1 corinthians 4

Am I willing to become the "scum of the earth" for Jesus? Am I willing to be beaten? Slandered? Looking at my life I'm not even willing to have one person think I might be a bit strange for the sake of Jesus. Jesus paid the ultimate price for me, do I really recognise how big a deal that is?

foundations

1 corinthians 3

My foundations should be Jesus, but I need to be careful that I'm not building on that foundation with worthless stuff - cultural, traditional, style based stuff that is really irrelevant to the gospel. Why is it tempting to want to make hard and fast rules about things that aren't in the Bible. This also applies to teaching others. It's interesting that Paul says that the person will still be saved (because their foundations are in Jesus) but in spite of, rather than because of, the other "building" that's gone.

salesmen?

1 corinthians 2

Paul did not persuade the Corinthians to accept Jesus with clever talk or wisdom, the demonstrations of the Spirit's power was the thing that transformed their lives. Unfortunately the church seems to do this the other way round, packaging the gospel or changing it for mass market appeal (how to get blessed, now!), rather than just explaining the story of Jesus (recognising that some people will think it is foolish) and expecting the Holy Spirit to act.

That doesn't mean we set up supernatural "shows" trying to "prove" to people that God is real with miracles. but it does mean we should tell our story, pray for people and expect God to heal people, set them free of addictions, transform their lives, because that's what He's done for me! We are not salesmen of the gospel, we are witnesses, God saves people, not us.

lets settle this like adults...

1 corinthians 6

Paul was encouraging the church to perform mediation for each other when disputes between Christians arose. While lawsuits may not seem common between Christians in this country at the moment, I think it would still be fairly unlikely for two Christians in a dispute to go to a church leader or just another christian and ask them for advice in sorting it out. Why? Because mediation like that will probably mean you'll have to compromise in your dispute whereas a solicitor that you employ will go all out to get you as much as possible. Unfortunately we tend to want our own way above trying to find a peaceful resolution. How many people have left churches in a mood about something? Following Paul's advice here, why not rather be wronged than damage the church? "everything is permissible for me...." sums up what a lot of people including many who would call themselves Christians, don't understand about the gospel. There is no law, there is no list of do's and don'ts. I am free to do anything. Nothing I do or don't do affects my relationship with God. the reason why I do or don't do something is because I'm worshipping Jesus and recognise that somethings help/hinder that, not because His love depends on it.

judgement

1 corinthians 5 there were people in the corinthian church who were arrogant in their sin. My gut reaction is that I am not arrogant about sin but there are many times when I might try to justify my sin based on cricumstances or whatever, where I might conveniantly ignore my sin while focusing on someone else's. That's not a humble attitude towards sin and so it probably is arrogant. At then end of the chapter Paul says that we are not to judge people outside the church but we need to judge people inside the church. This reflects Jesus' attitude who hard harsh words for religious people but was happy to associate with all sorts of dodgy sinners. Unfortunately, the church seems to get it the wrong way round - shouting at the world, pointing out what it is doing wrong and trying to control non-christian's behaviour while often ignoring unrepentant sin among christians. That needs to change.

unity

In chapter one of 1 corinthians, Paul talks about unity in the church. We should be able to unite behind a common vision and goal - Jesus. Unfortunately it doesn't always work out so nicely! Pursuing unity and Jesus should both be the same thing most of the time but on the occasions where you come to a choice - follow what Jesus wants or compromise to preserve unity - then Jesus should be our only answer. Unity is good, it's what God wants. But unity isn't God, it's not the ultimate goal of all we do.

failure

When Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem after a few years away (chapter 13), there's a lot of dodgy stuff going on. As well as the fact that his enemy Tobiah is now living in the temple, the people have gone back on the 3 main things they publicly promised to do in chapter 10. They had stopped giving money to support the priests, the had started trading on the Sabbath and had married foreign women. Their intentions had been good when they signed the document, but they failed and it needed Nehemiah to come and knock a few heads together (literally).

No matter how good my intentions are and how hard I try, I will always fail in some area. And having Nehemiah come and beat me up and pull my hair out still wouldn't make me able to live up to God's standards or even the standards that I set myself. Thankfully, Jesus has already dealt with that and my relationship with God is not dependant on what I do.

contract or no, I will not bow to any sponsor

At the end of nehemiah 9, the leaders of the people sign a "binding agreement" with God. This was a covenant promise which is more than a contract. A contract has conditions - "I'll do this if you do that, and if you don't do that then I don't have to do my part either". A covenant says "This is what I'm going to do. No matter what happens". It's a big deal that the people are signing this document making a covenant with God - am I in no matter what happens? Or will I drop out if I feel God isn't doing what I think He should be?

you're so vain...

nehemiah chapter 9

In a prayer that lasts for most of the 38 verses in chapter 9, it's not until verse 32 until the people mention their own problems. The vast majority of their prayer focuses on who God is and what He has done for them and their ancestors. My prayers are more likely to be a quick line about God's character and then a long list of problems.

The people recognised that their relationship with God was more about who God is and what He's done than it was about them and what they were doing. Yes, God is intimatley interested in my life, but my relationship with Him is more about how good He is and what He's done than it is about the immediate difficulties I think I'm facing.

The people were all aware of what God had done for their ancestors and a central part of Old Testament worship was remembering what God had done. I don't know much about the history of what God has done in my family or church, or ther church in the town, or the church in this country... I need to be active in telling the stories of what God has done, to encourage the people who come after me. Why is it that the parts of church history that end up being preserved are minutes of who was given responsibility for the flower rota at which meeting on what date, instead of the times when God changed someone's life?

celebrate good times, come on

Nehemiah chapter 8

Ezra reads the bible to the people and teaches and explains it to them with the result being that the people are convicted of their sin and weep. The interesting thing is that they were instructed not to - and they spent the day celebrating the Lord - by gathering together as a large group but also by eating together and giving to people that didn't have enough. No matter how many times I hear or even say that worship is a lifestyle, I still have room to learn about worshipping God in every aspect of my life.

The people then celebrate the feast of booths/tabernacles/tents by living in tents for a week to remember how God brought their ancestors out of Egypt. When I say I'm going to try and remember something, I mean I'm going to think about it quite hard, not live in a tent or build a heap of stones. Maybe that's why I forget a lot of what God has done!

opposition

Nehemiah encounters a lot of opposition throughout the rebuilding of the wall and, while he deals with it seriously, he refuses to let it distract him or the others from the task God's given them. Whether it's physical threats, a letter writing campaign or hiring false prophets, Nehemiah's attitude is summed up nicely by verse 9 in chapter 6 - "Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. " Then he keeps working. Whatever it is that is opposing, Nehemiah prays and gets back to work, trusting God to deal with it.

building

nehemiah 3

Everybody's usually familiar of the fact that the church is like a body, with each person having different gifts etc. But Nehemiah 3 is an example of a situation where God has called everyone to perform the same task and everyone gets stuck in. The priests do some building (v28), some bloke and his daughters get involved (v12). the only black spot is in verse 5, where the Tekoites work, but their nobles wouldn't get their hands dirty. Did they think they were above the work? There wasn't exactly much to be proud about being a nobleman of a ruined city.

God might want anyone to get their hands dirty at any time - am I willing to listen?

prayer

Nehemiah chapter 1

Nehemiah's response to the news that Jerusalem and it's people were in a bad way is to weep, fast, mourn and pray hardcore. This wasn't brand new information to him - jerusalem had been wrecked for over 100 years, but he obviously felt a bit of God's heart for His people. He is cut to the heart about it and He's going to pray about it until something happens.

I'm aware that there are Christians and churches struggling, I'm aware that there are people lost and suffering all around me, and when I hear about somebody having a rough time I might pray a bit about it. But I don't often let it cut me to the heart. I don't ask God to give me a glimpse of how He feels about those people. I don't fast about it and pray until something changes. Praying once or twice isn't enough. I should be asking God to show me His heart for the people around me and would pray until God moves.

changing my mind?

acts 11

despite starting off with what appears to be prejudiced attitudes against gentiles, the disciples seem quick to change their minds based on what God is doing. "who am I to oppose what God is doing?" They recognise that it is their thinking that needs to change to fall in line with God. Why do I sometimes get that the wrong way round and try to deny/change what God says/does to fit in with my attitudes on what I think he should be doing/saying?

favourites

acts 10

To suggest to the Jewish disciples at that time that Jesus also came to save gentiles would have been an absolutely ridiculous suggestion. But after years of association with just the nation of Israel, God now throws it wide open and shows no partiality or favouritism. Peter and his friends were surprised that the Holy Spirit was given to the gentiles. God can pour out His spirit on whoever He wants, whenever He wants, despite what ideas I may have about who is and isn't suitable to recieve it.

transformation

acts 9

Saul had a dramatic conversion and it changed his entire life. It didn't just make him feel good for a but before drifting back into his old life with nothing much changing. He started preaching about Jesus instantly and the rest of his life was devoted to that. An encounter with Jesus should do that - transform someone's life. If I'm just drifting along, I need to encounter Jesus.

trademarks

acts 8

the trademarks of the early church were that they went around telling people about Jesus, praying for people and seeing miracles happen. Why aren't they the trademarks of the church today? Am I telling people about Jesus, praying for people and seeing miracles happen?

reactions

acts 7

Stephen preaches a sermon that, like Peter's in chapter 2, cuts people to the heart. But this group of people don't respond with repentance, they kill Stephen. The message of Jesus and the cross should always provoke some sort of reaction - sometimes a good reaction, sometimes a bad reaction. When the Spirit convicts - things are always stirred up one way or the other.

full of faith

acts 6

Stephen prayed for many miracles, was thought of very highly and even looked like an angel to people who didn't even like him. All because he was "full of faith and the Holy Spirit". Its not dependant on me and what i can do. Its dependant on Jesus and what He can do (and has done).

obey

acts 5

Peter makes the statement - "we ought to obey God rather than men". Are there any areas were I obey man above God?

Gamaliel was right when he said that if this whole thing was man's idea, it would come to nothing but if it was of God they shouldn't try to stop it. It was of God and they couldn't stop it.

they had been with Jesus....

acts 4

The boldness of Peter and John revealed that they "had been with Jesus". Can people tell that I've been with Jesus? The more time I spend with Him, the more that should become obvious. The result of everything the disciples were doing at this point was that people were glorifying God. What do I do that results in people giving glory to God?

confidence

acts 3

Peter and John had confidence when they commanded the man to get up (he wasn't a follower of Jesus, gave no indication that he had faith that Jesus could heal and hadn't even asked to be healed). It wasn't confidence in themselves, their own faith or the power of their own prayers. It was confidence in the name of Jesus. Do I have that confidence?

cut to the heart

acts 2

the holy spirit speaks through Peter (and others) here and people are "cut to the heart" (v37). My words or actions can't change people's lives, the holy spirit needs to be involved to cut to the heart. We need to be faithful to say/do what God wants us to say/do, but its Jesus who does the "hard" work of transforming people.

People were becoming christians ever day just due to the witness of the disciples and all they were doing was living in fellowship, praying and worshipping. That's what the church needs to be doing now.

powerless?

The disciples were pretty much helpless without the power of the Holy Spirit. So am I! However, when Jesus told them to wait, they devoted themselves to prayer. I'd probably get frustrated and pack in after waiting for a few hours at most! I need to devote myself to persistent, consistent and fervent prayer to see God act in certain situations.

don't be thinking you're the boy round here man

psalm 18

David describes the Lord as a hardcore warrior in this psalm. Its no wonder that he cries out to this almighty, all powerful God for protection from his enemies. Are my prayers less passionate, less desperate because I don't see God as this ultimate warrior, and I prefer to rely on myself?

verse 31 says For who is God besides the LORD ? And who is the Rock except our God?, but unfortunately a lot of the time I act like I am a God as well as Jesus and He's just my backup rock when I get into a sticky situation. He is the only God, He is the only rock. I can't deal with anything on my own, I need Him. I am totally dependant on Jesus.

sinless?

psalm 17

would I dare approach God like David does here? Asking God to examine and probe my heart because there is no sin there? If i ask God to convict me of sin, and I repent, then God forgives which leaves my clean, without sin, because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross. Which in turn means I can approach God freely, without fear. It's when I try to conceal sin, push it down, act like it will go away, put off dealing with it that I then become reluctant to approach God - who knows about it all anyway.

satisfied?

psalm 16

apart from God I have no good thing. everything else is worthless compared to Him but also anything "good" that I do have comes from Him. He is the source of everything good.

The sorrows will increase for those running after other gods - the more people chase after other things to make them feel worthwile, to get rid of their sorrow, the less they are satisfied and the more the sorrows increase. The only thing that satisfies is Jesus.

religion vs the gospel

Religion says, if I obey, God will love me. Gospel says, because God loves me, I can obey.
Religion has good people & bad people. Gospel has only repentant and unrepentant people.
Religion values a birth family. Gospel values a new birth.
Religion depends on what I do. Gospel depends on what Jesus has done.
Religion claims that sanctification justifies me. Gospel claims that justification enables sanctification.
Religion has the goal to get from God. Gospel has the goal to get God.
Religion sees hardships as punishment for sin. Gospel sees hardship as sanctified affliction.
Religion is about me. Gospel is about Jesus.
Religion believes appearing as a good person is the key. Gospel believes that being honest is the key.
Religion has an uncertainty of standing before God. Gospel has certainty based upon Jesus' work.
Religion sees Jesus as the means. Gospel sees Jesus as the end.
Religion ends in pride or despair. Gospel ends in humble joy.
Mark Driscoll 2007

Haggai - overview of chapter two

Haggai 2

they are starting the work from a discouraging place but God is with them and it is Him who will ultimately be building the temple. God talks about the coming of Jesus. God reminds them of their disobedience/defilement/uncleanliness and the fact that they did not turn back to Him during that time, then reminds them that (because of their repentance) He will bless them, both now and in the future through Jesus.

We are disobedient and unclean and we're a pretty hopeless case to start work on. But God does the work on us and with us. He's the one who blesses us. And He's the one who saves us through Jesus.

Haggai part 5 - curse and blessing

Haggai 2:10-14

This prophesy happens just over 2 months since the last one (3 months into the building work).
Word definitions:
consecrated - separated, set apart, holy, dedicated
defiled - unclean, impure (sexually, religiously or from idolatry)

Unholiness is more easily transferred than holiness.

one drop of filth will defile a vase of water. Many drops of water will not purify a vase of filth [Moore]

The people were not holy by association with the temple, or the sacrifices, or the feasts, or by being the nation of Israel. Their attitude towards building the temple had revealed the impure attitude of their hearts. Disobedience had revealed their impurity. Whatever good stuff they offered later would be defiled/impure. Compare with the Pharisees - lots of good works, but they became tainted because of their impure attitude towards God.

We can not make ourselves holy by doing enough good stuff to outweigh the bad stuff, or by associating ourselves with holy things. So, if you give to charity, do acts of service, give money to the church, preach good sermons and play a part in someone becoming a christian but you've put your own kingdom above God's kingdom, if you're disobeying Him, then you are defiled/impure. Obviously some good could come out of it (eg. the person becoming a christian) because God can bring good from anything, but for you it's worthless if your heart is not right before God.

How does it link to Jesus?

• We are defiled. His death makes us consecrated.

We are not saved by our good works outweighing our bad ones. What makes us holy is Jesus, not the external stuff.

curse into blessing

Haggai 2:15-19

God tells them to remember the conditions that they have just endured when they were disobedient - famine. It would be easy for them to forget their former condition which would make it more likely that they would fall back into disobedience. Even when everything they did was failing, they did not turn back to God. We need to remember that it was not our effort or good sense to turn back to God - it needed Him to intervene through Jesus (or Haggai in this case).

While remembering their sin they can now be encouraged by God saying that He will bless them and make the trees bear fruit. They should remember this day, when they repented and obeyed God as the time when the curse turned into blessing. In a few years they shouldn't be thinking, "oh remember that famine, I'm glad that ended due to a bit of luck/those new farming techniques". No, it was God who turned things around.

It's Jesus who has turned a curse into a blessing. You used to be angry, arrogant, violent, selfish, greedy and now you're not? You didn't knock it on the head yourself. Jesus did it. You haven't worked your way into God's good books. Jesus put you there.

How does it link to Jesus?

• We should remember our former sinful stated and recognise that we haven't done anything to turn that around. Jesus has.

Remember the former cursed state and recognise that God has turned it into a blessing because of repentance and obedience.

the future

Haggai 2:20-23

This prophesy occurs on the same date as the last one.

The heavens and earth and kingdoms will be shaken:

1. On Jesus death - literal earthquake, power of devil's kingdom shattered


2. On Jesus return - earthquakes in revelation, kingdoms shattered.

Signet ring = seal. Zerubbabel is in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:12-13, Luke 3:27). The sign of God's kingdom, the seal that shows His work, His signet ring is Jesus. The whole book shows man's disobedience and God's redemption but it also looks forward to the final act of redemption - Jesus

keeping my word?

psalm 15

how do I measure up to these characteristics? Do I cast slurs on other people? Do I keep my word, even when it hurts? Keeping your word is a rare characteristic in society now, where backing out of something or giving excuses or just not turning up is all acceptable as long as you are being true to yourself. I want to be someone who does what he says. Do people expect me to back out when i say something? Or do they know I'll go through with it.

Of course, only Jesus is 100% trustworthy and reliable. He's the only one who will never go back on His word. He will keep his word when it hurts. He proved that on the cross.

good or bad?

psalm 14

Everyone puts people into categories of good and bad people (and everyone has themselves in the good people category). In God's eyes the only person in the good team is Jesus and everyone else is in the bad team. There is no one other than Jesus who has never sinned. I might think that I do good things but every day I sin by doing things that I shouldn't do or not doing things that I should. Everybody stands equal before God - unrighteous. The only way I become good and righteous is because of Jesus. I can never do it on my own. Everything that's good about me is from Him.

Haggai part 4 - the big picture

Haggai 2:1-3

This happens about a month after they had started work (just before Zechariah starts prophesying). A month into the work and the people may have been discouraged - the early stages of a building project never seem to produce much visual progress for a lot of hard work.

It's now 70 years since the original temple had been destroyed so only the oldest people would have any memory of the original. It looks like nothing now, but that will only emphasise the greatness of God when He does something with it. That's why God uses the weak to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27). We should look at our ruined lives and give God the glory for anything good coming out of it.

yesterday, today and forever

Haggai 2:4-5

Thinking about the past (verses 2-3) may be discouraging, but God uses the past to encourage people in a few ways:

• Jehozadak never attained the role of high priest but here God continually reminds Joshua that he will be the high priest.


• God being with them is all they need to work and not fear.


• God reminds them of their history - He brought their ancestors out of Egypt. The same Spirit is with them now. The same Spirit is with us today!

How does it link to Jesus?

• He is unchanging in His stance towards us. Love. Offering forgiveness. That doesn't expire.

God is unchanging. He's done great things in the past and will continue to do great things today.

the bigger picture

Haggai 2:6-9

Shaking the heavens, earth, all nations refers to judgement and the new heaven/new earth

The desired of all nations is Jesus. He is the only thing that can satisfy all our desires.

The temple they were building did not have the silver and gold of Solomon's temple but God could provide it if He wanted to, because all the silver and gold are His. Regardless of that, He says He will make this temple more glorious than the last because it is not the physical stuff that makes it glorious, but the presence of God. Peace (between God and man) is brought into that place when the veil is torn in two at the moment of Jesus death.

How does it link to Jesus?

• Prophecy of Jesus coming - that the nations will be judged and that His death brings peace between us and God.

The bigger picture is not about the temple - it's about Jesus.

Haggai - overview of chapter one

haggai 1

The people started out with good intentions butt after discouragement and frustrations, they ended up putting themselves and their own comfort, above God's purposes for them. Despite the fact that all their work centered around themselves, they were not satisfied and things weren't going right. The people had their sin pointed out by Haggai and repented. God forgave them and worked with them to get back on track.

This is the gospel. we put our own selfish needs above God and things get messed up. When we are convicted of our sin, we need to repent and God will forgive us and work with us to get us back on track.

Haggai part 3 - repentance

Haggai 1:12

The people didn't respond to God's rebuke by sulking, kicking off or making excuses, but they were convicted by the message and repented and obeyed what He had said. Are you convicted by the Holy Spirit or do you justify your sin and make excuses?

When you are convicted, how do you respond? It would have been pointless for the people to have said "yes, you're right Haggai, we've dropped the ball there, we're really sorry" and then not started work on the temple. Repentance requires action. It's no good saying sorry for my sin and then not doing anything about it. See John the Baptist in Matthew 3:7-9, telling the Pharisees to show the fruits of their repentance.

The people feared the Lord. If we don't have that respect/fear of God then we've forgotten who he is and what He can do. The people realised God was capable of blowing away everything and that inspired fear. They also realised he was giving them a second (or more!) chance, which inspires gratitude.

How does it link to Jesus?

• the people were convicted of their sin, repented and obeyed - gave their lives back to God


• we need to be convicted of our sin, repent and obey Jesus - giving our lives back to Him

Conviction should lead to repentance, not excuses.

Repentance should lead to action

Jesus love for us isn't much of a big deal unless we realise why we should fear Him in the first place.

work

Haggai 1:13-15

As soon as they repent, God is with them. He is not looking to punish them. They were suffering the consequences of their own actions previously, but as soon as they turn back to God, He is with them. God saying "I am with you" is the best possible blessing because it means you fear nothing! God's forgiveness and favour didn't come after the success of rebuilding the temple, or even after they've started the work. It came when they turned back to Him and acknowledged their sin with sincere hearts.

They start work 23 days after Haggai's original prophecy. God stirs up their spirits to begin work. They can't do it under their own efforts, neither can we. We don't get our instructions from God and then run off and get on with it ourselves - we will fail. We need God's help every step of the way. We learn to be more reliant on Him, not less. Also, God enjoys to work with us. He partners with us in His mission. He doesn't make us get on with it alone but He doesn't want us to either. Our lives are a partnership with God, with Him just really letting us come along for the ride.

How does it link to Jesus?

• We repent and Jesus forgives


• The forgivenss is given because of Jesus death, not because of anything we can do.

When we repent, God forgives, end of story.

Forgiveness doesn't depend on defeating whatever the original problem was.

God forgives us then helps us to become more like Him.

abandoned?

psalm 13

What are you supposed to do when you feel like God has abandoned you and is hiding His face from you? What David does here is command himself to trust in God's unfailing love, reminds himself to rejoice in the fact that he is saved, and makes himself worship and remember how good God has been in the past.

Haggai part 2 - priorities

Haggai 1:3-4

So, as it turns out, although it hadn't been the "right time" to build God's temple, it had been a great time for the people to build their own fancy houses. They had neglected God's work for their own comfort. Building their own houses has presumably been much easier with no opposition from the enemy. Why would there be? He's got you concentrating somewhere other than God - he's happy.

They hadn't just focused on their own own needs, building shelters to keep their families out of the rain. This was more than shelter, they were lining their houses with wooden panels. This was about comfort, pleasure, luxury and style. How long had it taken to panel their houses while the temple only had foundations?

This is the exact opposite of the attitude that prompted David's desire to build a temple (2 Samuel 7:2 "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.")

How much of my money, time and effort goes into building my kingdom instead of God's kingdom?

In 2006, the average British person spent 5478 on home improvements. 20 billion a year is spent in Britain on "convenience" services like food delivery, personal trainers, dog walkers. One in six people has a cleaner. 61% of women would have a full time hair and makeup artist if money was no object!

We are getting lazier and putting far more effort into our own comfort and convenience than into God's work. Why store up treasures on earth (Matthew 6:19-24)? Its pointless.

How does it link to Jesus?

• Jesus did not put His own comfort before our needs (Philippians 2:5-11). He gave up everything for us, so that we could be forgiven and set free.

What are we spending our time, money and effort on, that is building our own kingdom rather than God's?

Satisfaction

Haggai 1:5-6

We should always be doing what God reminds the people to do here - giving careful thought to our ways. Examining ourselves.

The people had turned their attention to their own lives instead of God's mission and the result is hopeless dissatisfaction. "when we've secured enough food and drink, then it will be time to build the temple" - but they are never full. "When I've saved up some money, then I'll start to give generously" - but the wages are put into a purse with holes - spending however much you earn.

When we turn our attention to our own needs/wants, we will never be satisfied. If our priorities are getting more stuff, eating well, drinking, fashion, money - then we will never be satisfied.

Jesus says we should seek God's kingdom first and God will take care of all those other things (because we do need food, shelter etc) Matthew 6:25-34. Paul talks about being content in any circumstance Philippians 4:11-13

How does it link to Jesus?

• What Jesus has done is the most important thing in our lives. What He wants us to do is the most important thing we can do. He says "follow me" and doesn't give much further detail. Follow Him and let Him take care of the details.

God's mission needs to come before our own desires. If it doesn't, we will never be satisfied, if it does, then He will satisfy our needs anyway.

Glory

Haggai 1:7-8

Again, God says we need to give careful thought to our ways.

The purpose of building the temple is to bring God pleasure and bring Him glory and honour. It seems ridiculous that we could bring Him pleasure, but He is pleased with our efforts to serve Him. Also, our work should bring Him glory and honour, that other people will see our actions and it would cause God to be glorified. All Jesus miracles resulted in people worshipping and glorifying God. We are not serving God for our own glory.

How does it link to Jesus?

• Even Jesus (who was God) didn't work for His own glory but for His Father's. He died so that the glory of God could be revealed further.

The purpose of everything we do should be God's honour and glory.

Haggai 1:9-11

Whatever we strive to hoarde, store up, bring home, God can effortlessly blow away in an instant. Everything is His and He can give it or take it away as He likes, while we foolishly and selfishly acts as if the stuff is ours.

Why was God blowing it away? Because people were building their own kingdom instead of His. When we wont listen to God, He can and will use (difficult) circumstances to turn our attention back to Him. Ignore God's call on your money and financial difficulties might highlight your problem. Ignore God's call on your time and stress might bring you to breaking point. (Incidentally, how many opportunities must God have given the people to change their hearts before it got to this stage? Pricking their conscience didn't work, famine and hardship didn't work, so it ended up with Haggai coming along to rebuke them. I'd rather listen to the first gentle warning before it gets to the stage of someone having to come along and call me out!)

The "drought" on "men and cattle" could refer to disease. The Hebrew word used for drought is "choreb" which is probably used as it sounds like "chareeb" - waste. God's house has been left to waste so everything they had was wasted. The more we focus on ourselves, the less happy and satisfied we are.

How does it link to Jesus?

• In our own strength, our lives are waste, our efforts will come up unfruitful. We can't ensure success by just trying harder (despite what the world says - if you want something bad enough you'll get it! Why on earth would that be true?!)



• The waste of Jesus perfect life allows our waste lives to be made whole and fruitful, to be put to use instead of wasted.

Building our own kingdom instead of God's is pointless because everything belongs to God. He can give and take away, so we might as well do what He's told us to do with it.

talk

psalm 12

Talk is cheap. Just like David describes here, people today tell lies, boast and flatter people with words. Its actcually considered to be a good skill to put a positive "spin" on something or to talk your way out of something. People are willing to say anything to get what they want. Am I willing to bend the truth to make myself look better or to manipulate a situation?

In contrast, the words of God are perfect and flawless. They are the only 100% trustworthy words spoken. People can say anything, God speaks the truth.

Haggai part 1 - introduction

Haggai 1:1-2

History:

Nebuchadnezer and Babylon had conquered Israel and destroyed Jerusalem in 587BC. By 539BC, Cyrus was King of Persia and gave the order to go and rebuild the temple, donating materials along with gifts given by the people themselves (Ezra 1).

42,360 people (+ servants) arrive in Jerusalem (Ezra 2) and there is a settling in period of 7 months before Joshua and Zerrubbabel build an altar and make sacrifices and start to celebrate the feats of tabernacles, new moons etc. Stuff they would not have been allowed to do during their years in captivity. 1 year and 2 months after arriving back, work starts on the temple, the foundations are laid, the people celebrate the passover and celebrate - shouting for joy and weeping (Ezra 3).

The neighbouring kingdoms then set out to discourage the workers, hiring counsellors to work against them and frustrate them (Ezra 4) and it works. By the time Haggai (and Zechariah) start prophesying in around 522/520 BC, around 16-18 years have passed and no further work has been done on the foundations.

Definitions of names:

Haggai - festive, born on feast day

Zerubbabel - born in Babylon (son of Shealtiel - I have asked of God)

Joshua - Jehovah is salvation (son of Jehozadak - Jehovah is righteous [Jehozadak never attained the role of high priest due to the captivity in Babylon])

Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin (Jehovah establishes) who had been King for 3 months and 10 days before surrendering to Nebuchadnezzar and being in prison for 36 years.

Timing:

Sixth month (elul) - around August/September. First day of the month - feast of the new moon (Haggai's birthday?)

Not Yet!

The people had begun work on the temple enthusiastically but when their neighbours/enemies started to discourage and frustrate them, the work gradually ground to a halt and has been left for at least 16 years. Why are they saying that "the time has not yet come"?

• Have they taken discouragement from their enemies as a sign from God to stop work? That doesn't seem to line up logically or biblically with what God had asked them to do in going to rebuild the temple in the first place. It's easy to convince yourself that God would make it easy if the time was right. If anything, we should expect the opposite. We should expect that there will be some opposition to God's work. Yes, God sometimes might close doors and tell us to stop doing something, but opposition shouldn't be the only factor considered when discerning whether God is telling you to stop doing something.


• Are they just waiting for a better time? Do they think it will be easier to build the temple when they've settled down properly (18 years? How much settling in time do they need?) When I've got a house, when I'm married, when I've got kids, when my kids are grown up, when I've paid off my debts, when I've got more money coming in, when I've retired, then I'll build the temple!


• The excuses can be endless. The people hadn't given up on the temple completely, but were waiting for a better time. A better time will never come. We always intend to live fully for God and get on with His mission but that will happen some time in the future when the house, job, family is sorted. Everything will never be sorted. God has called us now. Don't put it off.

How does it link to Jesus?

• Don't put off giving your life to Jesus. A better time will never come.


• We might put it off because we want to do other things first - that's idolatry. How can anything come before the gift He's offering?


• we might put it off because we think we need to sort ourselves out before He will take us. we can approach Him now, as we are, it's Him who does the sorting out!


• When you live for Jesus there will be discouragement. It's not a sign to stop.

Don't take the enemies attacks as a sign to stop. If anything, it's the opposite.

Don't wait for a "better" time to do what God is calling you to do. The better time will never come. Do it now

observation

psalm 11

God observes and examines us from His throne! How much stuff would I do/not do differently if I had Jesus standing next to me? Well, basically He is. he not only observes my actions and hears my words, but He examines my thoughts and the attitudes of my heart as well. How should my life be different if I realise that I'm under surveillance! Its not the kind of observation that is looking to pick up on everything I do wrong, its just that He sees everything and so automatically sees everything I do wrong, as well as other stuff that may go well.

where is God?

psalm 10

People still ask the questions asked in this psalm today, thousands of years later. Where is God when things go wrong? Why is God letting this happen? Theologically, I would say that God is not far off at those times, He's right there but you can't live your life as though God doesn't exist and then still expect Him to step in and sort out all your problems. But the theological answer doesn't help someone who's hurting, and it doesn't help David in this psalm. All he's left with is pleading with God to act.

Is that where I end up? Or does my logical explanation mean I accept things with a cold hearted fatalism and not bother praying? I don't know why things might or might not be happening. but I should be on my knees, pleading God to do something.

justice

psalm 9

verse 16 "The LORD is known by His justice"

I probably don't think about God as a judge as much as other parts of His character. He is the perfect judge, totally fair. Everybody thinks they know what fair is, and are quick to point out things that aren't fair. But really, I want zero tolerance for offences against me with no excuses while there should be unlimited second chances for offences commited by me when all the special circumstances are considered.

God is impartial and totally fair. It's possible to misinterpret this perfect judgement as a harsh, unfeeling God. But in the same breath as talking about God's judgement, David is talking about how God is our refuge and strength. As well as a judge, God is also good. God deals with us fairly, He can't do anything else, but He is also good to us - willing to die to pay our penalty.

massive

psalm 8

Thinking about the works of God's hands is mind boggling. Creation, animals, the universe. I'm not sure what David meant when he wrote "from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise", but the very fact that children can talk is purely down to God and is worth praising Him for. The very fact that they have lips is down to Him, they fact that the exist, how they were created is down to Him. It's easy to see why David, after considering all this stuff, ends up in a place wondering why God is pays any attention to man. Why should such a massive God in the massive and complex universe He has created pay any attention to me??

But He does.

rock hard

psalm 7

God's anger and wrath against sin is a difficult subject to think about. But God is so holy that any trace of sin arouses His anger. Even though the thought of a powerful God sharpening His sword and bending His bow ready to take action is terrifying, David still approaches Him and talks with Him as He would talk to a friend. While there is respect of who God is, there is no nervousness in approaching Him. That's the paradox about God, even though we should fall down dead in His presence, He made a way that we can approach Him confidently and without fear. That confidence doesn't come from anything we have done, but purely through Jesus.

God will hear

psalm 6

David's obviously feeling pretty rough here. All he's got to hold on to is the fact that he knows God will hear his prayers. This isn't a positive thinking, everything is going to be alright, if you believe it you can acheive it sort of attitude, its based on fact. God will hear my prayer. Even if God seems to be absent or seems to not act, I can be confident of the fact that He is ther, He knows what's going on and He hears my prayers.

praying

psalm 5

are my prayers like David describes here? Cries for help, sighing, laying requests before Him in the morning and waiting in expectation for Him to act? Or are they just a formality, lacking perseverance? I need to be seeking God relentlessly, passionately and expectantly.

silent?

psalm 4

again, the idea of sleep seems to come up, not only the fact that its God alone who makes me sleep in peace (v8) but also that when I am on my bed I should search my heart and be silent before God. I don't spend much time examining myself before God or waiting in silence. I'm addicted to production, getting things done. I need to slow down and be silent before Him.

independance

psalm 3

I might think of myself as independent. I can look after myself, that sort of thing, but this psalm shows that the only reason I wake up again after being asleep is because God sustains me. Everything I do only happens because God allows me to do it. This comes in response to David thinking about how many enemies he's got. It's difficult to be scared of what your enemies might do when you get a clear picture of the fact that God sustains you in everything that you do. The only reason I'm not dead right now is because He has sustained me, so why should I fear?

fear

psalm 2

God is mighty and powerful. He can wipe out my "vain plans" in an instant. He can wipe me out in an instant. That is why my response to Him should be to "serve with fear and rejoice with trembling". Its not a fear about Him suddenly losing His rag and sending down plagues on me - its a fear and respect based on His awesome power and holiness. With that as the starting point, then we realise how big a deal it is that He still loves us and offers us forgiveness. Without that starting point then what's the big deal??

roots

psalm 1

delighting and meditating on God's law is what makes you grow and be fruitful. the bible can't be underestimated, neglecting it is like a tree not getting water - its going to lead to death, not growth. It also provides us with stability like the roots of the tree mentioned in this psalm. Without our roots in the bible, we can get blown around easily. With our roots in God's word, difficult conditions that come our way are not going to knock us over.

go

matthew 28

Jesus command to go and make disciples is a pretty big ask. Or at least it seems like that until you remember that He says that all authority on heaven and on earth is His and that He is with us forever. Those two facts are all we need to do anything He ask us to. He has the power to do anything and He is with us. There's no need to fear anything!