Today, I would like you to turn with me to an Old Testament prophet that we are going to deal with in the next couple of weeks in the will of the Lord. And the prophet's name is Haggai. And if you please turn with me to the short message or messages that the prophet Haggai had preached and shared with the people of Israel. And we are going to look over some of the lessons that we can learn from the prophet Haggai. I have chosen this passage because, I don't know if you feel this in your own heart, when we first became believers in the Messiah, in the Lord Yeshua, we have had a lot of zeal and burden for the things of the Lord.

And to be reading the Bible, or to pray, or to attend a meeting, or to share the message of the Lord Jesus, our Messiah, was something very common in our lives when we first believed on Yeshua. He was very precious to us, and our hearts, and our hearts have been so engaged with this wonderful person. But time passes by, and we become very cold, if you will, or cool towards the things of the Lord. And it reminds me what the Lord said to the churches in the seven churches of the book of the Revelation, where the Lord was dealing with every church, and He was giving a challenge to every local assembly.

He was dealing with those seven churches, and if you remember, He said some things that were very unique to every assembly, every church. And the church of Ephesus, He said to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2 and verse 4, "I have something against you," He said, "because you have left your first love." Now, what the Lord has said to the church of Ephesus in the New Testament, present time, it is the God of Israel who said to our people of old, through the prophet Haggai, long before the Messiah came and His first coming. And I want you just to read with me, first of all, today, the first 11 verses of Haggai, chapter 1.

Haggai, of course, is a minor prophet. He spoke to the people of Judah, who came back from captivity after the 70 years where the tribe of Judah and Benjamin had been in Babylon for 70 years. For 70 years they had been restored back to the land, and something had happened to the people of Judah after a while when they were back in the land. Today we are going to look at some introductory remarks and perhaps a few verses in the beginning, the Lord really will continue to follow these two chapters and four messages that Haggai was giving to the people of Judah. But listen, first of all, to the first 11 verses.

In the second year of Darius, 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, and to Zerubabel, the son of Sha'altiel, the governor of Judah. And to Yehoshua, the son of Yotzedek, the high priest, saying: Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying: These people say the time is not come, the time 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, or ye, to dwell in your cedar houses, and this house lies in waste?

Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. In the Hebrew words, it's much more than just what we have here in the English: Simu levavchem al darkechem Let me just give it to you in English: Put your hearts and see the ways in which you are going. And we continue in verse 6: Ye have so much, 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, to put it into a bag with holes. Now stop here with these verses that are found here in Haggai.

Very interesting book, beloved brothers and sisters, the book of Haggai. You know, there are various prophets of our own people, the people of Israel, that have spoken to the nation of Israel. Some have spoken to the nation of Israel before Israel went into captivity. Before the nation of Israel went into the Syrian, the northern tribes, and before the southern tribes went into captivity by the Babylonians. Those are some prophets that we have in the Scriptures that have spoken to the nation to wake them up. There were other prophets who spoke to the nation of Israel, to the tribe of Judah specifically, that we are speaking here in the Scriptures today.

The prophets that spoke to the people of Israel when they were in captivity. Like Daniel and others that have spoken to Judah. He prophesies in the time where our own people, the Jewish people, have been in the captivity. But then there are prophets that have spoken to the people of Israel what we call post-exile or post-captivity. When the people of Israel came back to the land, the people of Judah specifically, they came back to the land and they needed a message from the Lord after they have returned back to the land. So we see in the Scriptures that there are prophets that God had raised while Israel before had been taken captive.

Then there were prophets that God raised when Israel were in captivity. But also God had a message to the people of Israel while they were back from captivity in the land of Israel in the city of Jerusalem. Now let's just to make a parallel, it's very similar to the church age in which we live in. You see, when the church was formed and began in Acts chapter 2 in the city of Jerusalem, and the Spirit of God came and descended and formed the body of Messiah, the church had begun. And God used early prophets and apostles to speak to the body of Messiah in the foundation of the church.

But then there was a time of the dark ages. Very long period of time where the church had been in the dark ages, where all kind of things had been brought in. God had dealt with the church and in discipline have done, have allowed things to happen. And there were those who were speaking in this time to the church, to the professing church. But there is also a period of time in which there was a recovery of the truth of the Word of God, and in which you and I are privileged to live in these days, where there is a recovery of the truth of God.

The gospel is being preached in many areas of the world in a proper way. The people had a Bible in their hands. The Lord had been enlightened, the later company of believers. And even in this present time, he is speaking to the revived church, if you will, in this present day. And I think the prophet Haggai is very much appropriate for us to study in this present day. You and I live as believers just the same like the Jewish people lived in the time of Haggai, and the prophecy of Haggai to the people of Judah. What happened then? What happened then? You see, and let me tell you what happened.

And that is just by way of introduction to the book of Haggai. What is the historical setting? Israel disobeyed the Lord. And he, as you know, the kingdom have been divided. The northern tribes have gone, taken by the Assyrian. The southern tribes remained for a while, but it didn't take too long. And the southern tribes were taken by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon. You know very well the psalm that we love to read. And we think of the sadness that these people have had in Babylon, Psalm 137. When they were singing by the rivers of Babylon. There we sat down. And we wept as we remembered Zion. There they that took us captive told us, "Sing unto us one of Zion's songs." And they said, "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" Here we see that the psalmist, a Levite perhaps, were writing this psalm when the Jewish people were in Babylon in captivity.

They were mocking them. They were laughing at them. They were joking at them. They were accusing them. They were treating them in an awful way. And there they sat down and they wept when they remembered Zion. And then they make a decision that they are going to remember Jerusalem. "If thou will forget, if I will forget Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning." They were singing. And they decided that they will not forget Jerusalem. And then they knew that God will restore them back to the land. But you know what happened? That in the book of Ezra and Nehemiah and Esther, the historical setting of the Jewish people that have come back and some remain in Babylon, God have revived the heart of a man, a king by the name of Koresh.

We call him in Hebrew, Cyrus. Cyrus was the king of the Middle-Persian king. After you know the Babylonians were first the kingdom, the worldwide kingdom, then the Middle-Persian. And Cyrus, Koresh, God revived him and he used him to bring a message to the Jewish people to go back to the land. And you know, beloved brothers and sisters, when Cyrus gave this request, and Cyrus in chapter one of the book of Ezra, as Cyrus said, "Who is among you?" Speaking to the Jewish people in Ezra chapter one and verse three. "Who is among you of all his people?" This is God's people, the Jewish people. "His God will be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judea, and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel." He is the God, which is in Jerusalem.

Well, you know what happened? God have used Koresh to give this message to all the Jewish people which were in Babylon. At that time, under the Middle-Persian authority and kingship. And you know what happened, beloved brothers and sisters? Out of the millions that lived there, there were only about 50,000 Jewish people who went back to the Promised Land. You read that in the book of Ezra, and you will find out that it's about 42,000 servants and so on. About, I took a note of it, probably about 50,000, 49,690 people in total went back to the city of Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. What about the rest? Where were the rest of the Jewish people that God had given them the challenge?

Who is among you who would go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple? The rest of them were just the same like the ones who have gone to Jerusalem. They were Hebrews. They were Jewish. They were Israelis. And yet, they were content to remain there in Babylon. They were content. In fact, what we see today, by the way, even today, out of 14, 15 million people that are existing, Jewish people in the world today, only about 5, 6 million maximum living in the land of Israel. The rest, including myself, live in a diaspora outside of the land and not in the land of Israel. Spiritually speaking, applying it to the church of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, in the professing church today, only a minority of the minority want to come back into the gathering center, namely that the Lord Jesus will be the Messiah, the center of the gathering saints, while the rest of the professing Christians are very content to be saying, "I belong to the Lord.

I'm a Christian. I'm a child of God. But I don't need to read my Bible. I don't need to go to the church meeting. I don't need to pray. I don't need this. I know that I'm a child of God." At least that's what they say. And it's very similar to the condition in which you and I live today in the body of Messiah. 49,000, 50,000 alone have gone back into the promised land while the rest were satisfied to stay in Babylon. By the way, the book of Esther is the book that tells us of the events that occurred for those who remain outside of the land.

And you remember, even though they were not obedient in coming to the promised land, yet God had preserved them from the enemy of the Jews. His name was Haman, the Agagite, a descendant of the people of the Amalek who always sought to destroy the people of Israel. And God preserved the Jewish people. You know the wonderful story when we celebrate Purim and we read the story of Esther and how God had preserved His people who were still in disobedience. He preserved them because He had a purpose and a plan for them. Even when they were in the Babylon. We don't have the name of the Lord mentioned in the book of Esther, but we see His moving hand throughout the whole book of Esther.

How He moves and shifts and go around and put all the picture together to preserve His people from the enemies of the Jewish people. And so, what happened? Those 49, 50,000 individuals who came back to Jerusalem came there and they began to build the house of the Lord. You see, they started well. They started very well. They have left Babylon. They have listened to the word of the Lord through Koresh, Cyrus. They moved to the promised land. And what do you think they see? They had broken walls. They burned up gates. They burned up gates. They rubble all over. The temple which once stood. The temple where God once had set His name there broken down.

All together. And they were sad. And yet happy to know that they are coming back to the center, to Jerusalem where God said His name. And God has called them to come to build this temple back and to establish what God has given to the people of Israel. Again, I want to make a parallel here. It reminds us, beloved brothers and sisters, when the truths of the word of God to the church have been revived. After the many dark ages, the long dark ages that we have. From the time that God has raised people. That they have brought to light and used them to bring to light the truths concerning the things of the Lord.

The way of salvation by grace alone through the Lord Jesus the Messiah. The way of gathering. Where the saints can gather and Yeshua is the gathering center. And you know the things that have happened, for example, in the time in the Reformation. Where we had one that God had raised to give us the truth concerning the just shall live by faith. That it's not by works that we earn our salvation. But it is on a basis of grace Luther have given us, the Lord have used him to give these truths to us. Even though we know certain things that we were not happy at all about what he have done because of his background.

And what he have been taught all his life. Nevertheless, God used men to revive the truths that we have today in our hands. Well, this is exactly what happened. Israel, Judah came back to Jerusalem. And you know what happened? They have started to rebuild the temple in the city of Jerusalem. Look, if you turn with me for a moment to the book of Ezra. I want you just to see something very interesting there in the book of Ezra. Ezra, in chapter 3, Ezra chapter 3. Look what we read there in verse 8. Ezra 3 verse 8. Now in the second year of their coming into the house of God at Jerusalem.

And it says here, the house of God in Jerusalem. And in the second month began Zehubbabel, the son of Shaltiel, and Joshua, the son of Yotzadak. And the remnant of their brethren, the priests, and the Levites, and all that were come out of captivity unto Jerusalem. And appointed the Levites from 20 years old and upward to set forward the work of the house of the Lord. They began to build the temple. They began to build the house of the Lord. In fact, if you will look a little bit further down, you notice what it says in verse 10. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord.

They set the priests in their apparel with trumpets. And the Levites and the son of Asaph with cymbals to praise the Lord. After the ordinances of David, the king of Israel. And they sang together by chorus in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord. Because he is good. For his mercy endures forever towards Israel. And all the people shouted with great joy when they praised the Lord. Because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. I would have loved to be there. I would have loved to watch these people. Can you imagine 70 years they were in Babylon? Some of them were born in Babylon.

Never seen the city of Jerusalem. Some of them perhaps have been, when they were young children, have been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. Maybe they were 10 years old. Or 5 years old. Or 15 years old. By the time that 70 years passed by, they were 85 and 90 years of age. And they are coming. And they see the foundation of the house of the Lord being laid down. Never mind the house yet. It's only the foundation. And they began to sing. And then we read what they were singing. The Lord is good. His mercy endures forever towards Israel. The Lord is good. The Lord's mercy towards us. Towards them. The Lord is good.

He is gracious. And it gives us a reason to sing to Him. And to praise Him for what He has done for us. And what He has done for them. And the Bible tells us. Look what the Bible tells us in verse 12 of this same chapter. Ezra 3 in verse 12. For many of the priests and the Levites and the chief fathers. Who were ancient men. Old men. That had seen the first house. When the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes. What do you think they have done? They wept. With a loud voice. And many shouted aloud for joy. So that the people could not discern the noise of the joy.

From the noise of the weeping. Of the people. For the people shouted with loud shout. And the noise was heard afar off. You can just imagine. The old men. When they saw the foundation. They began to cry. Because when they look at the foundation. They remember the days when the temple stood. And they were there with their parents. Worshipping the Lord. The young. Never saw the temple. They came. They were born in Babylon. They were Jewish people. Who were born in the land of Babel of Babylon. And they looked at this foundation. And they rejoiced. Because now. They are going to be part of the worship of the God of Israel.

In the land. In the city of Jerusalem. So they could not discern. Because some wept. From memory. And some. Rejoiced. And shouted. Because they were first time seeing. That place. But the scene. You can just imagine the scene. What a wonderful scene. It must have been. There in the city of Jerusalem. At that time. But everything started well. Beloved brothers and sisters. Just the same. Like you and I. In our lives as believers. Everything started well. We can rejoice. That the Lord has forgiven our sins. We can weep. When we think of our sins. So great. So many. That the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Bore in his body.

On the tree. For us. For us. And we too as well. Can look back. But then what's happened. When they began to build the house. There is always an enemy. To seek to hinder. The spiritual growth. The spiritual growth. Of the people of God. That's why the Bible tells us. That there is an enemy. Constantly. At the door. Of the heart of each and every one of us. Seeking to destroy. Our spiritual growth. We have three enemies. We have been talking about it already many times in the past. The devil. Who shoot his arrows. At the weakest point that we have. We have the world.

Who influence us with all its activity. And we have the greatest enemy. The closest enemy is our own sinful flesh. Our own sinful nature. Those three enemies are constantly attacking the people of God. Whether it is individually. In my own personal life. In your own personal life. Or whether it is the collective aspect. Of the saints of God. And so. Look what we read. If you look with me to the next. Chapter of Ezra. I am still in Ezra here. I know we are studying the prophet Haggai. But just by way of introduction. Beloved brothers and sisters. Look what we read in chapter 4. Of the book of Ezra.

It says there in verse 1. Look at this. While we already read. About the foundation of the house. That has been laid down in chapter 3. The first thing we find out. Is adversaries. Chapter 4 and verse 1. When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin. heard that the children of the captivity. Builded the temple. Unto the Lord God of Israel. They came unto Zerubbabel. And you know. Beloved brothers and sisters. The adversaries. In Hebrew. The word is tsarei. Tsarei means. Those who give you tsarot. Tsarot means. Those who give you trouble. Those who give them trouble. Those who give us trouble. Those who give us trouble. There are those.

Who wants. To give trouble. To the people of Israel. To the people of Judah. To the people of God. And you know what. How they do that. They do it in two ways. They first come. And they do it in a sneaky way. Like an angel of light. And then they come. And they do it in an aggressive way. Like a roaring lion. Like we have it in the book of 2nd Corinthians. Look. They first come. Look what it says here in verse 2. And they came to Zerubbabel. To the chief priest of their fathers. And they said unto him. Let us be with you. For we seek your God.

As ye do. We do sacrifice unto him. Since the day of. Asar Hadon. King of Ashur. Which he brought us to here. You see. These were actually. The Samaritans. These were the people. Who were really a mixed breed. They not only were mixed breed. But they were also mixed in their religious belief. They were believing in Jehovah. But they were also believing in this God. And in this God. And in this God. And in this God. God. It's a mixture of religion. So what do they do? They come to you and say. Wow. We believe in your God. Let's build together. You see. Let's work together.

You know. Let's build. Because we believe also in your God. Well look what Zerubbabel says. Zerubbabel discerned the reality. Of the condition. Of the people who lived at that time in the land. Who was really the mixed breed. The mixed religious individuals there. He says Zerubbabel and Joshua. And the rest of the chief fathers of Israel said unto them. Ye have nothing to do with us. To build the house of our God. But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel. As King Cyrus the king of Persia had commanded us. Ha. You see. They first come. And they tell you that they want to build with you.

And they're going to help you. And we have the same things in common. And if you are not careful. And if you are not discerning. And we are not close to the Lord to have discernment. We will very quickly. We'll say well fine. Let's build together. But the Zerubbabel here. Yahshua. Yahshua. And the elders. The chief fathers of Israel discerned. And they said. You are not going to build with us. You have nothing to do with us. We are going to build a house to our God alone. Without you seeking to build for us. Or with us. So. Once they have heard that. Look at the second thing.

Once they were rejected from building together. They went to Acts 2. In other words. They went to a second phase of dealing with the Jewish people. Because in the next verse. In verse 4. It says. The people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah. And troubled them in building. Now it is so interesting. It is a continuous verses. That follow one after the other. In one side of the mouth. They say. We are going to build with you. In the other side of the mouth. They destroy. And they don't want to let them build the house of the Lord. You can see the reality.

That are existing here. In the hearts of these men. From Samaria. Or these men that were living in the land at that time. Who were actually a mixed breed. Who really did not have any intention. To help in the building of the house of the Lord. The house of the Lord. And so. First time. They are saying. We are going to build with you. Once they have been rejected. Immediately. They are going to destroy. That whatever. Judah was going to build. Will not succeed. And they weakened. The hands. Of the people. Of Judah. And they troubled them. As they were building. The house. Of the Lord.

Now. It says. If you just go down. If you go down. A little bit. Later down. In the same chapter of Ezra. Look what they succeeded to do. In Ezra. Chapter 4. And verse. 24. 24. Then. Cease. The work. Of the house. Of God. Which is. A Jerusalem. So it. Cease. Unto the second. Year. Of the reign. Of the rise. King. Of Persia. You see. What happened. Beloved. Brothers. And sisters. This is. Exactly. Similar. To the. Believers. Life. We start. Right. We have. A zeal. For the Lord. But then. The enemy. Comes. And the enemy. Comes. And he. First of all. Trying. To beguile. Us. He's coming. Like.

An angel. Of light. Appearing. To us. To draw. Us. To mix. Things. To pull. Us. In a direction. That is not. Right. With the Lord. And then. When he does not. Succeed. To do that. And we. Focus. On the Lord. And stand. For the Lord. He goes. To. Step number. Two. He's. As a roaring. Lion. Seeking. Whom. He. The child. Of God. Seeking. To hurt. The child. Of God. And you know. What it leads to. It leads to. Discouragement. Which. Lead. To. Eventually. Stopping. To build. The house. Of the Lord. And that's. What happened here. Now remember. These people. Were already. Seventy years. In Babylon.

They have come. Back. By the revival. That God. Syrus. To bring them. Back. To the land. In the land. They were. Thrilled. When the. Foundations. Of the temple. Were built. And then. The enemy. Appears. And in a sneaky way. And if he does work. In a sneaky way. He does it. In an aggressive way. And then. The house. Of the Lord. Stopped. To be built. I have a question here. Spiritually speaking. That many times. Because of discouragement. In our own lives. We end up. Not building. Our own personal life. Our family lives. And our collective lives. We say to ourselves. The enemy is one. What can I do?

Now. Believers. Beloved brothers and sisters. They were children of God. They were the children of Judah. The people of God. Just like every believer. In the Lord Jesus. The Messiah. Today. A true believer. Is a child of God. But a child of God. Can get so discouraged. And so disappointed. And so out of focus. That when trouble is coming. Instead of looking to the Lord. And asking him for grace. And mercy. To help us on. He or she can get discouraged. And says I'm giving up. What's the use? And then. Spiritual progress. Stops. He or she will never lose their salvation. Because they never gained their salvation.

On their own merit anyway. They received it. We received it. But there is a loss. In the growth. In the blessing. That God intends. For his people. While we are here. In this world. And you. As well as I. Are in the same possibility. To be in the same condition. Unless the Lord. Revive us. And speak to us. And we. Are occupied with him. I was speaking this morning. To someone. And someone. Reminded me of the story. That we have in Matthew chapter 14. Where. The Lord. Yeshua. The Messiah. Was walking on the sea. Towards the boat. Where the disciples. Where the disciples. Were there. And there were storms.

And the waves. And the billows. And the disciples. Were scared. And all of a sudden. The Lord Yeshua. Appearing. Walking on the sea. And they were scared. They were so fearful. That they did not even realize. That it was the Lord. And once they got a hold. Of the fact. That it was the Messiah. Yeshua himself. Peter said to him. Lord. If it is you. Bid me to come to you. So the Lord told him. Come. As long beloved. That the Lord Jesus. Was before. The mind. And the eyes. Of Peter. Of Shimon. Petos. He could walk on the water. The Bible. Tell us. If you read.

Matthew 14. That Peter. Walked to go to Yeshua. He walked on the water. But what happened. When he took his eyes. From off the Lord. He looked at the storm. He looked at the waves. He looked at the problems. And he began to sink. Was Peter a child of God. Sure he was. Was Peter. Love the Lord. He sure did. Did Peter want. To be closer to the Lord. He sure did. Want to be closer to the Lord. But when he sunk. There was someone. To lift him up. It was Yeshua. Who said to him. He picked him up. And he brought him. To the ship.

And he told him. All you. Of little faith. Why. Did you doubt. And you see. Peter. Teaches us. An important lesson. Just like. The people of Judah. Here. In Ezra time. Just like. Us. In our time. Peter teach us. A lesson. That we. By the grace of God. And with the help of God. Must have our eyes. Not on men. Not on problems. Not on issues. But on a person. Of the Lord Jesus. And he can help. As we walk with him. Through these trials. He can help us. To. Go through those trials. And at the same time. Come out. On the other side. Giving glory.

To him. And giving blessing. To others. So the house. Of the Lord. Have ceased. From being. Built. And now. Is where we come. To the prophet. Haggai. We are still in Ezra. Look how. Beautiful. In chapter 5. In chapter 5. Of Ezra. We find. The first time. The name. Haggai. Mention. And it's so interesting. That when. The prophet. Mention. We don't. Even. Hear anything. About his. Background. We don't. Hear about his father. We don't. Hear about his family. All. What we hear. Is it says here. In chapter 5. Verse 1. Then the prophets. Haggai. And Zechariah. The son of Edo. Prophesied. Unto the Jewish people. That were in Judah.

And Jerusalem. In the name. Of the God. Of Israel. Even. Unto. Them. You notice. By the way. That when it's come. To Zechariah. It says. Whose father. Was Zechariah. Zechariah's father. Was Edo. But when it's come. To Haggai. We don't know. Who is his father. And I think. It is very. Significant. Here. To point out. Because. What time. God. Will raise. A man. For the season. That he seems. To be. Unqualified. By the human. Standards. A person. That God. Would raise. In a time. With the people. Of God. Needed a message. From God. He raised. This man. This brother. This man. This brother. It could be a woman.

In a certain area. In a certain direction. God has a place. For a sister. In a ministry of God. But in. The public expression. He raised a man. By the name of Haggai. But he doesn't tell us. About his father. He doesn't tell us. Who is his parents. Who is his family. At all. All what he tells us. That he was. A messenger. Of the Lord. A prophet. Of God. And you know. When we need. These kind of prophets. In a time. Of decline. We need. These kind. Of messengers. He doesn't have. Credibility. My father. Was a believer. And my grandfather. Was a believer. And my great grandfather.

Was a believer. And I had all. Kind of. Pedigree. And I have all. Kind of schooling. That I have taken. And I've learned here. And I've learned here. Nothing of a sort. Beloved brothers and sisters. All what it says here. Haggai. The prophet. And you know. It's interesting. That the Bible teaches us. The responsibility. Of the prophet. In fact. We have a verse. That I want to read. In 1st Corinthians. Chapter 14. It says. He that prophesying. Speakers unto men. To edification. And exhortation. And comfort. And comfort. 1st Corinthians. 14. 3. The one. That is speaking. For God. He is to speak. To exhort. He is to speak.

In order. To comfort. He is to speak. To edify. To build up. The people. Of God. And I'm telling you. Beloved brothers. And sisters. That was the intention. Of this man. By the name. Of Haggai. That was the intention. That God had. For this man. Towards the people. Of Judah. To exhort. Him. To instruct. Them. To build them up. And to encourage them. What a ministry. This is something. We should ask ourselves. You and I. What is the purpose. When we're speaking. About the things. Of the Lord. Are we intend. To build up. People. Or to turn. People down. Are we intend. That the body.

Of Messiah. Will grow. Or we intend. That they will. Fall apart. And this is essential. Beloved brothers. And sisters. Here we see. A man. That we come. From nowhere. And God. Is just. Bringing him. Into the forefront. Of the people. Of Judah. That he will speak. To them. To restore. The nation. Of Israel. And we see. That even. His background. We don't read. About his father. His pedigree. His schooling. Nothing. All that we read. That he was. Haggai. The prophet. Hanavi. In Hebrew. He spoke. For God. He prophesied. For God. To the people. Of Judah. And so. We find. Haggai. Coming. Into the picture. Haggai.

Zechariah. Zechariah. And Malachi. And Malachi. Are the three. Prophets. That spoke. To the people. Of Judah. What you call. The post. Exile. Prophets. All these three. Prophets. Spoke. To the people. Of Judah. After their. Captivity. After their return. After their return. From the 70 years. In Babylon. After they've been brought. To the city. Of Jerusalem. And they spoke. To them. Because you know. What happened to them. In the beginning. They started well. But it didn't take too long. When decline. Came in. And they needed correction. And encouragement. And you and I. Know it. In our own personal life. We are just. Like. The people. Of Judah.

In the time. Of Haggai. The prophet. They were discouraged. The enemy. Came. And stopped. The work. Of the building. Of the house. Of the Lord. Maybe you have. An enemy. In your life. That had. Discouraged you. From continuing. The things. Of the Lord. Maybe something. Crept into our own life. Sin came. Into our hearts. Our own flesh. Have been interfering. The world. Have been influencing us. Satan. Have been shooting. His arrows. Towards us. Knowing our weakest points. And succeeded. So what do we do? Do we stop. To grow spiritually? Do we stop. To read our Bibles? Does Jesus change? Didn't he. Remain the same? Isn't his love.

Just the same. Like it was yesterday? Isn't the Bible teaches. That Yeshua. The Messiah. Is the same yesterday. Today. And forever. He's unchangeable. It is us. That have changed. It is sin. That came into my life. Into our lives. It is discouragement. That came across. Into our lives. That have happened. That brought. Us. To a situation. That I don't have. The same zeal. That I've had before. And I need to judge us. Before the Lord. And sometime. God will use a brother. Or a sister. Like the prophet Haggai. To give us. A message of encouragement. And perhaps correction. That we need. So we can repent.

And be restored. Back to the Lord. Back to the Lord. And that our hearts. Will be. Revived. Spiritually. Towards the things. Of the Lord. And so beloved brothers. The theme. Of the message. That Haggai. Was giving. To the people. Of Judah. Is simply this. And I'm back now. In Haggai. Chapter one. The theme. That he wanted. To convey. To the people. Of Judah. Is. Consider. Your ways. Consider. Your actions. Consider. Your lives. In fact. The word. Consider. Mentioned. Five times. In these two chapters. Five times. Consider. And the Hebrew word is. Simu. Na. Levavchem. In other words. The word. Consider. Really has to do. With their heart.

Have your heart. In the right place. It's a heart matter. In our relationship. With the things. Of the Lord. It's not only the head. We need to know. In our head. But it's our hearts. Our hearts. That need to be affection. And warm up. And stood up. Towards the things. Of the Lord. It is our hearts. It is our hearts. Beloved brothers and sisters. That are always. Seems to incline. To be set. Somewhere else. And God has. To challenge us. And to tell us. How about your heart. Where your heart. Is. And our hearts. Affection. Need to be drawn. Towards. The things. Of the Lord.

And so. The theme. Is. Consider. Your way. Have your hearts. Look at your heart. Where is your affection. And this man. By the name. Of Haggai. He was writing. And speaking. To the people. Of Judah. Fifteen years. After. They returned. From Babylon. They have started. To build. The temple. And it. Seized. And for. Fifteen. Years. They did not. Continue. To build. The house. Of the Lord. In the beginning. You could say. They had a reason. What was the reason? Well. We had many enemies. They stopped us. From. Building. The house. Of the Lord. And we could not. Continue. Because a letter. Was given. That we should not.

Continue. The letter. Came from. The king. And the king. Said. You supposed to. Tell them. Not to continue. The building. We couldn't build. The house. Of the Lord. Because the king. Told us. To stop. But something. Happened. And what's happened. Beloved brothers. And sisters. After. Fifteen years. Passed by. The people. Of Judah. Had no longer. Interest. In building. The house. Of the Lord. Towards the house. Towards the house. Of the Lord. They were. Occupied. With. Themselves. And you know what. This is exactly. What happened. In the life. Of the Christian. The life. Of the believer. What we used. To have interest. In the past. In leading.

Souls. To the Lord. In building. The body. Of believers. In being. In a meeting. Having. The assembly. Grow. Now. It's not. The same. Anymore. I don't. Come. To church. Meeting. To see. What I can. Give. But I come. To the meeting. To see. What I can. Get. I don't. Come. To build. But I come. For necessity. That I'm just. You know. I just. Have to. I'm a Christian. I'm a Messiah. Follower. That's what happened. In our. Our attitude. Change. Our hearts. Have changed. And so. It says. Fifteen years. We don't read it here. But if you know. He was writing it. About 520. B.C. 605. B.C.

The people. Of. Israel. Were taking. To Babylon. By Nebuchadnezzar. Seventy. Years. Passed by. And they're. Already. Back. Started. To build. The temple. Stopped. To build. The temple. And now. Haggai. Is speaking. To the people. Of Israel. Fifteen. Years later. After. They have stopped. To build. The house. Of the Lord. And here is. Where we come. With the beginning. Of the chapter. Of Haggai. Chapter one. First of all. Look. At the timing. In verse one. Haggai. One. One. In the second year. Of Darius. The king. In the sixth month. Of the first. Day. Of the month. Came the word. Of the Lord. And to Haggai. The prophet.

And to Zerubabel. The son of Shaltiel. The governor. Of Judah. And to Joshua. The son. Of Yotzedek. The high priest. Saying. That date. The sixth. Month. Of the first. Day. Of the month. That is. 520. B.C. Eighty five. Years. The people of Judah. Have been taken captive. By. Nebuchadnezzar. Into Babylon. They already went. Back. To the land. Forty six. Forty nine. Thousand. Of these Jewish people. They have started. To build the temple. But they stopped. To build the temple. Because of. Whatever happened. Their hearts. Have been now. Removed. From the desire. To build the temple. And here. God. Raised a man. By the name. Of Haggai.

By the way. The name. Haggai. In Hebrew. Means. My festivals. Even in his name. There is a proclamation. To the nation. Of Israel. My festivals. My festivals. God is saying. To the nation. What about my. Celebrating me. Worshipping me. Occupying me. Occupying with me. People of Judah. People of Benjamin. What about me? And the Lord Jesus. Who said the same thing. To us. What about me? I am the one. That saved you. I am the one. That brought you. Out of bondage. And to liberty. The one. Who you should be occupied with. Where two or three. Are gathered together. Unto my name. He promised to be.

In the midst of his people. And so. That's the time. When Haggai. Notice again. Like we have in Ezra. Chapter 3. We have in Haggai. Chapter 1. He was only a prophet. No parents. Mentioned. No grandparents. Simply Haggai. The prophet. And God. Used him. To give. A message. To the people. Of Judah. And to the people. Of. Benjamin. And look. What he tells them. In verses. Two. To six. Haggai. Now. Is speaking. Or the Lord. Is speaking. To Judah. And he's speaking. To them. His concern. About their condition. He's telling them. In verses. Two. To six. The things. That they. Have done. Wrong. And look. What he's saying.

He says. In verse two. First of all. To the people. You are saying. In your mind. You are saying. In your words. That the time. To build. The house. Of the Lord. Is not now. Look. Verse two. Thus. Speak. The time. The time. Is not come. The time. That the Lord's house. Should be. Built. You see. He's now. Accusing. The people. Of Judah. And he's saying. To them. Look. What you are saying. You are saying. Judah. That the time. Is not come. To build. The house. Of the Lord. We'll do it later. To. It's not the time. You see. Earlier. The house. Of the Lord.

Stopped. Because of the. Offense. Of the adversaries. Of the people. Of Judah. And you can say. That's legitimate. There was opposition. The letter came. From the king. To say. To stop the building. Of the house. But now. The condition. Of the heart. Of the people. Changed. No longer now. To put the guilt. Upon the king. And upon the opposition. Of the adversaries. Here we see. That the condition. Of the heart. Have changed. They say. It's not the time. Not time now. To build the house. Of the Lord. It's not the time. You know. Like you and I might say. You know what. Really. The time.

For Jesus. I don't have now. I don't have the time. For the things. Of the Lord. I don't have time. To go and share. The gospel. I don't have time. To go and come. And study. The word of God. I don't have time. In making visitation. And visiting people. Who have a need. I don't have the time. You see. I don't have the time. I'm busy. I have work to do. I have family. To take care of. I have business. I have all kind of activities. In my life. I don't have the time. Beloved. That's the language. Of today. That we see it. In the time.

Of Haggai. And you notice it said. The people. Say. It's not. The time. To build. The house. Of the Lord. Now you and I. Don't have to build a house. Like this. We don't have to go. Necessarily. To buy an air conditioner. Or heater. We don't have necessarily. To buy bricks and mortar. And to build a house. Like this. But he's talking. And I'm making the application. Spiritually. To the house. Of God. You and I. Are composition. Of the house of God. Wherever we are. Either in this building. Or elsewhere. On the street. The house of the Lord. Is a composition. Of all believers. In the Lord Jesus.

The Messiah. And how is it. In my life. In our lives. Do we. Spend energy. And heart desire. To build the house. Of the Lord. Do we like. To see people. Encouraged. And built up. In their most holy faith. You see. In the book of Jude. That we read earlier. What Jude. Was charging. The early. Hebrew believers. He said. Earnestly content. For the faith. Which was once. Delivered. Unto. The saints. Earnestly content. We are saved. By grace. But we live. In light. Of what God. Is teaching us. In his word. We have to have. A desire. For the things. Of God. I cannot. Give it for you.

And you cannot. Give it to me. But we can sure. When we give. When we speak. With each other. We can sure. Encourage each other. In the things. Of the Lord. Build each other up. And so. The people were saying. It's not time. To build. The house of the Lord. It's not the time. And can you imagine. The house is sitting there. Fifteen years. Passed by. Perhaps. The foundation. Were already covered. With rubble. What they have seen. In the beginning. And they rejoiced. Now. Perhaps. Was covered. And there was nothing. There. That was to look. At. And so. They say. It's not. The time. To build.

The house. Of the Lord. And so. The Lord. Is charging them here. He is really. Showing them. Their wrong doing. Just like. The Lord. Through John. In the book of Revelation. He says. I have something. Against you. To the Ephesians. Assembly. You have a lot of truth. In your theology. But your affection. Towards Yeshua. The Messiah. Has no longer. Is the same. You have left. Your first love. Your affection. For Yeshua. Is not there. The way it used to be. It's no time. To build the house. Of the Lord. There is time. For business. There is time. For pleasure. There is time. For every kind.

Of activity. But very little time. For to build. The house. Of the Lord. It's not the time. They said. And so. In the next verses. In verse. Three and four. God. Is challenging. The people. Of Judah. In those two verses. And he's saying. To them. Then came. The word of the Lord. By Haggai. The prophet saying. Is it time. For you. To dwell. In your. In your. Cedar houses. And this. House. Lie. In waste. See what he's saying. It is amazing. It is amazing. They had the time. To build. Their own houses. But they did not have the time. To build the house. Of the Lord.

You see. He didn't tell them. That it's wrong. To have a house. To have a house. He didn't tell them. That it's wrong. To take care. Of the homes. And to take care. And to provide. For the family. He. This is not. His accusation. Here. His accusation. Is this. You have time. To build. Your house. And by the way. You notice. It says. The sealed. Houses. And then. You. Allow. The house. Of God. To be wasted. And not to be built. You know. It reminds me. Of a believer. That have time. To take care. Of his. Physical. Needs. But not to take care. Of his spiritual.

Need. Isn't it true. Brothers and sisters. That we can. Be like that. And act like that. And it. Creeps. Into our lives. That we can be. Just like. These. Jewish. People who came. From the. Captivity. That we can. Neglect. The spiritual. Aspect. Of the life. Of the believer. And yet. Have. All the time. In the world. To do. Everything else. I don't need. To point. At you. I can point. Right. At my own self. And I'm amazed. That. How. We. Are capable. Of. Knowing. Our sins. Forgiving. Knowing. What the Lord. Have done. For us. And yet. Have no. Desire. No. Stimulation. Towards. Him. In the spiritual realm.

It's amazing. And yet. We see it. All the time. The capability. That we have. In our own self. We can build. Our own houses. We can take care. Of everything else. And yet. Neglect. The spiritual. Life. Life. I always was. Impressed. When I saw. When I first. Became a believer. When I saw. Believers. Who came. To the meetings. And some. Have been. A wealthy people. A people. Who have. Means. And then. Farmers. Who have. A lot less. And then. An ordinary. Individual. Who would gather. Together. Around. The Lord. Jesus. The rich. The poor. The one. Who has. A great. Background. One. Who has. Not. Such.

A great. Background. The people. Who are. Capable. The one. Who is. Less. The Messiah. To worship. Him. And to adore. Him. And to praise. Him. Isn't it. Such a sight. To see. And here. What the Lord. Is telling us. Listen. You say. That is not time. For the house. Of the Lord. Is it time. For you. Or ye. To dwell. In your. Sealed. Houses. And this house. Lie west. Now. He says. To them. In verse 5. And 6. He telling them. Consider. Your ways. God. Is pointing. To the results. Of such. Attitude. Look. Now. Therefore. He says to them. In verse 5. Of us. Consider your ways. You have so much.

But bring in a little. You eat. And you have not enough. You drink. And you are not filled with drink. He clothes you. And there is none to warm. And he that earneth wages. Earneth wages. To put it into a bag of holes. Amazing. And we want to take a spiritual lesson here. A spiritual lesson is. Those people. You know. Just like. They have worked hard. But there was nothing gain. Nothing came out of it. In other words. You notice the contrast here. It says. You saw much. But you reap very little. You drink. But you are not filled. You are not quenched. You put clothes on you.

But you are really not warmed. You earn wages. But really. There is nothing. It's for putting into a pocket. That have holes. What he is telling them. Is simply this. Is this. When you are. Not occupied. With the house of God. As well. And again. I want you to know. He doesn't knock them down. Because they build their houses. He knocked them. Or he is telling them. What he tells them. Is because they. Only were occupied. With themselves. And not with the things. Of the Lord. As well. And that is the lesson. For us as well. I mean. The Lord wants us to. Earn. Make a living.

Take care of our families. Take care of ourselves. But what about our spiritual life? He told this to Israel. Many years ago. In Deuteronomy chapter 8. Man shall not live by bread. Alone. But by every word. That proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. It goes hand in hand. It goes parallel. It goes together. And that is what God is showing them. And beloved. The lesson. We will continue with this later on. The lesson is. Consider. Consider. Your ways. Simu levavchem al darkechem. Put. Your heart. And see. Where you are walking. And where are you. Spiritually. Before the Lord. That. The challenge. That he is giving.

For giving. Those. Jewish believers. Who came back. Jewish people. Who came back. To the land. Whose hearts. Were now called. Towards the things of the Lord. And we trust. That as we look at this book. We will learn. And we will be challenged ourselves. Also. That our hearts. Will also be. In a right place. And that the Lord. Will receive his portion. And when he receive his portion. We also. Will receive much. From him. And he going to bless us. And he will use us. For his own. Glory. And for his own honor. Can you say amen to that.