Weekly Sermon
This sermon is a companion to four previous sermons: Consider Your Priorities - Haggai 1:5
Consider the Lord's Pleasure - Haggai 1:8
Consider Our Lord's Purpose - Haggai 2:10-19
Consider Our Lord's Promise - Haggai 2:18-23
Haggai 2:1-5 reads, “In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? And how do ye see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.”
The Book of Haggai is an Old Testament book of only two chapters. Five times in those two chapters, our Lord instructed His people of that time to consider (in 1:5, 7; 2:15, 18). They were to consider their self-centered priorities and to reestablish their priority on the things of the Lord. They were to consider the Lord’s pleasure and to return unto the way of the Lord’s pleasure upon them. They were to consider the Lord’s purpose in chastening and to receive it with meekness unto fruitfulness for the Lord. Finally, they were to consider the Lord’s promise and to set the faith and focus of their hearts upon the Lord.
In particular, the Lord promised that if they would reestablish their priority on His work, and would return unto the way of His pleasure, and would receive with meekness the purpose of His chastening, then He would be with them in the fellowship of His presence and would pour out upon them the enabling of His Spirit. In fact, these very two promises are given in Haggai 2:4-5 – “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.” In like manner, in the New Testament the Lord our God has also promised the fellowship of His presence and the enabling of His Spirit unto us who are His people today.
Yet these promises were not and are not to be an end in themselves. Rather, these promises were then to move and motivate God’s people unto the work of the Lord for that time; and these promises are now to move and motivate God’s people unto the work of the Lord for this time. Yea, in Haggai 2:4-5, on the grounds of our Lord’s promise to be with them in fellowship and to place His Spirit upon them for enabling, He gave a three-fold instruction unto His people. Brethren, through these three things we are to be claiming our Lord’s presence.
This sermon is a companion to four previous sermons: Consider Your Priorities - Haggai 1:5
Consider the Lord's Pleasure - Haggai 1:8
Consider Our Lord's Purpose - Haggai 2:10-19
Consider Our Lord's Promise - Haggai 2:18-23
Haggai 2:1-5 reads, “In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? And how do ye see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.”
The Book of Haggai is an Old Testament book of only two chapters. Five times in those two chapters, our Lord instructed His people of that time to consider (in 1:5, 7; 2:15, 18). They were to consider their self-centered priorities and to reestablish their priority on the things of the Lord. They were to consider the Lord’s pleasure and to return unto the way of the Lord’s pleasure upon them. They were to consider the Lord’s purpose in chastening and to receive it with meekness unto fruitfulness for the Lord. Finally, they were to consider the Lord’s promise and to set the faith and focus of their hearts upon the Lord.
In particular, the Lord promised that if they would reestablish their priority on His work, and would return unto the way of His pleasure, and would receive with meekness the purpose of His chastening, then He would be with them in the fellowship of His presence and would pour out upon them the enabling of His Spirit. In fact, these very two promises are given in Haggai 2:4-5 – “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.” In like manner, in the New Testament the Lord our God has also promised the fellowship of His presence and the enabling of His Spirit unto us who are His people today.
Yet these promises were not and are not to be an end in themselves. Rather, these promises were then to move and motivate God’s people unto the work of the Lord for that time; and these promises are now to move and motivate God’s people unto the work of the Lord for this time. Yea, in Haggai 2:4-5, on the grounds of our Lord’s promise to be with them in fellowship and to place His Spirit upon them for enabling, He gave a three-fold instruction unto His people. Brethren, through these three things we are to be claiming our Lord’s presence.
We must be strong in the Lord.
In the opening portion of Haggai 2:4 our Lord gave the instruction, saying, “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD.” Three times in this verse our Lord gave the instruction to “be strong.” He gave this instruction to His chosen leaders, Zerubbabel the governor and Josedech the high priest; and He gave this instruction to the people themselves.
This was the instruction that Moses passed from the Lord unto the children of Israel and unto Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:5-8, saying, “And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”
This was the instruction that the Lord Himself delivered unto Joshua in Joshua 1:7-9, saying, “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
This was the instruction that David gave unto his son Solomon in 1 Chronicles 22:11-13, saying, “Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee. Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.” Again David gave this instruction unto Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9-10, saying, “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it;” and in verse 20, “And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.”
This was the instruction that Hezekiah the king proclaimed unto the people of Jerusalem in 2 Chronicles 32:7-8, saying, “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”
This was the instruction that the prophet Isaiah passed from the Lord unto His people in Isaiah 35:3-4, saying, “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.”
Now, in every one of these passages the instruction to be strong is founded upon the presence and help of the Lord. We are not to be strong in ourselves. Rather, we are to be strong in the Lord. Even so, the instruction is given unto us in the New Testament passage of Ephesians 6:10, saying, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Just as the apostle Paul gave instruction unto Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:1, even so we also must “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” Yea, we must join in the assurance of the apostle Paul from Philippians 4:13, saying, “I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.” Our Lord has promised to be with us; therefore, we must be strong in Him.
We must work faithfully for the Lord.
In Haggai 2:4 our Lord continued His instruction, saying, “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts.” In like manner, the instruction is given unto us in 1 Corinthians 15:58, saying, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” Brethren, living the Christian life as we ought is going to require work. It will not just happen naturally. It will require that we work at it. We must be strong and then work. We must be strong in the Lord and then work faithfully in that strength. If we will only live the Christian life in our personal walk, in our church ministry, and in our gospel witness when they are easy, comfortable, exciting, and fun, then we will not live that life faithfully. We must work.
First, our personal walk with the Lord is going to require that we work at it. We must work at being in God’s Word every day. We must work at meeting with our Lord through prayer every day. We must work at yielding ourselves to the Spirit’s direction every day. We must work at maintaining a godly attitude throughout every day. We must work at obeying the principles and precepts of our Lord throughout every day. If we do not work at it, it will not happen.
Furthermore, our ministry for the Lord is going to require that we work at it. We must work at getting out of bed in time for Sunday School each Sunday. We must work at returning for the evening service each Sunday afternoon. We must work at attending the Wednesday evening service each Wednesday. We must work at listening and receiving the message of God’s Word through each service. We must work at ministering to one another as fellow believers. We must work at preparing teaching lessons, and praying for one another, and cleaning up the building, and the sundry other tasks that are involved in the weekly ministry of the church. If we do not work at it, it will not happen.
Finally, our witness for the Lord is going to require that we work at it. We must work at praying for lost souls to be saved. We must work at being conscious of the lost souls around us. We must work at having compassion for those souls. We must work at giving out gospel tracts. We must work at opening our mouths to speak forth the gospel message. We must work at going forth to sow the Word of the gospel and to lead lost souls unto Christ. If we do not work at it, it will not happen.
We must not fear as we walk with the Lord.
In Haggai 2:5 our Lord gave the instruction, saying, “According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.” We are not only to be strong in the Lord and to work in that strength, but we are also to be of good courage in the Lord and to stand fast in that courage. Yes, when we are faithful to work for our Lord, our adversary the devil will fight hot and hard against us. Yes, when we are faithful to work for our Lord, the wicked of this world will hate us and persecute us. Yes, when we are faithful to work for our Lord, we will encounter much affliction and tribulation. Yet we must not be afraid or be dismayed. The Lord our God is with us. He will not fail us. He will not forsake us. He will fight for us. He will defend us and deliver us. Brethren, be strong; work faithfully; and fear ye not.
Posted in Weekly Sermon, Haggai, Fellowship with the Lord, Trust in God, Spiritual Enablement, Serving the Lord
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