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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/john-meekin/haggai/
The book of Haggai, that's three books from the end of the New Testament, or the third book from the end of the Old Testament, sorry. That would thoroughly confuse you. The book of Haggai, please, we read together in chapter 2.
My wife has a theory about some of those Old Testament books. Her theory runs like this, that we basically know where they are. Then we get into a gathering like this and there's someone sitting beside us and we feel a little pressure as we're looking for the book.
And we miss it on our first go over. And then we overcorrect and we miss it again. So if you can get Malachi and then work back to Zechariah and you'll find before that the book of Haggai. We read in chapter 2.
Let's read at verse number 1. 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 Sheltiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedek the high priest, and to the residue of the people saying, Who is left among you that saw this house?
You'll automatically see that this is about the house of the Lord. Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? And just notice the question please. And how do you see it now? Look into chapter 1.
Again there's a date in chapter 1. In the second year, verse 1. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel, the son of Sheltiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedek the high priest saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts saying, This people say the time has not come that the Lord's house should be built.
Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet saying, Is it time for you, O ye to dwell in your sealed or your paneled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways.
Ye have sown much, and bring in little. Ye eat, but ye have not enough. Ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink. Ye clothe you, but there is none warm. And he that earneth wages, earneth wages to put into a bag with holes.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Look down please to verse number 14.
Verse 14,. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Sheltiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Josedek the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people.
And they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts their God. In the fourth and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. And the Lord blessed to us this very precious reading from the sacred scriptures.
One of the things that constantly we do, as we're musing and looking through the sacred book, this book of God, as we're moving into a book, frequently we look for the divisions of the book. When you move to the book of Haggai, the divisions of the book of Haggai, they're very easily seen.
You will see, as you look at the book, that there are actually five messages. Just one of the ways to divide up the book. And every one of them is given a date. In fact, there are four months. That's one of the reasons why I read at verse number one of chapter one, the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month.
And you will find that principle runs through the book. Five messages. The Lord speaks to his prophet, and the prophet delivers the message to the people. Five messages in four months. Now you might be asking the question, this book of Haggai, was it written to us?
And the answer to that very conclusively is, no, this book was not written to us. But don't forget that the truth of this book, it was written for us. In fact, the Bible teaches that. In Romans chapter 15 it says, that the things which were written aforetime, they were written for our learning.
And so the Bible very clearly and distinctly, even in parts that were not written to us, has been written for us. And so we are going to learn lessons today from the book of Haggai, particularly the question of chapter two.
On my heart today, what I want to leave with us, just for a few minutes, I want to speak about the challenge of Haggai, and the house of the Lord. And Haggai as he comes to the people, and as they are building again, the temple of the Lord.
We've already been told about the temple this morning. Our brother Scott, he referenced Solomon's temple. And then he took us from Solomon's temple, to Ezekiel's temple. Well, when we're in the book of Haggai, it's not Solomon's temple, or Ezekiel's temple.
Here's Haggai, and the people, and they are rebuilding the temple of the Lord. And the challenge comes forth. He says, some of you saw Solomon's temple in the former times. Now he says, how do you see it now?
The house of the Lord. And there's work that's needed towards the house of the Lord. And the challenge from Haggai to the people was this. How do you see it now? Now evidently, we won't be looking for a physical temple this afternoon.
That's not what I'm driving at. But you do know, there is a gathering. And you are very aware that when we come to 1 Timothy, in 1 Timothy Paul speaks, and he says to Timothy, he says don't forget now, there is a gathering center.
He says it is the church of the living God. He says it is house of God. It's the pillar and ground of truth. Let me just bring now Haggai's question and apply it to us. Beloved brethren, beloved sisters this afternoon, how do we see it now?
That's the challenge in our generation. I'm looking through, and I see people that have come from various assembly circles. As I'm looking over, I see folks from Wisconsin. I see folks from Iowa. I see folks from Prince Edward Island.
I of course, I'm from the great province of Nova Scotia. People want to visit. My brother George Will Vatney, he was telling me, he's been coming for years you know, and he hasn't arrived yet. But he will get there.
It's a wonderful province. Well, here we are today. But for the challenge of our hearts this afternoon, when it comes to assembly circles, the challenge is this. Here's a man, and he is exhorting the people to rebuild that which was torn down.
I'll be coming back to that in a moment. And the challenge of Haggai is, how do you see it now? Of course, you think of that temple of Solomon. When you think of Solomon's temple, I'm made aware again of the resplendence of that house.
Mind you, it was quite remarkable. Did you ever go through? Our brother Scott, he took time a little bit this morning to remind us of the glory of Solomon's temple. It was seven years in building. Did you ever go through and look at the amount of gold that was used?
And they started, and they laid the foundation of the house. And then they put marble. Well, this translation calls it marble. Most likely, it was blocks of limestone. And they built the walls of limestone.
And then they brought cedar boards. And they started, and they erected the house. And the cedar boards went up. And you say, that must have been a wonderful construction. Oh, it was. And they started to engrave on the cedar boards.
They engraved cherry of them. And they engraved flowers. And they engraved some of those palm trees. And you say, I would have loved to have seen that house. So would I. And you see, over those cedar boards, they enclosed it with gold.
And the floor of the temple was gold. And there was precious stones everywhere. Do you know what King David calls it? King David never saw it built. But King David, in 1 Chronicles 29, he says, it will be exceedingly magnificent.
And so it was. I was reading a report recently. At a conservative estimate, they estimate it would take $100 billion to build that house in this day. When Solomon inaugurated the house, you know his prayer.
1 Kings 8. He stood before the people. And he lifted his hands to the Lord. And he started to pray. And then they offered. Do you remember what they offered? 22 ,000 oxen. 120 ,000 sheep. They offered at the dedication of the house.
You say, I'm not making those numbers up by the way. Just in case. You read it for yourself. 22 ,000 oxen. 120 ,000 sheep were offered. You say this must have been. It was magnificent, brethren. Beloved sisters, the resplendence of the house.
When you go over to Psalm 74, we've got the ruin of the house. I read that Psalm sometimes as I'm musing through the book of Psalms. And it almost makes a shiver run down my spine. They have cast fire into thy sanctuary.
They have taken hammers. You can see the Babylonians as they moved down from the north. As we heard this morning. 606 B .C. They moved down. And Nebuchadnezzar, as he was moving down, they entered into the house of the Lord.
And they destroyed the sanctuary. And the house of the Lord was left in ruins. You say, what's happening now? They had been in Babylon for 70 years. 70 long years. You recall in Babylon, they couldn't sing the Lord's song.
You remember the psalmist? They said to him, sing us one of the Lord's songs. He says, how can I sing the Lord's song in a strange land? Don't forget, beloved brethren, I learned a practical thing there.
This world, it will affect our song. That Babylonian world, it affected the song of God's beloved people. And if we immerse ourselves in this world, can I say, beloved saints, it will affect our song.
You say, what about the book of Haggai? Well, the years of captivity have come to an end. And the Lord is moving. And the Lord stirs up. You mark that. In Newfoundland, they have a lovely expression in Newfoundland.
They say, put that on the sticky side of your memory. Now, just put it there. I likely forget. So you keep it on the sticky side of your memory. But the Lord has worked. And the Lord is stirring up. And now here is this man, Haggai.
You say, it must have been remarkable. Well, they started to work. About 538 B .C., they come back from Babylon. And they immediately set up the altar of the Lord. And they started to work. And you say, this will be great.
They will rebuild the house. Well, for a few years it was going forward. And then something happened. And the work stopped. For about 15 years, we're now in Haggai, about 520 B .C. And the work has been stopped for 15 years.
And the Lord raises up a very practical man. I'll be coming back to that in a moment too. An old Haggai, he steps onto the stage of history. And he says to the people, is this the time? What has happened to the rebuilding of the house?
He says, listen folks, consider your ways. Now, with that bit of background, I'm going to speak on four things. I want to speak first of all, about the reason for the ministry of Haggai. Then, I'm going to speak to our hearts about the rebuke in the ministry of Haggai.
Then I'm going to speak about the revival which was anticipated in the ministry of Haggai. Revival, that's a word, isn't it? Could you imagine if we saw revival blazing through Iowa again? That would be remarkable, wouldn't it?
Revival anticipated in the words and ministry of Haggai. And then, the last thing I'll speak about, if time permits, the reaction to his ministry. Well, you say first of all then, the reason for his ministry.
There was a man praying. You say, how do you know that? We didn't read about anyone praying in the book of Haggai there this morning. No, we didn't. And it really doesn't come out in our English Bible.
But you see, if you were looking at a Hebrew Bible, Ezra, he's the first one that mentions Haggai and Zechariah. Ezra chapter 5. Now, in a Hebrew Bible, the order of the books in the Hebrew Bible is this.
We've got Esther. And then we've got Daniel. And then we've got Ezra. And you say, why is that important? Well, you see, before the rebuilding of this house, there was a man on his knees before the Lord.
And his name was Daniel. And you read it for yourself. Daniel chapter 9. And he lifts his heart to the Lord. And he says, I confess my sin. He says, I confess the sin of my people. He says, Lord, we have sinned.
The sins of our fathers are found before our God. And he says, Lord, I am praying for the city of my God. And he says, I am praying for the house of my God. And you see, before the ministry of Haggai, there was a man on his knees.
And something of the need had touched his heart. And the man was lifting his voice to God in prayer. You know, beloved saints, I would judge before we can see assembly circle strengthened. I would say the Lord will drive us to our knees.
If we understood the value of prayer. Daniel understood the value of prayer. You think of all those emergency situations in the book of Daniel. You think of Daniel chapter 2 and the emergency that arose.
What did Daniel do? He prayed. You move right through the book of Daniel. Emergency after emergency. It's all coming out. And what does Daniel do? We sing it with the children. And sometimes we lose the power and the effect of it.
Daniel was a man of prayer. And he was bowed before his God. Because on Daniel's heart was this. There needs to be a movement of God. On Daniel's heart was this. There needs to be a mighty marvelous working of the power of God among us.
You know beloved saints, wouldn't this be quite the conference if the Lord would drive us down again to our knees. Wouldn't this be quite the conference if we were prepared to do what Daniel was prepared to do.
They tell me at some of the conferences I don't know if it ever happened here. But they tell me at some conferences they used to put on the conference card when they sent it out that these conference sessions are for praise and they're for prayer and they're for confession and they're for ministry from the Word.
You know beloved saints, it might be time that we move before our God. And we lift our hearts to heaven. And we tell the Lord, Lord we have sinned. Lord, we need a movement of God. Lord, there are things that need to be revived.
Tell me brethren, tell me beloved sisters, when it comes to assembly life, how do you see it now? Let me ask the older Christians. Is it just the humdrum of assembly life? How do you see it now? Let me speak to younger Christians.
I mean people my age. Scott, he's quite old you know. For people my age. Let me speak to that demographic in the audience. Tell me beloved, how do you see it now? And for all the strata that is here, young Christians, slightly older Christians, moving through the generations.
How do we see it now? And the reason for the ministry was this. God raised up Haggai on the background of the prayer of the prophet Daniel. There is another thing that I mentioned there and I'll come back to it.
God was working behind the scenes. You say, how do you know that? If you go to the book of Ezra chapter 1 and verse 1, there's a heathen king on the throne. His name is Cyrus. Cyrus the Persian. Do you know what it says about Cyrus?
Whose spirit the Lord stirred up. You see when the Babylonians were on the throne, when the Babylonians took the land of Israel, their method of working was this. They decided we'll disperse the people.
See some of those Christians from Stout. We'll take those Christians from Stout. We'll take them away up. We'll take them into Canada. I'm only using that metaphorically. We'll take them back to Babylon.
And we will immerse them in the land of Babylon. And they will lose their distinct identity. But you see when Cyrus came to the throne, Cyrus didn't do that. Cyrus recognized that that only brought problems amongst those captive people.
And Cyrus says the method that we will do is this. We will send them back. God raised the man up. In fact, some of the brethren were telling me just at the break, that man Cyrus is called in the book of Isaiah, he is called my shepherd.
If you go to the book of Jeremiah, he is called by the Lord my servant. And Ezra chapter 1 says this. The Lord stirred up his spirit. You see if you're in Ezra 1 and verse number 5, it says about the civil ruler.
This man's a rubable. It says the Lord stirred up his spirit. It says about the man Joshua that we have read about. It says the Lord stirred up his spirit. You see when you come to verse 14 there of Haggai chapter 1.
It says again, and the Lord stirred up the spirit of the rubable. Mind you brethren, could you imagine if the Lord began to stir us up. If there was such a movement by God amongst the people of God, that there was a stirring just as we have it here in the book of Haggai.
And in the book of Ezra, a mighty movement of God. How do you see it now? I should leave that. This man, of course there were different gifts that were given. You see just at this pivotal point there were two men that stepped forward.
One of them he's Haggai. The other man, his name was Zechariah. Oh you say they'll be very similar men. No, no they weren't. Isn't it a good thing that all of God's servants are not the same. You see Zechariah was a priestly man.
You say what about Haggai? We don't know anything about him. We're not really sure of his background. He steps onto the stage of history and he's a very practical man. You remember Zechariah. He was the prophetical man.
Read the book of Zechariah and those great prophecies and you're in the book with all of its depth and you read the book and you think this is quite the book and then you come to the book of Haggai and you're faced with a man.
I picked a book recently from my own library. I was quite amazed. Some of the titles that it gave to Haggai. The practical prophet. I thought well that's a good one. And then I kept coming down the titles and it says some of the people used to refer to him as a steamroller in trousers.
I thought about that. The practical prophet sounds better, doesn't it? Mind you, some people have told me during this COVID period, some people have told me give us practical stuff. You ever hear that?
Give us practical ministry. I was reminded about the assembly. I'll keep the names out of it to protect the innocent as I'm telling the story in stout. But there was a dear brother and he went to the assembly on one occasion for a week of ministry.
It was wonderful ministry but it was quite deep. So they invited him back a year later and they said now this time make sure it's practical. And he took up the challenge. And about the second night, some of the brethren got together and they said maybe we should get him to go back to the deep stuff again.
Well I don't know beloved saints but Haggai sure is a practical man. I do learn this beloved saints. There are gifts that differ. God raises up different men at different times. And Romans chapter 12 is very clear.
Having then gifts that differ according to our several abilities. There are men and they can take us into the depths of Scripture. And then you get someone like myself just someone practical, just cleaning from the surface.
And both are needed. And you get those orators. Men that we admire. Men that we can listen to. Men that the saints say wow! We would like to hear him. And then of course there's some of us that are just not as gifted.
But there's different work. And there are different gifts. And there are different men. And Haggai steps forward with the pertinent question. Tell me how do you see it now? The reason for his ministry.
I'll spend just a few minutes. And I really got to do this very quickly. The rebuke in his ministry. You'll see it there. Is it in verse number five. Consider your ways. And you read again in verse number seven.
Consider your ways. Now mind you. When I get to see Haggai in heaven. I hope he doesn't come up to me and say. You were talking about seeing these men in heaven. I hope he doesn't come up to me and say.
Consider your ways. Quite a message wasn't it? You think of what was going on now. The work had stopped. Why had the work stopped? I would suggest to you that there was likely three reasons why the work had stopped.
There was conflict. There was opposition towards the work. And then there was comfort. You see the people just got comfortable. And then of course there was compromise. And they made compromise. You can see that right here in Haggai chapter one.
Now what about assembly life? I would judge beloved saints that the three things affect us in assembly life. Sometimes there's conflict. And you know when there's conflict frequently the work can stop.
Sometimes it's comfort. We just get comfortable. Haggai challenges the people. He says you're eating. But he says you're never filled with what you're eating. He says you drink. You're never satisfied with what you drink.
He says you're bringing in money. But you're putting it into a bag full of holes. And they were comfortable. And the Lord's things were lying waste. And of course then they compromised. But I've got to challenge my own hearts.
My own heart rather. I wouldn't want to challenge God's people without challenging my own heart. Is it possible that conflict has stopped me moving forward in the things of God? Is it possible that I have got comfortable and I'm not moving the way I should move?
Is it possible I am compromising and letting things go? Tell me beloved saints, how do we see it now? With all the assemblies here, with the dear people of God that have gathered, tell me when it comes to God's house, how do we see it now?
I'll come to the revival anticipated in the ministry. Mind you, revival would be a wonderful thing, wouldn't it? I'm not sure we would know what to do if revival came. I really mean that, beloved. If revival came, I'm not sure we would know what to do.
I was listening to a recording recently. And the dear brother was moving through various revivals in history. And as he was giving the ministry, he mentioned one that happened. And he told about a little schoolhouse.
And he said in that schoolhouse there was a child that was sitting at his desk at school. And he was sitting there weeping. And eventually the teacher went over to him. And he said, what's wrong with you?
He said, sir, I want to be saved. And with that the teacher looked at the child and he said, you go home. You seek for God's salvation. It was raining outside, pouring with rain. That child packed up his little belongings and he put them under his arm and he went out the door.
And the teacher a few minutes later looked out through one of the windows and there was the child down on his hands and his knees in the playground. In amongst the rain and the puddles and the mess and the mud.
And he was crying to God that God would save him. And the teacher turned from the window and turned back to the classroom. And every child in the classroom were on their knees, lifting their hearts to God, crying for salvation.
I tell you beloved saints, I'm not sure we would know what to do if revival came. May the Lord send it. I say that. May the Lord send it. May it be that there might be a mighty, moving, matchless power of God among us.
And revival will come. Sorry. I'm getting too excited up here. I'll calm it down now. Well you say, what about revival? Well, there's certain things that we can see here that revival affects. Revival will affect our perspective.
You say, where are you getting that? Look at verse number 8. Just after he says, consider your ways, he says, go up. He says, go up to the mountain. And you say, what's going on here? What we are learning is this, that if we could get the vantage point of heaven, it will affect everything else.
You think of those men just being on the mountaintop with God affected their perspective. You think of the man Abraham. And the moment comes in Abraham's experience, he says to the servants, you stay here with the animals.
I and the lad will go yonder and worship. We will come again to you. Abraham was never the same again. Never the same. You say, why was that? Abraham saw the Lord on the mountain. You say, prove that from scripture.
If you're reading from the Hebrew text in our English version, it says, in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. You see, if you're reading from the Greek version of the Old Testament, it says this, in the mount the Lord was seen.
And Abraham saw something that day that he never forgot. Abraham rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it. And he was glad. Abraham saw the Lord. And he was never the same. I tell you, beloved saints, go up to the mountain.
You think of Elijah. I see the despondent prophet. 1 Kings chapter 19. I see the man, as we would call him, in the slough of despond. And you remember, God takes him up to the mountain with his God. And the Lord says to him, What doest thou hear, Elijah?
Oh, he says, Lord, I have been very zealous. Don't you know who I am? I have been very zealous towards the Lord of hosts. And the Lord started to pass by. And you remember the world went. And you recall the fire.
And all those tremendous, tremendous things the Lord showed. And then, there was just the still small voice. And Elijah, after the mountain, he was never the same again. Do you remember Peter? The Lord, just before the mountain experience, told Peter that he was going to the cross.
And Peter said to the Lord Jesus, he said, Lord, be it far from thee. And he was taken into those precious moments on the mount of transfiguration. Peter woke from sleep. And he saw Moses. And he saw Elijah.
And he saw the transfigured Christ. And you remember what was going on. They speak of his decease. Peter was never the same again. I tell you, beloved saints, if we could get our vision and our perception altered, we would never be the same again.
If we could ask for higher ground, Lord, lift me up and let me stand by faith on heaven's table land. That higher frame that I have found, Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. Revival, it will affect our perception.
The second thing you'll notice, revival, it will affect our persistence. He says, go up to the mountain. And he says, bring wood. And he says, you see with that wood, build the house of God. You say, what's going on?
That was wood that was produced by nature. And it needed to be cut down. And it needed to be brought down from the mountain. And perfected in such a way that it would beautify the Lord's house. You say, what comparison does that have to us in assembly life?
I think there's dear Christians here. And there's some of their family members linked to them by nature. And they're not saved yet. Have you got dear ones that are not saved and you're still praying for them?
Could I just encourage you? Don't stop praying. Don't stop praying. I don't have time to tell it. But I would encourage everyone here. Please, beloved saints, you keep praying. Because these things that nature produced was cut down and brought from the heights and put into the sanctuary of God to beautify God's house.
I was going to speak about the purpose of revival. Build ye the house. And of course the prospect of revival. God says, I will be glorified therewith. I've got to leave this. My time is almost gone. You say, the reason for his ministry?
You've touched that. You've touched the rebuke in his ministry. Consider your ways. The revival anticipated by his ministry. We see it right here. I want to speak just for a moment about the reaction to his ministry.
You say, where do you get that? Well, if you've got your Bible open there, just look at verse number 12. Then, Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and the remnant of the people. Notice what it says. They obeyed the voice of the Lord their God.
It says that the people did fear before the Lord. I think we already heard a bit about that at this conference. Unless my memory is failing me now, I think it was just a little bit ago that we heard about people fearing the Lord.
Did you notice the order here? They obeyed. Verse number 12. Then it says, they feared. And the next thing, there's a message of comfort that comes again from the Lord. Look at verse number 13. Then speak, Haggai, the Lord's messenger in the Lord's message.
Unto the people saying, I am with you, saith the Lord. And you've got the great comfort that the Lord's presence was among His people. I'm finished this afternoon beloved saints. How do you see it now?
Our brethren have been reminding us in prayer that the Lord's coming is very close. Did you ever think that we might be the generation that has been chosen by the Lord to carry the torch of testimony over the finish line?
You ever think that? You know in those relay races that the last runner is very carefully chosen. You know he's someone that is trusted. You know they understand this is someone that will not drop the baton.
Once the baton is put into his hands, he will breast the line and carry it over. Beloved saints, did you ever think that you and I are part of the generation and God has given us the challenge of making sure we carry it over the line?
How do you see it now? Let me challenge the saints here in Stout, when it comes to the assembly. How do you see it now, beloved saints? Let me challenge other assemblies that are here. The assembly in Ankeny, the assembly in Cedar Falls, the assembly in Chicago, and I move through it all.
The assembly in Nineveh, the assembly there in Charlottetown, Nova Scotia. How do we see it now, beloved saints? Are we prepared like Haggai, the Lord's messenger in the Lord's message, to move forward?
And as we move forward, put our best into the things of God. Beloved saints, may we encourage our hearts. This is still a time to work for him. And how do you see it now?