Are you trying to figure out how to put your life back together? God has a plan and wants you to know how to rebuild your life.
Here’s the truth: We all go through ups and downs in life. Actually, whether your on a mountain top or a valley right now, we have the tendency to focus on ourselves and forget that life is more than what WE are experiencing. Today, I want to help you rebuild your life. Now, it doesn’t matter if you thing you need it or not, I am telling you, we ALL have need to refocus on what God wants for us.
Our church wants to make an impact in this world for Jesus. And we can do that best when we align ourselves with His will. The best way to know God’s will is to turn to scripture and learn from people who have gone before us. That’s what we are going to do today.
► As the Assyrians deported most of the inhabitants of the northern Kingdom of Israel, the Babylonians did the same, and most of the people who were living in Jerusalem were force-marched to Babylon to be slaves (leaving behind the poorest of the people to farm the land).
► The prophet Jeremiah prophesied of this destruction and exile to Babylon. He also prophesied that the duration of their captivity in Babylon would be 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11).
► The prophet Isaiah foretold of a foreign king that would eventually arise, authorizing the return of the exiled Jews in Babylon to Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1-13). This is Cyrus.
They were told to rebuild the temple.
Zechariah 4: 6-7
Why are we talking about the history of these people who were given this task of rebuilding the temple?
This was a massive task.
Have you ever felt like the task in front of you is like a mountain?
Do you ever find yourself making fruitless and foolish comparisons?
In our study today we are going to talk about another prophet who God raised up to encourage people to keep on working.
Let’s read what this prophet had to say and try to find ways to apply to our lives today.
Haggai 2: 1-9
Reality was disappointing. They were building a building that was looking terrible. But God promised it was going to turn out ok - they just needed to trust Him.
Disappointment is the theme of this passage. The people in Israel during the ministry of the prophet Haggai are disappointed and discouraged. Many years earlier, in 586 BC, when the Babylonians had invaded Israel. They had taken the people away to Babylon as captives. The Babylonians had destroyed Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.
Haggai writes to them to challenge them and to encourage them to carry on. That is a message I think we could all use today.
If we are not careful, our disappointments can derail our lives and cause us to lose faith and focus. If we are not careful, our disappointments can even cause us to quit on the Lord.
Why are we Disappointed?
We focus too much on the PAST
Haggai 2: 3
There were some people among the Jews who had seen the first Temple, the one built by Solomon. They remembered its glory, it’s gold covered walls, said to have contained over $20,000,000.00 worth of gold, its splendor, its size, and its breathtaking beauty. They recalled the glory days, when the Shekinah glory of God filled the temple and the house of God reverberated with his praises. It was an amazing time.
They wanted to go back to that time of blessing.
They looked at the Temple they were building now, and it seemed to be an embarrassment to them. It seemed so small and so shabby compared to the wonderful Temple that was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. This scene is described in Ezra 3:9–13. These people looked back, and they remembered the past.
Remembering the past is not always a bad thing, but they chose to live in the past, and that is never good! All they could consider with how things used to be, and they had no interest in how things were now.
What else causes disappointment?
The things we FORGOT
Haggai 2: 4-5
God is with us! Why do we forget that fact?
God reminds them that He was with them in the past. He was there when they crossed the Red Sea. He was the Author of all the great miracles of Israel’s past. He had always been with them. He was there during the glory days of Solomon’s Temple.
He had always been there. And, He still remembered the promises and covenants He had made with them 900 years earlier! He was standing by every promise He had ever made to His people.
They had heard the stories about God. The problem was, the stories from their past had become just that, stories. They had ceased to hold any real meaning for the Jews. They were sure that the glory days of the past, and the God Who blessed them then, were gone!
God tells them that His Spirit is still with them. Think about what the Lord is telling them. He is saying, “Abraham is gone. Moses is gone. David is gone. Solomon is gone. The first Temple is gone. But, I am still here!”
Hebrews 13: 5
The Comparison Game
Haggai 2: 3
They compared what they were doing to what others had done. God wanted them to focus on the task before THEM!
Remember the story of Jesus and Peter from John 21? Three times Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” Three times Peter says “yes”. Then Jesus tells Peter to feed His sheep, and he even tells Peter something about how he will die.
Then what did Peter do after this interaction with Jesus?
John 21: 20-21
Then Peter looks at John and says, “What about him?” I love how Jesus responds:
John 21: 22
Basically, Jesus said, “It’s none of your business!”.
This just reminds us that God is not obligated to treat us like He treats others. He is not required to bless us, use us or anything else. He is certainly not obligated to do for us today what He did on the past. He has the right to do as He pleases with us, and we are foolish to make any comparisons. If we do, it will only lead to disappointment!
Say it with me - Trust God!
Haggai 2: 4
God is greater than all the combined forces of Heaven and earth. No one can stand against Him. No one can defeat His purposes. No one can hinder Him in the least. As God says several times in Isaiah 45, “I am the LORD and there is none else!”
The same God Who stood with David in the Valley of Elah when he faced mighty Goliath is the same God Who stands with you in all your battles.
When your God is big, your battles will be small! David’s God was so big that even Goliath seemed small. To the Jews in Haggai’s day God seemed small so their task appeared to be overwhelming.
In the same way, your view of God radically affects how you approach life. Take a good look at the God you worship. Is He big enough to handle the challenges you face? If He isn’t, you need to look up and get a new view of God. He is the LORD of Host! He is the LORD Almighty!
Don't Give Up
Say it with me - Look Ahead!
God will only send you in one direction: FORWARD. He didn’t send those Jews back to the past and He won’t do that to you. The Jews in Haggai’s day had romanticized the past and completely forgotten the future. What was that future?
Haggai 2: 6-7
This passage is quoted in Heb. 12:26–27 and there it is linked to the coming of the Messiah. Taken together it tells us that God shook the earth when He gave His Law and He would shake it again when the Messiah came. One day, this world with its false religions, it dead works and it ever increasing iniquity will be shaken to pieces and it will fall at the feet of the Messiah!
Right now, the world is in turmoil. This has been the way of the world for thousands of years. The Persians toppled the Babylonians. The Greeks defeated the Persians. The Romans conquered the Greeks, and so on. The nations are in a constant state of agitation. The day will come when the Lord will shake this world system to its foundation! He will topple every king and earthly power and He will rule this world world that mocks and rejects Him today!
What will be left in that day? The things that cannot be shaken! Heb. 12:28
Let’s make an Impact
Say it with me - Let’s make an Impact!
Haggai 2: 4
The worst thing we can do is quit. We’ve got a job to do for the Lord.
You might feel weak and tired. How do you fix that problem?
Stop leaning on your own strength! Get into the Word more. Pray more. Worship more. Walk in faith more. Stop focusing on the past, start trusting God for your future. Rebuild your life on His truth. Rebuild your life by committing it to Jesus!
I want to leave you with this final scripture that reminds us that our life is not to be lived just for our own glory.
Romans 13: 11-14
