FBC Westminster
Sunday, January 24th, 2021 - PM - Consider Your Ways (Haggai)

      • Deuteronomy 10:12–13KJV

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  • Standing on the Promises
  • Blessed Assurance
  • Come Thou Fount
  • Formal Elements / Descriptive Data
    Text: Haggai
    CIT: God’s people must be sure that His priorities are first, lest they neglect the place of His presence among them
    Proposition: God wants us to be busy in doing His work.
    Statement of Purpose:
    (1) MO – Consecrative
    (2) SO – I want my hearers to get busy doing something for Jesus
    Title (Topic/Name): Consider Your Ways
    Informal Elements / Rhetorical Data

    Introduction:

    Get Attention; Start Low:
    How would you like to do something for just a few weeks of your life that would be memorialized for eternity? Let me introduce you to a prophet named Haggai!
    Note - Explain the role of various people in God’s prophetic timeline for Israel… Isaiah, Cyrus, Ezra, Zerubbabel, Haggai.
    Isaiah 45:1 KJV 1900
    1 Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, Whose right hand I have holden, To subdue nations before him; And I will loose the loins of kings, To open before him the two leaved gates; And the gates shall not be shut;
    Isaiah 44:28 KJV 1900
    28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, And shall perform all my pleasure: Even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; And to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
    Isaiah 45:13 KJV 1900
    13 I have raised him up in righteousness, And I will direct all his ways: He shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, Not for price nor reward, Saith the Lord of hosts.
    Ezra 5:1–2 KJV 1900
    1 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. 2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.
    ILL:
    Have you at some time ever watched a symphony orchestra as a performance is about to begin? The musicians sit and stand about, strumming on strings, blowing into horns, beating on drums. There is a lot of noise, but no music. Then the conductor enters. He walks to his podium and steps up onto it. His eye sweeps the scene before him-all the musicians and all their instruments silent in anticipation. He lifts his baton, pauses there for a moment, then, he gives the downbeat. Instantly there is music; all instruments blend into one harmonious whole. The passage we are dealing with is much like that orchestra: the Jews are the players, God the conductor, and Haggai His baton. As the book opens, the people are all about their own business, they have forgotten the House of the Lord while they dwell in their ceiled houses. God steps onto the podium, raises His baton and the people respond to God’s message through Haggai. What is produced through their repentance is music to all.
    Haggai: Messages from God through Haggai to Zerubbabel and his crew of returned exiles regarding the rebuilding of the temple and the ultimate restoration of the presence of God among God’s people.
    God’s people must be sure that His priorities are first, lest they neglect the place of His presence among them.
    God wants us to be busy in doing His work.
    I want my hearers to get busy doing something for Jesus.
    Body – Development – Outline:

    I. The Need: to Rebuild the House of the LORD (Hag. 1:2-6).

    Go Slow
    Haggai 1:2–6 KJV 1900
    2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built. 3 Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, And this house lie waste? 5 Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. 6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; Ye eat, but ye have not enough; Ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; Ye clothe you, but there is none warm; And he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
    EXP:

    A. God’s people had ceased work on the temple (Hag. 1:2).

    Haggai 1:2 KJV 1900
    2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.
    By force and power they had ceased to work on the temple after the foundation had been laid (Ezra 4:23-24).
    Ezra 4:23–24 KJV 1900
    23 Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. 24 Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
    But here we find that the work stalled by their will and decision.
    They had become thoughtless, and unmindful about one of the main reasons they had returned from captivity.
    Their hands had become slack, and the materials which were to be used sat decaying.
    Their procrastination was about to be exposed.

    B. They dwelt in their “ceiled houses” (Hag. 1:4).

    Haggai 1:4 KJV 1900
    4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, And this house lie waste?
    They had become content that the Lord’s house lay by in waste.
    The idea is that they had worked to further their own causes while the Lord’s was neglected.
    This is a far cry from the way King David felt about his house of cedar knowing that the Ark of God dwelt in curtains (2 Sam 7:2).
    2 Samuel 7:2 KJV 1900
    2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
    God had cursed the land and increased their toil because of their neglect (Hag. 1:6).
    Haggai 1:6 KJV 1900
    6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; Ye eat, but ye have not enough; Ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; Ye clothe you, but there is none warm; And he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
    Deuteronomy 28:38–40 KJV 1900
    38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it. 39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. 40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.
    APP:
    Jesus clearly taught in the Scriptures were our motives ought to be. He said in Mat. 6:33 that we are to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and all these things shall be added.
    Matthew 6:33 KJV 1900
    33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
    “But seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt 6:33). With these words Jesus summarized the acceptable priorities of life for those who would follow him. Such a view on life appears to have been for Jesus’ disciples an entirely new and unexpected concept, one both liberating in its potential but no less intimidating in its demands. His disciples shared a natural inclination to worry about the basic necessities of life. A significant portion of their waking hours was spent providing for such basic family essentials as food, clothing, and shelter. But these concerns, if not balanced by a sense of urgency with regard to the service of God, can easily undermine a proper sense of what is actually most important in life, namely the advancement of the kingdom of God. In fact, preoccupation with such concerns can lead to a type of personal decision making that focuses first on meeting temporal human needs and offers God only what is left over after essential matters of personal security and comfort have first been decided. This is not, however, the path of authentic discipleship. [Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen, Haggai, Malachi, vol. 21A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004), 23–24.]
    The children of Israel had their priorities out of line here, and that is an admonition to us, for we are no less susceptible to get carried away in thinking about our material possessions rather than working to further the cause of Christ.
    It fell to the prophet Haggai to show why the attitude of the postexilic Israelite community did not honor the God they professed to serve. Haggai’s ministry was one of calling his generation to a renewed commitment to the task of the immediate restoration of Jerusalem’s temple and normalization of the religious life of Israel. In large measure this task that lay before them was a test of whether they would put God first in their lives. It was a test whose momentous significance the prophet drove home in a relentless and uncompromising fashion. The people would have to decide whose interests mattered most to them—their own or the Lord’s.
    Haggai’s message to the postexilic community of Israel is one that the church of the twenty-first century needs to reflect on. To “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” is for us—as it was for them—a calling that runs the risk of being eclipsed by self-serving interests. Far too often the affluence of God’s people, rather than encouraging a self-imposed measure of personal sacrifice in order to advance the cause of God’s work in this world, leads instead to a hoarding of resources and to an ugly self-indulgence. The Book of Haggai vividly points out this inconsistency and calls for the people of God to move beyond such worldly ways of thinking. Haggai’s sermons, though first given two-and-a-half millennia ago, have a fresh and vital message for the present generation of believers. In many ways the modern church mirrors the spiritual lethargy and unresponsiveness of Haggai’s original audience. But the fact that his postexilic community eventually responded to the prophetic word and committed themselves to a great task for God’s glory holds out hope that we too may lay aside every quest for personal advantage that detracts from the greater cause of the kingdom of God in our midst. [Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen, Haggai, Malachi, vol. 21A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004), 25.]
    TS: We have considered the definite need to continue rebuilding the Temple, notice also-

    II. The Commission: Build the House (Hag. 1:7-11).

    Climb Higher
    Haggai 1:7–11 KJV 1900
    7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; And I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. 9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; And when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, And ye run every man unto his own house. 10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, And the earth is stayed from her fruit. 11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, And upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, And upon that which the ground bringeth forth, And upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.
    EXP:
    Consider your ways.
    God calls them to take inventory of their positions by considering their ways.
    The implication was that they (their ways) needed to change (Hag. 1:7).
    Haggai 1:7 KJV 1900
    7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
    He tells them to get busy, and stop wasting time!
    They are not going to get anything done by sitting around waiting for the Temple to build itself (Hag. 1:8).
    Haggai 1:8 KJV 1900
    8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; And I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
    He reminds them of why they had not been prosperous, because of their neglect, in case you did not hear the first time, I will repeat, this time adding that much more emphasis.
    APP:
    The Temple of God at Jerusalem was the House of the Lord and stood for worship to God and testimony to Him.
    The Church of God, the “Body of Christ” is a spiritual Temple built with spiritual stones.
    We are called to have an active role in the building of God’s church through Worshipping Him and witnessing to others.
    How can we sit by idle, while God’s work remains yet to be completed, the time will come when no man will be able to work, until then, we must remain faithful to the work He has called us to do.
    TS: We have considered the great need to rebuild, the commission to rebuild, now we will see their response to God’s message and messenger. You can get busy for Jesus when you simply Consider the Need, Consider Your Ways, and come to Compliance with God’s revealed Word.

    III. Compliance: Rebuild the House of the LORD (Hag. 1:12-15)

    Take Fire
    Haggai 1:12–15 KJV 1900
    12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord. 13 Then spake Haggai the Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord. 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
    EXP:

    A. The people respond to the reproof of Haggai (Hag. 1:12).

    Haggai 1:12 KJV 1900
    12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord.
    Haggai is a wise reprover who speaks to an obedient ear (Prov 25:12).
    Proverbs 25:12 KJV 1900
    12 As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, So is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
    Zerubbabel rises up as the godly leader and the people follow him in continuing the work that had formerly been laid aside.
    The overall purpose of the Book of Haggai is thus quite clear. Its four messages seek to stir the people of Judah to turn from their self-centered ways and to undertake, with God’s help, the restoration of the Jerusalem temple so that the Lord may once again uniquely manifest himself in this sacred place. If they will present themselves to him as a pure people, the Lord promises divine enablement for their task, unsurpassed glory for the new temple, and elevation of a Davidic heir to lead the people in triumph over their enemies. (As Kessler observes, “In the course of the book we move from failure (1:4–11; 2:15–18) to blessing (2:18–19), from humiliation (1:4–11; 2:15–17) to exaltation (2:6–9, 20–23), and from alienation and rejection (1:2) to acceptance and restoration (1:13–14; 2:5, 18, 23)” (The Book of Haggai, 251)). [Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen, Haggai, Malachi, vol. 21A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004), 59.]
    APP:
    Sometimes, we can spend so much time looking for new experiences, new methods, and new ways of trying something, and we theorize and hypothesize ourselves into feeling like we’re about to do something for the Lord, when in actuality, we’ve done very little for His sake, and very much for our own sakes. There are things that have been done since Jesus ascended, and it is those things that transcend time and culture. These are the things that I want to be found doing when Jesus comes again: Evangelizing, Baptizing, Discipling! Every ministry of the church should tie back to this commission someway or another. I would rather be working at ONE idea as well as we can than have a thousand ideas that NO ONE is working at all.
    Note - Some ancient sources say Haggai was the human author of Psalms 145-148, among others. While this may or may not be, I can understand why they would think so when I consider what these say in light of the ministry Haggai had. The MT however does not specify that Haggai wrote these Psalms.
    Psalm 146 KJV 1900
    1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. 2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; In that very day his thoughts perish. 5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God: 6 Which made heaven, and earth, The sea, and all that therein is: Which keepeth truth for ever: 7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: Which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: 8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: The Lord loveth the righteous: 9 The Lord preserveth the strangers; He relieveth the fatherless and widow: But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. 10 The Lord shall reign for ever, Even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

    B. God responds to their obedience (Hag. 1:13-14).

    Haggai 1:14 KJV 1900
    14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,
    God stirred up the spirit of the governor, high priest, and the people.
    It is exciting to be in the right with Almighty God, and to be doing what He has called you to do.
    EXP:
    How do we serve God when our political leaders seem to reward evil and punish good? God give us Zerubbabel-like leaders in our communities. Regardless, at least for now, we still have spiritual leaders who want to help us do a work for God. Ultimately, we look for a greater-than-Zerubbabel, the Lord Jesus Christ, but until then, let us be diligent to occupy till He comes.
    APP:
    Where is your brick? Go get your brick and put it back in the wall. Sure, the devil will come and try to knock you down, the world and the flesh will try to give you excuses, and make it easier for you to neglect doing something for the Lord, but when you remember what Jesus said, that He is returning at any moment, there will be nothing that hell can do to stop you, and no excuse suitable to you to stay idle. It’s high time to get off the devil’s playground and get back to doing SOMETHING, ANYTHING you can for your Lord, and for the testimony of Jesus in our community.
    Ezra 6:14–15 KJV 1900
    14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
    The effectiveness of Haggai’s ministry, however, is without question. Just as Queen Esther was later in the sovereignty of God to “come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esth 4:14), so too Haggai was the right person for the right moment. As Smith remarks, “God calls some people for spot jobs.” Haggai understood his niche, and with God’s help he made a very significant contribution to postexilic Judaism. He was able to call a weary, discouraged, and self-indulgent community of his peers to a renewed commitment to things that were far more important than their own personal and mundane concerns. He was able to give to this community a vision of what they could accomplish for the glory of God. He was able to lead them to give generously of their resources and their energies in the fulfilling of what was for them nothing less than the will of God. In that sense Haggai’s prophetic ministry is a model for modern servants of God who must also attempt to lead their congregations to a renewed understanding of their individual and corporate roles in the kingdom of God. Like Haggai, they too must convince their people that it is God’s work that deserves our highest priorities, our most enthusiastic energies, and our absolutely unrestrained commitment. Those with such a calling may learn much from the single-mindedness and dogged determination of the prophet Haggai. [Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen, Haggai, Malachi, vol. 21A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004), 42.]
    ILL:
    More than 90 people conducted an all-night search for an eight-year-old boy named Dominic. While on a skiing trip with his father, this little boy apparently had ridden a new lift and skied off the run without realizing it. They hoped to find Dominic somewhere on the snowy mountain slope before it was too late.
    As each hour passed, the search party and the boy's family became more and more concerned. By dawn they still had found no trace of him. Two helicopters joined the search, and within fifteen minutes had spotted ski tracks. A ground team followed the tracks which changed to small footprints. The footprints lead to a tree where they found the boy at last.
    "He's in super shape," the area search and rescue coordinator announced to the anxious family and press. "In fact, he's in better shape than we are right now." A hospital spokesman said the boy was in fine condition and was not even admitted.
    The rescuer explained why the boy did so well despite spending a night in the freezing elements: His father had enough forethought to warn him what to do if he became lost, and his son had enough trust to do exactly what his father said.
    Dominic protected himself from possible frostbite and hypothermia by snuggling up to a tree and covering himself with branches. As a young child, he never would have thought of doing this on his own. He was simply obeying his wise and loving father.
    APP:
    If we will just listen to and obey God when He speaks to us through His word, then we have nothing to fear.
    Unlike this situation with Dominic, there is no chance of us slipping out of God’s hand once we have placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

    Conclusion:

    Is there not a cause? There is certainly a need to be about the Father’s business.
    Have we not been commissioned? He has commissioned us to go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and to teach them to observe and obey the commandments that are set forth in His Holy Word.
    Will you be the one that the Lord finds watching or sleeping? It is up to us however, to heed that call, and get busy for the furtherance of the gospel.
    Let us then be wise hearers, and consider our ways, but further, as James exhorts us, to be doers of His Word and not hearers only.
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    This is the Lord’s House - it is a hub where we can get people in to sit at the feet of Jesus through His Word. This is not just “busy” work. This is not merely some religious bureaucracy. This is where we can be busy about the Master’s work, investing our talents for the Lord, praying for fruit that would remain.

      • Isaiah 45:1KJV

      • Isaiah 44:28KJV

      • Isaiah 45:13KJV

      • Ezra 5:1–2KJV

      • Haggai 1:2–6KJV

      • Haggai 1:2–6KJV

      • Haggai 1:2KJV

      • Haggai 1:2KJV

      • Ezra 4:23–24KJV

      • Haggai 1:4KJV

      • Haggai 1:4KJV

      • 2 Samuel 7:2KJV

      • Haggai 1:6KJV

      • Deuteronomy 28:38–40KJV

      • Matthew 6:33KJV

      • Haggai 1:7–11KJV

      • Haggai 1:7–11KJV

      • Haggai 1:7KJV

      • Haggai 1:8KJV

      • Haggai 1:12–15KJV

      • Haggai 1:12–15KJV

      • Haggai 1:12KJV

      • Haggai 1:12KJV

      • Proverbs 25:12KJV

      • Psalm 146KJV

      • Haggai 1:13–14KJV

      • Haggai 1:14KJV

      • Ezra 6:14–15KJV

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