Audio Sermons

Building Up the Church of Christ:

Consider Your Ways

Life B-P Church Worship Service, 7^th January 2024

Text: Haggai 1:1-15

Our priorities should be based on the following considerations:

1. God is displeased when we put our own interests before His.

a. The Need

• The Temple was destroyed and the Jews had no place of worship.
• They had started to rebuild it but stopped when complaints and opposition arose from their Gentile neighbours.
• Nothing was done for 15 years, and the Temple was left to lie waste and incomplete.

b. The Excuse

• They said: “The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built.” (v.2)
• Perhaps they feared their neighbours and the difficulties of resuming the work, when they should have feared the Lord of hosts. (v.12)
• But the difficulties were not insurmountable, since they had been able to obtain wood for the renovation of their houses. (vv.4,8)
• They were putting their own interests before God’s interests.

c. The Result

• All their hard work was futile. (v.6)
• God chastised them with drought and crop failures. (vv.9-11)

2. God is pleased when we give Him and His work the highest priority.

a. The Counsel of God

• “Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house.” (v.8)

b. The Encouragement from God

• “I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified.” (v.8)
• “I am with you.” (v.13)

c. The Enablement from God

• The Lord stirred up the spirit of the leaders and the people. (v.14)

Application: “Consider your ways” (vv.5,7)

• The right purpose for living (vv.8, 13)
• The right priorities in life (v.6, cf. Matthew 6:33)
• The right use of time (v.4, cf. Psalm 90:12)

Questions for Reflection:

1. Have you allowed anything to come between you and God?
2. What changes do you need to make in your life?
3. Are you spending your time wisely?