.

Family is a priority.

Nope, family is not the priority.

The Lord Jesus Christ and what he tells you to do is a priority.

After that, it's your spouse.

After that, it's your family.

After that, it's your job.

After that, it's your hobbies.

If you get your priorities out of order, you will not get the results that you want.

Even if your bank account is full, your heart will be empty.

People say, I don't come to church because I have family in town.

And bring them.

Well, they don't want to go.

They want to go to the beach.

Let them go to the beach.

We got hunting and fishing.

I'm talking to me and boating and ball games and beaches and many things besides.

And I hear people say, Well, we'll have church wherever we are.

No, you won't.

You'll have fellowship.

This is the church.

The writer says, do not forsake the assembling of God's people.

If you want to argue with somebody, don't get mad at me.

Listen, I've got enough going on.

Get mad with him.

Scripture teaches us.

Put God first.

Put God first.

We've all been there.

I've been there.

Listen, there was a span to where I didn't work at a church, and I'd be lying to you if I told you that on some Sundays when the weather was good and I was tired from a long week of work that I didn't go with the family to eat Sunday brunch.

And you know what?

I was wrong.

And so we all have room to put God first in our lives.

And there are areas in my life that the Lord is dealing with me about to put him first.

In fact, if you'll just allow me to hit pause and don't count this against my time, I want to share with you something.

Listen to me.

They say whenever it comes to talking about a pastor, you can tell how you feel about your pastor by the words that you use.

And the Lord convicted me of this one time.

Because I would say, the pastor.

Well, the pastor of that church.

And then I got a little more familiar.

I'm not talking about Pastor Phil.

I got a little more familiar and I started saying, our pastor.

And then I got convicted about that, and I realized I needed to say my pastor.

I needed to move from the to our to my.

And you know what the Lord has been convicting me of lately?

He wants me to stop saying the Lord and He wants me to move to say our Lord.

And when we move to saying our Lord, when we're talking one-on-one, we need to be able to say my Lord.

Because it's easy to talk about the Lord as long as he's out there as a pie in the sky, granddaddy who does whatever I want when I want it.

But when we move from the Lord to my Lord, all of a sudden I've got a new boss.

And his priorities are my priorities.

I'm tired of talking about the Lord.

I want to talk about my Lord.

And if he's not your Lord, then you need to get that right.

Because you will die.

And you will see the Lord, and you want him to be your Lord.

And if he's your Lord, my friends, there is nothing better than knowing the peace and the joy that comes with having him as my Lord.

Now, therefore, thus says the Lord.

Consider your ways.

You've sown much and you've 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 who earns wages does so to put them in a bag with holes.

In other words, you're not getting the results you want, and you're not finding the meaning you desire because you're making your own priority, not God's priority.

In a day when life is becoming increasingly convenient, we have it easier than anyone ever.

People are more dissatisfied.

In January of 2020, 65% of the American public was very satisfied with their lives.

I mean, 35% were still not satisfied, but by five years later, January of 2025, it is shrunk down to just 44% of the same group that said, I'm very satisfied.

In less than five years, fewer than half of the people now in America feel very satisfied.

Why?

Life may be getting easier, but is it getting better?

What do we do?

We listen to the old words of the prophet Haggai.

Consider your ways.

And in Hebrew, when it says consider your ways, what it literally means is set your heart upon your ways, do a heart check.

Because in that mind, that world in Hebrew psychology, the heart is the center of the will and the mind and the emotions.

That's why David praised God, search me and know me, know my heart, know my thoughts.

If there's any wicked way in me, God convict me.

Take a clear-eyed look at your life, check your heart, check your priorities.

You say, How do I do that, Pastor?

You don't have to look in your heart.

You look in your calendar and in your bank account.

If you want to know what is important to you, you only need to look at where you spend your time and how you spend your money.

A lot of people attend conveniently.

1.6 says that the rest of the time something else is a priority.

Now look up here and smile at me and say, he's just trying to help me.

Because he doesn't want to stand before Jesus and say, Lord, I didn't want to tell him the truth because I was afraid they'd get upset with me.

I want to talk for a moment about a topic I need to teach on.

Because not only do we just make God one of the things we do, we need to honor the Lord in our resources.

The prophet said, You've got the paneling all up in your house, and my house is in ruins.

If you want to get the results of the work that you are putting in, you will not find it if you do not prioritize giving to the house of the Lord.

You could say, nice fundraising speech, Pastor.

And if that's your thought on what I'm doing right here, the problem is not me and my motivations, it's you and your greedy heart, with all due respect.

I don't care about your money.

I care about your heart.

God's going to flow so many people and so many resources through this house, we're not going to know what we are supposed to do.

I'm not worried about attendance.

I'm not worried about money.

I'm worried about our hearts.

The Lord asks for the tenth part of what we have.

He asks for all of it.

But when we say we tithe, what we mean is we give to the church, but that's not what tithe means.

The word tithe means the tenth part.

And when a pastor taught me that, it's my honor to sit here and to see him as I'm preaching this morning.

I wish you had told me you were coming.

My pastor taught me that.

As a young man, I started honoring God, working at a golf course.

I might make$150.

I go to church, I put$100 in the offering.

You're like, that's more than 10th.

It's because God had my whole heart.

The reason that any blessings I have in my life is because of the mercy of God.

And because the pastor taught me if you'll put God first with the tithe, he'll bless the rest.

God can do more.

God can do more than you can.

Like, Pastor, I'm doing, I'm just trying my best to get by.

Start where you are and move to what God has for you.

But if you want a different result and you want a clean heart, put God first in your finances.

This isn't about a church.

This is about a heart for our Savior.

I love you so much, and I hope you hear my heart.

Because I love you, I want what's best for you.

I don't want you to get by.

I want you to build a blessed life so you can be a blessing in other people's lives.

So, what does Hagai have us to do?

Listen to this.

They're called to do two things reflect and decide and act based on their frustrated experience.

Consider your ways and then contemplate a different route.

Verses 7 to 8.

Consider your ways, go up to the hills and bring wood and build a house that I may take pleasure in it, that I may be glorified, says the Lord.

But it's not a good time.

There's a drought in the land.

We don't want to go through all that.

We're just getting by.

And God says, Yeah, but I've got something better for you, but it's not a good time for change.

And God says, It's never a good time by your clock, but the day of the Lord is upon you.

Change your ways now.

When I became pastor here, some well-meaning pastors from around, not here, but just around, they said, Go slow with the change.

Go slow with the change.

Go slow with the change.

You don't want to upset people.

You don't want to upset people.

You don't want to change too fast.

Don't change too fast.

You're following a guy that's been there for 40 years.

40 years.

That's a long time.

You go changing things too fast, somebody might get upset.

And that guy who'd been here for 40 years set me down and said, Listen, you do exactly what God's called you to do, and you change everything that needs to be changed because it's time for change.

Woo!

And I went to the board, I said, Guys, I feel like the Lord is stirring me in some directions.

This is a bold move.

I don't know how it's gonna go.

And one of the board members put his bony finger in my face.

He said, Son, we're burning the ships.

We ain't going back.

And I said, Amen.

I'm not running for nothing.

I'm in the role I'm in because of the mercy of the good hand of the Lord and the call of God on my life.

And this is not about me.

This is about me listening to Him and saying, Whatever you say, yes, sir, I'm in.

Because I'm not my Lord and you're not my Lord.

Jesus Christ is my Lord and He is your Lord too.

Here's the hope as we close.

Listen to this.

I love this part.

This is fantastic.

What verse is that?

I want to read this verse exactly.

I love this so much.

I'm gonna find it.

The word of the Lord came by the hand of the prophet.

It's time for you.

Is it a time for you to dwell in your paneled houses?

Now, therefore, thus says the Lord Consider your ways, you so much, you're getting little, you eat, never satisfied, you never have your fill, you clothe yourselves, but no one's warm.

Any who earns wages does so to put him in a bag.

Thus says the Lord, consider your ways.

Now go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord.

It doesn't say the Lord will take pleasure when it's done.

It says the Lord will take pleasure when they go to the hills and do what the Lord called them to do.

God's not looking for you to get everything perfect before he blesses your life.

He's looking for you to do the one small thing with a big whole heart.

You don't have to get it all together.

You just have to give him the thing that he's asking for right now.

So what is he asking for from you?

And what is he asking for from you?

What is he asking for from you?

Because the man from Nazareth hung naked on a cross because his father asked him to do it.

If he can hang naked on a cross, then I can give up my priorities for his priorities.

The Lord said, I'll be pleased when they begin to change.

And when you begin to change, the Lord partners with you to bless your life.

Don't look at where you could be and say, I'll never get there.

Look at where you are and say, Jesus, what do you want from me?

Why does this matter?

Because small changes with a big heart please our Lord.

My friends, God will make your priorities his priorities.

When you make his priorities your priorities.

When you put God first, God will put what you lay your hand to first.

Because when you delight yourself in the ways of the Lord, he'll give you the desires of your heart, which does not mean you'll get everything you ask.

It means that you'll get everything you ask for that he wants you to have, and better still, he will change the thing inside of you.

So you will ask for the thing he wants you to ask for.

Our Lord taught us in Matthew 6 don't be anxious about life.

How am I gonna give to the church?

Don't be anxious about your life.

What you will eat or drink, about your body, what you'll put on.

Life is more than food, the body's more than clothing.

Look at the lilies of the field.

Not even Solomon in all of his splendor was out dressed like that.

Look at him.

Therefore, don't be anxious, saying, What are we gonna eat or drink or wear?

That's how all the worldly people think.

But your heavenly father knows what you need.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

My friends, consider your ways.

Are you putting God's house first?

Are you only attending conveniently?

Are you giving generously?

Are you serving faithfully?

Are you praying with your spouse?

Then the Lord asks you to.

Are you having devotions with your family?

Is he asking you to give up the words that you're saying or the things that you're looking at?

I don't know.

I just know this.

When the Lord calls a man to follow him, he bids him come and die.

And if you die, if a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it will produce much fruit.

But if it dies not, it abideth alone.

But if it dies, it will produce much fruit.

We hope you enjoyed today's sermon.

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