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.