How many of you have got started on a home renovation project that appeared to be a very doable project, but in the end turned into a huge work in progress?
The home renovation business has really taken off in the last decade thanks to specialty shows like ‘Trading Spaces’, ‘Extreme Home Makeover’, ‘While You Were Out,’ to name a few. There was one guy that really stood out to me though and he was Mike Holmes of ‘Holmes on Homes’ Haggai as we will see today was like the Mike Holmes of the temple renovations calling his people who had returned from exile to an extreme home makeover for the Lord!
Haggai was blunt, straight to the point like a foreman on a construction site. He has got his hardhat on and his tool belt around his waist and he is giving orders left and right and the main message is God’s temple needs to be rebuilt and the time is now!
“If you're going to do something, do it right the first time” Mike Holmes
The Jewish exiles were being allowed to move back to their homeland in 538 BC. Under the leadership of Ezra, they re-laid the foundation and there was a great celebration but then they stopped work because there was opposition and the work grinded to a halt and they shifted their focus on building homes, getting the local economy going with planting fields and harvesting crops. You can gain more context into the situation at hand from Ezra 4,5
Extreme Home Makeover. God Edition
· The House Inspection 1:1-11
The excuses you might ask?
1. God wants me to focus on my own family
2. The job is too overwhelming and this is not my problem, its my parent’s problem
3. We need to pray about it some more
4. We had good intentions, but life is just too crazy busy.
5. I don’t feel like this is the right timing for this to happen.
Why was it so important to rebuild the temple?
In the OT, the temple represented God’s presence on earth and so God’s very reputation was at stake.
Psalm 26:8 I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells.
Now hear me out. There is nothing wrong with having a nice home; this is not an attack on riches or the size of homes. It was a matter of misplaced priorities. In that time the people lived in tiny stone homes. So, they had great homes, but very little to eat. There is so much more to life than having a dream house.
They lived in a constant state of frustration and discontent because in all their pursuits nothing satisfied. The devoted themselves to everything that the rest of the world pursues without Christ. They spent time eating and drinking, their clothing but neglected the temple.
This is the law of the ‘unproductive harvest’. God allows us to suffer the consequences of a life pursued in absence of Him to get our attention, to convict us of sin, to lead us to repentance.
So there was this reality that no pleasure ever satisfied or brought the comfort they were seeking. Instead what happened to them and happens to us when we don’t spend ourselves for the glory of God. A sour aftertaste of disappointment and lack of fulfillment.
So, the remedy is clear! Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD
The real problem both then and now is not the neglect of a building but the indifference to the glory of God.
The church today exists for God’s glory (Ephesians 1:6,12,14) and indifference to that is always going to break the heart of God.
· The Energy To Rebuild 1:13-15
I am with you, declares the Lord
In this passage we see the promise of the Lord's presence that would energize the reconstruction of the temple. To the people that returned to their homeland it really felt like they were in the midst of building a shanty on the ruins of the Taj Mahal.
Zerubbabel led the way with the whole remnant of God’s people. He may have felt overwhelmed with the greatness of the task at hand; however what happens? The Lord stirred up his spirit (sparked his enthusiasm) NLT
This was a group effort and it took total solidarity. They were becoming obedient within their covenant relationship with God. They became one in focus, purpose and mission and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God.
· The Bright Reveal 1:15-2:9
The promise of the Lord's presence would also guarantee the coming glory
My Spirit remains among you.
Yes, Abraham is gone, Moses is gone, David is gone and Solomon’s temple is gone BUT the Holy Spirit is still here so pick up your hammer and chisel and keep on moving. Focus on the one who abides with His people, be encouraged! Don’t be intimidated by daunting challenges because my Spirit remains with you!
Think of the implications of the temple and has the prophecy been fulfilled?
Well it was fulfilled in stages and the final fulfillment is still to come. By the time Christ had begun his ministry the temple had been rebuilt and it was impressive yet again. However, that temple would be destroyed again in AD 70.
So then Christ enters the scene and says in John 2:19,20, ‘destroy this temple in three days and I will raise it up.’ He spoke of His body of the temple so there is this direct continuity of the temple of the OT to Jesus in the NT. Once God met his people in the temple, but now He meets us in Jesus Christ.
Where is the temple now? 1 Corinthians 3:16,17; 6:19,20
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
Some also see the fulfillment of a future temple that will be built as part of the millennial reign of Christ; however we know the final state described in Revelation 21:22,23 as John writes,
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
· The Promise of Blessing 2:10-23 read verses 19 and 23
We have a set of prophecies delivered on the same day that stress the positive consequences of the finished temple including a double call to take the Lord's word to heart 2:10-23
The Keys To This House!
Every follower of Christ experiences the true exhilaration of really experiencing a new purpose for living their life, serving Him with joy and really seeing their faith take off. So much so, that you want to share it with others as well. However at some point opposition comes from friends, family or life gets too complicated and these difficulties force us to make a choice. We can either let them deepen our trust in God’s mercy, power and His strength to enable us to persevere or we settle for compromise, discouragement and doubt and all three are huge faith killers. What happens at this point have been referred to by some as an ‘affection vaccum’ in our hearts and so we begin to seek the good but not ultimate things like material possessions, entertainment and more rationalization about not following hard after God. Some may even drop out of serving or serving just becomes a duty with no real passion. We may even have good excuses like God I will reengage, ‘when my kids are raised or when my job is less demanding or when my marriage is in better shape’ and so we stay on the sidelines. Can you relate to this?
We do this all the while not realizing that the deep satisfaction for everything else in our lives comes when we give God the glory first.
Procrastination is a sin if it is keeping you from what God is calling you to do.
The key is that God wants to use you to bring glory to Himself so take courage you are building more than you see.
Philippians 1:6 He who has begun a good work in you. We are a work in progress!
Today as we move into worship singing as a response…the questions that have to be asked are:
1. What excuses are you giving God? Are you giving Him what’s right or what’s left?
2. Does He have the controlling interests in your life?
3. Do you feel overwhelmed with what He is asking you to do? Remember that He qualifies the called with His empowering presence.
4. Have you received his cleansing?
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