Haggai 1:1-15 - Why Am I Not Prospering?

open with me in your Bibles tonight we're gonna start a new study tonight in the the prophecies of Peggy I or hey guy depending on your pronunciation so if you could just put up here first the the diagram that we gave to you so this is just a little help to kind of see where we are if you look up here at there at the top you'll see here's Haggai and Zechariah these two prophets prophesied together we're gonna we're gonna hit Zechariah after we do Haggai and so these two men prophesied after the children of Israel came back from Babylon and so the children of Israel taken into Babylon for 70 years they come back into the land after Cyrus the king the Persian allows them to go back and then notice down here at the very base here is the return of zerubabbel and this thing needs some new batteries and anyway and the return of Nehemiah and the return of Ezra so the rebel Belle came first then Ezra then Nehemiah and so that's just kind of the historical background that I think is essential kind of to really see where we are at this particular place in our study so Haggai chapter 1 and so turn with me there in your Bibles so we can get into this in these incredible prophecies and the reproof of the the people of Israel and where they're at at this particular time so the prophet haggai basically ministers to the people after they come back from their captivity in Babylon the children of Israel had been back in the land for quite a few years about 18 years at the time of the writing of this particular these prophecies they had gone back to the land and they had basically started the work of rebuilding the temple of God so they laid the foundation and you'll find this all explained in Ezra chapter three and four if you want to just kind of put those at the top of this particular prophet and the top of this page it'll just basically keep you in line with and be able to harmonize some of these these passages so the people came back in the land they worked immediately to begin to build the temple they laid the foundation stones of the temple and they built an altar and they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles immediately and so what happened is in Chapter four you realize of as reform to have all kinds of difficulties with the people of the land and they began to resist them and fight with them because they believed that this that it was the change of power they thought the power structure of the land was going to change and it was and so they the people of the land did not like this and so they fought against them and so the people basically stopped building the temple and so they they resisted this they basically just built their own houses took care of themselves and then the Prophet Haggai comes to speak to them and to reprove them because they have not finished the temple so when this particular prophecy comes forth it is 18 years after they have been in the land and have not completed the temple and so that's basically the the background that I think is necessary to understand this Haggai gives for ticular messages we're gonna look at just one of them here in this first chapter the other three are in the second chapter which we'll take next week and so this particular prophecy is given notice where it begins it says in the second year of king darius in the sixth month on the first day of the month the word of the lord came by haggai the prophet to zerubbabel the son of shealtiel shealtiel governor of judah and to joshua the son of josedech the high priest saying so notice notice who this prophecy is directed to it is directed to Zahra Bell who is the governor and then the high priests so you have the civil authority and you have the religious authority so these are the two leaders that are spoken to first so why does the prophet of God come to the leaders of Israel why does he come to them first because they are the ones that are responsible they're the ones that are responsible for directing guiding and exhorting and motivating the people to do what is right now Jesus did the very same thing he was a motivator of people he sought to reprove people to write their their priorities and these leaders should have sought to write the priorities of these people because the priorities were wrong their priorities were their own houses as we'll see in this prophecy instead of the house of God so basically they were taking care of themselves and they had forgotten the Lord and so the Prophet here makes this very clear as he begins to speak to them and that is the responsibility of a pastor that's the responsibility of the civil leaders of our government they should be motivating you to righteousness to what is right what is good they should be encouraging you to stand up for what is right and what is good and that is my has been my ministry since I began and that is exactly what Jesus did as you read the gospel messages you can see over and over again the Lord is ministering to people get your priorities right change this deal with that it's a constant message jesus said in matthew 6:24 he said no man no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and Mammon what is he saying there he's saying you've got to put the Lord first you cannot have to first place in your lives you have to put the Lord first you can't have God the God of gods and the God of money as your two masters because you can't serve two there can only be one at the top of the list jesus said again in Luke 12:15 he said take heed and beware of covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses and these are just two very simple exhortation x' where jesus is trying to write people's priorities things should not be the priority of your life because you're gonna leave all your things here when you die you're not taking any of your things with you they remain here and somebody else is going to have them okay so that means you shouldn't be concerned and putting that as number one in your life and so it's an essential thing so as a rubber Bell was the grandson of King Jehoiachin which was one of the last kings of Israel we know this from Matthew chapter 1 verse 12 there he a Jew each in is called jeconiah which is another name for him but it says after that after they were brought to babylon a Jeconiah begot shealtiel shealtiel begot is a river belt so what is the point of the genealogies well is to help you see the historical authenticity of what God declares so notice they come back into the land and they still have the same order they still have the legal and spiritual order that they should have they don't call zerubabbel a king but if it would have been during the time of the Kings he would have been called a king because he was in the family lineage of David and so then Joshua the son of the high priest jehoshua and so Jehoshaphat was the high priest that was taken captive from Jerusalem into Babylon in 586 in first chronicles 6:15 it says jehoshua went into captivity when the Lord carried Judah and Jerusalem into captivity by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar so again here you have the the spiritual authority still in direct connection with who was in authority before they went into Babylon so just an interesting background here and so the people are in a very bad place and they so God begins to deal with these leaders and he deals with them first and then the actual prophecy now notice verse 2 it says thus speaks the Lord of hosts saying this people says the time has not come the time that the Lord's house should be built then the word of the Lord came by haggai the prophet saying is a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses and this temple to lie in ruins now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts consider your ways you have so much and bring in little you eat but you do not have enough you drink but you are not filled with drink you clothe yourselves but no one is warm and he who earns wages earns wages to put it into a bag with holes what a picture is that he says thus says the Lord of hosts consider your ways go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified says the Lord you looked for much but indeed it came too little and when you brought it home I blew it away notice I blew it away why says the Lord of hosts because of my house that it is in ruins well every one of you runs to his own house therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew and the earth with holes it's fruit for I called for a drought on the land and on the mountains on the grain and on the new wine and the oil and whatever the ground brings forth on men and livestock and on all the labor of your hands so notice here in this first part of this prophecy that he gives them a very clear understanding of exactly what the problem was what was the problem well they were dwelling in their paneled houses that to live in a paneled house in that particular time meant you were doing pretty good you were pretty well-off in fact they were living very luxuriously they had enough to take care of their own house but they just didn't seem to have enough to take care of God's house and so the Lord sent a drought upon them and all of a sudden all of the the good things began to dry up and so the drought brought this the struggle just to make ends meet why simply because they had their priorities were off they they were procrastinating in getting to the actual reason God had brought them back into the land and that was to restore their worship of him and so to restore that worship required the temple to be built they had started but they had not finished now notice in verse 2 notice how he begins this he says this people says so notice God here's what we say this is what the people were saying the time has not come the time that the Lord's house should be built in other words we're not ready to do this yet well you know it's but you know 16 years have passed in the first two years of this 18 year period they had laid the foundation they had secured the wood they had built the altar but they had done nothing since so they had what it took to do it but they did weren't doing it so their priorities were completely off and priorities mean something you see we think oh well you know just really making a difference what's really first yeah it makes a big difference because what's first is what's gonna get done whatever you put at the top of the list on your priority list that is going to get done now if that's watching a football game I'm gonna watch the football game am I not because that's first on my priority list I mean have a whole bunch of honey dudes that I need to do as well but they might not get done you see and so I won't say anything about that anyway so whatever whatever you put first on your list is going to get done and so priorities mean a lot so what are your where your priorities what's first is is the Lord first you say yes he is but but you know I really don't have any time to read my Bible I you know Steve that they just gets away from me you know I really don't have time to you know to really spending time in prayer and you know it was really bad weather last Sunday and the Sunday before and so I just didn't feel like really going to church but what did you do well yeah I went hunting yeah because it was a good day to go hunting and so we you know we have these other priorities we say oh this is first but what how does that work out in your your actual daily life you know sometimes people say I mean people can go and they can go to a ballgame and watch a doubleheader now that's that's a long time takes a lot of hours to watch two baseball games in a row and yet people get upset when the Bible study goes ten minutes too long and you kind of go okay I can yell and I can scream for my team but I don't feel like worshiping you see my priorities are just off they're off and you have to acknowledge that because what is really important to you is what you are going to do it's gonna it's it's the way it is it's true life and so he knows what people say he knows how you think and I can't I can't get around that he knows everything about me and so he knew what this these people were saying and so he repeats it to them so that they know that he knows so God really just simply would not let them prosper because their priorities were off now you may say well is that really a cause for the Lord really not allowing somebody to prosper because their priorities are off I I know a whole bunch of people would have their priorities off they aren't even Christians and they are making money like it's going out of style and so what's up with that well they are not Christians but you are a Christian and so God holds you to a higher standard okay and that is an essential thing to remember you're living by another standard Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 he said seek first seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you seek first not seek second not seek third not seek fourth seek first the kingdom of God now if that was important enough for Jesus to minister to us in the Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament I think it's equally important that he does so in the Old Testament and this is where he does that he's saying my house my service my kingdom that's got to be first and if it's not first you're going to have trouble and this is prophesied by Moses and Deuteronomy chapter 28 verses 38 through 40 there Moses predicted that if the people did not put the Lord first this is what would happen he said you shall carry out much seed out to the field but gather a little in for the locust shall consume it you shall plant vineyards and tend them but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes for the worms shall eat them you shall have olive trees throughout all your territory but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil for your olives shall drop off now I've I've had fruit trees and gosh most of my life most of my adult life and I'm telling you have you ever had a fruit tree that just drops all its buds and you you just go what's the deal with this I mean that's that's all my fruit it's just gone it dropped and it dropped right onto the ground and you go well that's that's a whole year and you know happens through different temperature changes diseases that the tree gets there's all kinds of different reasons but this is a reality if God says he can do that whenever he chooses - then he can and he will and so he tells them here this is what's going to happen and so here it is happening to them and yet in the New Testament you know you hear and you you hear Paul saying this to the Philippian Church in chapter 4 verse 19 he says but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus now what a promise is that I'm gonna supply all of your needs so why would he do that and why does he give that promise well if you read the context it's because they were loving and giving that's why you see they had their priorities right these individuals said now it's not time it's time to take care of me it's time to take care of my things first and the Lord says no it's high time it says in the scripture in Romans chapter 13 verse 11 there it says and do this knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed you see for people who think the Lord's not coming for a long time I can just coast I can just take it easy and just kind of relax well Paul says no it's high time high time now is high time to awake out of sleep and that's what happens to these people when this prophecy comes to them you're going to see it at the end of this first chapter they're gonna awaken and they're gonna realize wow my priorities are way off and they got it they heard this and they obeyed it and so God tells them here consider your ways now this word here consider means to determine by careful thought now this is I believe really one of the most important things that we do is we stop when things are not going right or well in my life I need to stop and take careful thought about what's going on where's my heart at where my priorities at do I have any unreconciled relationships with anyone I need to need to take careful thought about what's up what's going on because if I don't then I'm just gonna continue on and I'm and nothing is gonna change the only way we turn the only way we make those changes is is is if we will stop and take careful thought about where we're at and that's why he tells them here in verse six he tells them gives them this explanation and this rang true in their heart they heard this and they went yeah this is right this is exactly what's happening this drought that you have sent Lord has brought us to basically to poverty we're not prospering we're not going forward you earn wages to put it into a bag with holes now there can be other reasons why you don't seem to get ahead financially okay there there are other reasons than just your priorities being off it could be you're just not a good money manager you just don't know how to handle money well you don't have a budget you don't have a plan if you don't have a budget I guarantee you you'll never know whether or not you're meeting and making that but you don't know whether you have extra or or not and so you have to have a plan and that's all a budget is as a plan so it's essential that you know am I what's what's the reason for why I put my money in my wallet and it's empty it's empty every time I look at it so what is up why is this taking place so there's a need to reevaluate and to take a good look and so they looked for much verse nine but indeed it came too little Wow he said I blew it away says the Lord of Hosts and then he tells them why because my house because of my house that it is in ruins while every one of you runs to his own house now this is a statement that really contrasts the apathy of the people concerning God's house they weren't running to get God's house built they were they had just total apathy about that but they were running to their own house to take care of their own issues first now I'm not saying you can't take care of business in your own house there's there's nothing wrong with that it's just as long as I'm not excluding the kingdom and God's house and God's work and what he wants you to do that is an essential thing if you just keep that priority right it will enable you to keep things in their right perspective and so he tells them here I want you to build the temple verse 8 he said go get the wood build the temple that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified now some people read this and think well you know I mean is some building is a building really where it's at why would God take pleasure in a temple a temple specifically because the scripture says that God doesn't dwell in temples made by hands you remember that passage in Acts chapter 7 verse 47 there it says but Solomon built him a house and here this is Steven speaking and it says however the most high does not dwell and temples made with hands as the Prophet says heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool what house will you build for me says the Lord or what is the place of my rest as my hand not made all these things you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears you always resist the Holy Spirit as your father's did so do you so when Stephen said this where did he get this idea well he got this from the Old Testament word that specifically states the same thing where the Lord is saying you know to David and to Solomon I mean I don't need a house and yet they wanted to build this house so is it the house that he takes pleasure in that really does he take pleasure and sticks and stones and mortar and nails and windows and no not at all he does not take pleasure in that he takes pleasure in it's not the house it's not the building it's what takes place in the building that's what he takes pleasure in you see it's not the building but it's what takes place in the building you see the worship the acknowledgment of him that's what he takes pleasure in but if the building isn't there it's not going to happen right that worship is not going to take place and so that is the reason why he makes that this particular statement and so he tells them here basically you have done all these things for yourself but you have forgot and they're really the important thing you've forgotten what your real priority should be and so when people do this so many times they they lose they lose the things that they're pursuing I mean they're pursuing wealth and yet they're putting their money into a bag with holes so what could the Lord and what would have the Lord done if their priorities would have been correct what would he have done well they will never know what God could have done because they didn't have that right priority and I think that that I've said this to many people many times I mean what what have you missed all these years that your priorities have been off what could have been what would the Lord have done if your priorities would have been correct you see the Jesus warns his disciples warns the people that he's preached to this very thing let me read to you these warnings in Luke 19 verse 41 it says now as he drew near he saw the city and wept over it so why did he weep notice saying if you had known even you especially in this your day the things which that make for your peace but now they are hidden from your eyes so what does Jesus referring to he's referring to his own coming he said if you had known even you especially in this your day the day that he is referring to is the day that Daniel prophesied that the Messiah would come and come to the city of Jerusalem and it's we're right at this particular point in our study in the Gospel of John in his triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem he says this just before he enters in and people began to worship him and they are acknowledging him for the first time he has ever allowed them to worship Him and to acknowledge him as the son of David the Messiah the first time and he knew this was the day prophesied and yet he knew that the religious leaders would reject him he knew that they would crucify him they he knew all of these things were going to come to pass what could have been if they would have received their Messiah then what would the world have been like if they would have received their Messiah then what would have been like I wonder we'll never know Matthew chapter 23 verse 37 he said o Jerusalem Jerusalem the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her how often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings but you were not willing so he clearly tells them how much he wanted to do for them but he tells them you're not willing you're not willing or receptive so I wonder what the Lord has in store for each of us and when we're missing because our priorities are off we're seeking the wrong thing we're concerned and caught up in envy or jealousy or our pride won't let us acknowledge our need or resolve an issue with someone I don't know whatever the issue might be what what does he want to do that we might be missing right now I think that's an interesting and important question I notice let's go on here in verse 12 says 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 oh I love those words 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 feared the presence of the Lord then Haggai the Lord's messenger spoke the Lord's message to the people saying I am with you says the Lord so the Lord stirred up that the spirit of zareba tho and the son of shealtiel the 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 they worked on the house of the Lord of hosts their God on the 24th day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius so basically here they the people responded so the leaders responded and the people responded so very important you see leaders can respond like Joey Josiah did and the people really don't respond that's why Judah was conquered yes there was this external revival but it didn't last and the people were basically they were doing they were worshipping the Lord and they were worshipping the god of no calm as well we find we saw that in in Zephaniah offices they were doing both and so the leader has to be touched by the holy spirit has to be stirred by the spirit and obey his voice and the people have to do it as well those two have to go together that is an important and I think interesting issue here that is very clear so this is the response that the Lord wanted he wanted these people to obey his voice and God bless him they did they responded to him and that is what he wants from you and from me he wants us to be obedient to his voice so what is the Lord telling you to do what is he commanding you to do what is he dealing with your your heart about in your personal life what is it what's he speaking to you about that's what he wants you to obey him in he doesn't he's not asking you obey what he's telling somebody else to do he's asking you to obey Him for your own life what is he telling you to do that's the key and it's an essential aspect of your Christian life it's what he's always after let me show you this in the scripture in Jeremiah chapter 7 verse 23 there it says but this is what I commanded them saying obey my voice and I will be your God and you shall be my people and walk in all the ways that I have commanded you now you can't walk in all the ways that he commands you unless you obey his voice those two things must go together he says and walk in all the ways that I have commanded you that it may be well with you yet they did not obey or incline their ear but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts and went backwards and not forward anyone of us in this room can go backwards and not forwards do you believe that I hope so because that's that can be you just stop obeying the voice of the Lord and you will go backwards and not forwards he says since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day I have even sent to you all my servants the prophets daily rising up early and sending them yet they did not obey me or incline their ear but stiffened their neck they did worse than their fathers therefore you shall speak all these words to them but notice what God says to Jeremiah but they will not obey you you shall also call to them but they will not answer you so God tells him you speak even though I know they are not going to respond you need to speak even when you say to yourself well they're not gonna listen to me anyway you know they they've heard me before but they're and they're not gonna listen to me at this time either you need to say it to him anyway until somebody says leave me alone stop it I don't want to hear it anymore stop talking to me when somebody says that then you say okay I will stop but notice this is what the Lord said before he asked them to make any offerings or sacrifices he said obey my voice the New Testament Jesus said in John 14:15 if you love me keep my Commandments there it is if you love me obey me that's the bottom line if you love me then obey me those two things have to go together you have to obey Him because you love him that is the bottom line now notice one last thing here in this particular text and that is there are two more issues that must go together two things that must go together man's repent and gods awakening this word here in verse 14 the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel and joshua and the spirit of the people the word stirred up here means to awaken so he awakened their hearts so how did he awaken their hearts through the repentance that they had in their hearts when they heard the word of the lord from Haggai they repented they acknowledged what they had done is wrong that their priorities were off they got it right why it says back in verse at the end of verse 12 because they feared the Lord they feared his presence and so if a person truly has respect for God they have that reverential fear and reverential respect for God they are going to repent and when that repentance comes there is going to be an awakening that takes place in their hearts now think about this for a minute has that ever happened to you that ever taken place in your personal life I'll bet you it has I'll bet you you will remember when you came to repentance when you first receive Christ what happened there was repentance and there was a stirring and God awakened you and all of a sudden you saw things that you could you never saw before you you experienced his life inside and those two things always go together you cannot separate them the Lord said if my people which are called by my name will humble themselves and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways what is he going to do he's then going to work you see it's a conditional promise there are unconditional promises in the scripture there are conditional promises in the scripture this is a conditional one you want awakening you want stirring you want God's intervention he says you need to repent you need to turn your heart towards him when you do this everything comes alive let me show you this in in just a New Testament passage of Scripture the responsibility of man and though working the sovereign working of God notice Philippians chapter 2 verse 12 and 13 he says my beloved as you have always obeyed there it is as you have always obeyed not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling there it is the fear of the Lord and their response to obey and then he says for it is God who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure so those two things always go together and I pray that you can make that application in your own heart if you want God's awakening inside of you you need to say you know what I'm empty I am I'm dead as a doornail lord inside I don't feel like worshiping I don't feel like pursuing you I don't feel like reading the word there's just I am dead inside lord I know that's wrong and I know what your word declares and I repent and I want to obey your your voice and turn to you I'm not going to blame you I'm not going to blame other people I'm gonna take responsibility and then and only then does the Lord work inside of you and awaken you those two things they must go together they have to go together amen church let's now that that's just we gotta explain it to the other people so that's that was the mannerism of it was one of the mannerisms of Ben Carson at our retreat he disco Church this is what church is all about amen let's go to him in prayer father we thank you so much Lord just for the testimony of your word the Lord when you speak if we will hear your voice and obey you you will come in power you will work in us both to will and to do of your good pleasure so lord I pray that you would just bring that personal application to each one of us here tonight Lord we just we turn our hearts toward you we ask you to just come and fill us with life and with joy and with that that hunger for you lord help us to set your you first your kingdom first your work first in our lives we trust you to do that we ask it in Jesus name Amen

Channel: Pastor Steve Carr

Views: 7,224

Rating: 4.884058 out of 5

Keywords: Consider your ways!

Id: H9otM8Cui1I

Length: 47min 58sec (2878 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 18 2016