Haggai

Discussion Questions

1. Could the same “Bread and Circuses” analogy used to describe ancient Roman culture accurately describe modern culture today?  How are you actively fighting the tendency to make life all about your comfort and entertainment?
2. What is the difference between being distracted momentarily and living a distracted life?
3. “Sometimes struggling is a nice word for postponed obedience.” – Elisabeth Elliot
   Are you willing to “consider your ways” (v. 5 and 7) and discern if some of your struggles result from postponed obedience?
4. When the circumstances of life are difficult, it seems justified to center our attention on self. What “good things” are keeping you from the most important things?

Transcript

We study through books of the Bible here at The Village Chapel and this Sunday is no different. So, if you would like a copy of a Bible to follow along, go ahead and raise your hand and someone will be around to give you one. Last week Emily and I had the opportunity to go on a vacation that started in Rome and ended in London, a little bit of a European tour for us, and it was an amazing experience. But what truly stirred us traveling through both cities was the rich history that both had to offer. As we walked through the Vatican Museum and saw the beautiful paintings in the Sistine Chapel, I was so impressed by the artwork and the grandeur of the place. As we sat in front of the Trevi Fountain once again, we were in awe that every square inch of detail had meaning, and it had purpose. As we walked through the streets of London and saw Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard, their tradition that’s been held there and still lasts through today.

But for me, the most soul-stirring environment was in Rome when we went to the Coliseum. Now, on the one hand, the architecture is stunning. I have never seen a building or a structure quite like the Coliseum, but as I walked through it and we got the little tour, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of how many men and women were publicly executed at the center of that place for the amusement of Roman citizens. And it led me to ask this question to myself throughout the week: How did it get this bad? How did it get that bad? How was the Roman government able to create an environment where that kind of stuff was celebrated and allowed? And as I began to read a little bit more about Roman history, it led me to the phrase “panem et circenses,” which translated means bread and circuses.

Now, this isn’t just a fun catchphrase, it was the strategy deployed by the Roman government in order to steal the people’s freedom and begin to change their appetites. Now, here’s how it worked: The emperor would set up a whole week of entertainment that included gladiator fights, circuses, drinking and feasts that were designed to distract the people. And by ensuring that the people had enough food and plenty of entertainment, the rulers could effectively prevent civil unrest by diverting their attention to trivial things. So, while the people were living it up, they had no idea that in the background all of these meetings were happening that were stealing their rights right out from under them. You see, rather than using brute force to accomplish their mission, the Roman government used something far more effective, something far more stealthy: distractions. That was their whole method. But this tactic of distraction is not confined to ancient history because this strategy is still a potent strategy that remains relevant in our world today.

In our modern lives, we may not be placated with literal bread and circuses, but we are surrounded by countless distractions that vie for our attention on a moment-by-moment basis. From the constant barrage of social media notifications to the endless stream of entertainment options, our minds and hearts can easily become preoccupied with things that may be momentarily satisfying, but ultimately divert our attention away from what truly matters. You see, as Christians, we are called to live with intention and focus, setting our minds on the things above and not on the things of this world. Yet how often do you and I find ourselves caught up in the trivial pursuits of this world that pull us away from the things above? It’s scary that before I even realize it, the first thing I do when I wake up is I grab my phone, and without even thinking, I’ve been sitting on my phone for an hour watching YouTube videos of famous basketball dunks that I’ve seen a million times and I’m just rewatching them again.

You see, it’s one thing to be distracted for a moment. It’s an entirely different thing to live a distracted life. So today we’ll be studying the Book of Haggai, and as I read and studied this letter this week, I was struck at just how relevant and timely the message of this book is to our day and time. But because we are starting and ending this book today, it’s really important that we place it in the proper context of God’s people, that we actually see where and when it was written. This letter was written in about 520 BC, and we’ll have a little timeline up here for you. Haggai is all the way down there, which means that this is post-exilic.

Now, if you’re new to church or maybe you’ve been to church and you just don’t know what that is, let me explain to you quickly what the event of the exile was because it’s important in Israelite history. In the Old Testament, God’s people lived in Israel, but they were terribly disobedient to God, and because of their disobedience, God sent an enemy nation named Babylon to punish them. As the Babylonians laid siege to the city, not only did they kidnap the people, but they also destroyed the temple. And that’s significant because the temple was the place that God dwelled with His people. So, the people of Israel were captured by Babylon, and this lasted for 70 years. My fear is sometimes that we read a number in Scripture, and we move on. Seventy years, that’s roughly three generations of Israelites where all they’d known was Babylonian captivity.

However, a new political power rose up in the Persian empire, and they defeated the Babylonians in 538 BC, then they allowed the Israelites to return back to their homeland. So, as you can imagine, as the people are returning home, they have a massive laundry list of things that need to get done. But at the very top of the list was the need to rebuild the temple. It’s important to note that the absence of the temple wasn’t a practical inconvenience. It was a spiritual crisis. No temple meant no place to be with God. So, in the first two years of returning home, we are told in Ezra and Nehemiah, two other Old Testament books, that the people of God begin to lay the new foundation of the temple. It seems like they’ve got their priorities in line. This is good news.

However, as the people are building, they’re met by various opposition from the Samaritans who live north of Israel. The Samaritans begin to mock the work that is being done, and eventually they bring in government authority to legally halt the work. As you can imagine this discouraged the recently returned exiles greatly, and they stopped all construction of the temple. Then fast-forward the story, 18 years go by, and the people of God begin to grow apathetic towards the rebuilding of the temple. You see, the walls of the city were never repaired, which leaves them really vulnerable to military attacks. We’re going to read today that there is a great famine in the land, the people are starving, and lastly, they are still Persian controlled. But the leadership of the Persians begins to change.

You see, at the time in which it was illegal to rebuild the temple, King Cyrus was on the throne, but then he dies, and his son, Cambyses, takes over in his place and begins to conquer much of Egypt. And as he’s returning home from a victory, his son, Darius, kills him, and then he takes over the throne. What a beautiful family! They seem to have it all together. But this is important because Darius allows the Israelites to rebuild the temple. He says that the ban has been lifted and the people are good to begin working again. So now at the time of this letter, the greatest barrier standing in between the people of God and the rebuilding of the temple is that they got comfortable living life without God. The greatest barrier between the people of God and the rebuilding of the temple is that they got comfortable living life without God, because it wasn’t like they were not allowed to reconstruct the temple, it was just lifted.

They’re now ready to start work, but as we’ll see, they’ve got some reasons why it’s just not the right time for them to start rebuilding. Into this political, social, spiritual and distracted climate enters the prophet Haggai with a message from God to the people to get their priorities straight. So, let’s go ahead and read the first chapter of this book, but before we read, allow me to pray:

Jesus, thank You for this day. God, I thank You for another opportunity to gather as Your people. God, though this may feel like a normal Sunday, this is anything but normal. God, this is a gift that You’ve given us to be together as the body to sing Your praises, to come under Your Word and to take communion together and remember the Son who laid down His life for us. God, I pray that You would just be with us this morning, God, that You would help us to truly understand, not just in our heads but in our hearts, the message of the Book of Haggai and that we would live differently because of it. God, we lift all this up to You in Your name, amen.

We’re going to start in Haggai, Chapter 1, and I’m actually going to read the whole first chapter for us. “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 Jehozadak, the high priest. ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: 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 a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house 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 yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes in it. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build a house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of Hosts. Because of my house that lies and 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, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.’ Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel and Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, 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 feared the Lord. Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, ‘I am with you, declares the Lord.’ And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, Governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of the host, their God, on the 24th day of the month in the 6th month, in the second year of Darius the King.”

And we’re going to pause right there. So, this letter starts with the Lord calling out the people for their poor excuses. When confronted with the question of why they haven’t rebuilt the temple, the people’s response in verse two is, “Well, it’s just not the best time for me right now. You see, God, listen, I know the temple is important, I get it, but it’s nearly time for the harvest. So, we will be busy for the next few months making sure we have enough food, but after we get our fill, listen God, then we will start to rebuild the temple. I promise, as soon as we’re done with the harvest. You see God, I know the temple is important, but we just don’t have enough resources to build right now. We just got back from exile.  So, here’s what I need to do; I need to focus a little bit more on my finances, just need to keep accumulating just a little bit more wealth. And if You think about it, I can actually donate more to the building campaign when the reconstruction starts. You see, God, I know the temple is important, but life is just really hard for me right now. I just need to focus on me for a season of life and then I’ll get to whatever it is that You find important.”

It’s not that the people are saying that the temple is unimportant, it’s that they continue to push it back until they will be free enough, which conveniently never seems to be the case. Because here’s the temptation that the Israelites have fallen into: When the circumstances of our lives are difficult, we feel justified to center our existence on ourselves. I mean, is this not the most relatable thing? Yeah, I would love to come to church right now, but it’s just not the best time for me in this season of life. I want to reach out to my neighbor and share the Gospel with them, but it actually looks like they’re really busy right now, and honestly, I just can’t deal with another rejection right now. I really want to spend more time in the Word, but honestly, I’m just not a morning person. So, I just don’t think I’m ever going to really get around to it. I’ve got enough to worry about in my own life, and as soon as I get my house in order, then I’ll start to focus on the things of God.

You see, the people have caught themselves in the loop of excuses that you and I tend to get caught up in sometimes. But here’s the reality of life – this is really important – there is never going to be a perfect time to do what God has called you to do. There’s never going to be a perfect time, and maybe that’s the point. Maybe the inconvenience of your obedience is one of the reasons that God has called you to do something, because inconvenience is an intentional part of the Christian life. It was designed to be done in a way that makes you choose the things of God over the things of this world that come natural and comfortable to us.

Neil Postman in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death says this, “I believe I’m not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether.” You see, rather than be inconvenienced by what the Lord has called them to do, the people instead claim that they just have no time for the rebuilding of the temple. However, look with me at verses three and four, the people conveniently have found time for the rebuilding of their own houses. If you look at verse four, notice the description of the people’s house. It says that “They are living in paneled homes,” which is the equivalent of saying a luxury home. There’s only one other place in the Bible where the specific word paneled is used like this, and it’s used in the description of Solomon’s home in 1 Kings.

So, to have a paneled home was to be living in the upper one percent of society. But if you see it’s become normal for the Israelite community. Paneled houses, what they did was they hid all of the imperfections of the stones that the house was made of, and it worked as a type of insulation to keep it cool in the summer and hot in the winter. But here’s the point, the people were more focused on the comforts of their own life and let that take priority over the things of God. The contrast between the beauty and luxury of their houses and the unfinished work of the temple shows us the priorities of the people.

Now, I want to make it really clear, it’s not inherently bad to have a nice home. It’s not a bad thing. It’s not inherently bad to be busy. It becomes a problem when you let good things replace the most important things. That’s when it becomes an issue. Think of it like this: If you know me, you will know that I love sports. Should come as a surprise to none of you. I can’t shut up about it. Basically, every illustration I have is a sports illustration. I love sports and I think sports are a really good thing. But if that good thing gets in the way of my relationship with my wife Emily, then it’s time to cut sports out of my life. Why? Well, it’s not because sports are a bad thing. It’s because I’ve let a good thing get in the way of the most important thing. And this can be true of our relationship with God too.

Listen, one of the most prominent ways that I see the devil schemes with believers, specifically in the United States, is not by having them renounce their faith in Jesus, but by filling their lives up with meaningless tasks so that they never have time to invest in their relationship with Jesus or in the mission of the Kingdom of Heaven. Corrie Ten Boom says it like this, “If the Devil can’t make you sin, he will make you busy.” I mean, if we’re not careful, we can convince ourselves that living a busy life is the same thing as living an important life, that being busy is the same thing as living a life that is pleasing to God. But what if the things that we are so busy with aren’t all that important?

Now, for some of us, we really are too busy to find time for Jesus in our lives. Perhaps we have over-scheduled our lives to the point of not having time for anything that matters. From the moment we wake up until the moment our head hits the pillow, our lives are completely at the mercy of our calendar. That might be true for some of you, but sometimes we believe that we’re more busy than we really are. Now, here’s what I mean by that. How many times have I said this phrase, “Gosh, I wish I just had more time to invest in important things?” And yet today, around this time, it might’ve already gone off in your pockets, I will get a report sent to my phone that tells me that somehow in the midst of my busy life, I managed to find four hours every day to be on my phone.

And just for context, the national average is the U.S. adult spends eight hours on their phone every day. Listen to me, that’s not a meaningless statistic. That’s a worship report. That’s what that is. I mean, imagine the amount of energy and attention and devotion and sacrifice that you would have to give up in order to spend eight hours on anything in a day. That’s scary. Or I say something like this, “I just have no time to do that.” Well, but somehow, I managed to find time to binge a new season of a show that has 12 separate hour-long episodes, and I did it all in 3 days. I somehow managed to find the time. Or I know when I was in high school, I spent many hours playing video games. I was so fixed on being the fake hero, trying to save a fake world, when in reality there was a real hero inviting me to take part in a real redemption of the real world, and I missed it because I was too busy focused on distraction.

So whether we are really busy or we have convinced ourselves that we’re more busy than we really are, like the Israelites, we can get really easily distracted from what’s important In his book, Faithful Leaders, which is a book I know many of you have read if you’ve gone through Greenhouse, Rico Tice says, “Failure is being successful at things that don’t matter.” That’s what failure is. So, what are the consequences of living a distracted life? Well, that’s what verses 5 through 11 seek to show us because we see that ignoring the temple leads to a lack of flourishing amongst the people. So, look with me at verse six.

Verse six is a heartbreaking depiction of how the people are living their lives, the things that they believe will give them life, never actually satisfies them. What they thought would give them fulfillment only left them wanting more. What they believe they have turns out to be nothing at all. You see, the people believed that in order to be happy, content and fulfilled, they needed more of the things of this world, but that solution was never going to solve the problem. What their heart was most desiring was a relationship with the living God. But instead, they focused on their own houses. Their souls were dying of hunger, and they settled for artificial food. Their souls were dying of thirst, and they chose saltwater instead of freshwater.

So, what is the cause of this way of living? Well, that’s what verse nine is all about. Because they have spent more time focusing on their house while the temple of the Lord lies in ruins. Because of their negligence towards God and the temple, they are experiencing the consequences of a life apart from God. If you don’t have a relationship with God, why would you expect the blessings of a relationship with God? When you don’t have a relationship with God, here’s what’s going to happen: I promise you it will happen to everybody apart from God. You will begin to experience the vanity of this life and you’ll begin to grow increasingly frustrated with the things of this world. Like a hamster running faster and faster on its wheel only to realize you didn’t get anywhere at all.

And so, I want to ask you, if you are coming into church today and your soul seems hungry for more and you’ve been asking yourself the question, why do I feel so empty? Why is my soul so restless? Could it be because you are currently chasing after the things of this world that can never satisfy you? Are you far more concerned about the building of your own house while your spiritual life lies in ruins all around you? Is that you? Now, if this is you, listen to the beautiful invitation that God gives His people in verses five and verse seven. Three words. Three words that I would argue could change your life if you took it to heart.

Three words. “Consider your ways. Consider your ways.” God invites His people to take time and reflect and consider if the way that they are living is working out for them. Are they living the life they most desire to live? Are the habits they’ve committed themselves to churning out the results that they hoped for? And I believe God is giving you and I that same invitation this morning. Consider your ways. This week I would invite you, take some spiritual inventory of your life. It’s one thing to claim you love spending time with the Lord. It’s another thing altogether to actually shift your entire calendar to make it a daily priority.

But God doesn’t merely call the people to self-reflection. In verses 12 and 15, He invites them to repent and change their ways. So, after the people have considered their ways and they found that they have come up short, they come to the Lord as a community, and they seek the forgiveness and mercy of God together. It says that all the people led by the Governor Zerubbabel publicly repent of their sins before God, and then after repentance, they begin to obey what God has called them to do. You see, repentance is more than just admitting our error. It’s a commitment to change our ways, to begin to live in a way that is consistent with how God has called us to live.

So, then the question is: How does God respond to the people’s repentance? As they run up to Him and they cry out for mercy, how does God respond? Look at verse 13. It’s beautiful. He tells the people, “I am with you.” In the midst of their sin, in the midst of their mis-prioritized life, God has not left them. He’s still with them. I mean, what a beautiful reminder of God’s heart towards repentant sinners. God does not call us to repent so that we feel shame. He calls us to repent so that we can be freed from the power of sin in our lives. Repentance is not God trying to make you feel embarrassed. It’s God actually inviting you into the freedom that He has on offer. And after the people have received forgiveness from God, they begin to get to work. So now that the people have repented and they have received God’s forgiveness, let’s keep reading to see what happens next.

Chapter two of the Book of Haggai, I’m going to read the whole chapter for us. “In the seventh month, on the 21st day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: ‘Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people and say, “Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord of hosts. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the Lord of Hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory says the Lord of Hosts. The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of Hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of Hosts. And in this place, I will give peace declares the Lord of Hosts.”’

“On the 24th day of the nineth month in the 2nd year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, ‘Thus says the Lord of Hosts, ask the priest about the law. If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’ The priests answered and said ‘No.’ Then Haggai said, ‘If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?’ The priests answered and said, ‘It does become unclean.’ Then Haggai answered and said, ‘So it is with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean.

“‘Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, how did you fare? When one came to a heap of 20 measures, there were but 10. When one came to the wine vat to draw 50 measures, there were but 20. I struck you in all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. Consider from this day onward, from the 24th day of the nineth month since the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on, I will bless you.’

“The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the 24th day of the month, ‘Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I’m about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, everyone by the sword of his brother. On that day,’ declares the Lord of Hosts, ‘I would take you O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of Hosts.”

So almost a month after the message has been delivered and the people have begun to rebuild the temple, the people are getting discouraged because the temple that they are building does not compare to the temple that Solomon had previously built. And as they labor on, they are stuck in the rut of comparing themselves to the glory days. Perhaps when they started building the temple, they had all of these grand expectations of what it would look like when it was finished. But as is often the case, the reality of a situation is often far different than the idea we had in our head. It kind of reminded me of something called DIY fails on the Internet. Now what those are is someone would watch a video, or a how-to video, that involved someone creating something that looked really easy. And then when they attempted to do the same thing, it looked horrible and they would post these photos, and it would have the really well-done version on the left side, and then on the right side would be the horrible attempt.

So, I actually have a few examples of it. So up here we’ve got Olaf looking like he just came out of the movie, and then you have Olaf looking like he’s seen better days. You can go to the next one. This one’s Chewbacca, just a friend that we all know and love. Once again, not his best day. But this last one is actually my favorite because this was not just some random Internet clip. This was my dear wife’s attempt at creating a dinosaur birthday cake for one of our middle school girls, which was… What I love about Emily is her heart’s always in it. You know what I mean? She tried. Better than I could have done.

So, in a lot of ways this is what the Israelites are feeling when rebuilding the temple. They’re getting discouraged in their work because it doesn’t measure up to the expectations they had. They look at the work they’re doing and think it is insignificant because, on the surface, the temple looks small, and it looks pathetic, and it looks weak. But in the midst of their insecurities and disappointment, God makes a promise in verse 9. Go ahead and look at verse 9 with me. He says this, “The glory of this temple will exceed the glory of the other temple built before it.” Now on the surface, if you know a little bit about history, this promise makes no sense at all because according to worldly measures, the new temple never really achieves the same glory and extravagance as the old temple. So then if that’s the case, what is this statement referring to if not outward appearance? Well, what makes this temple greater than the previous temple is not about how it looks on the outside, but who would eventually be present in it on the inside.

You see, this temple is the very temple that Jesus, God in the flesh, will come to during His life to offer sacrifices during the Passover. What makes this temple far greater than the last isn’t based on worldly standards. It’s based off the value system of the Kingdom of Heaven. Think of it like this, a small church that is in a rundown building led by a no-name pastor with Jesus in it is far more glorious in the eyes of God than a large church building that is worth millions with a celebrity pastor without Jesus in it. That’s the value system of the Kingdom of Heaven.

So, God promises the people that this temple will be more glorious than the last, but His promises don’t stop there because in verses 10 through 19, we see that God promises that He will bless His people even though they are unclean. And He says that He will forgive them when they turn to the Lord in repentance of sin. But the question is how can this be? Because if you read the passage again, here is the logic that flows throughout it. When something unclean touches something that is clean, that makes both things dirty. If I walk into my house with muddy shoes and I walk on the carpet, it’s not that the carpet remains clean and all of a sudden, my shoes are magically clean. No, no, my shoes are still dirty and now the carpet is dirty too.

So how can we be in a relationship with God when you and I are covered by the stain of sin? How can we, who are unclean, be in a relationship with God who is perfectly holy and perfectly pure? Won’t that muddy up the whole thing? This, brothers and sisters, is the really good news of the Gospel, because we have a God who does the impossible. You see, when Jesus came to this earth, He reversed the curse of sin and death for us. You see, when Jesus came into contact with an unclean leper, Jesus would touch him. And it’s not Jesus who would get leprosy. The leper would get healed. When an unclean woman touched the garments of Jesus, He didn’t become dirty, she became clean. The power of God is so great that when He comes into contact with dirty sinners like me, I become clean rather than making Him dirty.

And so, this is amazing, and this is true because the Son of God, Jesus Christ, took on all of the sins of the world and got rid of them by dying on a cross in our place, so that when we put our faith in Him, we can become cleansed and restored to our relationship with God. So now, even though we deserve punishment, God has promised He will actually bless us all of the days of our lives when we are in Christ. And if you’re here today and you’re new, or if you’ve been coming here for a long time and you don’t know Jesus, that invitation is on offer to you right now. Right now. Why would you pass that up – blessings with God, because we have put our faith in Christ.

But the chapter ends with one final promise to Governor Zerubbabel. We are told that God is going to shake the heavens and the Earth, that God will overthrow the royal Gentile thrones, which is a mighty promise to make when the army of the returned exiles are so small and so weak. And then He says he’s going to make Zerubbabel a signet ring because God has chosen Him. Now, a signet ring was something that a king would wear as a stamp of commitment to a covenant. So, what he would do is after he had signed the covenant and sealed it, he would dip the ring in wax and stamp the document, which was the official designation of his fealty to the terms of the covenant.

So, what is the special significance of this metaphor? What is God promising Zerubbabel that He’s going to do in his life? Well, don’t do it right now, but later today, I’d really encourage you to flip to Matthew, Chapter 1 and look at verse 13. You’ll see that in the family line of Jesus the King, you’ll see the name of this weak repentant Governor Zerubbabel. God uses even this guy, this weak governor who mis-prioritized his life. He uses him to bring Christ into the world. What could be better for Zerubbabel to be a part of? And this is where the book ends. And now we’re going to ask ourselves, what can we walk away with? How should we live because of what we have read?

Well, here’s the first thing I want you to see today. That the time to act is now. As you go through your daily rhythms this week, take time to consider your ways, do some spiritual inventory and take stock of what’s going on in your heart and life. And I just want to ask you a question really plain this morning, but I need you to know my intentions. I don’t ask this question to guilt you. I don’t ask this question to shame you. I ask this question because I love you. Are you wasting your life on things that don’t matter? Are you doing that?

John Piper, in this quote that’ll punch you in the face, says this, “One of the greatest uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the last day that prayerlessness was not from a lack of time.” The call from Jesus is to lay down our lives, pick up our cross and follow Him. To say yes to Jesus is to allow Him to shape the whole of your life, your relationships, your work, values, trajectory, priorities, even your calendar. Don’t be like the Israelites who say, “Now just isn’t the best time for me,” because listen, delayed obedience isn’t obedience at all.

Elizabeth Elliot says it like this, “Sometimes struggling is a nice word for postponed obedience.” Stop putting off what God has called you to do today. Consider what you are giving most of your time and attention to and make changes if necessary. The solution to our busy, cluttered lives is not having our 24-hour day go to a 30-hour day. It’s not the solution. The solution is sitting down, finding out what is most important to you and then living accordingly. After considering your ways, if you feel like you have fallen short, confess your sins to God, receive His forgiveness. Today, as we take communion, I want you to during that time, confess those sins and then come up and taste the grace on offer for you, confess and be forgiven and then begin to live in a new way, which leads me to my second point.

Behold God’s glory and get to work. Behold God’s glory and get to work. The whole point of why God is crying out to His people is because they have become apathetic to the mission God has given them. But when a community comes before Jesus together in repentance and experiences His grace, it will lead to a community in obedience together. Not because we have to do work in order for God to love us, but because when you have a true encounter with the grace of God, you will find Jesus to be worthy of the most important priority in your life. We don’t do the work so that He’ll love us. We do it because we’ve been loved by Christ. We’ve been captured by it.

There’s a quote that I have up here by a guy that I’m not even going to attempt to say his name, but he says it like this. “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” We don’t do the work of God out of a dry obligation. We do it because we have been captured by the beauty of Christ and couldn’t imagine others around us living without that beauty in their lives. Is this true of you? Have you found Jesus to be worthy of your entire life?

So, then the question is, what is the work that God has for us as a church? What has He invited us to take part in? Brothers and sisters, we’ve been invited into the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded. It may be true that we have not been tasked to build a physical temple. However, we have been tasked to build a new temple, not built by stones, but by the people of God. Let me tell you what I mean. In 1 Peter, Chapter 2, verses 4 through 5; Peter says this. “As you come to him, a living stone, rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Right now.

We as God’s people have been given a task that involves all hands on deck. And what if you believed in this work so much that you actually gave your whole life to it? I mean, what could be more important than the Great Commission? What could be more worthy of our time than giving souls that are dying of thirst, living water that will always satisfy? What could be more life-giving than seeing a neighbor or a friend, who we love so dearly, cross over from death to life because you shared the Gospel with them? What could be more rewarding than discipling a young believer and seeing them grow up in their faith and having them grow in their love for Christ and their love for lost people? What could be more important than that?

Brothers and sisters, I want to plead with you this morning, give your life to this mission. Give your life to it. Give up all things you can in order to give more of yourself to this cause because Jesus is worthy of your entire life. And if you’re sitting there and you’re wondering, “Ryan, I don’t even know what that means. What does it mean to live a life for things that matter?” Well, I shared this in a previous sermon, but there’s only three things in this life that will last. Three things. God, God’s word, God’s people. You live your life for those three things, I guarantee you, you won’t regret it. I promise you; you won’t regret it.

So, as we behold the glory of God, let’s get to work. And lastly, we will succeed because the Lord is with us. Israel, by all accounts, was significantly weak at the moment that this book was written. They had no political power; they had no influence of any kind. They were poor, tired, lazy, and desperate. And perhaps you’re here this morning, and if you’re honest, you’ve looked at the people to your right, you looked at the people to your left, maybe you even did a backtrack and you’re going, “This is who God has called to be on His mission. This is who God has called? This is His A team, really?”

But listen, as God made the Israelites a promise that they would succeed, not because of their strength but because of His strength, so it is with the Great Commission and us now. We can trust that the Great Commission will be fulfilled, not because we’re awesome, but because God is awesome. God’s kingdom will prevail, not because we are strong, but because He is strong. God’s kingdom will prevail, not because we are powerful, but because He is powerful and He is with us, and His kingdom will endure forever.

Brothers and sisters, this should give us tremendous confidence as we live life for Christ. So, if you would, let me pray: Jesus, thank You for this day. And God thank You that You have called us into a life full of meaning and full of purpose. God, I pray that if there’s anything anyone in this room needs to confess right now, a mis-prioritization of their life, God, that they would confess that to You. God, that they would encounter the grace of Christ this morning. And Father, they would take communion with pure joy in their hearts. Father, we love You. We thank You for this time, in Your name, amen.