A new book!!! - Haggai 1:1-11 sermon post

 


The Ukraine flag reminded us this Sunday to pray for the gospel proclamation around the world.  While Ukrainians are in the midst of armed conflict, the effects are felt throughout the region and the whole world.  The gospel outpost in Ukraine is great with many missionaries stationed there and also seminaries to train nationals for the spreading of God's word.  Some have sought the safety of neighboring countries while others have chosen to stay and serve those who remain behind.  The church and educational buildings are now being used as shelters, physically and spiritually.  We pray for a resolve that comes through the governing authorities seeking what is right in God's eyes.  

Haggai is a minor prophet with a major message.  It is not only a new book to venture into on Sunday mornings but I had 2 weeks to prepare for this first message.  We started with the 3 "a"'s of author (who wrote it), audience (who was it written to) and autographed (when as it written).  Haggai comes upon a stalled people of God who have decided that it is not the right time to build the temple that He commanded them to build.  In context, their conclusion would be something we might have uttered if we had felt the constant pressure of the adversaries and their onslaught of lawsuits including the threatening input from the king! 

Here are some key points from the sermon.

  • When it comes to what God has said, may there never be a new normal which diminishes what He has said.
  • God expects His people to follow His instruction with obedience.
  • The called consequences upon God's people by Him are there for a purpose.  Not to punish but to call His people back to obeying and working out what He has given them to do.
  • Many times there is a big difference between what man says and what God says but remember what God says ultimately wins.  He is the LORD of hosts, the self-existing, redemptive One of the angelic armies of heaven!
  • Are you experiencing a spiritual stall because of disobedience?  The only way out of the stall is to go back to what God has said.  "Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet." (Haggai 1:3, ESV).
I pray to do justice with this little book of the Bible that packs a big punch.  Will the church of today, the people of God, respond again to what God has commanded rather than running to our own desires in the face of persecution?  Will we re-establish the weight of what God has said and follow it up with obedience so we are running to His desires than our own?  Much more to learn from this book of Haggai.

Adam



A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 38th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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