In Your Bible Read This
Haggai chapters 1 and 2
Here Is Your Memory Verse
I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will
come,
and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty.
Haggai 2.7
Afterwards Talk About
This
How much are you giving to the work of God in evangelism,
mission
and caring for the poor compared to how much you keep for
yourself?
Something To Do Before
Next Time
In a team, discover your different practical skills and do
something to
improve or repair either your church building or that of another
poorer church nearby.
Written Diploma Work
Write a one page essay to explain what Haggai 1.6
might mean in practical daily life today.
Meditate Word By Word On
This Verse
Zechariah 4.6
- Spend
a Minute to Change the World
- Pray For Benin - 5,500,000
West African peoples
- 55% animists and
voodoo, the churches are growing well
-
Be sure to
teach this lesson to others.
-
Always pray
and prepare well adding
-
your own verses and stories to
bring it to life.
The prophetic book of Haggai gives Gods
clear direction for the building of his Kingdom, even and
especially today.
Background To Haggai
In 538 BC Cyrus, the King of Persia allowed Gods
exiled people to go to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple.
You can read this in Ezra. Zerubbabel and 50,000 people
returned, and within two years they completed the foundation.
There was great rejoicing but the Samaritans who had moved in
during the exile, felt threatened and politically they
stopped the rebuilding until Darius, who liked religions,
came to power in 522 BC. After then Gods people were to
blame for the inactivity and Haggai and Zechariah began to
preach to rouse them until in 516 BC the job was finished.
Today the command to build the Kingdom of
God worldwide is called the Great Commission. The same lessons
apply.
1. Is It The Time Of God?
The people kept saying, "the time has
not yet come." There are two Bible words for time, chronos
and kairos. Chronos is the time on your wristwatch, but kairos,
which is the word the Lord uses, means a moment of divine
opportunity. The people were saying then, and some are still
saying today, "there is nothing going on, lets live
for ourselves." Haggai 1.2
What Is Going On Today?
-
Between 1780 till 1900 the gospel
spread into much of the world.
-
Between 1900 and 1996, half of all
people that have ever been saved came to know the
Lord, and half of those have been saved since 1950.
-
The pentecostal and charismatic
renewals have reached every nation on earth.
-
Today nearly 2000,000,000 men and
women are following Jesus and over 70,000 people
decide to follow Jesus every day, and 59,000 of those
become Spirit filled believers.
-
This is explosive growth, the
worlds biggest social movement, but some people
still dare to say that now is not the time, the
kairos, to make an effort for God.
Whats The Problem?
The Lord put his finger on the real problem. The people
were using Gods resources to build comfortable houses
for themselves whilst his house remained a ruin. In those
days it was wood that was in short supply, today it is funds
and workers for the gospel. Haggai 1.4; 9.
Can You Believe This?
It is a well researched fact that the western Christian
world spends:
-
99.9% of all its
income on itself.
Only 0.09% on
evangelism
And just 0.01% on
doing mission to unreached peoples.
The Lord points out that as much as
people spend money on themselves, nothing satisfies, 1.6. He
told them four times to consider how poorly they had fared
despite taking all the prosperity for themselves. God told
them to end this scandal and build his house. 1.8-11.
2. They Heard The Voice Of The Lord
Hearing always means obeying as well, see
James 1.22-25. In Haggais day the leaders obeyed, and all
the people too. 1.12. The Bible says in Acts 5.32 that God gives
the Holy Spirit to those who obey him, and so it was here. 2.5
3. God Did His Own Work Too
God declared, "I am with you,"
and he did what only God can do because our obedience brings
action. He stirred, or roused the spirit of the political
Governor into action and excited the High Priest and all the
people, and they began to work on Gods house. 1.13-15,
Zecharaiah 4.6. God told the Governor, the High Priest and all
the people not to fear, but to be strong and work because he was
with them. 2, 1-5
A Prophetic Promise
Then God promised something which has never been more
true than today, saying that he would shake the heavens and
the earth. When God shakes the heavens and rattles the
dominating powers of darkness it is not long before earth
feels the effects. 2.6. We have had a century of shaking on
the earth with once unassailable governments, nations, banks
and even major forces like communism collapsing, and it is
still happening all the while.
4. Look Who Is Coming!
Then the desired of all nations will come.
Many take this to mean that Jesus, who is the desire of his
people in every nation will return, and he surely will, but the
verb used is actually a plural verb.
The Desired Will Come
This means that the desired ones, that is the
ones that Jesus desires such as the 1.2 billion Chinese,
Indias peoples, the Arabs, the proud westerners and
even the most unreached nomadic tribes will come in Gods
kairos time.
The final difficult message of Haggai is
that touching something holy does not make you holy, only sin is
that contagious. Equally knowing all about the Great Commission
doesnt make you a Kingdom builder, because the power is not
in the knowing but in the going. 1.10-18
5. Is There Any Seed
Left In The Barn?
If life has not been satisfying, consider
your ways and build Gods house today through prayer, going,
sending and giving. You may not have born fruit for Jesus up to
now but if you will empty your barn, Gods promise is that.
"from this day I will bless you." 2.19
Taken from the
Joshua Project Unreached Peoples List
these people have no church and as yet
no cell, church or mission has committed themselves
to prayer, adoption or church planting among this people.
Iraq
|
People Name |
Language |
Population
|
Herki |
Herki |
22,000
|
Luri (Lur) |
Luri |
67,000
|
Persian (Irani) |
Farsi, Western |
250,000
|
Shikaki |
Shikaki |
22,000
|
Surchi |
Surchi |
11,000
|
See all of the
lessons |