A SPIRITUAL CHECK UP
Haggai 2:10-19
continual check ups and encouragement. They need a support group.
Old habits die hard. An addict need regular attendance in
their support group.
They need regular drug test to ensure that they have not
slipped back into their
old habits.
All believers are recovering sin addicts. Our support group
is the Church.
We need regular attendance in church for encouragement.
The nation of Israel
world down the path of destruction. They hit rock bottom
when God allowed the
Babylonians to destroy
Jerusalem
Now back in the promise land, God had started a recovery
program by commanding
them to rebuild the temple. They were having a hard time in
their recovery
because they had not committed themselves to God. We have to
be cleaned up on the
inside before there can be any real change.
Haggai 2:10-19
V:10. " On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in
the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet
Haggai."
A. From time to time
God brings a word to his people for them to consider their
attitude toward
Him. It had been two months since the last word from the Lord
through Haggai
the prophet.
1. God identifies
the time of the restoration of Israel
Darius the
King of Babylon
2. This gives a
Biblical and historical record of the time
of the start of temple.
3. This time
confirms the prophecy God gave to Daniel concerning the first coming
of Jesus
Christ. At the decree to rebuild the temple, the 490 year count down
to Christ
began. Daniel 9:25
B. God's plan of
redemption through Jesus Christ is not dependant on any generation
of people.
1. The Israelites
were God's choice, so He never gave up the continued
chastisement and teaching because they
never gave up their disobedient behavior.
V:11 "This is
what the Lord Almighty says: "Ask the priests what the law says."
A. The priest were
given the duty to study and to know the Law. They were
given the
authority to teach and interpret the Law.
1. We can not
teach what we don't know.
2. We need to
challenge our knowledge of the Word from time to time.
B. We should never
get to the point where we think we completely understand
the Word.
1. There is always
more to learn about the Word.
2. God gives
us more enlightenment about the Word as
we mature spiritually.
3. Our life's
experiences are the platforms God uses to explain the Word to
us.
V:12. If a person carries consecrated meat in the
fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil
or other food, does it become consecrated?'" The priests answered,
"No."
A. When we have
trouble understanding the Word, some times God inspires us with
simple illustrations.
1. God used a
physical example to explain a spiritual concept.
2. The question
could be answered by referring to the
Law.
a. If meat
which has been purified according to the Law and is carried
in the
hem of a garment, touches something which is unclean, does that
which it touches become clean.
b. The answer
is no.
c. If you
pour clean water into a dirty glass, does the glass become clean?
d. If a Christian shake the hand of a non
believer, does the none believer
become a
Christian?
3. The answer to
all of these questions is no.
a. Holiness is
not transferred by association.
b. Going to
Church does not make you a Christian.
c. Accepting
Christ as your personal savior makes you a Christian.
d. It is the
renewal of the mind though a relationship with Jesus that
makes us
holy.
V:13 Then Haggai
said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of
these things, does it become defiled?" "Yes," the priests
replied, "it becomes defiled."
A. This second question is also answered according to the
Law.
1. According to
the Law a person is defiled if he/she touches something that is dead.
2. Bad company
can corrupt a good person.
3. Going to a
church does not make you obedient,
4. Touching the
Pastor does not make you a Christian.
B. A disease is
contagious, but health is not.
1. Weed will grow
without cultivation
2. Roses will not
grow without cultivation.
C. Holiness is not
transferable, but evil is.
V:14. " Then
Haggai said, "'So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,'
declares the Lord. 'Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled"
A. If a person is not
right with God, whatever he does is not acceptable to God.
1. If a man's
heart is not right, his clean appearance will not be acceptable to God.
2. God is not
concerned with the outside but He is concerned with the inside.
B. A disobedient
person cannot please God with his works.
1. God would
rather obedience than sacrifice.
2. An obedience
person will continue to offer acceptable sacrifices to God.
3. A disobedient
person soon cease to offer sacrifices to God.
V: 15. "Now give careful thought to this from this day
on—consider how things were
before one stone was
laid on another in the Lord's temple."
A. There is a
starting point for righteousness.
1. There is a
starting point for obedience.
2. The starting
point is when we accept Christ as our personal Savior.
3. The starting
point is when we give ourselves completely over to Christ's control.
B. When we accept
Christ, a new man is born.
1. We must put
away bad behavior and take up the behavior of Christ.
2. The time to
start following the commands of Christ is today.
a. Tomorrow
may be too late.
C. Jesus is the Chief
corner stone and we are the building blocks of the Church.
1. The problem
is, we want to be in the Church, but not the Church.
2. We want the
title of Christian without Christian behavior.
3. We cannot
build the Church if we are not the Church.
4. Building a
building and attracting people to a service, does not make those who
come, a Church.
a. A building
full of disobedient people is not the Church of Jesus Christ.
b. A building
full of obedient people is the assembly of the Church.
V:16. " When
anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went
to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty."
A. The evidence of our Christian behavior will show up in
the fruits of our labor.
1. The evidence
of our disobedient behavior will show up in the lack of fruits of
our labor.
B. Those who are disobedient will find the fruits of their
labor decreased when they
are expecting an
increase.
1. A disobedient
person will always come up short of their expectations.
2. God will
multiply the works of an obedient person.
3. The favor of
the Lord is upon the obedient person.
4. Eventually
those who disobey God will fail.
C. Not all who believe in Jesus are obedient to Jesus.
1. God says He chastises
those He loves. Due 8:5
a. This means
some of those He loves have periods of continuous disobedience.
2. We must be careful
to continue to consider our ways unless we become
disobedient.
disobedient.
V:17. " I struck
all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn
to me,' declares the Lord."
A. God reminds us
that we are the cause of much of the bad that happens to us.
1. God reminds us
that our disobedient behavior cause Him to put hardship and
trouble in
our lives.
2. God is
longsuffering, but He will not tolerate our disrespectful attitude.
B. It is because He
loves us, that He lets us fall on bad times to get our attention.
1. No matter how
good we think we are, we need a continual check up to see if we
are following
God's commands.
2. We cannot take
the Word of God for granted as if it does not apply to our lives.
3. Everything we
do that is not according to the will of God affects our financial,
physical and
mental health.
V:18. "From this day on, from this
twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the
foundation of the Lord's temple was laid. Give careful thought."
A. There ought to be
a day when you made up your mind to be obedient to the Lord.
1. There ought to
be a day when you say, I have had enough of failure and
disappointments.
2. There ought to be a day when you say, I
can't make it on my own.
3. There ought to
be a day when you say, I need the Lord in my life.
4. There ought to
be a day when you say, I am going to let the Lord guide my feet.
B. There ought to be a day when you say, I am going to let
the Word be my foundation
for living.
1. There ought to
be a day when you say, I am going to study my Bible daily.
2. There ought to
be a day when you say, I am going serve the Lord until the day I
die.
die.
C. There ought to be
a day when you say, before I make any decisions or take any
actions, I am
going to seek the Lord's will first.
1. There ought to
be a day when you say, if what I want to do, don't agree with the
Word, I want
do it.
V:19. " Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until
now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not
borne fruit. From this day on I will bless you."
A. The day you decide
to put the Lord first in your life, is the day Lord will began
to fulfill his
promises to you. Deuteronomy 7:9,13
1. We must never
forget that without the Lord in our lives we are bankrupt.
a. We are
bankrupt spiritually.
b. We can
become bankrupt of joy.
c. We can
become bankrupt of peace.
d. We can
become bankrupt of friendship.
c. We can
become bankrupt financially.
B. The Lord promises
to bless our dedication and devotion to Him.
1. The Lord will
bless our coming in and our going out.
2. The Lord
promises that if we seek Him first, all that we ask Him in Jesus name
will be done for
us.
Rev. M Mitchell
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