Christ the Desire of the Nations (2024 Tent Meeting Sermon 3)

We're going to be here. Tens of thousands of people are coming to Perryville.

To the tent revival. Now it's a little let down. It's not filled. There's only a few that want to hear. Wes preached last night. Great sermon, thanks brother. Psalm 8, one of my favorites. It's one of those that everybody says, is this psalm a messianic psalm?

I want to help you answer that question. If somebody asks, is this a messianic psalm? It is, yes. All of them, messianic. All of them, every one. All about Christ. There was a promise. He spoke of David.

David, Haggai, and the Promise of the Unshakable Kingdom

Build a house. And I'll go ahead and tell you, you can turn to the book of Haggai. That's where I'm going to be this evening. But I'll give you time before we get to the text to get there. If you go Matthew, then go back a book Malachi.

Go back a book Zechariah. And one more you have Haggai. Two chapters. David was promised to build a house. Not him, but Solomon. He was promised a kingdom. And in Psalm 8, it's quoted in the book of Hebrews 2.

It says, verse 6, it has been testified somewhere, that's Psalm 8, what is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him? You've made him a little lower than the angels. You've crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.

Brother West preached that last night. The promise, not only of a building, but a kingdom. An everlasting kingdom. The author of Hebrews comes by and he says, that's Christ! That's happened! And I want to tell you that a house was built.

Solomon built it in all its glory. Never was there a building like that before. But the people broke covenant with God. And we have Isaiah and Jeremiah preaching God's going to bring Babylon to destroy you.

And Babylon comes and destroys the nation. They're led captive to the exile.

Then, Ezekiel comes along. I'm going to save you for my own namesake!

Ezekiel preached for God. And you have the redemption of the people of God.

Coming back to the nation.

Haggai's Call to Rebuild the Temple

If you look at me with the book of Haggai, chapter 2, I want you to see what happened. Let me explain to you chapter 1. The people get redeemed back to the nation.

And there's all this rubble.

That was left from the destruction. And from all that rubble, they start to build houses. And they all built their own houses. And God sent the prophet Haggai to come to the people and say,.

Look, you're all dwelling in houses. You build the temple,.

He tells Zerubbabel, the king, and he tells Jehozadak, the high priest,.

Build the temple.

And so the people take from the scraps and they build the temple. And I want you to know that we kind of get a similar scene there of what we have here tonight. Chapter 2 of Haggai. Verse 1,. In the seventh month, on the 21st day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai,.

The prophet.

Speak now to Zerubbabel,.

Son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah,.

And to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, who is left among you who saw this house in all its former glory? So I want you to imagine this with me.

That here is Joshua, the high priest,.

And here is Haggai, the prophet,.

And here's Zerubbabel, the king, and all the remnant that's been brought back to Israel. And they're standing before the temple. And I can imagine the young men thinking,.

Man, look what we built! Look at this glory!

And Haggai says, how many of you saw the first temple in all its glory? Zechariah records this same event, and it says that these men were weeping because they saw the first glory of the temple. It says here,.

How do you see it now? You who saw the first one and these young men are waiting for the answer. Isn't it glorious?

But listen, is it not as nothing in your eyes? Here it is pieced together from the scraps. Is it as nothing in your eyes? I think sometimes we look out and we see the promise. I had high hopes of a tent revival.

It's kind of like nothing in my eyes. I'm joking. It's something. I'm glad we're here. They honk and they don't stop.

It's as though it's nothing in their eyes. They'll drive past and they'll have a conversation with their wife on their way home. You remember when we used to go to those old tent revivals and that preacher would wear the white suit and preach fire and brimstone?

That's how I imagine it.

The Gospel according to Moses.

You remember we heard that one?

It's as though it's nothing. The promise that Wes talked about last night of a kingdom is quoted here in our text. It says,.

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord.

Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord.

Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts. According to the covenant that I made with you, when you came out of Egypt,.

My Spirit remains in your midst.

Fear not, He says. I get this same idea that you have with John in the book of Revelation. The revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ given to John. And you've got these seven letters written to the churches.

I can imagine John, after he read the last letter, received the last letter, by the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ thinking, This is the kingdom?

This is what we have to work with?

Lord,.

And one of these churches, Jezebel's teaching Sunday school.

This is it?

And then Jesus says, But John, come up here. Let me show you what's really going on. Let me show you the real glory. I have this same idea here.

You have Zerubbabel, and you have Joshua, Haggai the prophet preaching, and he says,.

Be strong!

Fear not! Why?

God made a covenant. It's as though it's nothing. But you don't despair. Church, do not despair. And in the book of Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 8 where we read, Wes preached from Psalm 8 last night,.

It says, You look out the window,.

And you don't see it. Everything is subjected to Him, but you don't see it. But I want you to get this. He's not saying in Hebrews,.

It's going to happen. It has happened. Everything is subjected to Him. Nothing left outside of your control.

But look among you.

It's as though it's nothing.

He says, You look and you don't see it.

But the word from the prophet Haggai is, Be strong and fear not. In a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. Here's the promise by the voice of Haggai.

Once more I'm going to shake it.

The Desire of the Nations and the Shaking of the Heavens

Once again, the book of Hebrews, if you'll go there with me, chapter 12 quotes this passage. Chapter 12, verse 26.

At that time, His voice shook the earth,.

But now He has promised,.

Yet once more, I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. This phrase, yet once more,.

Indicates the removal of things that are shaken. That is, things that have been made.

In order that things that cannot be shaken.

May remain.

Here it is. Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And thus, let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe.

For our God is a consuming fire. And so, the author of Hebrews writes.

And he quotes Haggai's prophecy.

And he goes,.

This is it!

You have received what cannot be shaken.

I know you look at it and you say, I don't see it.

I know you look at it and say, almost it's like it's nothing.

I remember when we were in London, we went to all these great cathedrals. John Rogers' church.

Where he got taken from there and led to the slaughter.

Huge, great cathedral. John Owen's church where he thundered.

Huge, great cathedral.

And I stood at the petty France church where the second London Confession was written. It's a poor house that they scraped pennies together to get. That's who we are. It's just who we are. But the text says, Be strong and don't fear.

We have received an unshakable kingdom.

And listen what it says in verse 7.

Here's the promise. And I will shake all the nations so that...

And there's a difference in translation here. I think a good translation would read like this.

And I will shake all the nations so that they will come.

To the desire of the nations.

And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.

I want to speak to you this evening about the desire of all nations. Christ is that desire. He has come in. And all nations desire Him. I want to ask a few questions this evening. First, we see in this promise to the church that all will come to the desires of the nations.

How can Christ be desired by all nations? Look around you.

We preached all day long.

People mocked. Some of you came. Thank you for coming. The majority did not. How can Christ be the desire of all nations? I want you to see a tension here.

Between Christ being King over all nations.

And Christ being desired by all nations.

That's a tension.

There's a doctrine presented today that shows Christ inheriting the nations. But they don't mean that He's the desire of all nations. Just that He's sovereign King. I want you to see why the kingdom of Christ.

Is far greater than Him only being.

The sovereign King that rules. Don't hear me wrong. I hold to the doctrine of Christus Rex. It's on my coffee cup. I didn't get the tattoo, but it is on my coffee cup.

But it's not merely that Christ is a sovereign ruler and that His rule is above all rule,.

But that He's the desire of all nations. This is where I show my optimism.

He will be desired by all nations.

Desired.

Heartfelt desire.

The treasure, as one translation puts it.

So, I'm arguing that God is not merely glorified.

By God-haters submitting.

To some Jewish-type walls. But God is glorified and that He's treasured.

In people's hearts throughout all nations.

How?

The Bible clearly teaches that God is hated by all men and no one wants God.

No one seeks after Him. No one desires Him.

No person has ever come to Christ because they want Him. The heart of the nations, seen in Psalm 2, how do we break His bonds from us? The desire is not for Him, but against Him. There's only one way that a man can come and desire Christ is the desire of his own heart.

And that is He's brought to Christ through the Holy Spirit and regeneration.

Regeneration in the heart must happen.

For Christ to be the desire of the nations. Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of regeneration.

When here you have this prophecy of Haggai and he says, men will come to the desire of the nations, you be strong and don't fear. Trust in the Word of the Lord that men are going to come and desire Christ.

How?

By regeneration. Only by the work of the Holy Spirit. Second, by faith. In regeneration, the Holy Spirit gives us faith. Through the means of grace and providence,.

That faith grows.

What does it grow into? A desire for Christ.

The more faith we have,.

The more we desire Him, the more we love Him. Men who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ desire Him. Men who do not have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do not desire Him.

They hate Him.

The more and more we grow and we wrestle through the Scriptures and we see Him as He is.

And we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,.

Our faith grows.

And then we are joined with the psalmist as the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after You. That's the nature of the kingdom of God. That He would be the desire of the nations. That happens in the heart.

The kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of regeneration. The kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of faith. The kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of hope. Faith, having been tested and tried, gives way to hope. It's here where we see the greatest affection for Christ.

You give me a people. You be a people. Hope set on the Lord Jesus Christ.

And not on things of the world.

And we'll see the kingdom of God. We'll look out and we'll see hope. We'll see Christ being the desire of all nations when His people hope on Him.

And not the things of the world. Only one who has eternal hope brought by the Holy Spirit desires Christ. It's where Paul says to the Colossians, don't set your hearts and minds on things of this world, but on Christ.

For you have died and your life is hid with Him. He's your desire. He's all you desire.

When Hebrews cites this text, it says, we've not received a kingdom that can be shaken, but an unshakable kingdom. We've quoted a couple of times this week, the gates of hell cannot prevail. They will not prevail.

Gates are not an offensive weapon.

They're defense. The church is on the attack.

The church is marching forward.

You say, but I don't see it. I look outside and I don't see it. Every time we gather and we raise our voice in unison and say amen, we see it. When John is brought up from the vision after hearing these seven letters and the difficulties that the churches are struggling with,.

But when he's brought up.

And he's opened up to the worship of the saints,.

He sees it.

We look around and we see empty chairs.

What do they have to do that's better than this?

I want to encourage you with the words of Haggai. Be strong and don't fear.

Don't worry.

Don't be anxious. He's the desire of the nations. We cannot take the promise here to be anything other than the church. Christ will be desired in hearts of people all over the world. Brother Randall brought that out yesterday.

He's the propitiation not only of our sins,.

But of the whole world. Every tribe, tongue, and language.

Revelation says. Haggai is showing us that Christ is the desire of the nations. He's showing us that the kingdom of Christ is of the elect alone.

It's only those God has chosen.

That is the kingdom.

You have received an unshakable kingdom. A kingdom that is made up of the regenerate. Those who have faith. Those who have hope. That desire Christ.

Why Christ Is Called the Desire of All Nations

So second, I ask,.

Why is Christ called the desire of all nations? Why is He referred to as the treasure of all nations? First, He's the appointed remedy. We heard it last night. The propitiation not only for our sins,.

But everyone in the world.

You can only have your sins forgiven in Christ.

That means He's to be desired.

Above all.

It's not universal redemption, but particular. God appointed Him in the covenant of redemption to be propitiation for all nations. Him alone. It's here that we see the brightness of His glory and grace among all nations.

All nations!

Not one nation is excluded. We're not losing.

Look around you.

It may seem like it.

You look out and you say,.

But where are they?

Don't worry.

You might look at it and say,.

It's as though it's nothing!

Who are we? There were probably some people, Brother Allen, that told you you should just leave. Give up.

Look around.

It's as though it's nothing.

Don't believe it.

We're not losing.

Dark may seem dark. We're in a terrible position in the world. And it might seem like the darkness is crowding in around us. But hear the words of Haggai.

Be strong!

Do not fear! Desire Christ with all your heart!

We may not see it, but He is the desired of the nations.

Second,.

He has called the desires of the nation to show that all sufficiency is in Him for the entire world. Church, hear this. You don't need anything else. You don't need baseball and the select team.

You don't need friends.

You don't need family.

You don't need a new car.

You don't need a job.

You need Christ!

He's enough!

Haggai says, look, I know this little building looks like nothing, but don't fear!

Be strong!

Christ is worth it all. He's the treasure of the nations.

The Son of Righteousness is sufficient for redemption,.

Justification,.

Sanctification, and a full salvation of the elect.

Of all nations. What else do you want? You know why they couldn't stop Paul from preaching? Because they couldn't take away his desire. When you desire lesser things, they can take your joy. But when your desire is Christ and Christ alone,.

They can't take it!

I want you to think about the response of the woman at the well. Sir, give me this water so I thirst no more.

And yet we say, we have the living water in us, and I see Christians every day who seem like they're dying of thirst.

Why is that? He must be your desire. It's like we want to have a little bit.

Of what they offer.

And a little bit of Christ.

No. He is the treasure of the nations. He is the desire of the nations. When you come to Him,.

He says it's all or nothing.

Take up your cross and follow Me. It will require your life.

I remember hearing a sermon from Leonard Ravenhill in a tent meeting.

And he said, if you see a man walking out of town.

Carrying a cross,.

You can be sure of one thing.

He ain't coming back. That's what Jesus requires. He's the desire of all nations. Third, it implies the reality of godliness. Many men come to Christ for many things. Money. Health. Self-preservation.

I don't want to go to hell.

But the one who truly comes in repentance, the one who comes in faith,.

Comes to Christ for Christ. Is that not true?

Is He not the inheritance Brother Randall spoke of? You want golden streets?

You want a house? A crystal sea?

Revelation says when the new heaven comes down, there's no temple. Make the connection here. Here are these men standing here.

Looking at this ruined temple that was built out of the scraps.

It's as though it's nothing.

But there's coming one day.

A temple.

And it says that when the new Jerusalem comes down, there is no temple,.

Because He is the temple. Christ the desire of the nations. It implies godliness. The pursuit of Christ is the pursuit of godliness.

You can't have Christ without godliness. Jesus says, you'll know them by their fruits.

There's one desire that the elect from all nations desire.

One thing we have in common,.

One faith,.

One Lord,.

One baptism,.

And one desire.

To be built up into the perfect man who is Christ Jesus. The elect of God pursue godliness because they desire Christ.

Fourthly,.

Christ is here called the desire of all nations to show you the extent of the kingdom of Christ. It is in,.

Or will be,.

In every nation. Every nation.

The world,.

Satan,.

Nor anything else can stand in her way.

Psalm 2, the nations come together.

How can we break His bonds apart?

He laughs. I've set my son on Zion. Brother Alan preached that today. You better kiss him, lest he become angry. So I want you to hear something. Very practical. Very Southern Baptist of me. Look around, everybody.

Look to your left and to your right. We're few. It's true. The elect are few. Narrow is the gate.

Few enter in. It's true. We're few.

However,.

A remnant from every nation when she's gathered under His throne and that voice raises up, it says she's a multitude no one can number.

Look out and say, where is it? It's right here!

Here! Among you!

An unshakable kingdom!

The desire of the nations.

Has come to dwell in our hearts. And I want you to know this. It's done. The kingdom's been bought and paid for.

The angels are sent out to the four winds and they're gathering the elect every day.

Even in Perryville, Arkansas. Even in Perryville, Arkansas. I want to ask a few questions. If Christ is the desire of the nations, then what is the state of the one who desires Him not? Are they not in sadness and despair?

Some of you are sitting here this evening. Christ is not the desire of your heart. You have no hope. You don't have anything to live for. What's the state of the one whom desires Him? Is He not built His house upon the rock?

The wind and the waves come. He's unmovable, steadfast, rejoicing in hope. Is He the desire of your soul? Examine yourself this evening. Do I desire Christ above all things?

Can you sing with the psalmist as the deer pants for the water so my soul longs after You?

Is Christ the supreme desire of your heart?

Or are you looking for another? Paul said it like this, everything else is like dog food to me.

Is He the spring of water that is welled up in your heart that causes you to desire nothing else?

Second, is your desire for Him universal?

Is everything about Christ desirable to you? Have you gone to the Scriptures and say, He's the desire of the nations, but I don't even know if He's the desire of your own heart? Have you gone to the Scriptures to see Christ.

And say, oh, I want Him!

I love Him more than anything!

John Flavel said this, the hypocrite, like the harlot, is for a divided Christ. They would be called by His name, but live upon their own stock.

I want to be called by Christ,.

But I want to live however I want to live. That's not how it is!

He must be the desire of your heart ruling and reigning.

Do you use the means of grace to fill that desire? Do you come to church hoping to hear of Christ?

Do you come to church to hear.

Who is He?

What has He done for me?

Are you with the psalmist that says, one thing I have asked the Lord, and then I seek after, that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life and gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to acquire into His temple.

That's what it means to have Christ as your desire.

The devil can satisfy others with the riches and pleasures of this world.

In the same way that I take the little passive out. That's what the devil does to this world.

They become restless,.

And he takes a little bit of pleasure.

And gives it to them,.

And they shut up.

But the church is pacified only by Christ.

Only in Christ!

We have a saying written on our pulpit. Sir, we wish to see Jesus. There's times when I think our church doesn't even want Him. But I know this,.

The true church has Him for their desire. And I read Haggai and he says, He's the desire of the nation.

That's the kingdom.

So, we have to be faithful and only give Christ. You as a member come and say, I don't want anything but Christ. Pastor, just give me Christ!

The ones who don't want Christ will have to go somewhere else. And they have. Do you see that not only you want Him, but you need Him every day?

Has conviction opened your eyes.

To your own misery every day?

Even like Paul, I want to do right, but He lies right there behind me.

Who will rescue me?

Christ, my desire!

Do you see Him as the only remedy for your soul? So then I ask church, hear me. Is there any consolation for us? Are we to just bear a little longer until we see the clouds roll back? Are we to just walk in sadness the rest of our days because we look around and it seems as nothing?

Are we to just remember the days of glory.

And think, well, one day we'll get there again? Once again, Hebrews quoting from Psalm 8. We don't see it. But verse 9, but we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus Christ crowned with glory and honor.

He left nothing outside of His control. The desire of nations has come in. People have come to Him. And we might look outside and say,.

But where is it?

But then we gather together as the church.

And we see Christ.

We look up and we see the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we have hope. He who is made a little lower than the angels, we look up and see Him. Hear me, you might say,.

But I expected it to have more glory. All you have to do is look up.

To the King of glory.

It's not what they said in the theology books.

Because they don't have words big enough.

The glory outshines that. But I look and it seems like we're losing.