The Time Is Now -

Today we are going to finish up our look at one of the Minor Prophets we find in the Old Testament, Haggai.  Once again, it’s important for us to understand the context and history of the book for us to understand what God is saying through the prophet, so in case you missed it, here it is.  The nation of Israel was defeated by the Babylonians in 587 BC and for 50 years the people lived scattered throughout the land.  During this time, the people were not able to worship God in any formal way, and many measures were taken to try and get the people to forget God entirely. 

In 538 BC, the people of God were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.  They started the work with great enthusiasm and laid the foundation and built the altar, but after 14 years, when things got difficult, the people quit.  God spoke through the prophet Haggai and told the people the time is now to return to me and rebuild the temple.  God stirred up the hearts of the leaders, and the people, and they did return to the work, only to get discouraged after a few weeks because the progress was so slow.  God told the people to be strong and keep working because He was with them and that He would keep His promise to restore the nation of Israel.  

The people kept on building the temple, but the work continued to go slow and from what the prophet said next, it appears that the people began to question whether or not obedience to God was worth all the work.  They are going through the motions and doing the work, but not getting anywhere.  They were trying to do the right thing, even though it was hard, and they were trying to be obedient, but they weren’t seeing God bless them and so they wondered if their hard work and obedience is worth it.  

Does this sound familiar?  We try to do the right thing, we work hard, but we don’t see any progress, or we don’t see God coming through for us the way we think God should, so we begin to ask ourselves, is it worth it?  Is following God worth it if God is not blessing us.  This kind of thinking is common, and it is what Craig Groeschel calls, Conditional Obedience to God.   

Not that any of us would think this way, but conditional obedience to God is when we obey God and follow God as long as we see results.  Conditional obedience to God is when we say we will follow God as long as it is comfortable for us, or as long as what God asks us to do is in line with what we want to do.  Conditional obedience to God is when we are willing to follow God as long as it doesn’t cost us too much and the rewards are worth it.  

When I was in college and first decided I wanted to serve God with my life and work in some kind of ministry, I said I would do anything and go anywhere, except the local church.  I told myself that it wasn’t God’s will for me to be a local pastor because I didn’t think that was what I wanted to do.  I had not prayed about it, I had not heard any kind of word from God, I just didn’t want to do it.  I was willing to follow God completely but under my conditions.  

Some people will turn to God when they are at the end of their rope and have nowhere else to turn and say God I will turn now and trust you, but when God doesn’t solve all their problems after one worship service, or when life is still difficult and challenging after a week of reading the Bible, they give up saying, God didn’t come through for me, or that this “walking with Jesus thing just isn’t working for me”  

In different ways we all struggle with conditional obedience.  We will serve God and love others as long as we get recognized, or as long as we get our way, or as long as I can stay comfortable and not have to change my thinking, my attitudes or my actions, or give too much of my time, my energy or my money.  The problem with conditional obedience is that we are serving God for all the wrong reasons.  We are serving God to get what we want, and our heart - the only thing God wants - our heart is still far from Him.

This is what Israel was struggling with as they worked to rebuild the Temple.  We are going to look at a section of Haggai 2 that at first might seem a little strange, but just bear with me.  

This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Ask the priests what the law says:  If someone carries consecrated meat in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?’”

The priests answered, “No.”

Then Haggai said, “If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?”

“Yes,” the priests replied, “it becomes defiled.”

Then Haggai said, “‘So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the Lord. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.  Haggai 2:11-14

Here is what God is asking the people to consider.  If the priest picks up a piece of meat that has been offered to God in a sacrifice and is now considered holy, if the robe that is carrying that meat touches some other food, is that food made holy?  As you might guess, the answer was no.  But, if a person who has been defiled in some way and is considered unclean, if that person touches something, does that become unclean?  The answer is, yes, it does.    

Let’s think about it this way.  For the past year, it has been our practice to wipe down all surfaces after someone has used a room.  When we do that, the room and everything in it is clean.  Now, if a person who might be sick were to enter that room, would those clean surfaces make the person well?  No.  Instead what happens?  The person who is sick makes the room unclean.  

So what does this have to do with the people of Israel working to rebuild the temple?  While it might sound harsh, what God is saying is that if the hearts of the people building the Temple aren’t right with Him as they do the work, the work is no good.  While the Temple itself, the building, might get finished, the hearts of the people are still far from God.  Ultimately God doesn’t want a magnificent building made of wood and stone, God wants a heart that is fully devoted to Him.  

After 50 years of living scattered throughout Babylon and not really able to develop any kind of relationship with God, the people were struggling to understand who God was, what God wanted, and how they were to live as children of God.  They were being obedient, and then expecting God to bless them for that obedience, but that is not what God wanted.  God wanted their heart.  

Nothing has changed.  God still just wants our heart.  God wants our love and adoration and worship.  God is not interested in our conditional obedience, following Him when it is easy, or comfortable, or when we get something in return, God wants all of our heart, mind, body, and soul fully fixed on Him.  God wants a heart that will trust Him for all we need.  

God wants the love and trust of His people so much that He goes back and reminds them what it was like when they were living only for themselves.  Haggai 2:15-16, Consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple.  When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty.  

If you remember from the first week of the series, God reminded the people that when they trusted in themselves only and always put themselves first, they never seemed to have enough.  Haggai 1:5-6

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

When all they did was try and provide for themselves, they never had enough and were never satisfied, and when we  live only for ourselves, when we are  focused only on this world and what we can get in it, we will never have enough and we will never be satisfied.  But if we can give God the fullness of heart without conditions, God will bless us.  But giving God the fullness of our heart doesn’t mean just going through the motions.  

Now let me be clear, serving God when our heart is not in it is not always a bad thing.  There will be days when we will not feel like serving God or others and on those days we can’t just walk away.  There will also be times when we will be obedient and then look for God to bless us for our work and it doesn’t mean that obedience has no value, but at some point we have to stop and make sure our heart is right with God.  

That is what God is doing here.  God is asking the people to consider the state of their heart.  Now is the time, God says, to get your heart right with me.  Don’t put your lives first, and don’t try to provide for yourself, and don’t put conditions on following me or obey in order to be blessed, instead, return to me.  

During the same time that God was speaking through Haggai, God was also speaking through the prophet Zechariah, and that is exactly what God said, Return to me.  Zechariah 1:3 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.  Notice that God doesn’t tell the people to return to the work this time, God says, return to me.  

Ultimately, this is what God wants from all of us, God wants us to return to Him.  God wants us to turn away from the world, and from ourselves, and from this idea that we can provide for ourselves, and love God with all our heart, and soul and mind and strength.  When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, He said to love God with all our heart.  As important as obedience is, obedience means nothing if our heart is not in it.  It looks like a child being told to say they are sorry.  They might say the words, but you can tell their heart is not in it.  

The people of Israel had returned to Jerusalem after 50 years of being away and they were struggling to love God with all their heart and soul and mind and strength.  When things got difficult they thought God must not be for them.  When God didn't come through for them the way they thought God should, they got discouraged.  The beautiful part of this story is that God is patient and takes time to restore the relationship.  God takes time and teaches them that it’s not about the work, and it’s not about getting a blessing because of the work, it’s about being with God and that is the blessing.  

God’s message through the years has not changed.  More than anything, God wants our heart.  More than our obedience, God wants our love and devotion, and God loves us so much that He will patiently wait for us and work with us so that we will return to Him.  Now is the time, God says, will you return to me? 

Now is the time, and today is the day for us to consider if our heart truly belongs to God.  If it doesn’t, if you are still living for yourself or serving God in order to get something in return, return to God.  Give God your heart and He will return to you and bless you.  And if you are like me, realign your heart, let go of conditional obedience, and simply love God with ALL your heart.  That truly is ALL God wants.  

 

Next Steps

The Blessing of Obedience

Has there ever been a time when you asked yourself if faith in Jesus, or obedience to God, was worth it?  What blessings or rewards were you looking for?  

How do you continue to wrestle with Conditional Obedience to God?  

Why might the people of Israel have thought their obedience to God in building the Temple would have brought them the blessing they wanted?  (Remember, they had spent 50 years living far from God.)  

What did you think of the statement: If your heart's not in the work, the work is not good.  

● What’s the value of continuing to work through spiritually dry or difficult times?  

● How might that work shape our hearts?  

● How might a change of heart shape our work?  

Reflect on these passages that connect love and obedience:

● John 14:15  2 John 1:6

○ Can we love God and not obey?

○ Can we really obey God and not love Him?

Ultimately God is not interested in our work (obedience) but our heart.  In what ways have you not given God ALL of your heart, soul, mind, and strength?  Where do you still struggle to trust God?  

In a world where we are told to provide for ourselves, our family, and our future, what does it look like for you to trust God for your life, your family, and your future?  

The Time Is Now - Dealing with Discouragement

Today we are going to continue on in the story of Haggai and if you weren’t with us last week, let me quickly give you the backstory.  In 587 BC, the nation of Israel was defeated by the Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made sure both the city of Jerusalem and the Temple were completely destroyed.  After 50 years of living scattered throughout the region, the Jewish people were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.  They worked quickly to lay a new foundation and build the altar, but then the work stopped.  For 14 years work stopped because the Jewish people faced opposition and persecution.  

Through the prophet Haggai, God told the people, the time is now for you to stop building your homes, and focusing on your lives, and return to the work of God.  The time is now to rebuild the Temple.  To make things as simple as He could, God told the people to go up the mountain, bring down the timber, build the house.  It’s not easy work, but it is God’s work.  The people had to take a Hard Right over the Easy Wrong and work to rebuild the house of God.  And that is what they did.  Haggai 1:13-14

Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord.  So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God.

It’s important to see that God didn’t just tell the people what to do and then give them simple steps to follow, God actually moved in and among the people to start the work.  First God went to the leaders, Zerubbabel the governor, and Joshua, the high priest, and stirred their hearts to do the work, and then God went to the people and stirred their hearts to do the work.  

Have you ever been stirred by God to do His work?  Have you ever felt such a drive and desire to do something that you just had to move forward?  Have you ever heard God clearly telling you this has to be done and the time is now to do it?  You might think this happens all the time to pastors, but it doesn’t.  I know the hard right and the faithful things we need to be doing in general, but to have my heart truly stirred by God for a specific work is not common (maybe that’s something I need to reflect on).  But I did have a moment like that a few years ago.

In 2017, I was at our Annual Conference and heard a report about our sister churches in Sierra Leone.  We had been part of supporting pastors in Sierra Leone for many years and we even hosted the Bishop of Sierra Leone, Bishop Yambasu, when he was in PA.  While he was here, I heard the bishop talk about how some of his pastors didn’t have 2 pairs of shoes and he marveled at our 2 and 3 car garages.  It was humbling.  In 2017, the report from the churches in Sierra Leone wasn’t good.  Due to the Ebola outbreak and some natural disasters, there was a $30,000 shortfall in covering the pastor's salaries.   

As I listened to the report, God stirred my heart.  I heard God say, Andy you can do something about this, and I decided I would make a donation to the cause.  But then I kept hearing God say, you can make a difference here and it wasn’t just going to be me, it was going to be us.  I came home and presented the situation to the church thinking that maybe we could raise a few thousand dollars: we raised $31,000.  It was enough money to cover all the expenses of the UM pastors in Sierra Leone.  God stirred my heart as the leader and then God stirred all of your hearts as the people and together we did more than we ever thought possible.  This is what happens when God is present AND stirs up people’s hearts.  It was a true work of God! We should pray for this to happen all the time!

This is what happened in Jerusalem when God was present AND stirred up the heart of Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the people.  They began to work on God’s house again.  They were motivated, focused, and diligent and that lasted for about a month.  We don’t know if the work slowed down or stopped all together, but the flame of enthusiasm went out.  

This happens to us all the time.  We get excited about something, start the work with all our focus and energy only to quit in a few weeks.  We do this with diets, exercise, hobbies, living within a budget, and even our relationships.  We are sold out for a month and then 1 or 2 things happen:

#1 we don't see progress so we get discouraged, 

#2 we compare our work to the work of others, our lives to others, and get discouraged because we just don’t measure up.  

We get discouraged and we quit.  We’ve all been there.  

I watched my dad do some amazing refinishing of furniture when I was young and so I decided I was going to refinish something and then sell it for a lot of money.  An antique mirror was given to our band auction and no one was bidding on it so I got it for like $20.  I was convinced that I could refinish it, make it look beautiful and then sell it for hundreds of dollars.  So I started.  I took the entire thing apart.  I put all kinds of paint thinner on it to remove the layers of paint and varnish, and I scrapped it all off.  But there was still a lot of gunk in all the little cracks and crevices of the scroll work.  That’s when my dad gave me dental tools to keep working.  

Dental tools, basically tooth picks, to clean out every little nook and cranny that still had paint and varnish.  Well, doing this work wasn’t fun anymore, and I was working hard and getting nowhere.  Then the work stopped.  When my parents moved out of that house many years later, that mirror was still in pieces and ended up in the trash.  I started out on fire but then flamed out.  I’ve done this with other hobbies, diets, and exercise.  I quit because I get discouraged.  I quit because I don’t see quick progress.  I quit because everyone else seems to be doing it better than I am.  

Israel quit because they weren’t making a lot of progress, and because they compared the glory of the previous temple to what they saw in front of them, and what they saw was kind of pathetic.  Haggai 2:3.   Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?

There were people working on the Temple who would have remembered what it looked like in its true glory days.  Haggai himself might have seen it.  We think Haggai may have been in his 70’s at this time, so he would have been a teenager when the Temple was in its full glory.  People knew what it looked like then, and what it looked like now, and not only was the progress slow but compared to what it looked like before - what they saw was pathetic, why keep going.  

Slow progress and comparison is often what discourages us from moving forward.  When we try and climb out of debt but don’t see the $10 we put each week toward our debt making a difference, we wonder why we are doing it in the first place.  When we diet for 2 weeks and don’t lose a single pound we start asking ourselves why we gave up potato chips and ice cream in the first place.  When we don’t seem any farther along in our faith, when we find ourselves struggling with the same sins and failures year after year, we wonder why we are even trying to be more like Jesus.  Slow progress is discouraging.

Comparing ourselves to others is discouraging, and today, social media makes this even worse.  When we see a picture of our friends' perfect marriage, perfect family, perfect house, successful business, or amazing vacation, we realize that in so many ways we don’t measure up.  When we see people celebrating getting in shape and we are struggling to get into our precovid clothes - it’s discouraging.  When we see other people getting more likes, having their videos and ideas go viral, and we limp along with barely any interest, it’s easy to think about giving up.  

If you are feeling discouraged right now because you aren’t seeing any progress in the areas of your life that you are trying to improve, or when you look around and see that everyone else has it better than you do, please know that you are not alone.  Personal discouragement is something we all face but from Haggai we also see that God is with us.  More than just being with us, however, God has something to say to us.    Haggai 2:4

“Be strong, Zerubbabel,” declares the Lord. 

“Be strong, Joshua, the high priest.”

“Be strong, all you people of the land,” declares the Lord, 

“and work. For I am with you,” declares the Lord Almighty.

God goes to each leader personally to encourage them, and then God goes to the people.  God’s love and care is truly personal and when any of us get discouraged, God is right there to say, be strong.  And the reason we can have courage and move forward is because God says, I am with you.  

When we compare ourselves to others it often leads us to feeling isolated and alone.  Everyone else has the perfect life and I am a mess.  Everyone else has a successful job and I’m going nowhere.  Everyone else has a strong faith and I still can’t get anything right with God.  That feeling of being alone is what God wants to address so God doesn’t say it once but twice.  Haggai 2:5

This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.

So first God says, I am with you, and then He says, my Spirit remains among you.  God had promised to be with His people when they left Egypt and God had not forgotten that promise.  God was with them, and His spirit was among them, so there was no need to fear or give up - they could keep going.

And that was the second thing God told them, keep going.  Work.  Keep doing the work, and that work was to: go up the mountain, bring down the timber, and build the house.  Maybe by now the work was to place one stone next to another, one stone on top of another, and keep going.  Do the work.  Don’t complain because there is no progress.  Don’t compare your work to what you see around you, or what you remember from the past, just do the work.   

The astor and author Craig Groeschel says, successful people do consistently what normal people do occasionally.  

The key to experiencing success, growth, or any kind of victory is to just keep going, and we can keep going because we aren’t working in our own strength but in the strength of God.  You see, the power of God is not just with us, it is now within us.  

Haggai encouraged the people to build a temple where God would dwell on earth, but for us now, the Spirit of God dwells in us. 

1 Corinthians 6:19, Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  Paul also said in his letter to the Romans that the same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is at work in you.  

1 John 4:4,  the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  So we aren’t trying to be strong in our own strength, we are learning how to tap into God’s strength and a spirit and power that raised Jesus from the dead.  It’s that power, it’s that Spirit, the Spirit of God that helps us keep going.  

It is easy to get discouraged in life and in faith. When the progress we want to make is slow, and when we look around and see everyone else doing so much better than we are, it’s easy to get discouraged and think about giving up.  In those difficult moments we need to remember that God is not just with us, the Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us.  That is why we can be strong and do the work.  

Next Steps

The Time Is Now - Overcoming Discouragement

When have you felt stirred by God to do something?  

● What was the project?  What was the outcome?  

When have you seen a group of people stirred by God and then accomplish something great?  

What project have you started with great enthusiasm to only quit after a few days or weeks?  What caused you to quit?

What is something you are thinking about quitting now? 

Read Haggai 1:13-14.  

● Why might Israel have felt discouraged after only 1 month of rebuilding the Temple?  

● Why do you think God starts by telling His people that He’s with them?  Why is this important for us to remember?  

Which is more discouraging to you: comparing yourself to others or lack of progress?  How does each play out for you?

What do you feel keeps you from being strong and doing the work you need to do to get past discouragement?  What is the work God is asking you to keep doing today? 

Read Scripture about perseverance:  

1 Chronicles 16:11 Romans 5:3-5, Hebrews 12:1-15, James 1:12

What difference does it make to know that God is within us and not just with us?  

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:10, Romans 8:11, 1 John 4:4

Successful people do consistently what normal people do occasionally.  

Craig Groeschel

The Time Is Now - A Hard Right

 

If you are feeling like there is some unfinished work in your life, something you have been wanting to do, needing to do, or even dreaming of doing, I have four words for you to consider.  The Time Is Now.  There was a moment in my life when I felt this way and God said something similar to me and it changed my life.  I was working as a manager of a movie theater in South Bend, IN, and life was good.  I was making good money, liked my job, had good friends, and I was close to my family.  I was honestly just enjoying my life.  I got to watch all the movies I wanted for free and eat as much free popcorn as I could.

I had been working there for a few years but all through college I had thought I would be involved in some kind of ministry.  I didn’t think this ministry involved a local church or going to seminary, but I thought I would be doing something more than showing the latest movies and popping up bags of popcorn.  Then in the summer of 1989 came the movie Dead Poets Society.  In the movie, Robin Williams plays Professor Keating who encourages the boys in his English class to follow their own path and make the most of their lives.  If you have seen the movie, you might remember these two words that Prof. Keating used over and over again.  Carpe Diem, which means, Seize the Day.

God used those two words to cause me to reflect on my life and consider if I was doing what God wanted me to do.  After several months of reflection and searching, I quit my job and started on a journey that led me to California, then Connecticut, then finally North Carolina and Duke Divinity School.  After graduating from Duke, I was appointed as a pastor in Altoona, PA.  I was now actively and intentionally involved in ministry.  

Whether it is two words, Carpe Diem, or three words, Seize the Day, or four words, The Time is Now, I pray that over the next few weeks you will reflect on your life and consider if God has something more for you.  It may not be quitting your job, uprooting your family, or starting a new career, but it may be something just as profound and transformational.  

If you have some unfinished business, an unfulfilled dream, or a goal you have set aside, or if you are just looking for deeper faith and greater purpose, I would invite you to consider if God is saying to you, The Time Is Now, to do something.  

We are going to be learning some lessons found in the Old Testament book of Haggai because God told the people of Israel that the time is now for them to return to the work of God.  Haggai is one of the Minor Prophets, which is a collection of shorter books found at the end of the Old Testament.  At a whopping 2 chapters, you might want to read it all this week, and if you go looking for it, you will find it between Zephaniah and Zechariah. 

Before we look at what God says through this prophet, we need to know the backstory.  King Solomon was the son of David and he was the one who built the temple in Jerusalem.  The temple was magnificent.  People from all over the world came to see it and Jews would come from all over the world to worship there.  After Solomon died, the nation of Israel divided and the people slowly turned away from God and started to worship idols.  In 587 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonians against Israel and destroyed not only the city of Jerusalem but the Temple as well.  

If you remember from our Daniel series earlier this year, the Jewish people were taken into captivity and scattered throughout the Babylonian empire for 50 years.  Then in 538, they were allowed to return to Jerusalem and begin to rebuild the Temple.  The people returned and built the foundation of the Temple and the altar, but then they started to get harassed by the people around them.  They persecuted God’s people and made it difficult to work, so they stopped.  For 14 years no work was done on God’s house and the people spent all their time, energy, and money on their houses.  

It’s interesting that when the people of Israel found building the temple difficult, they took it as a sign that building the temple must not be God’s will.  Why is it that we think God’s will should always be easy?  Why do we take challenges as a sign that God is against us instead of thinking that it might be the world that is against us, and that God is still for us, He’s just asking us to work harder?  The truth is that doing the right thing, the faithful thing, and the Godly thing is often hard.  At times we need to choose the HARD RIGHT and not the EASY WRONG.  

The hard right is choosing to forgive someone when they have hurt us.  It’s trying to reconcile a relationship that has been broken and being the first one to reach out.  The hard right is getting healthy and caring for our bodies as if they truly are the temple of the Lord.  The hard right is to get out of debt and live within our means so that we can financially bless others.  The hard right is to put God first in all things.  These are all hard things that are right.

The easy wrong is to hold onto a grudge, lay on the couch all day eating chips and watching TV, and spending beyond our means knowing that we will pay it off in time… maybe.  The easy wrong is to put our own wants and needs first and then think about following God and helping others.  The hard right is often difficult and following God is often the hard right thing to do.  So if the time is now to do what God is asking us to do, we have to be prepared for it to be difficult.  We have to be ready to take a hard right.  

What is the hard right that God is asking you to consider?  Is it to get healthy or improve a relationship?  Is it to get your financial house in order, or grow closer to God?  Is it to step out in some new way to love God, or serve God, or serve others?  If God is saying to you, The Time Is Now, then God is going to give you some direction through the prophet Haggai.  Haggai 1:2-6

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’”

Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”  

God was asking the people to consider how they had been living.  What had been their focus?  What had been their priority these past 14 years?  What they had been focused on was themselves.  They had been building their own homes, and meeting their own needs, while neglecting the house of God.  They had put themselves first and God asked them, how’s that working out for you?  God says, you are working hard but never have enough.  You are working hard but never seem to be satisfied, or fulfilled. 

Too often that’s what happens when we take the easy road and put ourselves first.  We are never satisfied or fulfilled.  That’s how I felt working at the theater.  I had a good job, good friends, and a good life, but I was not satisfied.  If you are thinking there should be more to life, and more to your faith, then hear what God said to Israel, the time is now to reorder your life.  The time is now to prioritize your faith.  The time is now to finish those things that God says need to be finished.  

If we are thinking that the time is now to get moving, God makes the process simple.  It’s not easy, doing what God asks us to do is not always easy, it’s often the hard right, but honestly, it can be simple.  For Israel, God made it simple.  Haggai 1:8  Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.

The unfinished work of the Temple wasn’t rocket science for the people, it involved:

1. going up the mountain 

2. bringing down timber

3. building the house

They had to start.  They had to leave their homes and go up the mountain.  Of course this did mean getting up off their couches and actually walking up into the mountains.  After having been in Israel, I can tell you, the mountains there are steep!  Going up into the mountains wasn’t easy, but it was right and this would get them started.  Then they had to cut down trees.  Again, not difficult to figure out how to do it, but it is hard work.  Then they had to build the house.  They had the plans for the Temple, they knew what to do, they just had to do the work.  Step 1, 2, 3.  Don’t worry about the rest, don’t worry about how to finish the project - just start.  

I had a roommate in seminary who had to write a paper for his graduation and he spent days figuring out how to write it.  He first decided to dictate his paper then transcribe it.  I told him to just start the paper.  Then he decided to write out all his quotes on index cards and place them all in order and then write it.  I told him, just start the paper.  He then came up with two other methods for organizing and writing the paper, and again I told him, just write the paper!  He spent more time figuring out how to write the paper then he did writing the paper.  The time is now to just start.  Go up into the mountains.  Bring down the timber.  Build the house.  

We don’t have to have every detail figured out before we start - we just have to start.  I have shared this many times but it’s easier to steer a moving car than a parked car.  Actually, you can’t steer a parked car.  God can’t guide us and lead us and bless us until we are willing to move and that’s step one.  Go up the mountain.  Start.

What is it that you need to start today?  Don’t worry about how it will get finished, just worry about how to start.  What unfinished work do you have in your life?  What relationship needs to be healed, what dream needs to be fulfilled, what God-given gift do you need to use, and how is God asking you to go deeper in life, and faith?  The time is now – to start.   Ask for some assistance, ask someone to go with you, but just start.  The time is now for all of us to take the next faithful step with God.  Go up the mountain, bring down the timber, and build the house - God’s house.  

 

Next Steps

The Time Is Now - Taking a Hard Right

To understand the backstory to Haggai, read Ezra 1-4.  

When have you taken a Hard Right over an Easy Wrong?

When have you taken an Easy Wrong over a Hard Right?

● What was the outcome of each?

For 14 years, Israel stopped building the Temple of God because it was difficult and they faced opposition.  

● What have you stopped doing in life and faith because it got difficult or you faced opposition?  

What are your greatest barriers to a deeper faith and following God’s will?  

● Where have you put your will over God’s will?  Your desires over God’s desires?

God gave Israel three steps

1. Go up the mountain

2. Bring down timber

3. Build the house

What might these steps look like in your life as you move forward with God?  

What new habit can you start this week to help you prioritize your faith?  

How can you serve God or others this week so that you are no longer placing yourself first in all things?  Can you make this service an ongoing part of your life?  

Who can help you keep going in this new direction?  Ask them for help, assistance, guidance, and prayer.  

the Ultimate Red Letter Day

 For the past 6 weeks we have been looking at some of the words Jesus spoke while He hung on the cross.  We called the series Red Letter Day because the words of Jesus are often printed in red ink in our Bible.  The words we hear Jesus speak from the cross are powerful because they talk about God’s forgiveness and grace, and they remind us that even in the midst of our darkest days Jesus is still with us.  He says, today you will be with me in paradise.   

The red letters of that day would mean nothing, however, if there were not more red letters to come.  If Jesus had simply died on the cross, never to rise again, His teaching would be insightful but it would not be transformational, but because there were red letters after his death, because Jesus rose from the grave, it gives power and authority to every word and teaching of Jesus.  The resurrection is the sign to us that everything Jesus said is right, and good, and trustworthy, and that Jesus alone is the Messiah, the Son of God.  Today we celebrate the Ultimate Red Letter by looking at three words Jesus spoke after He rose from the dead.  Three words that give us hope, and power, and a future.    

One of the first words Jesus spoke from the gospel of John was, Mary.  Mary Magdalene had been a follower of Jesus.  Jesus had turned her life around when he drove evil spirits from her life, and in return, Mary was devoted to Him.  Mary was one of the last people at the cross and the first person at His tomb.  While all the men ran away and hid, Mary was courageous and stood by Jesus to the end, and then after the Sabbath day of rest, it was Mary who went to properly prepare Jesus’ body for the grave.  She went to the tomb expecting to find Jesus dead.  His body should have been wrapped tight in the temporary grave clothes, he should have been lying in a sealed tomb.  But when Mary got there, the tomb was not only open, but empty.  

After running to tell the disciples what she found and having everyone check out the situation, Mary was left alone by the grave.  John 20:11-16.

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.  They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”   “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.  He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”  Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”  Jesus said to her, “Mary.”  She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).  

I love that one of the first words Jesus spoke after He rose from the dead was the name of one of his followers.  He doesn’t call her by name and scold her for not recognizing Him.  He doesn’t try to teach her anything, or dive into a deep theological meaning of the resurrection, He simply calls out by name, he speaks to hear heart.  These red letters tell us that the resurrection of Jesus is PERSONAL.  It is for all of us.  

While Jesus was the sacrificial lamb who took away the sin of the world, He also is the one who died for me, and for you.  If Jesus died for each one of us, then His resurrection is for each one of us.  It is personal.  God’s forgiveness is for each one of us.  New life in Jesus name is available to each one of us.  In Isaiah 43:1, God says, Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.

God knows us by name, and it’s because of the resurrection of Jesus that we are forgiven (redeemed) and now belong to God.  Where once we were separated from God because of our sin, now, through Jesus, we are brought near to God and given the gift of life.  When God calls Mary by name, it transforms her life again.  Her sorrow becomes joy, her despair becomes hope, and a life that had lost everything 24 hours earlier is now filled with purpose.  

Everything changed for Mary when she heard her name, and everything can change for us when we hear God call us by name.  Our sorrow can be turned to joy, our despair can become hope, and our life can be filled with meaning and purpose.  

It’s interesting that Jesus didn’t call Peter by name, or John, or James.  He called Mary, and the reason He did is because she is the only one who stayed in the garden.  You have to believe if the other disciples had stayed, He would have called their names as well, but they left.  Mary stayed.  If we want to hear God call our name, we need to stay with Him.  We need to quiet our lives, still our hearts, and put ourselves in places where it is quiet enough to hear God speak.  It may not happen the first day, or the second, or the third, but if we will be still - we will know that God is with us and we just might hear our name.  The red letters of Easter tell us that the resurrection of Jesus is personal, God forgives us and redeems us and brings each one of us hope and new life.   

If we keep reading in John’s gospel we find that later in the day Jesus does appear to His disciples.  This time He doesn’t greet them by name but with this blessing.  Jesus says, PEACE.  In Luke’s gospel it says, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”   They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.  He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?  Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”  Luke 24:36-39

The resurrection of Jesus wasn’t just personal, it was also to bring a peace that would overcome all doubt and fear.  We all have doubts and we all have fears, and some of these are centered on our faith.  We ask ourselves, is all of this true?  Did Jesus really live and die and rise again?  Can we trust and depend upon His word and God’s love?  Can all of this really make a difference in my life?  We all have these kinds of questions and what I love is that Jesus simply offers Himself in response saying, try me.  Reach out your hand and touch me?  See if I am a ghost or if I am real.  

We can reach out to Jesus today to see if He is real.  God says, if you seek me with all our heart you will find me, so if we are willing to reach out with sincere and humble hearts - we will find that Jesus is real and that He can be counted on in every area of our lives.  Each of the disciples reached out to Jesus and their lives were transformed.  In fact, one of the most powerful pieces of evidence we have to tell us that the resurrection of Jesus is real is the changed lives of his followers.  

A day earlier, the disciples were all hiding in fear, a few days from now they are going to be strong and courageous and take the world by storm.  Even in the face of death, they would not deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus.  Because they reached out to him, their lives changed.  If we are willing to reach out to Jesus we will find Him and with Him we find peace and a power that will change our lives.  

If you are in need of this kind of peace, if you need to know that God is real and experience the power of God in your lives, I would invite you to do one simple thing this week.  PRAY.  That’s it.  Pray, and ask God to show you that He is real.  Pray, and then listen for God to call you by name, or fill you with peace.  It’s what this red letter day is all about.

It’s personal, and it brings peace, but there is one more word that we cannot overlook - GO.  In the gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus tells his followers to go into all the world with the good news that He has risen from the dead.  In the gospels of Luke and John, Jesus says that He is sending them out into the world to do the same thing.  Part of this ultimate red letter day has to be to PROCLAIM the good news that Christ is Risen!  (He is risen indeed!)  

You may have seen an article this week that according to a recent Gallup survey, this is the first time in the history of the US that less than half the population is a member of any kind of church, synagogue, or mosque.  While there may be many people who are very active in their faith and just don’t want to join a church, the reality is that we are not doing a very good job of proclaiming the message that Jesus died and rose again to fill us with hope, and power, and new life.  We aren’t doing a good job telling people that God knows their name, and that God alone can bring them a peace that passes all understanding.  We have to reclaim the power of Easter and learn how to proclaim this good news with joy, with authenticity, and with conviction.  We need to share how the resurrection of Jesus has changed our lives and filled us with peace.  

If we have experienced God in personal ways, and if we experience the peace of God, a peace and presence that fills us with power, then let’s take up the purpose of the church and the mission of Jesus and share this good news with others.  Everyone who heard the red letters of Jesus on that first Easter day were given one purpose, one task, one job.  Go and tell someone else.  

Mary - go tell the disciples.  

Disciples - go tell the world.  

The mission of God hasn’t changed, the call of God today is exactly what it was on that ultimate red letter day, go and share the good news that Christ is Risen!  (He is risen indeed!).  

AMEN!

 

Next Steps

The Ultimate Red Letter Day!

Read the resurrection story in all four gospels.

Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20-21

● What red letters jump out at you?  

● What message was so important that Jesus shared it on this particular and powerful day?  

● What do they mean for you personally?

Personal: the resurrection of Jesus is personal, God knows your name.

● When have you heard God call your name?

● What does it mean to you that God knows your name and everything about you?  

○ Does it bring comfort, fear, joy?  Why?

● If you have never heard God call your name, take time this week to be quiet and listen.  Ask God to speak to you.  

Peace: the resurrection of Jesus brings peace.

● What doubts or fears are you struggling with today?  

○ How can knowing that Jesus rose from the grave help you overcome these fears?

● How can the open and empty tomb help you see that nothing is impossible with God?  

○ Where can this give you hope and power?

● Pray and ask God to show you that He is real.  

Proclaim: the resurrection of Jesus isn’t just for you, it is for everyone.  

● Who do you know that could benefit from hearing that God is for them, that God is with them, and that God loves them?

● How can you share your own personal story of God’s love?

● Where can you be an agent of God’s peace in the world?

● Pray with us that Faith Church can find ways to proclaim the good news of Jesus to those who need to hear.