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Date: February 5, 2017
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First Baptist Church of Interlaken
Title: Knowing God’s Will
Scripture: Haggai 1
Contributor: Senior Chaplain Jesse Barrett
Inspired by William Brock D.D.
“My mother always told me I wouldn't amount to anything because I procrastinate. I said, 'Just wait.”
― Judy Tenuta
Let me ask you this morning, is there anything in your life that you have not taken care of in… years perhaps?
I would assume we could all think of projects around the house that are not completed, or cars that are still not fixed, perhaps there is things we know we should do, like repair a relationship, or go on a diet, but we continue to find excuses for not being able to complete them.
We keep pushing this “thing” off, until we feel like it is time to take action.
I once heard a story about a farm boy who accidentally overturned his wagonload of corn in the road. The farmer who lived nearby came to investigate.
"Hey, Willis," he called out, "forget your troubles for a spell and come on in and have dinner with us. Then I'll help you get the wagon up."
"That's mighty nice of you," Willis answered, "But I don't think Pa would like me to."
"Aw, come on, son!" the farmer insisted.
"Well, okay," the boy finally agreed. "But Pa won't like it."
After a hearty dinner, Willis thanked his host. "I feel a lot better now, but I just know Pa is going to be real upset."
"Don't be foolish!" exclaimed the neighbor. "By the way, where is he?"
"Under the wagon.".
This morning it is my intention to remind you that God, like Pa, is displeased with procrastination.
“Week after week many come to churches and hear the word of God preached from the minister, a message that is presented kindly and intelligently and we admit the importance of the things, for example, we listen respectfully when the necessity is set before us for sorrow for our personal sin.
Yet, when we admitted the necessity, we quietly say, “But I must be excused at present – not now – the time is not yet come…”
Again, how respectfully we listen when the minister points out the necessity for the forgiveness of sin. It is shown you that however deep may be the sorrow, and however complete and entire may be the abandonment of sin, with its pollution on your conscience, how important the need to cleanse this with the word of God, and yet we say, “But I must be excused at present – not now – the time is not yet come…”
The reasons why you say this is because, in your mind, you have created a justification for it that allows you to continue in your sinful actions…
You say,
“the situation is especially unfavorable for the religious life” OR
“I am so entirely absorbed with secular avocations and with worldly care”
Other say, “my passions or my addictions are so entirely beyond my control”
You might say, “I have never yet been visited by any overpowering communications from on high”
And yet all the while we take our place among those who are attempting to counteract sin.
How utterly unwarrantable and how utterly unsound our justifications are….
If there is a duty to be done right now, it is the duty to repent of sin, and seek forgiveness.
If there is a responsibility brought to bear upon the human intelligence by the Divine authority at all, it is the responsibility to take your place on the Lord’s side! (Brock)”
Church we do not have a defense, we do not have an excuse, we are not justified in our procrastination.
We cannot wait till we feel like doing something for us to do it. We must take action and our feelings will follow.
So, this morning I want to talk to you about one such action. It is the action of doing God’s will in our lives.
The book of Haggai presents us with a bad example. A bad example in lives of the people of Judah who failed to complete the temple for 20 years and likewise failed to be in the center of God’s will.
Today I am offering three examples from our text of how we can know, like Judah should have known, that we are in the center of His will.
Number 1 – let me suggest that, we cannot base God’s will for our lives solely on positive human conditions -
I think it would be appropriate to give you a little history before we begin.
So, turn with me to Ezra 1
The Proclamation of Cyrus
1 “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”
5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem.”
Alright, so thanks to the King, they were no longer held in captivity but could return to Jerusalem.
So, they began the work. Now once they started to build the temple, the people of Judah ran into some people who caused them a lot of persecution.
Ezra 4:4 “Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.”
Now… if we were to keep reading our text we would see that these people, who were persecuting the work going on for the Temple, went to the new world power King Artaxerxes and delivered a letter of damaging character flaws about Judah and how they would inevitably turn on him, rebel, not pay taxes and so on.
And how does the King respond?
Ezra 4:17 “The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now 18 the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me. 19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid. 21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22 And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”
23 Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
OK, so now we have some of the back ground, right? The people left captivity and came back to Jerusalem and started working on the temple. They finished the foundations and then their neighbors, those persecutors, got the new Kings attention and stopped the building by force.
So… do me a favor, and put yourself in the sandals of one of these men. The work has stopped, by force mind you, under the direction of a world power…
As a man or woman of Judah, do you believe, that you are now or still in the center of God’s will?
Do you believe that because a door closes in your life, by force even, that it signifies the end of God’s will for you?
I believe there are way too many of us who use this as a justification… We are many times all too ready to say… Well, it must not be God’s will….
Church do you really know that? Do you really have a solid understanding in what God requires from your life?
Have you read enough scripture and prayed long enough to come to that decision based on God’s word?
We read here in Haggai, that God is angry by the lack of work on the temple by the people of Judah. They are saying, “it is not time,” and God is saying, enough with the excuses… I have been listening to them for 20 years.
Let’s read this in Haggai 1
Haggai 1 “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: “These people” (He is not even saying “My people” that should be a red flag!) “These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.”
Let’s stop right here…
From all the history that we just read in Ezra, the human in me looks at it all and says, they are right, it is not time. That door was definitely closed.
They were able to build under one world power, but when the next came along, that privilege disappeared. I mean, could I really expect the people of Judah to disobey the new world super power?
Well, I am here to tell you, that I believe that God was not at all pleased by their decision to stop building, and God has almost a sarcastic tone here in verse 3…
Verse 3 says, “Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.
You see…
These people were basing their decisions on what God’s will was for them on the basis of favorable circumstances in the world. The justification was, “If it was not favorable conditions, it must not be God’s will.”
They could not build the temple without persecution, so… they decided to put up new paneling in the dining room instead…
In other words, they decided to respect the world rather than to respect God.
His people looked at the condition in the world and said, we have to do what the world tells us to do.
Is there a problem with this kind of thinking?
Church If the United States Government tore down our core value as Baptists - of separation of church and state and mandated that we did something unbiblical, would we be OK with respecting the law rather than God’s Word?
No! Hopefully we would fight back, hopefully we would be controlled by the spirit and by our conscience to do what we knew was right. Hopefully we stand in Faith and by the Lord’s side to do what He wants us to do!
Unfortunately, even though Judah was not captives to a certain city any more, they sure acted like captives. They were being controlled by the conditions of the world and did not continue to build God’s house.
Friends, let me ask you then… are you justifying your actions before God?
Have you been spending all your time worrying, or living in fear of the future? Are you focusing on your issues, rather than on God’s plan?
Do you make justifications like:
If God would just give me better health, then I could do something for him…
If God would take away all these people who annoy me, then I could have a better testimony and share his word…
It truly does not matter what the example is… if you are justifying your actions before God, you probably are not in His will for your life.
Judah, was justifying… “It just isn’t the right time…”
What then was God’s response to them?
Oh, that’s OK, you are right, they are too big, we will wait until better world circumstances arrive to build… Is that what he said?
Well… even though God did let them go down this road for 20 years, He was not pleased with their decision. We can see that he started to strip away their blessings.
Which brings me to point number two –
You will know that you are in the center of His will - by the fruit you bear!
As God allowed them to not live in the center of His will for their lives, these people became self-centered, so involved with putting food on their plate, or decorating their houses, that they lost their fire for God.
God started to strip away at their fruitfulness, they would work like crazy people, but like, money going into bags with holes, they were unable to hold on it.
Look at verse 6 “You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.”
I firmly believe, that if God has called you to do something and you flounder around in disobedience, he will strip away your fruitfulness, your peace, your rest, your health even, he will allow you to become frustrated with life circumstances to the point where you say:
“I work all day, I work harder than everyone else, I work longer than everyone else, and I have nothing to show for it.”
Can you relate to that? Have you ever been there?
I can, for me it started with a justification that I had to work a secular job, to provide for my family and to pay all my bills on time.
The problem was… that I focused all of my attention on myself, rather than on Him. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God,” was like a myth…
I justified that I had to work like a crazy man just so that we could get by… or so I thought.
Let me give you two short stories of my life.
I have been working now for 21 years, and there was a four year stretch, right after Margo and I got married where we worked in Ministry. We worked at a place called Christ’s home for Children, and it was the only place I felt in the center of God’s will in 21 years’ worth of work.
We stepped out in faith, I left a high paying job, and we took the role of relief house parents for a residential style group home. When I saw my first pay check I laughed out loud and said, I have never made so little in my whole life. To say, “we were living pay check to paycheck” was an understatement. I remember going over the bills with Margo and we would base our budget of food based on the amount of time we were at work where food was provided for us. Sometimes we took food home with us to just get by…
Before we were hired, the staff at the group home had some huge concerns. We were only married three months and many of the staff believed that this would destroy our marriage. It appeared unwise to them, like a closed door, they based their opinion on worldly circumstances. These kids are difficult, other marriages who were married for longer periods of time crumbled under the pressures, and so on… But because of God’s hand in it, because the staff stopped looking at fear, we were able to begin work there.
God was faithful, he blessed us in unmeasurable ways, blessed us with community, with friends, with purpose, with peace, with paid off bills, we left Christs home in 2008 with something like 5 to 10 grand of saved money in the bank! It was amazing. Guess what, we were in the center of His will because my attention was on His work and not on myself, and to this day, we can tell you what fruit came out of that experience.
For the other 17 years, I worked in secular jobs, for ten of those years I was at Lowes. The door was wide open to me. During one interview, my future boss and I just had some laughs and talked about life, I was a shew in.
I worked harder than every other person in those stores, and I found no peace, no reward for my toils. We were given large sums of money to do the job I was doing, and yet I would come home and Margo would say, there is nothing left…
How can this be? I would say. I was almost convinced that Margo must have been an addict or a gambler because my income greatly exceeded our bills.
I remember being an assistant store manager at this time in Norwich, and everything bad that could happen in a shift continually happened to me. It got to the point where even the store employees would stress out because I was in the store and because something was going to blow up! It was crazy. Through many more trials in the next couple of months I knew I did not have the call to be an Assistant Manager at Lowes, there was no fruit for all my labors. So… I stepped down to the Delivery manger job.
Remember step one -We cannot judge Gods will for our life based solely on our worldly circumstances. The easy way - is not necessarily His way…
It was early 2014 when I finally listened and obeyed God. It was like he pushed me in a corner and said:
Listen! Do not deny me again! Get back to ministry!
Folks I am here to tell you, that when you are not in the center of God’s will for your life, you know it.
There is something that feels… off, something that nags at you, something that drains you of energy, something that says this is not right, and there is barely any fruit for your toils.
I will take some liberties with scripture here, but I am sure Haggai walked by those footers where the temple was to be built and felt something down deep inside of him that said, this is not right.
It’s possible that God was working in the heart of Haggai for years to speak up and say something, for I just don’t believe he looked at the footers only once and then started speaking.
No I am sure God was stirring him up on the inside with feelings of misery, as the people themselves were suffering from God’s withheld blessings on the land.
I know God is patient in is love. He is long suffering. It is an attribute of His Holy Spirit. If it takes us 20 years, to finally get it, He can wait that long.
However, we, suffer for our sinful procrastination, our sinful disobedience.
Look at verse 6 again: “We have fruitless lives, we sow much, and harvested little. We eat, but never have enough; we drink, but never have our fill. We clothe ourselves, but unable to stay warm. And we, who earns wages, does so to put them into a bag with holes.
Verse 8: Even when we go up to the hills and bring wood and build up the house for God, that He may take pleasure in it and that He may be glorified in it, we look for His blessings, we look for much, and behold, it comes to little. And when we bring the few things back to be used for him, God blew it away.
Why?
Verse 9 “Because of my house, our lives, His temple, lies in ruins. Each of us are too busy with our own concerns, with our own house.”
God says, in verse 10 “Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and son all their labors.”
Church, don’t misinterpret me, I am not talking about this church building. I am not talking this morning about where we are as a church or how successful in ministry we are as a body.
I am talking about us... Individually - We are the temple of the living God. We should be bearing fruit in our lives regardless of what this church is doing.
This church is just the place where we gather, but the work for God, that he requires you to do, is personal.
It is unique to you.
And here is the most amazing thing, you will do more good by suffering a little, than you will ever do on easy street.
*Repeat
Flip over with me to John 15
15 verse 1: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
Let me ask you directly brother, does your fruit prove that you are His disciple?
That you are doing His will?
Just in these past couple of weeks, my employer Lowes, pulled all of its managers, nation-wide, into a room and said, we are downsizing. We are reducing the number of mangers from 14 to 5. You are no longer the manager of your department.
We encourage you to apply for one of these five positions. However, you will need to have open availability, you must be willing to work as early as the store opens and as late as the store closes, you must be able to work 3 weekends a month.
And if you choose to not apply for this new management position we will move you to the salesfloor and you still will be required to have this same open availability.
Well, I pleaded my case with the store manager explaining all of the ministries I do on the outside and how God is blessing. How I needed my schedule to remain the same, to continue this work.
Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful.
He said if ministry is that important to you, you will need to step down by the 27th of January to a part time driving position. After the 27th, you will be unable to do this. If you wait, we will not let you go to part time, but you would have to quit or take a posted position which would have the same requirement of open availability.
I stepped back for prayer that week and went through the steps…
Number 1 - I cannot base His will for my life on positive human conditions…
Number 2 – Is it obvious that I am in the center of His will because I can see the fruit I am bearing for Him? Yes.
It is here in John 15 verse 2 where I felt encouraged. I believe that God is pruning me to bear more fruit.
Then all that is left is step number 3 – Am I willing to pay the price?
Number three – you will know that you are in the center of God’s will when you are willing to pay the price!
For me… the future is still fuzzy, hardships are staring me in the face, I had to come to the decision that we are willing to pay the price, that God would take care of us.
You see, God has built a foundation, He has started a work, and it is not in His plan to walk away from the work.
Phil 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
God… does… not… walk away, God does not start a job that He will not finish.
And God commands you to be like Him in this way!
As the people moved into obedience, God strengthened them with His presence and by his reward for their obedience.
Haggai 1:12 “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 LORD.
13 Then Haggai,
Don’t miss this – out of their fear of the Lord, out of their obedience to Him, out of their faith came this message…
13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD's message, “I am with you, declares the LORD.” 14 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, 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, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
In Chapter 2 we read about The Coming Glory of the Temple which gives them hope.
2 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: 2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? 4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, 5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.
6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.
8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts.
9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.’”
As we move in our obedience to be in the center of God’s will, God encourages with His presence, He enables us to be strong, to fear not, for his spirit is in our midst.
Likewise, God fills us with hope, he is encouraging us to lift up our head and look to the future glory of his kingdom, for he will give you peace.
Church, we must be people of action, don’t wait for your feelings to motivate you, peace comes from obedience.
Phil 1:27 “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side, for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your - salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had, and now hear, that I still have.
Let me ask you directly, if God gave us the tools, would we pay the price?
Take a look at this magazine with me, this is a Christian who is being persecuted for their faith.
Look at the smile on his face, the cover reads “Give us the tools and we will pay the price!”
One example from the article says, “No suffering is like the suffering in Syria right now. Whatever evil things you can imagine are nothing compared to what is really happening in Syria. The extremists kidnapped one of my relatives; they cut off his head and then they started to play soccer with his head.”
I could not in good conscience read from this platform all of the horrible things written in this magazine. But these sufferers of Jesus are in the center of His will because they are willing to pay the price.
Part of another article said, “At the beginning of the war, one pastor came to me and said, “I want to leave the country, not for me, but for my children. Only 5 to 10 people attend my church right now, so it is not worth it to stay here.” So, he left. (does that sound like a man justifying himself or what?) So, he left, and right after he left, the church filled up with people. Now they have many rooms full of people joining the ministry.”
I cannot judge this pastor personally… but I see a justification based on worldly circumstances, I see fruit that should have been his if he had been willing to pay the price for his faith.
I could not fathom watching my children suffer over there, but, if we are to be in the center of his will, we cannot be controlled by our fears, our justifications do not reflect faith in our God.
Luke 9: 62 “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Church, your story may be like mine today.
And If you have said, all along, that you believe in God, and you have put your hand on the plow, and said I will follow Christ, well then… don’t…. look…. back!
As I conclude, I am concerned that there are countless Christians, who rely too much on having had an emotional experience, that because of their experience some 20 years ago, where they laid a foundation, that they are in His will still to this day.
Let me provide you an example
Ezra 3 Rebuilding the Temple
10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
“For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.”
In almost every profession of faith that I have been part of there is an emotional moment where the recipient of God’s love and salvation is rejoicing or crying.
Even after the event, the moment continues to affect people. Like a mother or father who has seen their son wander off to a life of sin, but the returns to the Lord, there is emotion there.
But Christian, it is not enough that we came to Christ in that emotional moment, God himself is confirming in our text that he does not only want the footer set on Christ to be laid, he wants you to build, to bear fruit, to prove your love and devotion for Him.
Brother, Sister, it does not matter your age. An older person is not necessarily in the center of God’s will. It could be that you came to Christ years ago, and yet if you think back to your life, there is not much to show for it.
Let me ask you personally:
Are you in the center of His will for your life?
Have you let this world, or outside circumstances, keep you from being in the center of his will?
Are you struggling with the cares of this world and is it choking your faith?
It could be anything… Debt, health, addictions, low self-worth, bitterness, it could be anything, but is there something that you are allowing to control you?
Are you making excuses for your lack of faith?
Friend, can you see fruit in your life?
When was the last time you led someone to Christ?
Is your hand on the plow and can you see healing or Christ Like character traits in your life?
Lastly, have you truly counted the cost to be a follower of Christ?
Friends if you need to get right with God, I would encourage you to take action. If you know that something is not right, if you are never at peace, today is the day to give your life back to Christ.
Let’s pray…