The House of God6/2/2024 Haggai 1:4 ~ "Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?" The people had returned to the promised land. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and Joshua the high priest, the people began to work on the development of their own homes. Much was needed to be done, for the people had come back from captivity to a land that was decimated through war and neglect. Perhaps the families found their ancestral homes; perhaps some who had been taken early in their lives now returned to the very dwelling where they lived as children. As they worked on their houses, the only house that remained neglected, that remained scarred with the conflicts of war, was the Temple--the house of God. In Haggai 1:2, the LORD confronts the very sentiment of the people. "Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD." Certainly the people had their own priorities, their own needs. Truly there could be nothing gained from rebuilding the Temple of God before they worked on their own dwellings. The people had to set priorities, to make determinations and establish the important things first. As far as the people were concerned, it just wasn't the right time to be concerned about the house of the LORD. Let us, for a moment, consider what the Temple was meant to be for the people. God does not dwell in paneled houses--no human could construct an edifice that would contain the Eternal LORD of Glory. Consider Acts 7:48-49, "Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?'" So the Temple had another purpose. The House of God was the place of prayer, the place of sacrifice, the place where the people could go and worship the LORD (see Isaiah 56:7). The Temple was not built to satisfy some need of God (For God Almighty has no needs), but to bring His people together and meet with Him. In essence, then, to neglect the house of God was the neglect of their own fellowship with Him, their own relationship to Him and their own worship of Him. In light of this, as we consider our text for today, does God's house still lay in ruins? I am not referring to the structures of our gathering places (though that may be a telling sign of a greater neglect), but of the inner dwelling of our hearts--the passions and priorities that we set in order to navigate our lives. The church is the place where God has placed His Holy Spirit--within each believer He resides. The whole body is the structure being built by the LORD. Ephesians 2:19-21 states, "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord." In a culture driven by personal gain, many have considered their spiritual lives a time-wasting experience. They will get around to it when they have the time. They consider their "paneled houses" of a greater priority than fellowship with the LORD and His people. I knew a man who told me he would get back to the church when he made enough money for himself. I can tell you, he never made enough. The greater his pocketbook grew, the more his soul shriveled. Do your own soul a great service this day. Examine yourself with the question God asked in our text. If there is spiritual neglect happening in your life, beloved, then take this moment to repent and determine to set Christ as your greatest priority. His glory and honor, fellowship with His saints in worship and prayer. Making His house--your own heart--a dwelling wherein He is exalted. When this is the case, there is a promise given. "Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD's message, 'I am with you, declares the LORD'" (Haggai 1:13). And, if the LORD is with us--who can be against us? In His Grace, Pastor Michael
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