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 lawlessness 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 a 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 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 Shethar -Boznah, 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 finish 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 gonna be no different today.

Our sovereign God worked 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 wanna 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 gonna make advance in this world it is not gonna 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 to sing in 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'll 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'll 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's 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 that 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 Brownmole 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 a 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 Zachariah 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 into 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 truly 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 long suffering 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 this is like running a marathon that's okay it's good to keep your blood moving because if your fingers 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 this 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 they 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 the 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 Amen Lodi Baka 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 y 'all everything at once I'm trying to learn break it down into little bitty pieces 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 Jehoshadak 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 y '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 Jehoshadak 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 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 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 say 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 if 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's saying everything that you're trying everything that you're 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's 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 is not doesn't get the response and the reaction that I wish it would get from the people that I'm 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 nod on a log and unmoved unwavering as though they're 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's a whole different context than what you're 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 do remember what the definition of sovereign

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 do 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 Jehozadek 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 and 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 Jehozadek 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 24th day of the 6th 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 revival of the house of God revival of the people of God revival of prayer revival of worship its 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 in 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 it was it for an Old Testament meeting it was one of them old timey gospel meetings

I'm just going to use the term there you know where how many of you are maybe 45 years or older golly how many of y 'all are 40 years or younger how many of you all have ever heard some of these old heads that raised 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 preach 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 that no man can deny it hallelujah 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 forever more amen 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