HAGGAI 1-2 IT IS TIME TO OBEY YOUR CALLING2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Haggai 1-2 It Is Time To Obey Your Calling

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011.

Well, here in the book of Haggai, we pick it up in verse 1 and 2 with an introduction to this prophet and to really the subject of his book. It says in verse 1, 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 Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying, This people says, The time has not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. Here as we begin in Haggai chapter 1, we get a time frame for when he is prophesying. Now, this book, Haggai, as well as the next two books, Zechariah and Malachi, are all books that were written by prophets

who prophesied to the children of Israel after they had returned from captivity. Now as we've been studying through the prophets in Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Daniel and then even into the minor prophets Hosea and Joel and Amos

All of those prophets that we've been studying thus far were prophesying up to the captivity of the children of Israel, either to the northern kingdom or the southern kingdom. Both were conquered and taken away captive. And for 70 years, the land of Israel was left without inhabitants.

And so there was nobody dwelling there anymore because all of the Jews had been taken captive by the Babylonians and the Assyrians. And this was promised by God it would happen because of their rebellion, because of their disobedience.

But God also declared through the prophet Jeremiah that after 70 years they would be allowed to return to the land of Israel. And that is indeed what happened. It was a command that was given by Cyrus, the king of the Persian Empire, and he commanded the people in Babylon, he said, "Hey, all of the Jews in Babylon, you're allowed now to go home and to rebuild the temple."

The prophets that we're studying this week and the coming weeks in Zechariah, you can also look at the historical context for what they were prophesying about and the time that they were prophesying in the book of Ezra. Ezra is that account of the Jews who went from Babylon back to Judah, back to Jerusalem and began to rebuild the temple.

They began to rebuild the house of God that had been torn down by King Nebuchadnezzar. Well, as Haggai gives us the time frame here in the second year of King Darius, we find that he is prophesying 16 years, actually 18 years, after the Jews had returned to Jerusalem. So they'd been released by King Cyrus, they go back to Jerusalem, they begin to rebuild the temple again,

And this is 16 years after that. And you can look again at the historical context in the book of Ezra, and specifically chapters 5 and 6 is the time frame that we're dealing with in the book of Haggai.

Now I have a timeline here on the screen for you that I want to just run through quickly to hopefully give you some insight and context on when these things are taking place. So 538 BC, remember BC years go backwards, okay? So 538 is when King Cyrus, the Persian king, allows the Jews to go back to Jerusalem. And you find that in Ezra chapter 1 verse 5.

Then 536 B.C., so that's two years later, the temple construction began. So they journey back to Jerusalem. It takes them a little bit of time to get settled. And two years after they're allowed to go back, they begin to lay the foundation for the temple. And you can see that in Ezra chapter 3, specifically verse 8. Then 534 B.C., so two years after the construction begins,

the construction stops for 14 years. So they're working on the temple for a couple years, but because of some outside pressures and discouragement, in Ezra chapter 4, they stop working on the temple. And so, for 14 years, the temple just remains, not even half built, but just partially built. They just kind of barely got started in constructing it, and then they gave up.

Well, 520 B.C. is kind of the key time frame as we're dealing with the book of Haggai, because that's when the construction of the temple begins once again. And you can see that in Ezra chapter 5 verse 1, but also here in the book of Haggai,

1.14

And now God is sending Haggai the prophet to the nation to call them once again to build the temple, to finish what they started and complete the temple projects that they had begun. And so this is the time when Haggai is prophesying to the people. It's the second year of Darius who is the king of Persia and the word of God comes to Haggai the prophet

And he says, this is what the people are saying. This is the heart, the mentality, the mindset of the people in Jerusalem. There in verse 2, the people says, the time has not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. And so God is now addressing through the prophet Haggai, this heart, this mindset, this saying of the people.

that they were saying the time has not come to build the Lord's house. Now in Ezra chapter 4 we find that they were forced to stop building, but now they've just given up and they've done nothing for the past 14 years. And so God is sending Haggai to restart that building process and to encourage them to begin once again to work on the house of the Lord.

As we look at the book of Haggai, the theme really of the book is that call back to obedience or the fulfilling of the calling that God has given. I put it as the title in my notes, it is time to obey your calling. That's what God is saying through Haggai the prophet to the people of Jerusalem.

It's time to obey your calling. You've been putting it off. You've been making excuses. But now it's time to do what God has called you to do. And as we look at these things in the book of Haggai, I want to encourage you that it's not so much about the building as it is about the priorities.

and the calling that God has given to you. You know, as we look at these things and seek for God to speak to us, we could talk about the church building and we could say, hey, you know, it's time to fix up the church building, everybody. But,

That's not really what is going on here. That was their specific calling at that time. And Lord willing, that will be our calling as a body at some point in the future. But as we look at these things, it's really about what is God calling you to do? What is God speaking to your heart?

What is the ministry He's called you to do? What is the focus of your life that He's called you to pay attention to? What areas of service has He called you to be involved in? How has He called you to live your life? These inhabitants of Jerusalem were called by the Lord to build the temple. That was their calling.

And so He's calling them back to that. But this evening, I want to use these things to remind us and encourage us that we need to fulfill the call that God has for us. And that might take the place of putting together a building, or it might take the place of stepping out in faith in a certain area, or going on the mission field, or working in a certain career, or whatever it may be. Whatever God is speaking to you, whatever He is calling you to do.

They were called and instructed by the Lord to build the temple. And so this book really is a warning against putting off that calling, putting off that obedience to God. I think if Haggai had the New Testament to be able to quote from, he would have quoted from Matthew 6, verse 33.

Where there Jesus says, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. This is the message of Haggai. It's the same message that Jesus shared. Put the things of God first, and all those other things will be added unto you. They'll be taken care of. And so specifically we're looking at putting...

The calling of God first. The things that He's speaking to you personally, putting Him first and obeying Him first in those things. Not so much about, you know, He's not talking about, they're not in open sin and rebellion. They're not, you know, back in idolatry. They're not back in immorality. He's not dealing with those things. He's dealing with

They are sitting back, they're continuing to worship and offer sacrifices, but they're not being obedient to what He has called them to do. So they're being passive. They're sitting back and they're not engaging in what God has called them to do.

And so God is now saying, it's time to obey your calling. It's not time to sit back and just let things happen, but now you need to take some steps. You need to go forward and do what I've called you to do. Well, let's look at this prophecy of Haggai to the people of Jerusalem, continuing on in verse 3.

It says, "Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet saying, 'Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses and this temple to lie in ruins?' Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Consider your ways. You have sown much and bring in little. You eat but do not have enough. You drink but you are not filled with drink.

You clothe yourselves and no one is worn. And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes. God calls the people to consider their ways. Consider your ways, He says. The people are saying, it's not time for us to build the temple. And so God asks, okay, well then, is it time for you to dwell in your paneled houses?

The idea of paneled houses, it's kind of like modified or remodeled. It's a little bit step up. It's a little bit of a luxury item to have a paneled house. So he says, is it time for you to live in your nice, comfortable home while the temple lies in ruins?

So they kind of, you know, made some improvements. They kind of built up their homes, made them real nice, exactly the way that they wanted them. But at the same time, the temple was incomplete. It was in ruins. It was not yet completed. And so God says, consider your ways. You've been working real hard on your home. You've been taking care of things and making things the way that you want, doing some nice improvements.

But consider your ways. Look at what's happening. Evaluate your life for a second, he says. Because you've sown much, but you bring in very little. So you're out there sowing seeds, you're working hard, you're plowing the fields, you know, you're getting everything planted, but the end result is very little. You're doing all the work as if you have a large crop, but you're not getting anything out of it. You're getting very little out of it.

He says you eat but you don't have enough. I have that problem too. You eat but you're not satisfied. You're still hungry. You drink but you're still thirsty. You get the idea here. God is saying, look, consider your ways. You're not satisfied. And nothing satisfies you. Food doesn't. Drink doesn't. You're working hard but you're not getting much for it.

He says, you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. You keep on putting on layers, but you're still cold. You're still freezing. And the one who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes. That's another problem I have. You got a hole in your pocket, right? And just the money is just dropping out. It's just falling away. You don't know where it goes. It's just lost. He says, consider...

Your ways. Have you experienced this type of thing? Aside from the joking. In reality, in real life, have you experienced you're working hard, you're making money, but then when it gets into the bank account, it's just, where did it all go? Where is it at? It's way less than what we should have had. And you're trying to fix that, you're trying to deal with that, and it just...

It seems like you don't have enough to meet the need. The supply is way less than what your needs are. You're not satisfied. God calls the people of Jerusalem, and I would encourage you to take on this challenge. Consider your ways. Consider your ways. When you are experiencing that type of thing, when you're working hard but there's lack,

But there's need. You're not satisfied. You're working hard, but you're not getting very much back. You're putting money in the bank, but then when you go check the account, you don't know where it went. It's gone. It's time to consider your ways. Is it time for you to enjoy luxury and to do whatever you want to do and to live the lifestyle that you want to live and God's house to lie in ruins? Yes.

Now again, we could be talking about a physical property, but specifically I believe God wants to challenge us in what He's calling us to do. You see, there's many Christians who God is calling you to certain things, to be obedient, to go forward, to develop your spiritual life.

And the rest of your life is just awesome in the sense that, you know, you watch all the movies you want to watch, you enjoy all the fast food you want to enjoy, you do all the other things that you want to do and you have plenty of time for all the fun things and enjoyable things, but your spiritual house lies in ruins and you have no devotional life, you, you know, barely make it to church, you're just, you're not fully engaged. Or perhaps...

You're caught up in your work. You're caught up in those things and providing for your family and those are good things. But even though you're working overtime, you're working so hard, it just doesn't seem, you're not making ends meet. Meanwhile, your family doesn't know how to walk with the Lord. You're not helping them to know Jesus, to follow Him. You're not encouraging them. You're not developing them. Your spiritual house lies in ruins. It's time to obey your calling.

Consider your ways. That lack, that need, that investing much but getting little back, that's one of the ways that God tries to get our attention. To say, hey, wake up, pay attention. There's something that needs to be addressed here. And so He calls the people of Jerusalem to consider their ways. Think about it, guys. You're working hard, but you're bringing very little in.

And so what do they do? How do they respond to this? How do they resolve this? Well, we find God's answer in verse 7. It says, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways. Notice again. He wants you to think about. Think about your life. Think about how much you're putting into things and how much you're getting back. Verse 8. Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the Lord.

Verse 1.

For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains on the grain and the new wine and on the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock and on all the labor of your hands. God says, consider your ways. Here's what you need to do. Go up to the mountains, bring wood and build the temple. He says that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified. See, essentially what God is saying is, you guys are not glorifying me.

You need to go get wood, build the temple, that I can take pleasure in it and be glorified. You need to live your life to bring glory to me, God says. This is the problem. This is the issue. You're running to your own house. You're making sure that you have what you want, that you're taking care of your needs. You're working hard to provide for yourself, but you're not investing yourself to bring glory to God.

And so he says, it's kind of a double curse here. You look for much, but indeed it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. So you worked real hard. You didn't get much return. And then when you brought it home, that little that you got returned, God blew it away. Again, have you experienced that? Have you gone through that? You know what that's like. It's just like you just never have enough. There's always more that you cannot cover. Consider your ways.

God says, I've done this. I've brought these things upon you. I've allowed you to experience this lack. There in verse 9, He says, Because of my house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. It's time to obey your calling, guys. We're all very good at running to our own house and doing the things that we want to do. And we make time for the things that we want to do.

And yet so often we don't have time for the things of the Lord. What is God calling you to do? What has He laid before you? What is He speaking to your heart? Again, it could be a variety of things. It could be involving the physical church property. Or it could be involving your physical property. Or it could be involving...

Your spiritual condition at home. Your devotional life. It could be involving the mission field. It could be involving a Bible study at work that He wants you to start. I mean, it could be whatever. God's able to speak to our hearts on anything. He's able to give us direction about anything. What is God calling you to do? What is He directing upon your heart?

it's time to obey your calling. And when you experience that lack where you don't have enough, where things are not coming together, it's not always in every case that you're not obeying your calling, but at least you need to consider your ways. You need to stop and think.

And consider, am I doing what God has called me to do? Or am I running to my house and doing what I want to do? Meanwhile, God's house and the things that He wants lies in ruins. That's what the people of Jerusalem were doing. And so in verse 10 He says, Therefore the heavens withheld the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. And God called for a drought on the land. He withheld it. He brought forth this lack.

so that they would consider their ways. Again, Matthew chapter 6 verse 33, Jesus says, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. These things that Jesus is talking about, you can look at the context there in Matthew chapter 6, is basically food and clothing and shelter.

And we can think about our lives and we can think, well, I need to make sure I have food and I have clothing and I have shelter. I need to make sure that I have these things. And so we live our lives, we center our lives around making sure that we have those things. But God says, seek first the kingdom of God. Put God first. A lot of times we put God second so that we can make sure we got money. Or we put God second so that we can make sure we have fun. We put God second because

For whatever it is that we want to do. Thinking that, hey, we need these things. I need these clothes. I need this food. I need this job. This family. Whatever. And so we put those things first. But God says, seek first the kingdom of God. Basically, He's going to be telling the people here,

Yes, you're broke. You have no money, you have no resources, life is difficult, but that's because you've put yourselves first and not me first. And when you put me first and begin to work on the temple again, I'm going to turn those things around.

David Guzik puts it this way. He says, It was time for God's people to start being concerned with pleasing God instead of themselves. In their nice houses and prosperous lives, they took pleasure and were glorified. Now it was the Lord's turn. They made sure that they had nice houses. They were taking good care of themselves. But God says, You need to make sure I'm glorified.

So you need to get to work. That's what he says there in verse 8. Go up to the mountains, bring wood, start working on the house of the Lord. And this evening, I want to encourage you, you need to get to work. You need to start with whatever it is that he's speaking to your heart. And maybe you've been putting it off. Maybe it's been a while that he's been speaking to you. It's time to obey your calling. It's time to get to work and to do those things that he's speaking to you. Verse 12.

Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, 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. Then Haggai, the Lord's messenger, spoke the Lord's message to the people, saying, I am with you, says the Lord.

So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius. So now we see the response. Haggai delivers the message. You guys are saying it's not time for us to work on the Lord's house.

But God says, is it time for you to just live in your luxury and do what you want to do? No. Go get wood and start working on the house of God. And it tells us there in verse 12, Zerubbabel, who is the governor of Jerusalem, Joshua, who is the high priest of Jerusalem, and the remnant of the people, that is, those few who returned back from Babylon, all together they obeyed the voice of the Lord their God,

has given through the prophet Haggai. And so they respond with obedience. God says, go get wood. And they went and got wood. And they began to work. And as they began to work, God now speaks again in verse 13. It says, Haggai, the Lord's messenger, spoke the Lord's message to the people.

So now they've started to work. They've got the wood. They're carrying it down the mountain. They're starting to work on the temple. And what does God say? He says, I am with you, says the Lord. God sends them a message of encouragement. This is the amazing thing about God. Even when He's been speaking to you and you haven't been paying attention and He's been calling you and you've been ignoring it and He's been placing a burden on your heart and you've been running from it, just like the people of Jerusalem were,

Even when you're in that condition, when you respond and you obey to what He's been speaking to you, as soon as you do, God's message to you is, I am with you. As soon as you respond, as soon as you obey, God says, I'm with you.

He's encouraging them, He's encouraging us. I'm with you, I'm for you, I'm on your side, I'm going to help you do this, I'm going to help you with this work. This is great encouragement because, well, very often in our mind, in our perspective, what God asks of us is hard or scary, but God is with you. And you think, well, I can't do that, I can't be involved in that way, I can't take that step of faith, I can't do that.

The problem is too big. The command is too hard. The situation is too difficult. I'm too fearful. We have all these reasons why we don't get involved. But as soon as we obey, God says, I'm with you. And He's going to be working with them. He's going to be helping them. He's going to be in their midst as they seek to bring Him glory and finish the temple. Verse 14 is really interesting too.

It says, so the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel. Not just Zerubbabel, but also Joshua. And not just those two guys, but the whole remnant of the people. Three times it says, the Lord stirred up the spirit. He stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel. He stirred up the spirit of Joshua. He stirred up the spirit of all the people. The Lord stirred up the spirit as they obeyed.

This idea of stirring up the spirit, it's really not a reference to the Holy Spirit. It's a reference to their internal condition, their heart. He stirred up their heart. He gave them a passion for the work that they were doing. I think this is interesting because it's after they obeyed the Lord that He stirred up their spirit.

I think typically we would look for God stirring up the spirit and then we get to work. But there's a lot of times where God gives us the command, He gives us the call, and we think, well, I'm not up to it. I don't have the resources for it. That's too scary. That's too hard. That's too difficult. We've got all these things against us. And so there's not that passion. There's not that drive. God's speaking to us, but our spirit is not stirred up.

But it's after they obey, after they go, they make the journey up the mountain, they get the wood, they're taking it back, they're beginning to work. And as they do, God is stirring up their spirit. Oh man, so many times as Christians, we wait for the feelings to be there. And we let the feelings govern our lives. And if we feel like being involved, then we get involved. If we feel like we want to do that, then we do that. If we feel like...

And we live our lives based on our feelings and that is not biblical at all. God says, obey whether you feel like it or not and I'll stir up your spirit. You say, I can't forgive that person but that's what God's speaking to your heart. It's time to obey your calling. You need to forgive them. I just, I can't. It's too hard. It's too difficult. Listen, you be obedient and then God will stir up your spirit.

You take the step, you make the phone call, you sit down and have the conversation. And as you do, God will stir up your spirit. He will work within you. As Paul says in Philippians 2:13, "It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." God is the one who works in you the willingness and the ability to do it. He gives you both.

But we can't sit and camp on, well, when I feel like it, then I'll be obedient. That's not going to work. That's the state of the people of Jerusalem. They're like, things are so hard right now. Our spirits are just not stirred up to build the house of the Lord. Because look, we've got these problems with the crops. I mean, we're working real hard, but we're getting nothing back.

And then the things that we get back, it just like blows away once we get it home. We don't understand. I mean, things are financially, they're just real tough. They're difficult. Yeah, things are hard. There's lots of opposition. And we're hungry and we keep on eating, but we're not satisfied and we're cold. There's lots of reasons why they didn't feel like building the house of the Lord. But as they obeyed, God said, go build my house. As they obeyed, He stirred up their spirit. And God says, I'm with you.

Incredible encouragement here. God says, I'm with you and I'm stirring up your spirit. I'm going to give you a passion. Those feelings will come. I'm going to give you the strength. I'm going to give you what you need. But you have to take the step and be obedient. It's time to obey your calling. What's God calling you to do? It's time to obey. For the Jews there in Jerusalem, they've been sitting back and working on their houses and focused on themselves for 14 years. How long has it been for you?

And you've been letting that call of God, those things that God is speaking to your heart, you've just been letting them sit, pretending they're not there. Thinking, well, one day I'll get to it. One day I'll feel like it. One day I'll get around to it. One day I'll be strong enough. One day I'll... One day, always putting it off. God says, today's the day. Consider your ways. Think about your ways. Seek God first. And all those other things that you need in life, those things that you're pursuing...

You're trying so hard to work for yourselves, but it's not being successful. God says, okay, if you die to yourself, you'll live. If you seek first the kingdom of God, all these things shall be added to you. You'll get what you need. He'll take care of you when you put Him first. But we continue on in chapter 2 with a new message from Haggai about a month later. In verse 1 of chapter 2 it says, In the seventh month,

Verse 1.

Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel, says the Lord, and be strong, Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and be strong, all you people of the land, says the Lord, and work. For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts.

"According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so my spirit remains among you. Do not fear. For thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Once more, it is a little while, I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land, and I will shake all nations and they shall come to the desire of all nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the Lord of hosts.

The silver is mine and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of hosts. So now it's the seventh month, it's the 21st of the month. And so we're looking at about 50 days later from his original message. Now they've been working on the temple for years.

like a month and a half or so, and God speaks to them again through the prophet Haggai. He says, speak to Zerubbabel, speak to Joshua, speak to the people, and ask them the question there in verse 3. Who among you saw the temple in its former glory? Who of you saw the temple before it was destroyed?

When King Nebuchadnezzar came in to Jerusalem and leveled the temple, the temple was glorious. It was Solomon's temple and it had fallen into disrepair sometimes throughout the years. But even in spite of that, it was still glorious. It was still something to behold. And the temple as they were building it now was not much in comparison.

It wasn't as elaborate as when Solomon built it. In Ezra 3:12, as they lay the foundation for the temple, it says that the old men who were there, remember they'd been in Babylon for 70 years, so the people who saw the original temple and now are seeing this one, they're really old men.

Probably 80, 90 years old. But when they see this foundation, it says there in Ezra 3.12 that they began to weep with a loud voice because they realized the former temple was so glorious and this one, well Solomon's temple was made with his vast resources. He spared no expense. But now they're building the temple with the rubble that's left.

You know, it's like, what would be the difference if you could build a house with unlimited resources? You could build whatever house you want, the house of your dreams. And then compare that to, okay, you can use the two by fours left over from light the night and build your house. And you'd weep loudly and think, oh man, that one would be so much better. Well, that's how these guys were. They're like, oh, it was so glorious. And now we just have these leftovers that we just got to scrounge together and

Oh, there was some supplies from the king of Persia, but it was nothing like what Solomon did and what he put into the temple. They were just building a basic structure. It wasn't decked out with gold. It wasn't as glorious. And so God says, hey, who was there? Who remembers? And how does this one compare? And they'd be thinking, oh man, it doesn't compare. It's not even close. But God says in verse 4, yet now be strong.

So here's the thing. What's God calling you to? What's He speaking to your heart? It's funny how many times we can have the excuse, it's too hard, it's too difficult, man. Oh, I can't do it. And then 30 seconds later we're like, I mean, that person's got such a better calling. I mean, their things are, man, I wish I could be doing what they, look at how big that is. Look how amazing that is.

On the one hand, we're saying our calling is too difficult. On the other hand, we're saying our calling is just so small and insignificant. We can't make up our minds. And that's how they were. They're like, ah, it's too hard. It's too difficult. We can't do it. We've got to work on our own houses. And then they're looking at it and they're thinking, oh man, it's so small. It's so insignificant. It's like, why even bother? Solomon's temple is so much more glorious. This is like, it's nothing. God says, yet now be strong.

Don't give up. Don't give in. Be strong and work, He says there at the end of verse 4. Why? For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts. See, they're thinking, it's just so insignificant. Why bother working so hard on something so small? But God says, be strong and work.

Don't think about, don't compare it to what was before. Don't compare it to, you know, your neighbor's temple. Don't compare it to something else. Be strong and work because I'm with you. And that's the point. God says, I'm with you. I'm in this. This is what I've called you to. I'm with you. So be strong and work. He says in verse 5, Hey, I made a covenant with you when you came out of Egypt.

And still my spirit remains with you. Do not fear. God says, I'm with you. My spirit's upon you. So don't fear. Don't give up. Be strong and keep on working. And then he goes on in verses 6 through 9 to give some hope for the future. He says, For thus says the Lord of hosts, Once more...

I will shake heaven and earth and the sea and dry land. And then he goes on in verse 9. He says, The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former. So they're caught up in thinking, Oh man, the old one was so amazing. But God says, Hey, don't worry about it. I'm going to shake things up. And the last temple will be far more glorious than the one you remember.

He says, don't be discouraged. I'm in this. I'm with you. Be strong and work. And he gives them a glimpse of the future. Now, we could fast forward. We've done it a lot and talk about the millennium when Jesus rules and reigns. And the temple that will be built there, we studied that in the book of Ezekiel. And it's going to be glorious. And all the nations are going to flock to it. And so he gives a glimpse of the future. He says, look, I've got some incredible things in store.

So be strong and work. Don't give up. I'm in this. I'm with you. My Spirit's upon you, so do not fear. For you and I, as we consider our own personal calling, the things that God is calling us to, why should we be strong and continue to work? Same reason. Because God is with you. His Spirit's upon you.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.