1 00:00:00,049 --> 00:00:04,129 As we get into the book though, I, I wanna ask in, in, maybe you remember this 2 00:00:04,129 --> 00:00:08,029 fondly, maybe you remember it awkwardly, but how many of you had a DTR with your 3 00:00:08,029 --> 00:00:11,059 boyfriend or girlfriend, or now husband or wife at some point in your relationship? 4 00:00:11,569 --> 00:00:14,749 Some of you don't know the, the phrase DTR, some of you do. 5 00:00:14,989 --> 00:00:17,089 DTR means defining the relationship. 6 00:00:17,929 --> 00:00:20,449 Uh, for my wife and I, that was our first formal date 7 00:00:20,479 --> 00:00:21,769 because I'm that kind of a guy. 8 00:00:21,769 --> 00:00:22,909 I want to get my ducks in order. 9 00:00:22,909 --> 00:00:23,899 I wanna know what's going on. 10 00:00:24,229 --> 00:00:25,669 So we had spent some time together. 11 00:00:25,669 --> 00:00:29,390 We had had gone out on a double date because we went to a Christian college. 12 00:00:29,689 --> 00:00:31,489 So if you've never been to a Christian college, here's how you 13 00:00:31,489 --> 00:00:33,019 have to date at a Christian college. 14 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:35,420 You have to, to to meet each other first. 15 00:00:35,420 --> 00:00:36,379 That's, that's appropriate. 16 00:00:36,679 --> 00:00:37,069 Um. 17 00:00:37,849 --> 00:00:40,280 And then you have to go out on a group date and then you have to go out on 18 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,759 a double date and then you can go out on a, on a date, one-on-one, unless 19 00:00:43,759 --> 00:00:46,190 anybody thinks something untoward is happening between the two of you. 20 00:00:46,610 --> 00:00:47,929 So I just wanted to fast forward that. 21 00:00:47,929 --> 00:00:50,599 So I think we knocked it out in about a week's amount of time. 22 00:00:50,599 --> 00:00:52,099 'cause I was like, enough with all these other people, 23 00:00:52,099 --> 00:00:53,000 I just wanna get to know her. 24 00:00:53,334 --> 00:00:55,404 So we went to the, the pier in Santa Monica. 25 00:00:55,404 --> 00:00:58,794 I think I've told this before, but we had our DTR there on the pier in Santa Monica. 26 00:00:59,154 --> 00:01:02,124 Um, and I, I just told her right off the bat, I said, look, I, I think that you're 27 00:01:02,124 --> 00:01:03,774 really cute and, and you love Jesus. 28 00:01:03,774 --> 00:01:06,085 And those are two huge things in my book as far as somebody 29 00:01:06,085 --> 00:01:06,955 that I'm looking to be with. 30 00:01:07,315 --> 00:01:09,235 Uh, but I just want you to know that I'm, I'm dating to find 31 00:01:09,235 --> 00:01:10,195 the person I'm gonna marry. 32 00:01:10,374 --> 00:01:12,654 So if that's not where you're at, then, then we probably should 33 00:01:12,684 --> 00:01:13,854 just pull the plug on this now. 34 00:01:14,095 --> 00:01:17,395 And by God's grace, she, she said, you know, I'm in this the same boat 35 00:01:17,395 --> 00:01:18,445 and that's what I'm looking for too. 36 00:01:18,445 --> 00:01:20,300 So that's A-A-D-T-R moment. 37 00:01:21,085 --> 00:01:24,175 Maybe you think back on yours and you think, yeah, I, I remember mine. 38 00:01:24,175 --> 00:01:27,384 It was a little more awkward than, than that, or better than that, or whatever. 39 00:01:27,865 --> 00:01:29,904 But it's the time that you ask these questions. 40 00:01:29,904 --> 00:01:32,395 You say, okay, where are we at in our relationship? 41 00:01:32,874 --> 00:01:35,154 How are we doing in our relationship? 42 00:01:35,664 --> 00:01:37,434 And where in the world is this thing going? 43 00:01:38,064 --> 00:01:42,503 It's important maybe not to have on the first date, but at some point in time with 44 00:01:42,503 --> 00:01:46,795 somebody that you're dating to define the relationship and to have that check-in. 45 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:52,610 And not only is that important for you to do when you're dating somebody 46 00:01:52,610 --> 00:01:56,270 that you're considering marrying, but it's helpful for us to have 47 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:02,030 dtrs in our relationship with God on occasion where we stop and with God. 48 00:02:02,030 --> 00:02:05,179 Ask the question, where am I in my walk with God? 49 00:02:06,260 --> 00:02:08,539 How am I doing in my walk with God? 50 00:02:09,259 --> 00:02:11,990 And where am I headed in my walk with God? 51 00:02:13,565 --> 00:02:16,625 The book of Haggai, as I just read it, deals with the post 52 00:02:16,625 --> 00:02:19,834 exilic people of Israel, meaning they had already been in Babylon. 53 00:02:19,925 --> 00:02:22,385 Remember Northern Kingdom's gone, Assyria took them out. 54 00:02:22,714 --> 00:02:27,125 Southern Kingdom went to captivity under Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, so they were 55 00:02:27,125 --> 00:02:31,534 in Babylon for 70 years, and then the Persians came and defeated Babylon, and 56 00:02:31,534 --> 00:02:33,575 that set up the return under Za Rubber Be. 57 00:02:33,904 --> 00:02:37,325 And Ezra and Nehemiah, that whole timeframe we're in that timeframe. 58 00:02:37,325 --> 00:02:38,165 When we come to the book of Haggai. 59 00:02:39,334 --> 00:02:41,914 And the book of hag ideals with the problem in that the, the 60 00:02:41,914 --> 00:02:44,945 Israelites had been neglecting their relationship with God. 61 00:02:45,603 --> 00:02:50,375 And the, the, the evidence of that as the book tells us is the fact 62 00:02:50,375 --> 00:02:52,565 that the temple was in ruins still. 63 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:57,380 So when the Israelites first came back, they began to rebuild the temple, but as 64 00:02:57,380 --> 00:03:00,560 they began to rebuild the temple, they encountered opposition about two years in. 65 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:05,120 So they came back to Jerusalem in 5 38 BC to rebuild. 66 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:06,829 They began to rebuild the temple. 67 00:03:06,829 --> 00:03:08,990 They laid the foundation of the temple, but then the book of 68 00:03:08,990 --> 00:03:11,240 Ezra tells us and Ezra 4 24. 69 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,630 The work on the house of the Lord came to a stop because 70 00:03:14,630 --> 00:03:15,980 they encountered opposition. 71 00:03:16,519 --> 00:03:23,900 Well, for 16 years from 5 36 BC to five 20 bc the temple was simply 72 00:03:23,900 --> 00:03:25,850 a foundation and then the ruins. 73 00:03:26,209 --> 00:03:29,720 And what that tells us and what that was communicating to God at the 74 00:03:29,780 --> 00:03:32,630 time, was that the people of Israel really didn't care much about their 75 00:03:32,630 --> 00:03:36,980 relationship with him because the temple was integral to their relationship 76 00:03:36,980 --> 00:03:37,755 with God in the Old Testament. 77 00:03:38,500 --> 00:03:40,329 This is where the priest ministered and served. 78 00:03:40,329 --> 00:03:42,040 This is where the sacrifices were offered. 79 00:03:42,250 --> 00:03:43,900 This is where the Holy of Holies was. 80 00:03:44,810 --> 00:03:48,680 And so for Israel to be just fine with the fact that the temple was in 81 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,520 ruins while they gave attention to everything else in life was conveying 82 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:53,750 to God, Hey God, you know what? 83 00:03:53,750 --> 00:03:58,400 When we go to our DTR with you, we really don't care all that much about how we're 84 00:03:58,400 --> 00:03:59,780 doing with our relationship with you. 85 00:04:00,410 --> 00:04:04,670 So in the book of Haggai, what we find is we find Haggai calling them to repent from 86 00:04:04,670 --> 00:04:08,600 that mindset and to deepen and strengthen and build up their relationship with God. 87 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:11,540 That's what we need to look at this morning as well. 88 00:04:11,750 --> 00:04:15,020 How do I deepen and strengthen and build up my relationship with God? 89 00:04:15,650 --> 00:04:20,240 Similar to how those DTR questions ask us if we want those questions to reveal. 90 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,410 A deepening relationship we have to give is intentional and careful 91 00:04:24,410 --> 00:04:28,610 thought and consideration to what makes a relationship with God strong. 92 00:04:29,270 --> 00:04:31,850 So the Book of Haggai this morning is gonna give us three essential elements 93 00:04:31,850 --> 00:04:35,390 of a strong relationship with God, three essential elements or pursuits 94 00:04:35,390 --> 00:04:37,015 of a strong relationship with God. 95 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:40,790 Contextually minor prophets if you're interested in these things. 96 00:04:40,790 --> 00:04:42,050 Timeline, here's where we're at. 97 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,170 Zechariah and Haggai prophesied right around the same time. 98 00:04:45,170 --> 00:04:49,610 They're contemporaries of each other, prophesying during the time of post 99 00:04:49,610 --> 00:04:54,530 exilic Israel, and so you'll see Haggai right there around five 20 bc, 100 00:04:54,710 --> 00:04:58,850 but as we do each week, the author of Haggai is the title of the book. 101 00:04:58,850 --> 00:04:59,690 It's Hagi. 102 00:05:00,425 --> 00:05:02,945 He wrote again in, in five 20 bc. 103 00:05:03,784 --> 00:05:08,795 His audience, as I've already mentioned, is post Exilic Israel, and, and what 104 00:05:08,795 --> 00:05:11,914 we'll find as we unpack the book is that the theme of the book is all 105 00:05:11,914 --> 00:05:17,585 about priorities and specifically the priority of our relationship with God. 106 00:05:19,370 --> 00:05:23,060 The book's also unique because sometimes we will say, you know, 107 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:28,070 he wrote a round this time, or it was close to this time and it, or 108 00:05:28,100 --> 00:05:29,780 maybe, you know, it was this year. 109 00:05:30,140 --> 00:05:33,980 What's really cool about Haggai is we have specific days. 110 00:05:34,275 --> 00:05:36,855 That we can trace to each of his messages that he gave. 111 00:05:37,245 --> 00:05:41,145 We know it was five 20 BC based on the dating of the Kings and 112 00:05:41,145 --> 00:05:43,425 the reigns and the second year of Darius and so forth and so on. 113 00:05:43,905 --> 00:05:46,425 But we also know the date that he gave each message. 114 00:05:46,425 --> 00:05:50,805 For example, Haggai won one through 15, which is the opening message of the book, 115 00:05:51,495 --> 00:05:54,405 August 29th, August 29th, five 20 bc. 116 00:05:54,645 --> 00:05:57,915 So if, if you just think five 20 bc that's gonna be what's true 117 00:05:57,915 --> 00:05:59,235 of all of these four messages. 118 00:05:59,505 --> 00:06:02,085 The second message comes in verses one through nine of chapter two. 119 00:06:02,810 --> 00:06:07,670 One through nine of chapter two, October 21st, October 21st, the third 120 00:06:07,670 --> 00:06:12,515 message verses 10 through 19 of chapter two, comes in December, December 121 00:06:12,515 --> 00:06:18,500 18th, and the final message verses 20 through 23 also comes in December. 122 00:06:18,620 --> 00:06:19,820 December 18th, same day. 123 00:06:20,690 --> 00:06:23,450 So you look at those time markers, we can say, these are the days which kind 124 00:06:23,450 --> 00:06:27,230 of helps us to understand the, the, the timeframe of the whole argument of 125 00:06:27,230 --> 00:06:28,640 the book, of what, of what's going on. 126 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:31,280 And so when you read chapter one through chapter two, we're 127 00:06:31,280 --> 00:06:33,050 covering a span of, what's that? 128 00:06:33,050 --> 00:06:36,500 August, September, October, November, December, four or five 129 00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:40,520 months of, of prophecy taking place here in the book of Haga. 130 00:06:41,570 --> 00:06:42,560 But what was the problem? 131 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:45,650 Well, as I've already alluded, the problem was the temple lay and ruins. 132 00:06:45,650 --> 00:06:48,050 So look at verse two, if you will, verse two. 133 00:06:48,050 --> 00:06:49,969 It says this, thus says the Lord of hosts. 134 00:06:50,450 --> 00:06:52,880 These people meaning the, the post exilic Israelites. 135 00:06:53,150 --> 00:06:56,630 These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. 136 00:06:57,215 --> 00:06:59,705 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet. 137 00:07:00,125 --> 00:07:03,905 Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in paneled houses while 138 00:07:03,905 --> 00:07:08,525 the house lies and ruins this? 139 00:07:08,795 --> 00:07:12,635 The state of the temple, as I've alluded to already, was indicative of something 140 00:07:12,635 --> 00:07:16,775 more significant in Israel, not as just a state of spiritual decay among the people. 141 00:07:17,195 --> 00:07:19,325 They were growing comfortable and complacent. 142 00:07:19,625 --> 00:07:20,315 In fact, think about this. 143 00:07:20,315 --> 00:07:23,165 It was less than two, two decades since they had been in exile. 144 00:07:23,975 --> 00:07:26,195 And, and before that, some of them are still around. 145 00:07:26,195 --> 00:07:28,565 As, as he's gonna ask the question in chapter two, he's 146 00:07:28,565 --> 00:07:30,095 gonna say, who among you is left? 147 00:07:30,095 --> 00:07:32,015 Who saw the the house in its former glory? 148 00:07:32,345 --> 00:07:34,325 There may have been some that were still there. 149 00:07:34,325 --> 00:07:37,805 Who saw the first temple before the destruction, who lived through 150 00:07:37,805 --> 00:07:41,105 the whole 70 years of exile, and now they're back here in Israel. 151 00:07:41,315 --> 00:07:45,335 The problem was so quickly, had they forgotten what they went through 152 00:07:45,335 --> 00:07:46,445 and being taken away from Israel. 153 00:07:47,284 --> 00:07:51,635 They were back and they were comfortable and the walls were rebuilt and the city 154 00:07:51,635 --> 00:07:56,195 was getting, getting rebuilt, and they were paying attention to their own lives. 155 00:07:56,435 --> 00:07:57,815 They were building their houses. 156 00:07:57,995 --> 00:08:00,455 In fact, that's what paneled houses is a reference to. 157 00:08:00,815 --> 00:08:05,105 If you look down at verse nine, he says, similarly, why is this drought gonna come? 158 00:08:05,105 --> 00:08:09,965 He says, because of my house, the temple that lies and ruins while each of you 159 00:08:10,115 --> 00:08:12,395 busies himself with his own house. 160 00:08:13,715 --> 00:08:18,094 God is calling out Israel saying you have misplaced priorities in your life. 161 00:08:18,724 --> 00:08:21,575 You've forgotten what you need to be worried about, which 162 00:08:21,575 --> 00:08:22,835 is your relationship with me. 163 00:08:23,315 --> 00:08:25,744 And the fact that the main conduit of your relationship with 164 00:08:25,744 --> 00:08:27,215 me, the temple lies and ruins. 165 00:08:27,364 --> 00:08:30,874 While you guys busy yourself about your paint swatches and remodeling your master 166 00:08:30,874 --> 00:08:34,474 bathroom tells me that you really don't care about your relationship with me. 167 00:08:35,584 --> 00:08:39,813 And so God is, is calling the people and saying, is it really the time for 168 00:08:39,813 --> 00:08:41,884 you to focus on your paneled houses? 169 00:08:41,884 --> 00:08:44,764 While my house lies in ruins? 170 00:08:46,204 --> 00:08:47,344 What's more he points out? 171 00:08:47,344 --> 00:08:51,425 The irony is the fact that the fact was that, that this 172 00:08:51,425 --> 00:08:52,415 wasn't even benefiting them. 173 00:08:53,045 --> 00:08:54,394 Look at verses five and six. 174 00:08:55,354 --> 00:08:56,915 He says, now, therefore, thus says the Lord. 175 00:08:56,915 --> 00:08:58,084 Consider your ways. 176 00:08:58,415 --> 00:08:59,854 Let's, let's evaluate things. 177 00:09:00,244 --> 00:09:01,144 How has this gone for you? 178 00:09:01,685 --> 00:09:04,655 You've stoned much and yet you've harvested little. 179 00:09:05,150 --> 00:09:07,249 You, you eat, but you never have enough. 180 00:09:07,459 --> 00:09:09,469 You drink, but you never have your fill. 181 00:09:09,564 --> 00:09:13,790 You, you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm and he who earns wages does. 182 00:09:13,790 --> 00:09:18,469 So to put them into a bag with holes, they weren't reaping the 183 00:09:18,469 --> 00:09:22,609 reward of focusing on themselves because they weren't focusing on God. 184 00:09:23,150 --> 00:09:24,800 They didn't have the priorities in order. 185 00:09:25,579 --> 00:09:26,930 And so what was God's corrective? 186 00:09:26,930 --> 00:09:28,084 Well look at verses seven and eight. 187 00:09:28,700 --> 00:09:30,080 Thus says the Lord of hosts. 188 00:09:30,290 --> 00:09:31,490 Consider your ways. 189 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:35,330 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house. 190 00:09:35,330 --> 00:09:36,050 That's the charge. 191 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,110 Build the house, the foundation's there. 192 00:09:39,110 --> 00:09:40,100 It's been laid. 193 00:09:40,190 --> 00:09:41,840 It's now time to build the house. 194 00:09:41,900 --> 00:09:43,280 It's been 16 years. 195 00:09:43,490 --> 00:09:44,690 Let's get back to work. 196 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:45,410 Why? 197 00:09:45,590 --> 00:09:49,340 Look at the last part of verse eight, that I may take pleasure in it, and 198 00:09:49,340 --> 00:09:53,900 here's the key that I may be glorified, says the Lord, that I may be glorified. 199 00:09:54,560 --> 00:09:55,910 That's the key. 200 00:09:56,660 --> 00:09:57,770 That's the point. 201 00:09:57,890 --> 00:09:59,060 That's the purpose. 202 00:09:59,119 --> 00:10:00,500 That's our goal. 203 00:10:00,500 --> 00:10:01,640 That's the call on us. 204 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,099 It was the call on Israel to glorify God. 205 00:10:06,290 --> 00:10:09,680 Well, if you look at verses 12 through 15, the people are going 206 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:11,390 to hear and they're gonna obey. 207 00:10:12,244 --> 00:10:14,765 It says they obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the 208 00:10:14,765 --> 00:10:17,285 words of Haggai, the prophet and the Lord their God had sent him. 209 00:10:17,525 --> 00:10:18,964 And, and the people feared the Lord. 210 00:10:18,994 --> 00:10:21,244 And then it's gonna say this, and, and they came and they 211 00:10:21,244 --> 00:10:22,625 worked on the house of the Lord. 212 00:10:22,625 --> 00:10:26,854 Verse 14, uh, the, the Lord of host their God in verse 15 on the 24th 213 00:10:26,854 --> 00:10:29,734 day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the 214 00:10:29,734 --> 00:10:30,935 King, here's another date for you. 215 00:10:31,055 --> 00:10:33,035 September 21st, five 20 bc. 216 00:10:33,185 --> 00:10:34,864 That's when they start rebuilding the house. 217 00:10:35,275 --> 00:10:39,100 So the message comes from Haggai August 29th, and by September 218 00:10:39,100 --> 00:10:41,964 21st, they've started building the house of the Lord again. 219 00:10:42,355 --> 00:10:45,985 So they listen, they fear God and they obey, and they get to 220 00:10:45,985 --> 00:10:47,245 work on the house of the Lord. 221 00:10:47,245 --> 00:10:51,295 And so then in chapter two, uh, about a month after this, October 21st. 222 00:10:51,724 --> 00:10:55,354 High guy comes back with another message for them and basically the message that 223 00:10:55,354 --> 00:10:59,854 he comes back to to them with in verses one through nine is, Hey, keep going. 224 00:11:00,094 --> 00:11:00,724 Press on. 225 00:11:00,724 --> 00:11:01,384 Don't let up. 226 00:11:01,384 --> 00:11:01,984 Don't slow up. 227 00:11:01,984 --> 00:11:02,674 Don't give up. 228 00:11:02,914 --> 00:11:04,594 Keep building the house of the Lord. 229 00:11:04,594 --> 00:11:06,154 He comes back here and he says this. 230 00:11:06,424 --> 00:11:08,134 He says, work for I am with you. 231 00:11:08,134 --> 00:11:12,064 This is verse four, work for I am with you declares the Lord of hosts. 232 00:11:12,244 --> 00:11:15,394 According to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt, 233 00:11:15,574 --> 00:11:18,094 my spirit remains in your midst. 234 00:11:18,244 --> 00:11:19,324 Fear not. 235 00:11:19,849 --> 00:11:23,449 And so I think what's going on here is the prophet by God is, or God by 236 00:11:23,449 --> 00:11:27,619 the prophet, rather, is conveying to them, Hey, keep going and, and, 237 00:11:27,619 --> 00:11:28,879 and trust that I'm still with you. 238 00:11:29,284 --> 00:11:32,224 The covenant that I made with you when I brought you out of Egypt, when I made you 239 00:11:32,224 --> 00:11:34,055 my people, A people for my own possession. 240 00:11:34,204 --> 00:11:35,284 It's still intact. 241 00:11:35,284 --> 00:11:37,024 I'm still with you, declares the Lord. 242 00:11:37,234 --> 00:11:39,484 Don't worry about things, don't fear don't give up. 243 00:11:39,484 --> 00:11:42,004 Again, if you encounter opposition, don't throw up your hands and 244 00:11:42,004 --> 00:11:43,714 give up like you did 16 years ago. 245 00:11:44,014 --> 00:11:45,754 Keep going, keep building, keep working. 246 00:11:45,754 --> 00:11:46,384 I'm with you. 247 00:11:46,719 --> 00:11:48,729 And so they, they get this message of encouragement. 248 00:11:49,060 --> 00:11:53,439 In fact, not only that to, to keep going, but Hagg, I cast their attention to the 249 00:11:53,439 --> 00:11:56,650 future, which we understand to be the future at this point of, of this time. 250 00:11:56,739 --> 00:11:59,499 And that's what he means in the rest of this message, when God is 251 00:11:59,499 --> 00:12:03,160 gonna shake the nations and the, the glory of the nations is gonna 252 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:04,449 come in and help build the temple. 253 00:12:04,509 --> 00:12:07,390 Now, this is not gonna be his Abel's temple. 254 00:12:07,780 --> 00:12:09,430 This is gonna be the temple of the millennial kingdom. 255 00:12:10,119 --> 00:12:12,879 This is looking forward to the time when God is gonna ultimately restore things. 256 00:12:12,890 --> 00:12:13,040 Things. 257 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:15,680 In other words, God is telling the people in the midst of their building 258 00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:18,770 and their efforts, I'm with you, and I'm gonna see it through to the very end. 259 00:12:19,580 --> 00:12:21,710 It's not even gonna be this temple, but there's another temple that's coming. 260 00:12:21,980 --> 00:12:23,060 I'm gonna see it through the very end. 261 00:12:23,060 --> 00:12:23,990 I'm not going anywhere. 262 00:12:23,990 --> 00:12:26,390 In other words, God is conveying that he's faithful to his people 263 00:12:26,390 --> 00:12:29,060 here and encouraging them to be faithful to the task at hand. 264 00:12:31,220 --> 00:12:34,670 Again, as, as the book opens, Haggai puts his finger on the 265 00:12:34,670 --> 00:12:35,870 spiritual apathy of the people. 266 00:12:36,650 --> 00:12:38,785 He says, my house, the House of God, lies and ruins. 267 00:12:40,220 --> 00:12:43,970 And we have to be careful as a church not to be in the same position ourselves. 268 00:12:45,290 --> 00:12:49,250 This was a time when they were comfortable, things were on the 269 00:12:49,250 --> 00:12:51,290 upswing, they were back from exile. 270 00:12:51,290 --> 00:12:54,560 Things with Persia were good compared to what they had been with Assyria and with 271 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:56,390 Babylon and with the other world powers. 272 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:00,890 They weren't really fearing much, and so they had been lulled into the idolatry 273 00:13:00,890 --> 00:13:07,280 of comfort and materialism and family and security and peace and status, 274 00:13:07,339 --> 00:13:10,069 which led them to neglect the number one thing in their life, which was 275 00:13:10,069 --> 00:13:12,739 their relationship with God and church. 276 00:13:12,739 --> 00:13:15,379 If we're not careful, we can find ourselves in the exact same position. 277 00:13:15,775 --> 00:13:20,689 I mean, we live in a place where we're one of the, the leading questions, the 278 00:13:20,689 --> 00:13:23,629 burning questions is what's going into the new strip mall over by Target. 279 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:27,859 That's the concern that we have in life. 280 00:13:29,719 --> 00:13:32,300 We're not concerned about a foreign army coming in and invading and 281 00:13:32,300 --> 00:13:33,859 destroying us and turning us upside down. 282 00:13:33,859 --> 00:13:35,599 We're not concerned with not having enough food. 283 00:13:35,869 --> 00:13:38,030 We're not concerned with drought or blight or mildew or crop 284 00:13:38,030 --> 00:13:39,199 damage or anything else like that. 285 00:13:40,459 --> 00:13:44,689 When you consider the luxury that we live in right now, it is so easy for 286 00:13:44,689 --> 00:13:47,810 us to leave the temple and ruin, so to speak, in our own walk with God. 287 00:13:49,175 --> 00:13:52,264 So as we're thinking about our DTR, defining our relationship with God, 288 00:13:52,264 --> 00:13:55,594 asking those questions, okay, where am I at with my walk with God? 289 00:13:55,594 --> 00:13:56,795 How am I doing in my walk with God? 290 00:13:56,795 --> 00:13:58,084 Where am I going in my walk with God? 291 00:13:58,984 --> 00:14:01,594 If you want to answer those questions and say, man, my walk is deepening, 292 00:14:02,524 --> 00:14:05,164 then our first way that we need to do that is point number one this morning. 293 00:14:05,795 --> 00:14:09,094 Invest sacrificially in your walk. 294 00:14:09,844 --> 00:14:14,524 Invest sacrificially in your walk with God. 295 00:14:16,100 --> 00:14:17,000 Remember verse eight. 296 00:14:17,180 --> 00:14:20,150 He says, build the house that I might be glorified. 297 00:14:21,319 --> 00:14:25,040 The Westminster shoulder catechism opens with a question, what is the 298 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:27,949 chief end of man to glorify God? 299 00:14:28,939 --> 00:14:31,640 In other words, the chief end of every single human being that's 300 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:36,199 ever been born, ever been created, ever existed is to glorify God. 301 00:14:36,199 --> 00:14:40,339 That is the overarching umbrella priority that is, is the priority that pervades 302 00:14:40,339 --> 00:14:42,500 every other priority in our life. 303 00:14:44,255 --> 00:14:47,435 The problem that we have is sometimes we can list our priorities for the day. 304 00:14:47,435 --> 00:14:50,855 Maybe your priorities are, if you're a stay at home mom and you've got young 305 00:14:50,855 --> 00:14:53,165 kids at home, maybe your priorities are something like, I need to get up. 306 00:14:53,375 --> 00:14:54,480 I need to spend time with the Lord. 307 00:14:55,385 --> 00:14:57,755 And then I need to make sure that, that I've got food for my kids that, 308 00:14:57,785 --> 00:14:59,105 that they're gonna eat breakfast. 309 00:14:59,285 --> 00:15:01,175 I need to get them dressed and ready for the day. 310 00:15:01,324 --> 00:15:04,204 I need to, to make sure that I know what's gonna happen today, what we're 311 00:15:04,204 --> 00:15:07,204 gonna do, where we're gonna be going as a family, where we're gonna be driving. 312 00:15:07,625 --> 00:15:09,485 I need to think about dinner tonight. 313 00:15:09,485 --> 00:15:11,165 I need to think about my responsibilities. 314 00:15:11,405 --> 00:15:13,055 I've got, I've got a meeting with this person over here. 315 00:15:13,295 --> 00:15:15,305 I need, make sure that my kids have childcare during that time. 316 00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:18,485 And, and the, that's life, right? 317 00:15:18,485 --> 00:15:21,214 We have to deal with the things and responsibilities of life. 318 00:15:21,755 --> 00:15:25,235 The mistake we make is that so often we can say priority number one, I need 319 00:15:25,235 --> 00:15:28,385 to spend time with the Lord, and then we leave the Lord behind after priority 320 00:15:28,385 --> 00:15:29,584 number one for the rest of our day. 321 00:15:30,755 --> 00:15:33,875 Instead, what we need to remember is this overarching priority, this umbrella 322 00:15:33,875 --> 00:15:37,805 priority, that that pervades every other priority on our list is to glorify God. 323 00:15:38,975 --> 00:15:45,005 That's why we exist, and so our whole life is not about can I get my 324 00:15:45,035 --> 00:15:48,694 relationship with God taken care of in 15 minutes this morning to move on to 325 00:15:48,694 --> 00:15:50,074 all my other responsibilities after. 326 00:15:50,074 --> 00:15:54,334 Us, our whole life is about our relationship with God. 327 00:15:55,984 --> 00:15:56,734 Take a baseball team. 328 00:15:56,734 --> 00:15:58,655 At the beginning of the season, every team's goal is the 329 00:15:58,655 --> 00:16:00,035 same, to win the World Series. 330 00:16:01,175 --> 00:16:02,704 They're gonna have other goals as well, though, right? 331 00:16:02,704 --> 00:16:05,074 Like maybe their goal is to win the division, or maybe their goal is to 332 00:16:05,074 --> 00:16:07,114 have a certain number of, of wins. 333 00:16:07,114 --> 00:16:09,574 Or maybe the ownership's goal is to have a certain number of sellouts 334 00:16:09,574 --> 00:16:12,004 at home, or maybe an individual player's goal is to get a certain 335 00:16:12,004 --> 00:16:13,354 number of wins or a certain number of. 336 00:16:13,699 --> 00:16:14,869 Home runs for them. 337 00:16:15,379 --> 00:16:18,170 And yet at the end of the day, all of those other goals are 338 00:16:18,170 --> 00:16:20,749 subservient to the chief goal, which is to win the World Series. 339 00:16:21,290 --> 00:16:24,739 All of those other goals are meant to be accomplished towards the end 340 00:16:24,739 --> 00:16:26,599 of them winning the World Series. 341 00:16:27,109 --> 00:16:31,219 All of your goals in life, all of your life as a whole is meant to be lived in 342 00:16:31,219 --> 00:16:36,049 service of the primary goal of glorifying God with your whole self and person. 343 00:16:36,650 --> 00:16:41,209 And that looks like investing sacrificially in your wok deepening 344 00:16:41,209 --> 00:16:42,634 a God glorifying wok will mean. 345 00:16:43,549 --> 00:16:45,349 Investing sacrificially in that relationship. 346 00:16:45,769 --> 00:16:47,900 That's something that the Israelites weren't doing and 347 00:16:47,900 --> 00:16:48,799 they weren't willing to do. 348 00:16:49,999 --> 00:16:50,209 Why? 349 00:16:50,209 --> 00:16:52,370 Because it was gonna cost them their time, right? 350 00:16:52,370 --> 00:16:55,039 They were gonna have to take time away from their paneled houses to 351 00:16:55,039 --> 00:16:57,829 come over here to the temple and start rebuilding the house of God. 352 00:16:58,729 --> 00:17:00,349 It was gonna cost them their resources. 353 00:17:00,769 --> 00:17:03,140 They were gonna have to give up some of the, the, the things that they were 354 00:17:03,140 --> 00:17:06,410 gonna do in their own homes to be able to fund some of the things that needed to 355 00:17:06,410 --> 00:17:07,579 be done for the building of the temple. 356 00:17:08,765 --> 00:17:10,204 It was gonna cost them their attention. 357 00:17:10,535 --> 00:17:11,915 They were gonna have to give thought not to. 358 00:17:12,065 --> 00:17:14,135 What are we gonna do with the layout of our new kitchen? 359 00:17:14,194 --> 00:17:16,355 Instead, they were gonna have to give thought to, okay, how do 360 00:17:16,355 --> 00:17:19,145 we need what's next on our, our goals for building the temple? 361 00:17:20,825 --> 00:17:22,805 See, it was gonna cost them, and, and that's one of the reasons 362 00:17:22,805 --> 00:17:23,675 why they didn't want to do that. 363 00:17:23,675 --> 00:17:25,265 They weren't willing to invest sacrificially in 364 00:17:25,265 --> 00:17:26,194 their relationship with God. 365 00:17:27,575 --> 00:17:28,835 What does that look like for us? 366 00:17:29,105 --> 00:17:32,255 What are some of the paneled houses in our lives? 367 00:17:32,975 --> 00:17:34,355 Well, a, a few thoughts here. 368 00:17:35,435 --> 00:17:36,155 Number one. 369 00:17:36,860 --> 00:17:39,530 We can be guilty of living in paneled houses by giving God the leftovers 370 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:42,680 investing sacrificially. 371 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:44,480 It's not just money, but it is money. 372 00:17:46,190 --> 00:17:49,280 And so when we don't give from the first fruits of what God has 373 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:53,450 given us, when we give from the leftovers, here's what happens. 374 00:17:54,740 --> 00:17:59,360 The battery in one of your cars dies and you have to go drop 250 bucks on a new. 375 00:18:01,175 --> 00:18:03,545 Your kids go to the dentist and you get the dentist bill in and 376 00:18:03,545 --> 00:18:06,485 and you now owe the dentist $7,000. 377 00:18:07,235 --> 00:18:09,065 Not really, but it feels like it. 378 00:18:09,065 --> 00:18:13,865 Sometimes you go to the grocery store and you try to stay on budget, 379 00:18:13,865 --> 00:18:18,545 but inflation, you've got a Friday night and you're sitting at home 380 00:18:18,545 --> 00:18:19,565 with the kids going, what do we do? 381 00:18:19,565 --> 00:18:22,565 And you decide to go to the movies and drop another $7,000 to go watch a movie. 382 00:18:24,725 --> 00:18:25,505 You get the point, right. 383 00:18:26,195 --> 00:18:28,685 And then at the end of the month when you're like, okay, oh yeah, we need 384 00:18:28,685 --> 00:18:31,175 to give you, look at what you had thought you would set aside to give. 385 00:18:31,175 --> 00:18:35,495 And you realize you, you really don't have anything left to give investing 386 00:18:35,495 --> 00:18:37,805 sacrificially is given from the top saying, God, you, you've given 387 00:18:37,805 --> 00:18:39,875 me these funds, they're yours and I'm gonna give from the top on it. 388 00:18:42,215 --> 00:18:44,045 But what else is living in a paneled house? 389 00:18:44,345 --> 00:18:45,905 Second is only giving God money. 390 00:18:48,545 --> 00:18:50,225 God wants more than your money. 391 00:18:52,055 --> 00:18:54,425 And I hope you hear me as your pastor saying we want more than that. 392 00:18:56,705 --> 00:18:59,345 If somebody was to come to the church and, and, and give and be our leading 393 00:18:59,345 --> 00:19:01,865 giver, and by the way, I don't know who that is, but if, if somebody was to come 394 00:19:01,865 --> 00:19:06,215 to the church and be our leading, leading giver and yet not serve, not invest their 395 00:19:06,215 --> 00:19:10,025 time, not invest their talent, their gifts that God has given to them, not 396 00:19:10,025 --> 00:19:13,985 invest their attention on the the Lord, and they just were to sit in in the back 397 00:19:14,015 --> 00:19:17,135 and say, well, I mean, I'm good though because I'm the top donor of the church. 398 00:19:17,495 --> 00:19:18,725 Listen, God's not pleased with that. 399 00:19:18,725 --> 00:19:20,585 And as your pastor, I'm telling you, I don't want that either. 400 00:19:22,685 --> 00:19:25,355 We can live in paneled houses when we only give God money and we don't 401 00:19:25,355 --> 00:19:27,815 give him the other things that we need to be rendering to him. 402 00:19:30,305 --> 00:19:34,025 For example, maybe giving him more than that is serving at VBS 403 00:19:34,025 --> 00:19:38,555 like so many of you did serving at revival like so many of you will. 404 00:19:40,055 --> 00:19:42,635 Or maybe it's you, you hear from somebody in the church that. 405 00:19:43,460 --> 00:19:45,710 I mean, they're, they're going through it right now and, and they're in a little 406 00:19:45,710 --> 00:19:48,740 bit of financial straits and their cars in the shop and, and they've got a big 407 00:19:48,740 --> 00:19:51,200 family and they don't know how they're going be able to make a buy on, on 408 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,500 one car, and you've got an extra car at home and you think, you know what? 409 00:19:54,500 --> 00:19:56,600 Why don't you, why don't you borrow my car until yours is outta the shop? 410 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:56,990 Don't worry about it. 411 00:19:58,250 --> 00:19:59,600 That's, that's giving more than money. 412 00:20:00,115 --> 00:20:06,350 Or maybe you are single and you're starting to wonder if you're using the 413 00:20:06,350 --> 00:20:09,050 gift of singleness the way that God wants you to use the gift of singleness. 414 00:20:10,115 --> 00:20:12,275 Maybe you've been reading one Corinthians chapter seven and 415 00:20:12,275 --> 00:20:14,675 thinking about, man, the, the single person is free to be concerned 416 00:20:14,675 --> 00:20:15,665 only with the things of the Lord. 417 00:20:15,665 --> 00:20:16,475 Am I doing that? 418 00:20:17,945 --> 00:20:20,705 And you start to think, man, how could I use my time? 419 00:20:21,215 --> 00:20:25,835 'cause I've got more time at my disposal and my attention and my efforts to serve 420 00:20:25,835 --> 00:20:28,325 the Lord more than I am perhaps right now. 421 00:20:29,885 --> 00:20:31,235 So ways that we can give more than money. 422 00:20:31,655 --> 00:20:33,665 Another way that we can live in paneled houses is forgetting 423 00:20:33,665 --> 00:20:34,925 that we're stewards, not owners. 424 00:20:37,055 --> 00:20:38,945 And this is kind of true of the whole list here. 425 00:20:40,220 --> 00:20:42,440 Everything that you have is yours because God gave it to you. 426 00:20:43,490 --> 00:20:43,820 Right? 427 00:20:44,330 --> 00:20:46,010 Your finances, God gave those to you. 428 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:47,720 The job that you have, God gave that to you. 429 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:49,730 Your intellect. 430 00:20:49,730 --> 00:20:50,690 God gave that to you. 431 00:20:51,530 --> 00:20:52,580 Your house, that's yours. 432 00:20:52,725 --> 00:20:53,480 'cause God gave it to you. 433 00:20:53,540 --> 00:20:57,410 The cars that you have, God gave those to you your time. 434 00:20:58,010 --> 00:20:58,820 God gave that to you. 435 00:20:59,870 --> 00:21:01,850 Your calendar that you have, the, the meetings that you're gonna 436 00:21:01,850 --> 00:21:02,750 have, God gave those to you. 437 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:05,390 The neighborhood that you live in, God gave that to you. 438 00:21:05,465 --> 00:21:08,570 The, the neighbors that live next door to you, God gave those to you. 439 00:21:10,190 --> 00:21:15,680 You're stewards and not owners, and the, the very basic fundamental 440 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:17,360 reality is the life that you have. 441 00:21:18,020 --> 00:21:23,360 God gave that to you, to steward for him the chief, and a man to glorify God. 442 00:21:24,770 --> 00:21:27,980 Finally, another way that we can live in paneled houses today is by 443 00:21:27,980 --> 00:21:29,690 asking, how much do I have to give? 444 00:21:30,290 --> 00:21:33,980 Instead of asking, how much can I give, how much can I give? 445 00:21:34,910 --> 00:21:36,290 Lord, show me how I can serve you more. 446 00:21:37,250 --> 00:21:38,090 I wanna give more. 447 00:21:38,795 --> 00:21:40,775 I wanna spend more of myself on you. 448 00:21:43,175 --> 00:21:46,985 The Apostle Paul said we were pleased not only to share the 449 00:21:46,985 --> 00:21:49,145 gospel, but our very lives with you. 450 00:21:50,795 --> 00:21:52,685 That that should be our mindset towards the Lord. 451 00:21:52,685 --> 00:21:54,785 Lord, how much more can I give to you? 452 00:21:56,105 --> 00:21:56,765 The Israelites? 453 00:21:56,945 --> 00:22:00,275 We're, we're, we're boasting in a foundation there. 454 00:22:00,335 --> 00:22:02,855 God, look at, look at our, look at our flat ground. 455 00:22:02,855 --> 00:22:03,635 Look how cool this is. 456 00:22:03,635 --> 00:22:06,155 We can build an awesome temple on this eventually. 457 00:22:08,855 --> 00:22:11,000 And God was saying, let's go. 458 00:22:11,150 --> 00:22:11,930 Let's get after it. 459 00:22:12,530 --> 00:22:13,880 Don't be satisfied with the foundation. 460 00:22:15,350 --> 00:22:18,560 I'm saying to us, if you're serving the Lord and you're tempted to 461 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:19,820 say, Lord, look, isn't this enough? 462 00:22:19,820 --> 00:22:21,980 Look at how great I am because I'm serving in these ways. 463 00:22:22,910 --> 00:22:24,650 That's like standing on the foundation of the temple. 464 00:22:24,650 --> 00:22:27,320 God going, look how cool my te, my foundation is God. 465 00:22:27,770 --> 00:22:29,510 This would make an awesome temple, wouldn't it? 466 00:22:30,950 --> 00:22:33,560 And God's saying, let's go, let's go. 467 00:22:34,625 --> 00:22:36,635 I think the Apostle Paul's such a great example of this 468 00:22:37,505 --> 00:22:38,705 Second Corinthians chapter 11. 469 00:22:38,705 --> 00:22:40,385 I don't have time to go there, but if, if you've got time 470 00:22:40,385 --> 00:22:41,285 later on, you can read that. 471 00:22:41,285 --> 00:22:43,865 That's his resume of, of earthly suffering. 472 00:22:44,915 --> 00:22:49,540 It's just listing all the things that he's gone through and, and I love you. 473 00:22:49,545 --> 00:22:52,385 You read that and then you pair it to, to second Timothy chapter four, 474 00:22:52,865 --> 00:22:56,405 when Paul's right into Timothy and he's like, Timothy, I'm done, man. 475 00:22:57,575 --> 00:22:58,355 I'm poured out. 476 00:22:58,775 --> 00:22:59,465 I'm exhausted. 477 00:23:00,905 --> 00:23:02,855 And now there are ways for me the crown of righteousness. 478 00:23:04,805 --> 00:23:05,855 And let's live that life. 479 00:23:06,425 --> 00:23:08,014 Let's wear ourselves out for Christ. 480 00:23:10,235 --> 00:23:12,274 Your relationship with God is, is dynamic, right? 481 00:23:12,274 --> 00:23:14,284 And it should be growing, not stagnating. 482 00:23:15,455 --> 00:23:18,034 And so the first way we can have this DTR moment with God to say, 483 00:23:18,065 --> 00:23:18,965 okay, God, how are we doing? 484 00:23:18,965 --> 00:23:19,565 Where are we at? 485 00:23:19,565 --> 00:23:20,225 Where are we going? 486 00:23:21,004 --> 00:23:23,735 Say, are you investing sacrificially in your relationship with God? 487 00:23:24,545 --> 00:23:29,195 Or have you been lulled into a state of spiritual apathy thinking, man, the 488 00:23:29,195 --> 00:23:30,575 foundation's there, that's good enough. 489 00:23:31,655 --> 00:23:32,315 That's good enough. 490 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,370 Israelites, were going to listen and rebuild as I, I mentioned earlier, but 491 00:23:37,370 --> 00:23:40,520 there was another massively important element that needed their attention 492 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:44,090 before they could keep going and get fully back to work and, and finish this thing. 493 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:46,220 Uh, look down at verse 11 of chapter two. 494 00:23:47,300 --> 00:23:50,900 Again, we're in December now, December 18th specifically, so we're 495 00:23:50,900 --> 00:23:53,900 about two months after the last one when Hagg, I was saying, good job. 496 00:23:53,900 --> 00:23:54,470 Keep going. 497 00:23:54,995 --> 00:23:57,845 Okay, so now December 18th, God is saying, Hey, Haga, I need you to go 498 00:23:57,845 --> 00:23:59,195 back because we've got a problem. 499 00:23:59,495 --> 00:24:00,575 And so Haggai's gonna come back. 500 00:24:00,575 --> 00:24:02,735 And this time he's not gonna talk to Zabel. 501 00:24:02,735 --> 00:24:04,024 He's not gonna talk to Joshua. 502 00:24:04,175 --> 00:24:06,605 He's gonna ask a question of the priests, the religious 503 00:24:06,605 --> 00:24:09,004 leaders of Israel at the time. 504 00:24:09,305 --> 00:24:12,004 And so it says in verse 11, thus says the Lord of hosts 505 00:24:12,245 --> 00:24:13,955 ask the priests about the law. 506 00:24:14,225 --> 00:24:17,375 If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his 507 00:24:17,375 --> 00:24:22,235 fold bread, or stew, or wine, or oil, or any of the food, does it become holy? 508 00:24:22,595 --> 00:24:24,245 And the priest answered and said, no. 509 00:24:25,145 --> 00:24:28,625 Then Haggai said, if someone who's unclean, then by contact 510 00:24:28,625 --> 00:24:31,925 with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean? 511 00:24:32,465 --> 00:24:36,095 And the priest answered and said, it does become unclean. 512 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:41,660 So Haggai is addressing a, a problem, and he does so by asking questions 513 00:24:41,660 --> 00:24:44,240 that were, were pretty much gimmies for the priest at this time. 514 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,310 These were not SAT level questions. 515 00:24:46,310 --> 00:24:49,040 These are basic level questions, and the questions have to do 516 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,280 with the transferability of both holiness and defilement. 517 00:24:53,030 --> 00:24:56,510 So he says, if you take a consecrated item, priests something from the 518 00:24:56,510 --> 00:25:00,020 house of God, and you touch something regular, something ordinary, something 519 00:25:00,020 --> 00:25:04,220 common with a consecrated item, does that common thing become holy? 520 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:09,050 And the priest rightly said, no, no, cleanly cleanliness 521 00:25:09,050 --> 00:25:10,610 is, is not transferable. 522 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:12,260 Okay, so then hack. 523 00:25:12,260 --> 00:25:13,610 I said, okay, another question. 524 00:25:14,060 --> 00:25:17,990 If somebody who's defiled by contact with a dead body touches something that 525 00:25:17,990 --> 00:25:23,120 is common, does that thing that they touch, does that then become defiled? 526 00:25:23,690 --> 00:25:28,280 And the priest rightly answered, yes, defilement is transferrable. 527 00:25:29,315 --> 00:25:33,065 The problem facing Israel that Haggai was now addressing in this 528 00:25:33,065 --> 00:25:37,205 next section here is that they were building the temple with defiled hands. 529 00:25:38,345 --> 00:25:41,375 Think back to Za Za and the arc. 530 00:25:41,435 --> 00:25:45,905 Okay, so David wants the arc in Jerusalem, so he sends the the people 531 00:25:45,905 --> 00:25:50,015 to go get it and they wrongly and against God's law and prescription, 532 00:25:50,015 --> 00:25:51,545 they put the cart, the arc on a cart. 533 00:25:52,490 --> 00:25:56,540 And as the cart is going along the cart, the, the oxen trip and stumble. 534 00:25:56,540 --> 00:26:02,000 And so the cart begins to tip and the ark begins to fall off the cart and zas nearby 535 00:26:02,150 --> 00:26:05,360 in, in a, uh, a meth moment of thinking, well, I don't want the ark to fall to 536 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:07,310 the ground because that would defile it. 537 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:12,410 Za reaches out to steady the ark, and what happens to Za Za dies. 538 00:26:12,500 --> 00:26:15,770 God kills him, and David gets angry. 539 00:26:16,940 --> 00:26:18,650 But I love the way that Sproul puts it. 540 00:26:18,710 --> 00:26:21,920 RC Sproul, put it this way, za wrongly assumed that it would be 541 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:24,980 more defiling for the arc to hit the mud than to hit his hands. 542 00:26:26,900 --> 00:26:27,140 See? 543 00:26:27,350 --> 00:26:32,660 Za reached out with defiled hands, unclean hands into the presence of God 544 00:26:32,660 --> 00:26:34,340 or what represented the presence of God. 545 00:26:35,540 --> 00:26:40,100 And similarly, here in Haggai, the people of God were obeying. 546 00:26:40,715 --> 00:26:44,585 They were back about the building of the house, but they were 547 00:26:44,585 --> 00:26:46,205 building with defiled hands. 548 00:26:46,385 --> 00:26:49,445 They were building, not on a foundation of godliness. 549 00:26:49,745 --> 00:26:51,755 They were building, going through the motions. 550 00:26:51,755 --> 00:26:54,425 Meanwhile, they weren't dealing with sin in their life. 551 00:26:54,725 --> 00:26:57,245 They weren't building into their relationship with God, 552 00:26:57,245 --> 00:26:58,025 if I can put it that way. 553 00:26:58,775 --> 00:27:01,835 In a way that was integral, in a way that was holistic in a way that was. 554 00:27:02,060 --> 00:27:03,950 Fully surrendered to God. 555 00:27:04,190 --> 00:27:06,950 They were going through the motions on the outside, on the inside. 556 00:27:06,950 --> 00:27:09,500 They were still like Jesus would confront the Pharisees. 557 00:27:09,710 --> 00:27:10,700 They were whitewashed tombs. 558 00:27:10,700 --> 00:27:12,440 They were full of dead man's bones. 559 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:15,920 And this is actually where the Book of Zechariah comes in handy, because 560 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:19,310 Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai writing at the same time. 561 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,250 And while Haggai doesn't list out specifically some of their 562 00:27:22,250 --> 00:27:24,170 sinfulness, Zechariah does. 563 00:27:24,170 --> 00:27:26,180 So for us, Zechariah chapter seven. 564 00:27:26,565 --> 00:27:27,495 Verses eight through 11. 565 00:27:27,495 --> 00:27:28,365 You can just listen here. 566 00:27:28,545 --> 00:27:31,785 Zechariah seven verses eight through 11 says this, the word of the Lord 567 00:27:31,785 --> 00:27:36,915 came to Zechariah saying, thus says the Lord of hosts render true judgments, 568 00:27:37,035 --> 00:27:39,285 show kindness and mercy to one another. 569 00:27:39,615 --> 00:27:43,365 Do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the soner, the poor. 570 00:27:43,695 --> 00:27:46,965 Let none of you devise evil against another in your heart. 571 00:27:47,355 --> 00:27:51,465 But verse 11, they refuse to pay attention and turn a stubborn shoulder and stop 572 00:27:51,465 --> 00:27:53,120 their ears so that they might not hear. 573 00:27:54,425 --> 00:27:57,455 So Zechariah's prophesying to them about the injustice that was running 574 00:27:57,455 --> 00:28:01,265 rampant during the time about the immorality, about the, the harm, the 575 00:28:01,325 --> 00:28:03,935 unrighteousness, one against another that was running rampant during 576 00:28:03,935 --> 00:28:05,465 this time amongst the Israelites. 577 00:28:06,005 --> 00:28:09,215 And so while they were building the temple, they're breaking God's law 578 00:28:09,215 --> 00:28:11,585 over here, but thinking it's not that big of a deal because at least 579 00:28:11,585 --> 00:28:12,755 we're doing what God wants us to do. 580 00:28:12,755 --> 00:28:14,165 He just wants us to build a temple. 581 00:28:15,305 --> 00:28:19,595 And God, through Haggai now is sending Haggai back saying, Hey, that's not it. 582 00:28:20,435 --> 00:28:21,815 That's not really what I'm after. 583 00:28:22,490 --> 00:28:25,550 You're building with defiled hands and building with defiled hands is not 584 00:28:25,550 --> 00:28:27,140 something that's gonna go well for them. 585 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:31,760 In fact, he says, so it is with this people, this nation before me declares the 586 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:33,770 Lord and with every work of their hands. 587 00:28:33,770 --> 00:28:36,920 Verse 14, what they offer there is unclean. 588 00:28:39,050 --> 00:28:41,990 God's gonna continue with Haggai and say, they need to repent. 589 00:28:43,250 --> 00:28:44,060 They need to repent. 590 00:28:45,020 --> 00:28:46,700 He says, consider from this day onward. 591 00:28:46,700 --> 00:28:49,730 Verse 18, the 24th day of the month, the day that this message is coming. 592 00:28:49,730 --> 00:28:50,660 December 18th, there. 593 00:28:51,140 --> 00:28:54,260 Since the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, reaching 594 00:28:54,260 --> 00:29:01,880 all the way back to, to 5 36 BC almost 20 years ago, at this point, consider, 595 00:29:01,910 --> 00:29:04,100 he says, is the seed yet in the barn? 596 00:29:04,670 --> 00:29:07,280 Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive 597 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:08,480 tree have yielded nothing. 598 00:29:09,260 --> 00:29:09,680 Because why? 599 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:11,870 Because you've just been going through the motions with me. 600 00:29:12,470 --> 00:29:14,180 You've been rendering me lip service. 601 00:29:14,540 --> 00:29:16,550 You've been thinking as, as long as you do what? 602 00:29:16,580 --> 00:29:19,520 What I you think I want you to do then I don't care about what 603 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:20,600 you do the rest of your time. 604 00:29:22,295 --> 00:29:24,725 And God's saying, that's not how a relationship with me works. 605 00:29:25,445 --> 00:29:27,485 If you're gonna have a relationship with me, that is deepening, that is 606 00:29:27,485 --> 00:29:30,335 growing, it's gotta be more than that. 607 00:29:30,425 --> 00:29:34,505 In fact, you may recall multiple times, but I, Isaiah chapter one, for example, 608 00:29:34,505 --> 00:29:35,675 God tells the Israelites, you know what? 609 00:29:35,675 --> 00:29:37,145 I hate your sacrifices. 610 00:29:37,145 --> 00:29:37,985 I hate your feast. 611 00:29:37,985 --> 00:29:42,035 I hate your solemn assemblies because you drum near to me and you honor me with 612 00:29:42,035 --> 00:29:43,715 your lips, but your heart is far from me. 613 00:29:45,365 --> 00:29:48,485 Listen, y'all, as we are building into a relationship with God, it's more than 614 00:29:48,485 --> 00:29:49,745 showing up to church on Sunday morning. 615 00:29:50,885 --> 00:29:52,505 It's more than reading your Bible every single day. 616 00:29:53,585 --> 00:29:55,685 It's more than listening to other sermons on podcast. 617 00:29:56,405 --> 00:29:59,105 It's more than being somebody who just doesn't cuss at work. 618 00:30:00,455 --> 00:30:03,755 It's about building on a foundation of godliness that is rooted 619 00:30:03,755 --> 00:30:04,775 to your relationship with him. 620 00:30:05,945 --> 00:30:08,645 It's about a full holistic surrender to Jesus. 621 00:30:09,515 --> 00:30:12,005 Like we were talking about point number one, saying, man, my, the goal of my life 622 00:30:12,005 --> 00:30:13,625 is to glorify God with my whole life. 623 00:30:14,915 --> 00:30:17,495 And so it's not just gonna be, I'm gonna stack up some good credit with 624 00:30:17,495 --> 00:30:19,895 him by being obedient and, and going to church and doing these things so that 625 00:30:19,925 --> 00:30:21,335 these other areas of my life, it's okay. 626 00:30:23,105 --> 00:30:25,235 When you surrender, you let go of everything. 627 00:30:26,375 --> 00:30:29,075 Nobody who, who surrender says, I'm surrendering to 628 00:30:29,075 --> 00:30:30,455 you, but you can't have this. 629 00:30:31,355 --> 00:30:32,585 'cause that's not surrendering at all. 630 00:30:33,875 --> 00:30:35,885 So when you think about building into your relationship with the. 631 00:30:37,070 --> 00:30:40,100 Listen, just like he wanted Israel to build on a foundation, not just of 632 00:30:40,100 --> 00:30:43,610 going through the motions, but truly a foundation of, of authentic godliness. 633 00:30:43,610 --> 00:30:46,340 That's what he wants from you and I to point number two this morning is this 634 00:30:46,340 --> 00:30:51,770 build authentically on a foundation of godliness, build into your relationship 635 00:30:52,100 --> 00:30:53,540 just like they're rebuilding the temple. 636 00:30:53,540 --> 00:30:57,890 Build into your relationship authentically on a foundation of godliness. 637 00:31:00,350 --> 00:31:02,540 Just like in Haggai's day, y'all, we can fall prey to thinking 638 00:31:02,540 --> 00:31:03,470 that holiness is transferable. 639 00:31:04,925 --> 00:31:09,545 We can fall prey into thinking, we can, we can drift into a sense of, of karma. 640 00:31:09,575 --> 00:31:15,605 In other words, if I show up at church, if I read my Bible, if I give to 641 00:31:15,605 --> 00:31:17,525 the church, then I'm good with God. 642 00:31:17,645 --> 00:31:18,665 God's gonna be good to me. 643 00:31:20,135 --> 00:31:21,305 That's not how it works. 644 00:31:22,145 --> 00:31:23,525 God's not a cosmic vending machine. 645 00:31:25,055 --> 00:31:28,625 Don't put in the quarters of our obedience or our attendance or our Bible reading 646 00:31:28,655 --> 00:31:29,975 in order to get something back from him. 647 00:31:31,700 --> 00:31:33,920 Now he wants a genuine relationship with us. 648 00:31:35,300 --> 00:31:38,000 We need to remember what Paul says, that God is not gonna be mocked, 649 00:31:38,300 --> 00:31:40,160 but each one will reap what he sows. 650 00:31:42,110 --> 00:31:44,210 And so we wanna be sowing godliness. 651 00:31:45,020 --> 00:31:45,860 Imagine this scenario. 652 00:31:46,340 --> 00:31:50,630 Imagine getting a a, a new car and you have that car and you just take 653 00:31:50,630 --> 00:31:52,280 pristine care of the ex exterior of that. 654 00:31:53,075 --> 00:31:54,965 You take it to the car wash weekly. 655 00:31:55,145 --> 00:31:57,605 You, you shine the tires at home. 656 00:31:57,815 --> 00:32:01,025 You put new wiper blades on the windshield so that you make sure 657 00:32:01,025 --> 00:32:04,655 that your windshield's clear and you, you dust off your, your rear 658 00:32:04,655 --> 00:32:08,075 view mirrors and your backup camera, and you're just taking good care. 659 00:32:08,075 --> 00:32:10,745 You always have it fueled up the interior of the car. 660 00:32:10,745 --> 00:32:13,565 When you sit inside the car, you, the gas gauge reads full because it's 661 00:32:13,565 --> 00:32:17,165 always full and it just, you don't let people eat in your car because 662 00:32:17,165 --> 00:32:18,605 you don't want it to get stained. 663 00:32:18,935 --> 00:32:20,615 You don't want it to smell like McDonald's. 664 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:25,370 Anything else that you have there and, and you just take pristine care of 665 00:32:25,370 --> 00:32:27,620 the car, but you never change the oil. 666 00:32:29,750 --> 00:32:31,250 Eventually what's gonna happen to that car? 667 00:32:32,660 --> 00:32:33,560 It's gonna stop working. 668 00:32:34,430 --> 00:32:35,360 It's gonna break down. 669 00:32:36,500 --> 00:32:37,520 It's not gonna function. 670 00:32:38,300 --> 00:32:38,690 Why? 671 00:32:39,890 --> 00:32:43,640 If you just leave that car parked in its spot, after it breaks down and you ask 672 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:44,840 somebody, what do you think of my car? 673 00:32:45,170 --> 00:32:47,150 They're gonna look at it from the outside and be like, man, that's great. 674 00:32:47,180 --> 00:32:48,020 Looks so good. 675 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:49,970 You take pristine care of that car. 676 00:32:50,930 --> 00:32:53,360 You're washing it, you the windshield's super clean. 677 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:57,110 The inside's great, still smells like a new car in here and this looks great. 678 00:32:57,530 --> 00:32:59,690 And yet if they go to start that car, they're gonna recognize, 679 00:32:59,690 --> 00:33:02,090 man, there's a massive problem That is, that the car's broken. 680 00:33:03,470 --> 00:33:07,850 When we give God lip service, when we think God's fine with us, because we show 681 00:33:07,850 --> 00:33:12,560 up at church, because we read our Bibles on a regular basis because we, we clean 682 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:15,440 up the perimeters of our life and, and I'm not as bad as this person over here. 683 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:18,590 It's like we've taken pristine care of the outside of our relationship with 684 00:33:18,590 --> 00:33:19,611 God, but we've never changed the oil. 685 00:33:21,245 --> 00:33:22,745 And in the end it's gonna break. 686 00:33:23,945 --> 00:33:24,695 It's gonna break. 687 00:33:25,955 --> 00:33:30,935 This is the life that is lived by the person in Matthew seven who is 688 00:33:30,935 --> 00:33:34,625 gonna say on that day, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name? 689 00:33:35,135 --> 00:33:37,115 And, and, and we cast out demons in your name. 690 00:33:37,210 --> 00:33:41,975 And, and we, we, we did many anybody miracles in your name and they're gonna 691 00:33:41,975 --> 00:33:44,555 hear back from God, depart from me. 692 00:33:44,735 --> 00:33:48,875 I never, I never knew you, you and I. 693 00:33:49,565 --> 00:33:50,885 We had no relationship. 694 00:33:51,575 --> 00:33:54,725 Your relationship with me was a relationship by osmosis. 695 00:33:55,835 --> 00:34:01,055 You were looking, looking to be justified by proximity, and that's not how it works. 696 00:34:02,315 --> 00:34:04,445 And so you can gimme your, your, your resume. 697 00:34:04,955 --> 00:34:07,085 You can show me the, the things that you've done for me. 698 00:34:08,465 --> 00:34:11,344 Lord, I, I went to church all the time and I, I was a good person 699 00:34:11,344 --> 00:34:13,864 and I, and I voted Republican and I, I did this and I did this. 700 00:34:15,875 --> 00:34:17,389 There's plenty of people, hell, who did all those things. 701 00:34:20,060 --> 00:34:21,080 God never knew them. 702 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:26,540 See your relationship with God, that is holistic, that is built on a authentic 703 00:34:26,540 --> 00:34:30,560 foundation of godliness, means that, that it's not just about the hour and a 704 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:31,969 half that you're here on Sunday mornings. 705 00:34:33,590 --> 00:34:35,030 It's about your whole life. 706 00:34:36,260 --> 00:34:37,460 It's about your whole life. 707 00:34:37,625 --> 00:34:40,550 It it impacts, in other words, your, your authentic godliness, your 708 00:34:40,550 --> 00:34:43,460 relationship with God, it's gonna impact the movie that you watch after 709 00:34:43,460 --> 00:34:44,245 you put your kids to bed at night. 710 00:34:45,605 --> 00:34:47,915 It's gonna impact the, the websites that you're visiting 711 00:34:47,915 --> 00:34:50,014 when no one else is around it. 712 00:34:50,014 --> 00:34:52,774 It, it's gonna impact your plans for retirement and what you're gonna do 713 00:34:52,774 --> 00:34:54,154 with your free time after you retire. 714 00:34:56,254 --> 00:34:58,475 It's gonna impact the decision on whether or not you move to 715 00:34:58,475 --> 00:35:00,305 take a, a job somewhere else. 716 00:35:01,504 --> 00:35:05,435 As you consider the landscape of the local churches in that area, your relationship 717 00:35:05,645 --> 00:35:08,765 with God is, it's gonna impact the words that come outta your mouth when you get 718 00:35:08,765 --> 00:35:11,884 cut off by another driver with a student driver's sticker on the back of their car. 719 00:35:15,845 --> 00:35:18,665 The words that come outta your mouth, it, it's gonna impact 720 00:35:18,665 --> 00:35:19,955 those that come outta your mouth. 721 00:35:19,955 --> 00:35:22,654 When you talk about politics and, and what's going on in the world today, 722 00:35:24,125 --> 00:35:26,075 your relationship with God, it's, it's gonna impact the clothes that 723 00:35:26,075 --> 00:35:27,395 you buy and the clothes that you wear. 724 00:35:27,424 --> 00:35:30,274 It's gonna impact the person that you choose to date and eventually marry. 725 00:35:31,234 --> 00:35:33,694 It's gonna impact the way that you discipline your children. 726 00:35:34,024 --> 00:35:35,974 It's gonna impact where you let your mind drift. 727 00:35:35,974 --> 00:35:39,124 When you have free time, it's gonna impact whether or not you want to spend 728 00:35:39,124 --> 00:35:41,044 that money on that upgrade in your house. 729 00:35:41,044 --> 00:35:43,414 It's gonna impact your relationship with your neighbor. 730 00:35:43,414 --> 00:35:48,004 See, authentic godliness is not just about when you need to be godly, when 731 00:35:48,004 --> 00:35:52,865 you show up at church, and it's not just about 15 minutes a day to start your day. 732 00:35:53,644 --> 00:35:54,394 It's holistic. 733 00:35:54,785 --> 00:35:55,684 It's your entire life. 734 00:35:56,780 --> 00:35:59,180 And so as we wanna build into a deepening relationship with God, that means 735 00:35:59,180 --> 00:36:02,540 that we are building authentically on a foundation of godliness. 736 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:07,610 Some of you may have seen in the news recently, chip and Joanna Gaines, they 737 00:36:07,610 --> 00:36:09,530 are in the news for all the wrong reasons. 738 00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:13,940 They're have a brand new show where they're sending families 739 00:36:13,940 --> 00:36:15,320 out to try to live like pioneers. 740 00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:20,060 And one of the families on that show is a same sex couple, and rightly 741 00:36:20,060 --> 00:36:23,690 so many people are calling them out on this because Chip and Joanna 742 00:36:23,690 --> 00:36:24,950 Gaines are professing Christians. 743 00:36:27,424 --> 00:36:31,055 They've called them to account for this and then things get worse because 744 00:36:31,055 --> 00:36:35,345 one of their employees brought another man home to his wife and said, we 745 00:36:35,345 --> 00:36:36,694 are now gonna live as a throuple. 746 00:36:37,834 --> 00:36:42,185 And Joanna Gaines has gone on social media and said, you to this person, 747 00:36:42,365 --> 00:36:44,645 you are good and we love you. 748 00:36:46,654 --> 00:36:50,194 That's what, what it means that, that God is not gonna be mocked. 749 00:36:52,624 --> 00:36:55,684 That is not building on a foundation of authentic godliness. 750 00:36:57,424 --> 00:37:00,184 That's a situation where we, at the end of the day have to say, I don't care about 751 00:37:00,184 --> 00:37:01,414 the words that come outta your mouth. 752 00:37:01,414 --> 00:37:04,115 If you're gonna reject clearly what God has called you to do, 753 00:37:06,184 --> 00:37:07,805 and God's not pleased with that either. 754 00:37:09,064 --> 00:37:11,524 See, we need to live a life of authentic godliness before him if 755 00:37:11,524 --> 00:37:14,134 we're gonna have a relationship that has any sort of substance before him. 756 00:37:18,500 --> 00:37:22,820 Ezra chapter six tells us that they were successful in this. 757 00:37:23,630 --> 00:37:26,600 They do repent and, and they, they do build the temple and the temple's gonna be 758 00:37:26,600 --> 00:37:30,650 completed, and it's going to be completed about four years after it gets started. 759 00:37:30,650 --> 00:37:35,779 So six five rather five 16 BC is when the temple is finished. 760 00:37:35,779 --> 00:37:38,450 So five 20, it's resumed in five 16. 761 00:37:39,470 --> 00:37:40,310 It's finished 762 00:37:42,710 --> 00:37:45,440 still in the, the midst of the call for Israelite repentance 763 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:46,549 and restoration of the temple. 764 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:50,209 God wanted his people to know that, that he was gonna be with 765 00:37:50,209 --> 00:37:51,709 them and committed to them. 766 00:37:52,580 --> 00:37:54,799 You can imagine perhaps after the temple is, is finished, they 767 00:37:54,799 --> 00:37:56,600 may be wondering, okay, now what? 768 00:37:58,999 --> 00:38:01,459 Haggai chapter two ends this way. 769 00:38:01,459 --> 00:38:02,209 Look at verse 21. 770 00:38:02,209 --> 00:38:05,269 It says, speak to Abel, the governor of Judah saying, I am about to 771 00:38:05,269 --> 00:38:06,470 shake the heavens and the earth. 772 00:38:06,845 --> 00:38:08,914 And to overthrow the thrones of the kingdoms. 773 00:38:09,095 --> 00:38:12,454 I'm about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms and the nations and overthrow 774 00:38:12,454 --> 00:38:16,444 the chariots and their riders, and the horses and the rider shall go down every 775 00:38:16,444 --> 00:38:18,575 one of them by the sword of his brother. 776 00:38:18,995 --> 00:38:23,194 It seems here that God is forecasting the day of the Lord, the the 777 00:38:23,194 --> 00:38:25,894 future day when he's going to finally judge all of his enemies. 778 00:38:26,134 --> 00:38:29,704 And the reason we say that is because Persia was not a growing threat to, to 779 00:38:29,704 --> 00:38:30,995 the people of Jerusalem at this time. 780 00:38:30,999 --> 00:38:31,169 In fact. 781 00:38:31,700 --> 00:38:32,630 Things were going okay. 782 00:38:32,630 --> 00:38:35,300 They had sent the Israelites back to Jerusalem to rebuild. 783 00:38:35,510 --> 00:38:38,900 So we don't think this is about an earthly nation at this time, but 784 00:38:38,900 --> 00:38:40,400 God is forecasting for the people. 785 00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:41,540 Now the temple's gonna be done. 786 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:44,360 And now he's saying, look, this is what's in store for you. 787 00:38:44,450 --> 00:38:48,470 And then he says this down in verse 23, he says, on that day, 788 00:38:48,470 --> 00:38:53,000 declares the Lord of host, I will take you Oza Abel, my servant, son 789 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:54,650 of she, LTL, declares the Lord. 790 00:38:54,650 --> 00:38:57,830 And I'll make you like a signet ring for I have chosen you, 791 00:38:57,860 --> 00:38:59,810 declares the Lord of hosts. 792 00:39:00,500 --> 00:39:00,860 Okay? 793 00:39:01,790 --> 00:39:05,629 On that day, in that future time of eschatological judgment, the day of 794 00:39:05,629 --> 00:39:06,680 the Lord, I'm gonna take you Zabel. 795 00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:12,259 Well, after this rebel kind of fades into oblivion, we don't really know 796 00:39:12,259 --> 00:39:13,790 much about the rest of Rebel's life. 797 00:39:13,790 --> 00:39:14,720 He's kind of gone. 798 00:39:15,770 --> 00:39:19,850 And so as he's talking about the day of the Lord, he's talking about Abel. 799 00:39:19,850 --> 00:39:21,140 And yet he's not talking about Zabel. 800 00:39:21,439 --> 00:39:22,279 And here's what I mean by that. 801 00:39:22,279 --> 00:39:23,419 He says, use rub. 802 00:39:23,419 --> 00:39:24,680 Be son of Sheel, tl. 803 00:39:25,220 --> 00:39:28,310 Uh, those words may not mean a whole lot to you, those names, um, unless 804 00:39:28,310 --> 00:39:32,840 you're looking for names, she ltl anybody, um, will, will accept she ltl. 805 00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:38,930 Zabel also will accept that, um, those were names that you'll find in Luke's 806 00:39:38,930 --> 00:39:43,370 genealogy and Mary's gene genealogy of a pretty significant figure that we know as 807 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:48,050 Jesus see, Zabel was in the Davidic line. 808 00:39:49,009 --> 00:39:51,440 And so this promise at the very end of the Book of Haggai 809 00:39:51,950 --> 00:39:53,720 is God reminding his people. 810 00:39:54,439 --> 00:39:57,919 That there will be eventually an ultimate Davidic ruler that's gonna 811 00:39:57,919 --> 00:40:00,649 rule and reign as God's signe ring ring. 812 00:40:00,649 --> 00:40:04,220 In other words, he's gonna have God's authority, he's gonna have God's blessing, 813 00:40:04,220 --> 00:40:06,859 and he's gonna rule as though he is God. 814 00:40:07,430 --> 00:40:12,109 We know that descendant as Jesus and he will one day rule 815 00:40:12,109 --> 00:40:13,854 and reign for all of eternity. 816 00:40:13,879 --> 00:40:16,759 He will one day rule and reign from Jerusalem during the millennial kingdom 817 00:40:16,759 --> 00:40:18,470 for a thousand years here on this earth. 818 00:40:19,220 --> 00:40:20,930 And that is how the book ends. 819 00:40:21,169 --> 00:40:23,600 God's reminding his people of his faithfulness to them. 820 00:40:24,395 --> 00:40:27,485 Which is so encouraging if you think about it, because maybe you're sitting 821 00:40:27,485 --> 00:40:31,055 here after these first two points going, okay, and invest sacrificially. 822 00:40:31,265 --> 00:40:33,305 Yeah, I need to, I I can grow there. 823 00:40:33,965 --> 00:40:34,805 It's me too here. 824 00:40:35,285 --> 00:40:37,475 Or, and maybe you're thinking about this, this second point too, 825 00:40:37,475 --> 00:40:39,575 going, man, build authentically on a foundation of godliness. 826 00:40:39,575 --> 00:40:43,625 Man, I can, I can grow in that area too, and, and I, I need to be more godly. 827 00:40:43,835 --> 00:40:45,905 And maybe you're sitting here going, this is, this just 828 00:40:45,905 --> 00:40:47,735 feels, it feels insurmountable. 829 00:40:47,735 --> 00:40:49,055 It feels like too much. 830 00:40:50,404 --> 00:40:53,734 And if that's you, I, I hope that you're encouraged by this final point because 831 00:40:53,734 --> 00:40:56,435 I think what Haggai is doing, what God is doing through Haggai, is he's ri 832 00:40:56,495 --> 00:41:00,125 reminding Israel, Hey, Israel, no matter what, I'm gonna be faithful to you. 833 00:41:01,084 --> 00:41:03,604 And so if you want a deepening, strengthening relationship with God, 834 00:41:03,694 --> 00:41:05,615 you want to answer those questions, man, how am I doing with God? 835 00:41:05,615 --> 00:41:06,245 Where are we going? 836 00:41:07,685 --> 00:41:08,285 Where are we? 837 00:41:09,544 --> 00:41:12,365 Then the final way to, to answer those with a deepening relationship with God is 838 00:41:12,365 --> 00:41:18,125 this hope, ultimately in his faithfulness hope, ultimately in his faithfulness. 839 00:41:20,869 --> 00:41:22,879 Th This is where we admit that our relationship with God 840 00:41:22,879 --> 00:41:24,709 ultimately depends upon him. 841 00:41:26,479 --> 00:41:27,499 It depends upon him. 842 00:41:28,819 --> 00:41:31,039 Think about some of the promises that we find in God's word 843 00:41:31,039 --> 00:41:32,569 about his faithfulness to us. 844 00:41:32,869 --> 00:41:36,169 For example, Ephesians chapter one, he has sealed us with the Holy 845 00:41:36,169 --> 00:41:41,389 Spirit as a guarantee of our future inheritance, the down payment he's 846 00:41:41,389 --> 00:41:44,029 given us through the Holy Spirit that we will one day be with him. 847 00:41:44,509 --> 00:41:45,769 Or how about one Peter chapter one? 848 00:41:45,769 --> 00:41:47,809 He is guarding us by his power. 849 00:41:48,605 --> 00:41:52,115 Through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the end time. 850 00:41:52,595 --> 00:41:55,655 God is faithful to guard us by his power through our faith. 851 00:41:55,865 --> 00:41:58,955 So what's keeping us believing it's God's power? 852 00:41:58,955 --> 00:42:00,095 Or how about this one? 853 00:42:00,125 --> 00:42:04,805 He is the God who has called us, who has justified us, who is sanctifying 854 00:42:04,805 --> 00:42:06,905 us and who will glorify us? 855 00:42:06,905 --> 00:42:08,675 That's the unbroken chain of Romans chapter eight. 856 00:42:09,890 --> 00:42:13,460 In fact, so certain is that, that the glorified part is in past tense in 857 00:42:13,460 --> 00:42:16,279 Romans chapter eight, and none of us sitting this in this room are saying, 858 00:42:16,279 --> 00:42:17,450 I've already been glorified yet. 859 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:17,870 Right? 860 00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:19,549 Why is it in past tense? 861 00:42:19,549 --> 00:42:22,520 Because it's as good as done because God is faithful to do it. 862 00:42:23,029 --> 00:42:23,660 Let's keep going. 863 00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:24,379 We're not done yet. 864 00:42:24,529 --> 00:42:27,290 He's promised us that nothing in all creation will be able to separate 865 00:42:27,290 --> 00:42:29,359 us from his love in Christ Jesus. 866 00:42:30,230 --> 00:42:34,279 That list in Romans eight, nothing in all creation can separate you 867 00:42:34,279 --> 00:42:36,350 from the love of God in Christ Jesus. 868 00:42:37,370 --> 00:42:38,990 By the way that that includes you. 869 00:42:39,859 --> 00:42:43,549 You can't separate yourself from God's love for you in Christ Jesus. 870 00:42:44,330 --> 00:42:44,810 How do you know? 871 00:42:44,810 --> 00:42:46,190 Because are you part of all creation? 872 00:42:46,700 --> 00:42:46,879 Uhhuh? 873 00:42:48,259 --> 00:42:49,940 Nothing in all creation can separate you. 874 00:42:49,940 --> 00:42:50,420 How about this one? 875 00:42:50,569 --> 00:42:52,009 Man, God gave us eternal life. 876 00:42:52,250 --> 00:42:53,810 He didn't give you three week life. 877 00:42:54,170 --> 00:42:55,609 He didn't give you 30 year life. 878 00:42:55,790 --> 00:42:56,960 He gave you eternal life. 879 00:42:56,960 --> 00:42:58,670 And on top of that promise that nobody's gonna be able 880 00:42:58,670 --> 00:42:59,899 to snatch you out of his hand. 881 00:43:00,710 --> 00:43:01,520 That's John 10. 882 00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:03,440 How about this one? 883 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,350 He's promised that he will never cast us out either. 884 00:43:06,350 --> 00:43:07,460 That's John six. 885 00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:10,640 Let's just do one more. 886 00:43:11,180 --> 00:43:14,120 He said that he's able to save to the uttermost, those who 887 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:15,259 draw near to Christ through him. 888 00:43:15,259 --> 00:43:17,540 Since Jesus always lives to make intercession for you. 889 00:43:19,070 --> 00:43:22,160 See, we can hope ultimately in God's faithfulness because 890 00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:23,240 God's never gonna fail. 891 00:43:24,740 --> 00:43:28,130 And so your relationship at the end of the day, y'all is more about his 892 00:43:28,130 --> 00:43:31,009 faithfulness to you than it will ever be about your faithfulness dance. 893 00:43:32,990 --> 00:43:35,899 That said, it doesn't negate the need for your faithfulness to him. 894 00:43:37,879 --> 00:43:39,620 And both of those realities are taught in scripture. 895 00:43:39,680 --> 00:43:42,649 And let me give you one final illustration that falls short of it, 896 00:43:42,649 --> 00:43:46,339 but I, I hope it will help, it helps me at least, so you don't get a choice. 897 00:43:48,439 --> 00:43:51,740 When we lived back in California, we, we lived close enough to our school 898 00:43:51,740 --> 00:43:53,330 that we could walk our kids to school. 899 00:43:54,140 --> 00:43:57,979 And on the way to school, we had to cross a very busy road there to get over there. 900 00:43:58,790 --> 00:44:00,740 And so we would cross the road and we would hold our kids' hands 901 00:44:00,740 --> 00:44:02,600 and we crossed the road and off. 902 00:44:02,660 --> 00:44:05,810 I would often find that I would be holding my daughter's Annie's hand as 903 00:44:05,810 --> 00:44:11,210 we would cross the road and as we're crossing the road, I would make sure 904 00:44:11,210 --> 00:44:13,790 that, that she was safe, because at the end of the day, we're crossing the road. 905 00:44:13,790 --> 00:44:16,190 Who's responsible for her safety in crossing the road? 906 00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:18,440 Ultimately, it's me. 907 00:44:19,279 --> 00:44:20,870 So I would hold tight to her hand. 908 00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:22,475 I would wash for cars. 909 00:44:23,165 --> 00:44:25,985 I would make sure that she didn't trip or fall as we got across the street, and 910 00:44:25,985 --> 00:44:28,955 I would make sure that she didn't drift off and wander away and chase butterflies 911 00:44:28,955 --> 00:44:33,185 into the middle of oncoming traffic until we got across the street safely. 912 00:44:33,965 --> 00:44:36,755 I was gonna be faithful to her the whole way, but I want you to 913 00:44:36,755 --> 00:44:37,925 consider that from her point of view. 914 00:44:39,185 --> 00:44:41,975 When we came to the busy street, she reached up and she grabbed my 915 00:44:41,975 --> 00:44:47,945 hand and she looked for cars and she stepped out into the street with 916 00:44:47,945 --> 00:44:52,115 me and she watched her feet to make sure that she wouldn't trip and fall. 917 00:44:53,089 --> 00:44:57,319 She stayed focused on the goal of where we were going, and she made sure that 918 00:44:57,319 --> 00:44:58,640 we got to the other side of the street. 919 00:45:00,950 --> 00:45:05,149 At the end of the day, I was never gonna let anything happen to my daughter, 920 00:45:06,740 --> 00:45:09,950 but at the same time, she played a part in getting from one side of the 921 00:45:09,950 --> 00:45:11,149 street to the other side of the street. 922 00:45:12,620 --> 00:45:16,819 So ultimately, us arriving safely was about my faithfulness to her more than 923 00:45:16,819 --> 00:45:18,290 it ever was about her faithfulness to me. 924 00:45:19,444 --> 00:45:21,785 Her grip on my hand might have loosened, but my grip was never 925 00:45:21,785 --> 00:45:23,225 gonna li loosen on her hand. 926 00:45:26,254 --> 00:45:30,274 Y'all, for us, we're walking through this life in a relationship with God, 927 00:45:31,654 --> 00:45:33,484 reaching up, grabbing his hand as we go, 928 00:45:35,975 --> 00:45:39,125 and as we walk throughout our days, we're gonna make decisions about how 929 00:45:39,125 --> 00:45:40,774 hard we're holding fast to his hand. 930 00:45:40,990 --> 00:45:41,210 And 931 00:45:43,355 --> 00:45:45,424 as fallen people, there's gonna be times where sometimes our 932 00:45:45,424 --> 00:45:46,415 grip loosens a little bit. 933 00:45:46,415 --> 00:45:46,505 It, 934 00:45:49,175 --> 00:45:50,195 but his will never fail. 935 00:45:51,815 --> 00:45:52,535 He's got you 936 00:45:54,995 --> 00:45:59,134 so you can invest sacrificially, so you can build on a foundation of godliness 937 00:46:00,215 --> 00:46:01,415 because he's never gonna fail you. 938 00:46:02,884 --> 00:46:04,445 He's never gonna prove faithless. 939 00:46:05,375 --> 00:46:10,085 He will always see to it that you will be delivered ultimately into his presence. 940 00:46:14,345 --> 00:46:16,835 So what would your DTR look like with God this morning? 941 00:46:18,665 --> 00:46:20,254 Where are you right now with him? 942 00:46:21,305 --> 00:46:26,884 How are things going with him and where are things headed with him? 943 00:46:28,325 --> 00:46:30,455 These are important questions for us to answer. 944 00:46:31,504 --> 00:46:34,205 If you wanna answer them in a way that reveals that you have a deepening 945 00:46:34,205 --> 00:46:36,154 strengthening relationship with God. 946 00:46:36,154 --> 00:46:38,585 We've seen these three principles this morning that will help in that pursuit. 947 00:46:39,499 --> 00:46:44,779 A sacrificial investment in your walk building with authentic godliness 948 00:46:46,309 --> 00:46:49,039 and exercising a confident trust in his faithfulness that will 949 00:46:49,039 --> 00:46:53,240 never fail, will stand with me and we'll pray and be done this morning