Integrity - Do You Have It? - Zechariah 7:1 - 8, 23

How often do you observe practicing it?

Somewhere there is a person that has affected your life simply because you can trust them. In your eyes that person has integrity. A person with integrity is sound and complete and they live their life on a daily basis adhering to a code of ethics acceptable to God. Complete integrity means that nothing can or will cause a person to compromise their code of ethics. True integrity means that one has vowed to keep God’s commandments to the best of man’s ability.
A person with integrity is one that has all the combined attributes of honesty, truthfulness, sincerity, fair-mindedness, that controls their every action even when there is no one present and observing. In government, we call them statesmen—that is, we used to call them statesmen when they were present—they are a diminishing breed in this generation. We become discouraged because of the lack of integrity in our government officials [and often in our clergy]…however, it is not a new problem, since we find that it was a problem in the days of Zechariah.
After the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah was taken captive by Babylon there was a system of fasting and prayers established to help the people remember their former favor in the eyes of God and the destruction that came as a result of their disobedience. Now that the city has been rebuilt and the remnant is home again, in the seventh chapter of Zechariah we find the new direction given by God was that he expects integrity and not fasting. A delegation was sent to the priest and prophets and asked this question. “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
As God so often does, he answered their question with another question—which was “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that fasted or were you just celebrating for yourselves?” Then the prophet told the people that God was not interested in their selfish attitudes but that he was concerned with their integrity toward others. He told them that this is what the Lord says; “Administer true justice, show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think of evil of each other.”
In verses 5 to 7 we find that the Israelites had lost their sincere desire for a Christian relationship with each other and a loving attitude toward God. The prophet told them that they had been fasting without a proper attitude of repentance or worship. They fasted and mourned during the exile with no thought of God or their sins that caused the exile in the first place. He told them that their sacrifices were for selfish reasons and showed no integrity toward God or other people.
In verses 11 and 12 Zechariah explained to the people that their ancestors brought Gods wrath on themselves because of the hardening of their hearts. This practice had continued down through the generations. This warning is very applicable to all of us today. There is something about sin that causes it to get easier and people feel less guilty as they repeat the same sin. As our hearts become hardened, it becomes easier to sin and feel no guilt. Ignoring God’s call to repentance works in the same way—it is bothersome at first, but repeated failure to heed God’s warning can soon result in self-satisfaction with little or no guilt feeling attached. NOTE: This is not pertaining only to the lost soul…it applies to the Christian as well. There is a proven remedy—Read God’s word often and regularly and apply it to your life. It will result in a sensitivity that will bring about submission to his word that will soften your heart and allow you to live a life of INTEGRETY.
In the eighth chapter Zechariah tells the Israelites that the Lord has promised to bless Jerusalem. He quotes God as saying; “I will return to Zion [Jerusalem] and it will be called the City of Truth.” Truth is integrity and therefore on with integrity is truthful, dependably, helpful, and will operate on a Christ-like code of ethics. The promise God made means that one day soon Christ will reign in his kingdom here on earth. There all of his own people will live with him. We dream of a world of peace where we can live freely and without fear of harm—but I believe the bible teaches that day will not come before the second coming of our Lord. This seems somewhat depressing but peace will not come by our power or might…But by his spirit…by his presence as King of Kings.
Verses 4 and 5 speaks of troubled times when the very old and the young seem to be the first to suffer. As we write, the population of older people is growing and conditions that offer health care and acceptable living conditions for the elderly is a major problem even in the more prosperous nations. In the countries of the less fortunate, children are starving and disease ridden in conditions that are deplorable. These verses picture great numbers of the old and young that is filling the streets with normal everyday activities. This seems to me to be a sign of the complete peace and prosperity of Gods new earth.
In verse 6 the remnant referred to the small number of exiles that returned from Babylon to rebuild the city and temple. They were struggling to survive and it must have been very difficult for them to believe that things were going to turn around completely bringing them peace and prosperity. I just want to bring to your attention that the conditions on earth today are approaching or even surpassing the troubled times of the remnant. Read the front page of the news paper during the next week and compare the good news with the amount of bad news and see if you can not imagine that we are suffering some of the same pangs of depression, worry, war and fear of the terrorist. Read your bible, consider the promises of God and you can know that there are better days ahead. Our God is all-powerful; he can do anything when he is confronted by the impossible. Just remember “With God all things are possible, [Matthew 19:26].
8:8 The covenant relationship will be renewed, and the city and country will be filled with the presence of God. This is a universal promise of forgiveness and restoration that extends to Christian people wherever they are found. In verses 9 through 11 God gives the temple workers a little push to get them moving ahead. They had heard the prophet tell them what was going to happen and now it was time for them to do more than listen; they needed to get busy doing what they had been told to do. We are his hands and feet in Heber Springs, and now that we know what he has commissioned us to do, it is time to start and complete the task for the modern day church. To do so is called OBEDIENCE.
13-15 For more than fifteen years, God through his prophets had been urging the people to finish building the temple. In these verses he encouraged them by showing visions of the future. I hope I am not stretching my imagination too far, but I can visualize our congregation is this same position. About ten years ago our church faced some troublesome times that caused us to loose a great number of our younger members. For some reason we have not found a way to regain the momentum in physical growth. Could the problem be that we have been tempted to slow down because people are not responding as we had hoped? Are we physically or emotionally drained? Do we have some that are uncooperative? Is our task too difficult, or not worth the effort? Is the problem in the leadership or follow ship? God’s promises about our future should encourage us NOW. We must prayerfully seek God’s guidance and return to our commitment to grow his church.
The 14th verse returns us to God’s demand for integrity among his people. The remedy for the problem in Jerusalem is the same remedy that will solve our problems. 16 “These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this.”…
If we will follow the instructions given the Jews we will soon reach the place where we will have no need to fast for our sins but we can replace the fast with feasting and joy. Now read verse 23 and see how it transposes to Heber First Baptist.
This is what the Lord Almighty says; “In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”
I believe that these last verses tell us that if we will regain our integrity of worship and commitment that there will be many people from this community, and from other places that move here that will hear the Word of God preached in its purity and simplicity and they will hold on to the hem of our church robe and find Jesus Christ as their savior. May god help us to seek the Lord’s guidance, may the Holy Spirit help us to recognize his will and May the Lord Jesus Christ hear and answer our prayers of repentance and renewed commitment.

Dependence - Zechariah 4:1-6, 15

American family life during the late thirties was far different from life as we know it today. We had exited a great depression when there were no available jobs for anyone, man or woman of any age. When jobs slowly appeared it was the men of the family that went to work away from home, while the women remained in the home with the children and so it remained until Hitler started WWII. The American military machine was caught short and the immediate heavy demand for manpower left many civilian jobs unmanned and the women had to move into the workplace. The heavy demand for war related equipment overloaded the manufactures and women were called in to work in the factories. Through prayer and worship America depended on God to pull us through. We know he did, but the women never went back to the job of being homemaker.

In just one decade this nation went from the boom of the roaring twenties through the bust of the depressed thirties to the war torn forties. It is easy to see that our dependence on God can come and go as quickly as war can be declared. When times look depressing, we turn to God. When the fouler leaves we don’t need God anymore. Another example is seen during the Persian Gulf War. When it started Americans got on their knees and prayed for our troops and there were no complaints for the objectors. It was over soon and we turned from prayer for troops to praise for weapons that could deliver explosives through the stove pipes right into the furnaces.

A third example will suffice to explain how our dependence on God depends upon the hand he has just dealt with which we are to play the game of life. This nation has never needed God less than it did on a Tuesday morning not long ago about mid morning when someone discovered that there were four passenger planes that had been hijacked. Before anyone could decide what to do, two had flattened the twin towers in NY, one was buried in the pentagon in DC and the fourth had fortunately wrecked in a hay field in Illinois. All at once, America needed God, and for a short time there seemed to be a great return to Christianity and a greater need for our DEPENDENCE ON GOD ALGHMIGHTY than had existed in some time. Here and now we stand only a few war-torn years down the road and seemingly no closer to a solution of the terrorist threat—and for some unexplainable reason we have gotten off of our knees in prayer and are now standing on the soap box of condemnation blaming our own government for the terror threat. We now blame everyone from the president to God for our lack of success. I sometimes wonder why our memory is so short. There is one thing for sure and that is that we have made no improvement over the short memories of the Israelites who could forget the source of their manna in less than a week with no problems at all.

The vision of the lamp stand and two olive trees is recorded in 4: 1-3. This incident takes place about 16 years after the foundation of the new city had been laid. The Persian enemies had called for a halt to the work. Zerubbabel had received threats of war from Persia [Neh. 4: 7-23]. This vision was given to give courage to Zerubabel and to assure the people that was still in favor of the building; and it was also a comforting word for Joshua who is referred to in symbol [vv. 3:12-14].

The prophet, Zechariah was either asleep or in a trance and was awakened by an angel [Dan. 10: 9-11]. The angel asked him what he saw. He said that he saw a solid gold lamp stand and two olive trees. It was somewhat like the one found in the tabernacle which was made of one talent of pure gold [Exod. 25: 39]—made of one talent of pure gold. One talent weighed about seventy pounds and that would make it worth thousands of dollars in today’s market. The stand had several branches or prongs each of which had a small bowls to hold the oil, and stems or tubes that fed the lights and was to give light to the temple. The oil came from the two olive trees that flowed down into the bowls. The temple lamp had required a priest to fill the cups, but this one required no priest.

This lamp stand represented spiritual light—or spiritual witness—which is thought to represent God’s people, Israel as the bearers of that light. The Bible defines light as a spiritual witness when it says that Christ is the light of the world. Revelation 1:20 speaks of the seven golden lamp stands as the seven churches [God’s people] and churches were witnesses. Israel was to be the spiritual light, but the fact that no priest was needed to fill the cups with oil, meant that the power was directly from God flowing to the people. The message was that the temple would be completed, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty. Nothing is impossible with God [Mark 10: 27].

The two olive trees represent the source of the oil that will be used by the lights on the stand. It is used here to represent the Holy Spirit—as it is throughout the Bible. Oil was used in the consecration of prophets, priest and kings and represented the anointing of the Holy Spirit. There is an excellent example in 1 Samuel 16: 13, “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.” There is no magic in the oil: it is just a symbol that stands for the power that comes from the Spirit of God. Any power that you or I have to do anything good and pleasing to Jesus Christ must come through the anointing of the Holy Spirit. When Paul said that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him—he was referring to the power that comes only through the direct help of the spirit that was his helper.

Zerubbabel had been charged to complete the temple…he laid the foundation and started the work but was forced to withdraw from the task. The prophet, Zechariah, told him that this vision guaranteed that he would be able to finish the work. The vision came to recharge Zerubbabel’s batteries which had run low. There were too many enemies…too much opposition and he did not believe he could go on. The vision assured him of an abundance of oil [power through spirit] and that nothing could stop his progress. Israel was impoverished and small in number against her enemies that were countless and had the strength of the mighty Persian government standing with them…but he had nothing to fear because God was promising to remove every mountain that stood in his way.

America should take heed! We have and still do brag about our military strength, and being the leading nation in the world. People from the president on down depend on our dedication, toughness, strength and technical superiority to help us survive. However—if you believe in the message found here in the Word—we are depending on the wrong source for victory. Zerubbabel was the man in power in Jerusalem and God told him that “…His success would not be by his might or the nation’s power, but by MY SPIRIT.” The key here is MY SPIRIT, and we should understand that anything lasting has to come from God.

The temple was completed in 516 BC [Ezra 6: 14]. The prophet knew that Zerubbabel had laid the foundation…the vision now tells him that Zerubbabel will also be the one to complete it. When man wills what God wants, nothing can stop him. With God on his side—he could not fail.

Verse ten indicates that many of the Israelites were displeased with the size, beauty and comparison of the new temple to the one Solomon had built. God was not concerned about the outward appearance but he was concerned that He be present in the building…he especially was happy to know that this was the one that his Son would visit, and teach from while here on earth as man/Christ. Here is my warning to First Baptist at Heber…..!

Those who worship at Heber First should be very thankful for the lesson taught here. By TV we are able to see church buildings that are like castles, making our buildings look like cracker boxes in comparison. The Catholic people have built cathedrals such as the two in Rome and Florence Italy that are beyond description in beauty, size and structure. The Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City is a monument in itself. All we need remember is that the beauty or cost of the building has no meaning in the sight of God. We must remember that he met with his people following the Exodus in the tabernacle MADE OF GOAT SKINS stretched on wooden poles. The key here is that He was present. He expects us to do our best; his house should be the equivalent of our homes. He is very concerned about the use of his house…he is concerned about what is allowed to take place there…he is very concerned about whether he has been made the cornerstone.

I sometimes think that we allow our sanctuary to be misused. It is a place of reverence to me, and when there is running and game playing, any kind of rudeness even though it is a part of a program…I wonder if that pleases God. I like to think that God is present in our Sanctuary 24/7. Anything that is taking place at any time is being observed by him each moment. I ask you personally—do you honor God by wearing your best suit or dress? {I am not better than thou—overalls or jeans are just fine if that is the best you have and they are clean} I believe we should honor him with our best and purest, whether it is dress, actions, behavior, even our conversation and thought process.

What if he would meet you face to face, personally present with you in your pew at First Baptist…will you be comfortable, prayed up, with appropriate dress and actions? Will he be able to see that you were expecting Him to visit in our church?

Now, the fact is…Jesus is there in the pew with you whether you see him or not. My problem is that I do not believe that people believe this and act like it. The bottom line is that absolutely nothing else matters until we all realize that everything depends on Jesus Christ and what he did for us on The Cross. He paid the price for our sins. We owe him everything, honor, respect, worship, praise and DEPENDENCE. WE HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE…WE MUST DEPEND ON GOD!

Repentance - Zechariah 1:1 - 6:2, 7 - 13

Repentance can only be accomplished when one admits to the sins that he/she has committed in the past…and in a humble spirit ask Jesus Christ to forgive them. Then one must promise the Lord that they will not knowingly and willingly commit the sin again. True REPENTANCE requires that one have the faith to believe that Jesus will forgive the committed sin and set the sinner free—holding the sin against them no longer. Sin is removed as far as the east is from the west!

Repentance means that one has stopped walking in a sinful way—sought and received forgiveness; and is now walking in the opposite direction by and with the help of The Holy Spirit. One must no longer do that which is wrong in the sight of God and must now OBEY Him.

Only people have the privilege of repentance. Hogs can not repent; they will leave the shower stall and return immediately to their favorite mud wallow. Remove the harness from the finest work horse, or the saddle from Trigger or Secretariat and they will return to their favorite dust bowl and roll over in it. The hog and the horse return to their wallow because they want to and they have no desire to ever change. A repentant soul may return to the sin that so easily besets them, but it can not be because of their desire to continue in sin.

Last Sunday we studied the book by Haggai. Zechariah was a younger contemporary prophet. This book is also dealing with the problems surrounding the rebuilding of the temple. The structure was being completed, but there were other necessities that had to do with order of worship, sacrifices, and rituals that needed to be taught. To this end, God gave Zechariah eight night visions, all dealing with some aspect of restoring life in Jerusalem and the building and use of the new temple. The purpose of these visions was to encourage the people to turn back [REPENT-TURN AROUND] to the Lord and seek His presence once again [WALK IN A NEW DIRECTION.]

This book was written to give hope to God’s people by revealing their future deliverance through the Messiah. Jesus Christ would be that coming Messiah and he would visit this new temple…God would live in it…and that made it special. Zachariah wrote the book to the Jews in Jerusalem who had returned from Babylonian captivity and to the Children of God everywhere. The first eight chapters were written about 520 BC and the rest was written around 480.

The captives had returned from their exile in Babylon intending to rebuild the temple but—as we learned last week—they became more interested in building their own homes and businesses, and the temple work went begging. Both Haggai and Zechariah confronted the back-sliders and encouraged them to repent and finish their commitment. The key verses are 9: 9-10—“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey…H will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

Here is a very important question. How did Zechariah know that some 500 years later, Jesus Christ would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey? Can you tell me who will ride into Heber Springs on a tri-cycle in the year 2507? No. Impossible. And it would have been impossible with Zechariah if God had not revealed it to him. These predictions that came true specifically as prophesied are the keys to my faith. Most scholars think that this book is the most apocalyptic and Messianic of all the other
Minor Prophets.

Jealousy in the heart of sinful man is a dangerous poison that tares people apart. Not so with God. We serve a jealous God—and jealousy in a divine heart is a healing balm of love without envy or denial. God was angry with his people because they were ignoring his prophets and following careless and false leaders who exploited them. DISOBEDIENCE was the root of their problems and the cause of their misery. God was jealous for their devotion for him only.

The people of Zion were discouraged. Even though they had been set free from exile they still had not been able to complete the rebuilding of the temple. Zechariah encouraged them to repent from their selfish ways and dedicate themselves to the commitment they had made. The prophet assured them that God would protect his people as they worked and empower them through his Holy Spirit to finish the job.

This prophet promised his people that the Messiah [Jesus Christ] would come and rescue them and be their new King. He told them that Christ would come and establish his kingdom, conqueror all of His enemies. In that day everything and everyone will be under his control. There was opposition to his plan and he told them that there would be future trouble because of their unbelief. But he told them that God would keep his promises and remember the agreements he had made with them to deliver them from all the world powers that oppress them. If, if, if America will return to God…and live the lives of a Christian nation—be His people—He will do the same for us.

The first six verses are simple and easy to understand. It is night vision number one, and it simply tells the people to repent and return unto God and he will return unto them. Then it explains that prophets of old warned their fore-fathers who did not listen and they had been conquered and paid a heavy price…surely they should be wise enough to take this warning. The sixth verse says that they admitted that they deserved the punishment they had received…And they repented.

Vision two is found in verses 7 through 17. In a nutshell this vision says that an angel told the prophet that God had used powerful nations to conquer his people because of their DISOBEDIENCE. There was peace for awhile among the other nations, but they had gone too far and mistreated his people and were made to pay the price. After the 70 years of exile, the Jews were brought back and would be allowed to rebuild their nation.
[Remember, I have told you that I have no seminary training, and no knowledge
of the original languages and therefore must depend on interpretations made by
the authors that I trust. This makes for some difficulty when we start explaining
all the nations involved, and especially what significance the color of the horses
have in this vision.]
The man among the myrtle trees was the angel of the Lord that was talking to Zechariah. The horses and their colors were symbols of God’s involvement in world powers of that day. I do not know the meaning of each color of the horses…however I do know that the color red is often associated with war… and white in the bible is usually a symbol of peace—so in this case it probably means victory.

In verse eleven the angel saw other nations feeling secure and prospering while Israel was in bondage. He is speaking of those nations like Babylon, Egypt, Assyria, and Medo-Persia that had been at war with Jerusalem, Judah, both the northern and southern kingdoms and who were all heathen idol worshipers [see verse 18]. God had used them to teach his people a lesson regarding their own disobedience, but the time had come when God would put an end to their punishment and allow them to return home. I feel sure of this because he then speaks of the seventy years of bondage that was spoken of in Jeremiah 25: 11 and 29: 10. The seventy year period was over and the angel asked God to keep his promise and allow his people to go free. God has promised us that when we repent and return [turn around] he will heal our land. Now. Today.

The fifteenth verse simply declares that although the pagan nations had afflicted his people beyond his intentions, he was still able to stop them. So God used these heathen people to punish Israel, but he had the power to stop them and he did so when they went beyond his plan and were now trying to destroy his people. In my opinion, the Islamic nations that are trying to destroy Israel today will meet the same resistance…when God has had enough…their doom will come.

In 18 to 21 the horns were the four major world powers of that day that had dealt Israel their downfall…they were Egypt, Babylon, Assyria and Persia. The craftsmen were the nations that God used to overthrow his enemies.

In chapter 2, his next vision saw the man with the measuring line laying out the foundations of the temple and the boundaries of the city to rebuild it to God’s specifications…see Jeremiah 31: 38…]. See verses 6 through 13…If you will remember from our study during the past few months; many of the Israelites chose to remain in Babylon, and other nations where they were captives because they had property there. God is telling them to come! Come! Come to freedom from their captives where he scattered them. Zechariah instructed them to leave immediately and return…because these countries would be destroyed and they would have to forever be under another ruler. As before, many still rejected the call of the prophet and remained in Babylon.

All believers are precious to God Psalm 116: 5 and 103: 13. When we treat believers unkindly it is like mistreating God. Matthew 25: 34…tells us that when we mistreat his people we are mistreating him. This is a warning to us that we must love the brethren. God is remembering his promise to Abraham that all people will be blessed through him Gen. 12-3. Since the coming of Christ [messiah] the promise is being fulfilled as all nations are coming to him. How? They can come only through REPENTANCE.

Commitment - Haggai 1 and 2

The Babylonians defeated Judah and destroyed the city of Jerusalem and brought destruction and devastation on the Israelites because they had entered the Promised Land under orders that they must be obedient to God’s way and they had failed miserably. The most severe charge against them was that they had worshipped gods that were foreign and unacceptable to the true God who has always contended that he is the only worthy one. They had access to the most beautiful of all temples—the one built by Solomon but were desecrating it by the worship of false gods that they were supposed to have destroyed and removed. God had promised that he would save a remnant and allow them to return to their home land so…
In 539 BC Cyrus and the Great Persia defeated the Babylonians. Cyrus set free the Israelite captives to return to their homeland and he encouraged them to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. [You will remember from our study of this incident last year that Cyrus furnished the materials and money necessary to rebuild the temple…and paid it out of government funds.] (Was that a practice of ‘separation of church and state?)
The work began with enthusiasm on the part of the returning Jews but their COMMITMENT waned slowly as they became more interested in building their own homes and businesses back with higher priority than the building of the temple with the subsequent growth of worshippers throughout the land. I really do not believe that I am stretching my imagination when I tell you that I can see a parallel happening right here in Heber Springs. Think about this for a moment. [Only a few of you respond. Please let me know occasionally…do you agree or disagree?]
[I do not make the following statement in a critical manner…because in some ways it is a complement to Cleburne County. But it must raise a question in some minds as to whether we are totally pleasing to God.] In the last thirty years several new banks have been built in the city and county. All of the existing banks have been remodeled or built new and there are new branches all over the area. A good post office has been replaced with a new one. The new hospital and new college campus are marvelous additions to the community. A tax was passed that will soon bring to completion a tremendous facility and program to improve living and recreation accommodations. The new GM dealership is second to none. Buildings and services at South Ridge are the envy of most small towns. There have been literally hundreds of new homes that have been built around the lake area and many of these are huge, eloquent and very beautiful homes. There seems to be a mind to improve, build and grow and I do not find anything wrong with this kind of community attitude. BUT……
During this same period of time have we seen an equal amount of the same kind of growth and improvement in our churches? I don’t think so. With very few exceptions, churches are about the same size, and the membership has not increased appreciably. Reports from dependable sources indicate that there are an excessive number of the people in the Lake area that are not associated with any of the churches in the area. This is indeed a “Field, white unto harvest.” Are we studying a lesson that deals only with the Israelites who were condemned for building fine homes before they took care of the temple needs? I truly believe that the lessons taught in the OT are relevant to us in our day. Read verse 9. God is telling us that there is a problem “Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.” Tithing has not been completed when you give ten percent of your income to the Lord. Worship through tithing includes ten percent of your care and concern for the lost, and ten percent of your time and talents dedicated to perform what ever work is needed to serve others.
“Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains in ruin [1: 4]?” This book written by the prophet Haggai is filled with challenge and promise, as it reminds us of God’s claim on our lives and what our priorities should be. As you read both chapters of this book, try to imagine that you see and hear Haggai as he goes to the streets of Jerusalem with his message urging the people to get back to doing what God would have them do. Now let this message get personal with you…listen to Haggai speaking to you—urging you to reconsider your promises and your priorities in accordance with what God would have you to do in your town…your church and even in your family. What does God want you to do? When will you start? Put all other aside and obey him.
This book is a call to his people to rebuild his temple. Let me hastily remind you that a near empty sanctuary on any Sunday morning or evening service is a sin in the sight of the lord. The church needs to be a beautiful worshipful place…but it is even more important that his workers see that there are people there for each service, ready to worship. The building of a beautiful edifice is commendable but it does not relieve the membership of the obligation to see that the lost are invited and ministered to. I will select my local church as an example of what I believe the tithe commitment requires from each Christian. Think about this!
[7days in week x 24 hours = 168 hrs. 8 hrs. A day for rest and sleep =56 hrs. This leaves 112 hrs. To be used and 10% or the tithe of your time that belongs to God amounts to over 11 hrs. Do you give God 11 hrs? Each week? If you attend every Sunday…allow from 8 am. To 12 noon =4 hrs. If you attend every Sunday evening allow from 5 to 8 pm. = 3 hrs. And if you attend every Wednesday from 5 to 7 pm. = 2 hrs. This is only 9 hrs each week. What are you doing to make up for the other two hrs? What are you doing to make up for all those Sunday evening services you do not attend? And what takes the place of all those Wed. night prayer meetings you do not attend? Thee are many ways to serve…the question is do you keep up with your time in his service.
I know what many of you are thinking. And that is…that there is no way anyone is supposed to be that careful to make sure they give God his share of their life. Well, you do it each year for your Uncle Sam. You make sure that you account for each dollar you make… and you give a set percentage of that in taxes or go to federal prison. To whom do you owe allegiance? To Uncle Sam? Yes. To God? You decide.
Look with me at the scriptures for today’s thought. The first fifteen verses constitute the call for the people to rebuild the temple. When the results of this call bogged down because of their lack of interest in God’s house and their increased interest in their own affairs, Haggai wrote the second chapter to encourage them to complete the temple. These people had made a personal commitment to complete the temple…and had not kept the COMMITMENT.
Look at the fifth verse and you will see that people need to constantly take heed to what is happening in their lives. Give careful thought to what you are doing and what your rewards are for doing it. Have you ever wondered why it is that you can plant much and still harvest little? You may eat and have enough but many go hungry. You may personally drink but actually never feel that you are satisfied. You are earning better wages than ever before in your life, but your purse seems to have holes in it…gas $3.00 a gal. Steak $12.00 a pound. Milk as high as gas. And a 5 cent Coke cost a dollar. Am I right? You got any holes in your purse? The Vandivers have.
God is telling us to give some careful thought to our ways. It is time for us to go up into the mountains and bring some timbers down to start his temple that he can be proud of. Don’t get smart and try to defy what God is saying. It may be that you already have the sanctuary…is it big enough to allow growth? You may have plenty of classrooms…are they filled on Sundays? And if they are filled, do you have dedicated teachers and workers to help the people who have come in need of knowledge and understanding about our Lord? I know what the most important answer is…Are your churches over filled each Sunday? Are you using what you have to worship God?
Go to the second chapter and read the first nine verses. This was Haggai’s second message, and it was given during the Feast of Tabernacles in October 520 BC. The older people could still remember the incredible beauty of Solomon’s temple that had been destroyed 66 years earlier. Many of those that could remember the beauty of the first temple were very discouraged at the results of this second building of the temple which was far inferior to the first. If I remember right, the first temple…Solomon’s temple was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This second temple was great…beautiful…huge and wonderful…especially for one other reason.
At this time Haggai encouraged the people when he assured them that God was pleased, and had promised that the glory of this temple would far surpass that of Solomon’s temple that was destroyed. Get this! It is not the beauty, cost, elegance of the shrine that counts. It is the presence of God in the shrine that counts. About 500 years later JESUS CHRIST WALKED THROUGHOUGHT THIS TEMPLE! God was there. Yes, this is the temple where the twelve year old Savior of the world conversed with the wise men and astonished them with his knowledge and wisdom as he discussed with them the way of the Lord in their time. This is the place where his parents found him when they returned to see why he was not with them on their way home.
Oh, I hope you will get the message that is being conveyed to us here in these words. We should never be satisfied worshipping in God’s house that is not a fit place to live and worship. The appearance and the condition of the building should be one that can bring praise and glory to our Master. However, this does not mean that the pillars must be of marble, the floors of gold and the door-knobs studded with diamonds. It is far more important that the worshippers are faithful followers of our Lord. It is far more important that those that tithe give their tithe of themselves including time, money, and service.
Read both chapters and make your own decision about your position to God as compared to the Israelites in today’s lesson. WHERE IS YOUR COMMITMENT? ARE YOU BUILDING YOUR HOUSE OR GOD’S?