Sermon: God’s Word, Human Response to God’s Word, and God’s Response to Human Obedience

Bible Passage: Haggai 2:19b

1. There was scarcity of grains—2:16 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

2. There was a failure of crops—2:19a  Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit)

3. There was a fivefold predicament per verse 1:6

a. They planted much, but harvested little

b. They ate, but never had enough

c. They drank, but never had your fill

d. They put on clothes, but were not warm

e. They earned wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it

1. 1:9 You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away.

2. 1:10 Because of you [people of Jerusalem] the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands

3. 2:17 I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord

4. The LORD caused the predicament to get their attention towards Him

1. Neglect of God’s work

a. 1:2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.”—They gave excuses

b. 1:9 “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house

c. They neglected the interest of the Lord by putting personal interest ahead of God’s interest (vv. 2-4)

d. They neglected the very purpose for which they came to Jerusalem

e. To leave the Lord’s dwelling in a state of disrepair was to show disrespect to the occupant (verse 9)

2.Sin (compromised lifestyle)

a. 2:14 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”

1. “Give careful thought”

2. “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 (1:8)

3. Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai (1:12)

4. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month (1:14)

1. “From this day on I will bless you” (2:19)

a. To endue (grant) the people of God with special power

b. To increase the productivity

c. To reverse scarcity

d. Here, God is promising them a reversal of their predicament by sending rain and abundance of crop

2. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people (1:14)

3. 2:6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

1. God’s blessing precedes human response

2. When man focuses on God’s interest, God focuses on man’s needs

3. God builds His house, but He uses His people

4. When God uses His people, they need to work with commitment toward His work

5. Often, there is an organic relationship between human predicament and their commitment to God’s interest

6. Often, God creates human predicament to get human attention

7. Test of hearing God’s word is obedience to God

8. Serving God need not be without obstacles and hard work

9. If God is in a work, it flourishes—resources need not be a problem (Gamaliel principle)

1. Matthew 16:18 I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it

2. 1 Cor 3:10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw

Participate with enthusiasm in God’s work at Crossroad and avoid half-hearted service to Him