Haggai's first message to Israel after captivity

And today, what we want to preach to you about from this book of Ezra, we're going to

read a few verses from chapter 5 and a few verses from chapter 6.

Instead of reading those whole chapters today, we're going to just pick out a couple to focus on.

What we want to preach to you about today is the importance of preaching

itself.

In the Scripture, the Lord places a high emphasis on the importance of

preaching.

As a matter of fact, the preaching is the primary mode that the Gospel goes out into the ears of

those who hear.

And when the Word of God is preached and proclaimed, the Word of God has power in it of itself to

convict the sinner of lostness and to convert the sinner unto salvation.

Thank God that through the work of the Holy Spirit that He does what no man can do with the

Word of God, makes it able to be heard and understood so that a man, woman,

boy or a girl, no matter who they are and really despite what age they are because there is no

limit on the Lord, that He can cause them to understand that they have sinned against Him and they stand in need

of a Savior and He's able to give them the forgiveness of sins.

Can you say that today as we sung that last song?

I know that was one of those pop -in songs, but can you say that you know that you are saved?

Because the most important knowledge that you will ever have, the greatest truth you will ever understand and

know is that Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners, as the Apostle Paul said

concerning himself, among whom he felt he was chief.

But the truth be told, we're all equal in the sight of God.

We're all equally sinful, we're all equally wretched and we all equally stand in need of

salvation and thank God that He provides the means of salvation.

And so the importance of preaching is what we're going to look at today.

And so in Ezra chapter 5, let's begin just to pick up and read the text of the Scripture

this morning.

Ezra chapter 5, let's just read from verse 1,

2, 3, 4 and 5 here and then we're going to go over to chapter 6 and pick up in

verse 13 and read a couple of verses there.

But the Scripture says this,.

Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Edo, prophets,

prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of

Israel who was over them.

So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua the son of Josedach rose up and

began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

At the same time, Tatniah the governor of the region beyond the river, Shithar Bosniah and their

companions came to them and spoke thus to them, Who has commanded you to build this

temple and finish this wall?

Then accordingly we told them that the names of the men who were constructing the building, but

the eye of their God, take note of this, but the eye of their God was upon the elders of

the Jews so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius.

Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter.

This is the copy of that letter that Tatniah sent.

We're not going to look in depth today at that letter, but let's go over to chapter 6 and pick up

where at the same point in time what takes place actually two years pass.

Two years pass under the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah.

Haggai actually preached four sermons.

Zechariah preached a number of sermons.

We're not going to look at all those today, so don't worry there.

But we are going to look at Haggai's sermons.

But listen to what the Word of God says here in Ezra chapter 6.

Then Tatniah, governor of the region beyond the river, Shithar Bosniah, and their companions

diligently did according to what King Darius had sent.

So King Darius had basically sent them word back, let these folks do what they were called to

do, let them go.

So the elders of the Jews built, and listen, and they prospered through

the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Edo.

And they built and finished it, the temple, according to the commandment of the God of Israel

and according to the command of Cyrus of Darius and Artaxerxes, king

of Persia.

Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the

reign of King Darius.

Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the descendants of

the captivity celebrated the dedication of this house of God

with joy.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Lord, heavenly Father, I come to you this morning asking for your help, dear God, asking

for strength, asking for wisdom, dear God, asking you to take what I cannot take in and of myself

and do what only you can do, cause it to make sense to your people in this place.

Dear Lord, it's my prayer that today that you, dear God, through the person of the Holy Spirit, dear God,

would convict us of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, that you would teach us, dear God, who

you are, that you would show yourself unto us in your word this day.

And Lord, my prayer is the same as that of the psalmist.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight today, oh God.

For it's in Jesus' name I pray, amen and amen.

I misspoke a moment ago.

I said two years had passed.

Actually, four years had passed.

The work began, if you'll remember, from chapter 5 at the second year of Darius' reign.

And as we finished reading that text to you in chapter 6, it was the sixth year of Darius'

reign when they completed the work on the temple there, this portion of it, that being said there.

So four years had passed.

And so for four years, the people of God who had previously been in Babylonian captivity,

who had for 18 years prior to that been underneath persecution from people of the land,

many who claimed to be on their side, but they truly were not on their side.

Again, there is a distinction that needs to be made between the people of the world and God's

people.

And the distinction is that Jesus Christ has saved those who are His.

And so moving forward, we notice here that they prospered, the Bible says.

They made advance.

They prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and

Zechariah the son of Edo.

So in the book of Isaiah and Jeremiah, weeks passed, we looked at that.

We have the prophecy of Israel's demise as well as the promise of the Messiah.

In Israel, we have here the historical retelling of the fulfillment of

God's promises to the children of Israel.

Now, we speak a lot and we use the term a lot about the sovereignty and the providence of

God.

And it is going to be no different today.

May our sovereign God work by means of providence to accomplish His

purposes for His people.

And we can draw from this something I learned.

I had a person that I'd really just come to know recently came last night.

And how thankful I am for some advice that he gave me last night concerning looking for the principles within the

text.

But we have here a principle in this text and I just want to set it out before you.

And it's this.

That if a body of believers who are named children of God

are going to prosper and are going to make advance in this world.

It is not going to be because we choose to use worldly methods and worldly means.

But it must be that we choose to use the means that God has set up and ordained in the

Word.

And that, my friend, is preaching.

Folks might say, I don't like to go to a preaching church.

I like the singing church.

Listen, I love singing.

I love singing with all my heart.

I can't sing a lick.

Tom can sing, by the way.

If you all tune your ears back there.

I told him this morning how appreciative I am.

I hear him every week sing from my vantage point over there.

And how beautiful his voice is.

He really is.

It's a good voice.

Singing is great and singing is good.

But friends, the theology of our song needs to be right.

You can sing a song that will make you cry and it may not have no theology.

But friends, when you sing a song with theology and it makes you cry.

It will turn your heart in praise unto God.

And it's doing something more than a temporary fleeting thing.

It's an eternal work that God is doing in us.

But preaching, my friend.

Preaching is the primary means that God has set up.

So that his church proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Matter of fact, the New Testament tells us this.

It's by the foolishness of preaching that God chose to save them that believe.

Preachers act so crazy.

Why does a preacher get so excited?

Well, if the preacher is saved, he can't help but be excited.

Amen.

And by the way, if you're a Christian who just sits in the chair every week.

If you're saved, you ought not help but be excited about Jesus Christ as well.

But we see the principle here is the preaching of the gospel.

And how that it takes precedence throughout the ages.

We see it from the Old Testament.

We see it into the New Testament.

We see it throughout church history after the New Testament.

The primacy of the preaching of the gospel must be at the center of all we do as a

church.

The Reformation really brought back.

It was a revival of preaching of the gospel.

Because, actually, I'll just read you a quote that I took down here.

Because it's so good.

Reverend Allen Brownmo wrote.

I don't know if it was his quote or he was quoting from another preacher.

But a sermon that was preached from back in 1994.

I was reading.

He said this.

Christ -centered preaching is the source of hope, comfort, and life for the

regenerated believer.

Those touched by the love of God desire above all to hear faithful preaching.

Which directs them to their mediator and savior, Jesus Christ.

By the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church had removed this source of comfort and encouragement from

the saints.

Empty relics and complex liturgies replaced the personal and powerful preaching

of the word of God.

There was a period called the Dark Ages where the church was basically without preaching.

It was all ritual.

It was all liturgy.

It was all worshiping and looking at relics of times gone past that had no

eternal value.

Or no eternal efficacy on the saving of the soul.

But in the Reformation it came back where preaching was placed right back in the middle of

everything that the church did.

There was a preacher named John Knox.

A preacher in Scotland.

Who when he came back, the pulpit of the church had been cast aside.

And it was just the stage where things were done that were not preaching of the gospel or proclamation

of the gospel.

When he came back to the church there in Scotland.

He brought the pulpit to the center of the platform.

And he nailed it there.

There was not going to be any sliding the pulpit out of the way.

There was going to be no more setting aside the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus

Christ.

Friends, this is not the place for you to get a self -help message.

This is the place for you to hear that you are a sinner separated by a holy God.

By your vile wicked sins.

But that Jesus Christ died for you.

So the preaching of the gospel.

We see that it was prospered through the preaching.

The prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Edo.

And so very quickly to set the platform, to set our understanding.

Let's jump over to 2 Timothy very quickly and to the New Testament.

And I don't know if you all remember.

I hope you remember.

I remember it.

And I don't know if it's right.

I heard Steve Lawson say this here a while back.

I don't know if it's right to quote your own, to quote yourself when you're preaching.

But I'm going to do that right now.

About two years ago, we preached to you about what biblically sound, doctrinally

correct preaching looks like.

According to the scriptures.

And how it's, there's really truly a pattern for biblically sound, doctrinally correct preaching.

And friend, that's given to us in 2 Timothy chapter 3.

2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16.

The Word of God says, All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is

profitable for doctrine.

Doctrine is teaching for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

That the man of God may be complete.

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished.

The King James Version says, Thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Paul went on to say, I charge you therefore, and he's speaking to a young pastor here.

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom.

Preach the Word.

Be instant in season and out of season.

And then he said, Reprove, rebuke, exhort.

If you've got New King James or maybe the ESV, it's going to say, Convince, rebuke, exhort with all

longsuffering and teaching.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.

So the pattern for biblically sound preaching is convincing,

reproving.

In other words, going back to what God has said.

God's Word is our standard of righteousness and truth.

Convince, rebuke, to call out sin.

To exhort, to give encouragement.

The Word of God does all these things.

The Word of God convinces us of sin.

It rebukes us of our sin.

And it encourages us in the right way in which we should go.

And so, as we turn back now, I know you say, This is like running a marathon.

That's okay.

It's good to keep your blood moving.

Because if your fingers are moving, your eyes are moving, Then it's likely you're not asleep yet.

So that's a good thing.

But let's go back to the book of Haggai now.

Because as last week I mentioned to you, The beautiful, wonderful thing about the Word of

God is The Word of God does not leave us having to wonder And to

postulate, to make up stuff That we think might have been said And to

say things that we think might have gone on.

But we have the actual, preserved by the Holy Spirit, Messages preached

by Haggai and Zechariah To the people of Israel Who came out of

Babylonian captivity.

Now the people of Israel, keep in mind this, The people of Israel are no different, From a

human perspective, Were no different than you and I.

They had problems.

They had struggles.

They had people all around them that were against them.

They had people all around them that wanted to thwart the work of God.

They had people around them who were selfish, high -minded, Who were greedy, who were

extortioners.

They were no different than we are, For we all live in a world full of men and women that are that way.

So we can recognize here that we are much the same In the human sense as they were.

Now our conditions, physical conditions, Probably are not that of what they were in.

But my friend, the human condition is the same throughout all time, Old Testament, New

Testament, to the very present, And will be until the end, Until Christ comes and makes all things

new.

So as we consider this message here, Let's look and we'll see in this message, We'll see

reproof.

Reproving what God has said.

Calling to mind what God has said.

We'll see a rebuke given to the people.

We'll see exhortation and instruction given to the people On what they needed to do.

The proper response to God.

By the way, just so that you know it, The proper response when the Holy Spirit rebukes you

of your sin Is to repent and to obey the Lord.

Amen?

Lodibaka might say, oh my, Or somebody might say, oh my, or ouch.

But that's the truth either way.

So Haggai chapter 1.

Notice the continuity of the text here.

In the second year of King Darius, That's what we're taught in Ezra, That it was in the second year of King Darius That they

returned to the work.

And it's over the course of about three weeks of time That Haggai preaches four different

sermons to the people of God.

He didn't preach it all to them at once.

Sometimes I think that's one of my biggest faults, Is I try to preach to you all everything at once.

I'm trying to learn, break it down into little bitty pieces.

Okay, so Haggai preached over the course of three weeks four messages.

This is what he said.

In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, On the first day of the month, The word of the Lord came by

Haggai the prophet.

To Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah,.

And to Joshua the son of Jehoshaddak, the high priest,.

Saying, thus speaks the Lord of hosts.

So if you remember, and I've used this terminology the past few weeks, Because I want you all to

recognize this as we go along, That the Lord not only is speaking to just

the people, The remnant of the people of Israel, But he begins with the magistrates.

He begins with the government, Zerubbabel, the governor of the people of Israel there,

And he goes all the way to the ministers, Joshua the son of Jehoshaddak,.

And then it goes down to the people of God.

If we're going to be revived in our time, If you're going to have a spiritual renewal, so to speak,

It's not going to be for any other reason That the word of God moves us to do the

work that God has set before us.

Also, let me say this, The work that the people of God were doing in this time Was a

temporary work, so to speak, Because they were rebuilding the temple on earth.

That was simply to foreshadow and to picture what Christ was going to come to do.

The work that Christ has given unto his church, The work that Christ has given unto his people,.

Is this, that we preach the gospel to everyone.

That is an eternal work.

Well, preacher, what if they don't hear?

I don't know what to tell you if they don't hear.

All I know is what the Bible says,.

Preach the gospel unto all men.

And so we see this work here.

We see the magistrates, we see the ministers, we see the people,.

And this was the message,.

Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying,.

This people says, here's the reproof,.

This people says that the time has not come,.

The time that the Lord's house should be built.

Now have any of you all, or do you all, maybe even presently,.

Feel like giving up?

Right?

We all feel that way.

Imagine their mindset, 18 years being persecuted After having been delivered out of captivity, Wanting

to rebuild the temple, And yet, on every hand, they're faced with trials, They're faced with difficulties, They're

faced with problems, And they're just about to the point of giving up.

Listen, there's a lot of reasons why they may be saying The time has come, the time that the Lord's house, The time has

not come that the Lord's house should be built.

But let's consider the context, the place that they were in.

They were probably thinking to themselves something like this, Well, I know that God delivered us

out of Babylonian captivity, But it seems like we just can't get ahead.

Every time we try to do something, We fail, we fall flat on our face.

There's people that'll come for this period, In modern context, people that'll come for a period of time, And then

they'll fall off.

What's the point in trying at all?

The point is this, that God is sovereign over all, And He sees all things where you and I cannot

see all things, And the best thing that we can do is trust in the Lord.

So He said, this people says the time has not come That the Lord's house should be built.

Then, verse 3, Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet saying, Is it time for

you yourselves to dwell?

The King James says, in your sealed houses, Sealed means with a ceiling, In your paneled houses,

And this temple to lie in ruins?

What a question the Lord brings there.

The Lord brings this question,.

He says, so you're saying it's not time to build the Lord's house,.

And so the Lord, I mean, you can't read this any other way,.

So the Lord is asking them a question that they can't answer any but one way to.

When you consider who you are before God,.

And we consider who we are before God,.

And God says, so you are telling me that it's time for you to build your houses up,.

But my house to be in ruins?

That's almost a rhetorical question, ain't it?

That's a question that does not need to be answered,.

Because the answer comes from within.

It's there, we know the truth.

And they knew the truth of what He was saying.

And so the verse goes on, verse 5,.

Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.

Take a moment, take a breath,.

Think about what's going on,.

Consider your ways.

The Word of God is not coming to this person,.

It's not coming to April and saying, consider Claude's ways.

Chris, He's not saying, consider Rebecca's ways.

Right?

He's saying, consider your ways.

Who are you responsible for before God?

Yourself.

And no one else.

You can't control what I do, I can't control what you do.

You are responsible for you.

Consider your ways.

He said this in verse 6, You have sown much and bring in little, You eat, but you

do not have enough, You drink, but you are not filled with drink, You clothe

yourselves, but no one is warm, And he who earns wages, earns wages, To

put it into a bag with holes.

You ever heard the old saying, Money burning a hole in your pocket?

I don't know why that saying is what it is there.

Matter of fact.

Because really, if the money doesn't burn a hole in your pocket, Everything else you put into it,

Is going to just go right through anyway, right?

Why did the money burn a hole in your pocket?

The pocket had a hole in it in the first place, Every time you stuffed that dollar bill down in there, It just went right out down your

pants leg.

He is saying,.

Everything that you are trying, Everything that you are doing, Is coming to nothing.

But we have the explanation.

Verse 7, Thus says the Lord of hosts, And he repeats this term, Consider your ways.

Go up, And he gives them direction.

Here is the exhortation and the instruction.

And the encouragement is coming here too as well.

Because I think that one of the hardest things

about being a preacher, For me personally, Let me just share this with you.

Is that a lot of times, That the message that I preach, Doesn't get

the response and the reaction that I wish, It would get from the people that I am preaching it to.

Kenny talked about, Used the word this morning in Sunday school, Apathy.

People don't seem to care, They just sit there like a knot on a log,.

And unmoved,.

Unwavering, As though they are singing that hymn in their head, I shall not be moved, I shall not be moved.

Though all hell assail me,.

I shall not be moved.

Just so you know, That is a whole different context than what you are singing it in.

So,.

A lot of times from a preaching perspective, I think the challenge is to,

Even though it seems like the news is somewhat, More tilted toward the

heavy, And the hard, And the negative side, But getting right with God,

There is exhortation, And encouragement, And hope in that.

So,.

And it's no different in this text.

So, the Lord said, Consider your ways, And then he said, Go up to the mountains, And bring wood, And

build the temple, That I may take pleasure in it, And be glorified.

So,.

Notice this, That the motive, That our motive, Our driving

force of our desires, Ought not to be to please ourselves, But it ought to be, And

always to be, To glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, In everything,

And in every way.

He said, You look for much, But indeed, It came to little.

And when you brought it home, I blew it away.

Why? Says the Lord of hosts, Because of my house, That

is in ruins.

While every one of you runs to his own house,.

Therefore,.

And here is a stinging, Stinging rebuke,.

Therefore,.

The heavens above you withhold the dew.

Remember what the definition of God being sovereign is?

That he has the right and the authority to do all things.

He can create peace, Or he can allow calamity.

All keeping in mind, That God is not the author of sin.

So the Lord tells them here, The heavens above you withhold dew, The earth

withholds its fruit, For I called for a drought on the land, And on the mountains, And the grain,.

And the new wine,.

And the oil, On whatever the ground brings forth, On men and livestock, And on all

the labor of your hands.

And then in verse 12, He says this, Then Zerubbabel, The son of Shealtiel, And Joshua, The son of Jehozaddek,

The high priest, With all the remnant of the people, The magistrates, The ministers, And

the people, They obeyed the voice of the Lord their God,

And the words of Haggai the prophet, As the Lord their God had sent him, And

the people feared the presence of the Lord.

Verse 13, Then Haggai, The Lord's messenger, Spoke the Lord's message to the people,

Saying, I am with you, Says the Lord.

Now this was all part of this first message that he's preached.

So,.

Verse 14, And let's take note here, And actually we're going to wrap it up right here.

Verse 14, So the Lord stirred up the spirit of

Zerubbabel, The son of Shealtiel, Governor of Judah, And the spirit of

Joshua, The son of Jehozaddek, The high priest, And the spirit

of the remnant of the people, And they came and worked on the house

of the Lord of hosts their God, On the twenty -fourth day of the sixth month,

In the second year of King Darius.

Remember we communicated to you.

Stand with us if you would this morning.

We've been sharing with you the past several weeks.

The book of Ezra is a book of revival.

It's a revival of the house of God, Revival of the people of God, Revival of prayer, It's revival of

worship, It's revival of preaching as we see this.

How long had it been?

Hard to imagine how long it had been since the people there had been.

And I'm going to say it because I'm of that age where I'm getting old enough I can say it.

It was for an Old Testament meeting.

It was one of them old time gospel meetings.

I'm just going to use the term there.

How many of you are maybe forty -five years or older?

Golly!

How many of you all are forty years or younger?

How many of you all have ever heard some of these old heads that raise their hands?

Or anybody, any old head you may know in your life, That talks about being at church when the big

preacher comes.

You ever heard that?

Amen!

That's when the Holy Spirit moves in such a way, my friend, That it's not

explainable by the words of your mouth, But it's evident by the change that has been

wrought in the lives of the people in that place.

And my friend, it happens because of the faithfulness and the dedication

to the Word of God.

If we preach the Word of God, God promises that He is faithful to do the work.

Our work, the work of the preacher, hallelujah!

How freeing is this for me?

My job is not to convince or to change your heart or your mind.

It's simply to tell you the truth about what the Word of God says.

And mark it down.

Buster Brown, he is able.

You may say to yourself, Oh no, not me.

I've heard the Gospel preached plenty and it has not changed me to this point.

Be careful what you say.

Because the God that we serve is sovereign over all.

He directs the hearts of kings.

He directs the hearts of kings in such a way that it's like moving a river from one side of a bank to

the other side of the bank.

He is the one who does the work.

And how is that work done?

By the Holy Spirit of God.

It's done on the inside where no man can see.

But it's demonstrated on the outside.

Are you saved today?

Do you know that your sins have been forgiven?

Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior?

Because let me just preach the Gospel to you as simply as I can according to the Word of God.

The Gospel is this, that Jesus Christ died according to the Scriptures for our

sins.

And that He was buried and that according to the Scriptures on the third day He

arose.

How can a man be saved?

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

You say, Preacher, what about if you don't give me a chance to come up front?

Does that mean I can't be saved?

No, it has nothing to do with you coming up front.

It has everything to do with the change that God works in your heart.

Is God working a change in your heart?

If He is, you will know it and it will be undeniable.

It will be effectual and it will cause you to be a new creature in Jesus Christ.

Are you a new creature?

Or do you only love the things of this world?

Do you only love the things of the flesh?

Do you care only for the things of yourself and your life and what's wrapped up in your

little area of influence, friends?

That's going to come to nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

But I'll tell you what Jesus said about the Word of God and the Word that you've heard today.

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall not pass away, but

shall endure forevermore.

Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

I cannot answer that for you.

Only you can.

Heavenly Father, God, at this time of closing, I

come just to say thank You for Your Word.

Thank You for Your truth.

Thank You for Your power.

Thank You for Your love, Your mercy, Your grace, Your goodness.

Thank You for Your wrath, God, for were it not for Your wrath, I would not know that I needed

salvation.

I thank You for saving me, for forgiving me of my sins.

I thank You that I have hope of eternal life.

And, God, I am so thankful for the constant witness of Your blessed and Your

holy Word that encourages Your people

in this day and in this time.

Help us as a body as we go about our ways that we might be constantly

glorifying Your name.

Help us to stand firm on the truth of Your Word, to share it and to show it and to

communicate it to those we come in contact with, dear God, in love and in

compassion, but with an unmovable,

unshakable desire to

stand fast on You.

Lord, if it would be Your grace and Your mercy and Your kindness this day,

work in the hearts and the minds of the people who are under the preaching of Your Word.

And, God, for those that are outside this place that are lost and undone and separated from You,

continue to give Your people the desire to go and to tell the good

news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all that would hear.

For it's in Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Any announcements that we need to make this morning before we dismiss?