39. The Christian Spending Scandal
Whose house are you building ?
In Your Bible Read This
Haggai chapters 1 and 2
Here Is Your Memory Verse
I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will
come,
and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty.
Haggai 2.7
Afterwards Talk About
This
How much are you giving to the work of God in evangelism,
mission
and caring for the poor compared to how much you keep for
yourself?
Something To Do Before
Next Time
In a team, discover your different practical skills and do
something to
improve or repair either your church building or that of another
poorer church nearby.
Written Diploma Work
Write a one page essay to explain what Haggai 1.6
might mean in practical daily life today.
Meditate Word By Word On
This Verse
Zechariah 4.6
The prophetic book of Haggai gives Gods clear direction for the building of his Kingdom, even and especially today.
Background To Haggai
In 538 BC Cyrus, the King of Persia allowed Gods exiled people to go to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple. You can read this in Ezra. Zerubbabel and 50,000 people returned, and within two years they completed the foundation. There was great rejoicing but the Samaritans who had moved in during the exile, felt threatened and politically they stopped the rebuilding until Darius, who liked religions, came to power in 522 BC. After then Gods people were to blame for the inactivity and Haggai and Zechariah began to preach to rouse them until in 516 BC the job was finished.
Today the command to build the Kingdom of God worldwide is called the Great Commission. The same lessons apply.
1. Is It The Time Of God?
The people kept saying, "the time has not yet come." There are two Bible words for time, chronos and kairos. Chronos is the time on your wristwatch, but kairos, which is the word the Lord uses, means a moment of divine opportunity. The people were saying then, and some are still saying today, "there is nothing going on, lets live for ourselves." Haggai 1.2
What Is Going On Today ?
- Between 1780 till 1900 the gospel spread into much of the world.
- Between 1900 and 1996, half of all people that have ever been saved came to know the Lord, and half of those have been saved since 1950.
- The pentecostal and charismatic renewals have reached every nation on earth.
- Today nearly 2000,000,000 men and women are following Jesus and over 70,000 people decide to follow Jesus every day, and 59,000 of those become Spirit filled believers.
- This is explosive growth, the worlds biggest social movement, but some people still dare to say that now is not the time, the kairos, to make an effort for God.
Whats The Problem?
The Lord put his finger on the real problem. The people were using Gods resources to build comfortable houses for themselves whilst his house remained a ruin. In those days it was wood that was in short supply, today it is funds and workers for the gospel. Haggai 1.4; 9.Can You Believe This?
It is a well researched fact that the western Christian world spends:
- 99.9% of all its income on itself.
- Only 0.09% on evangelism
- And just 0.01% on doing mission to unreached peoples.
The Lord points out that as much as people spend money on themselves, nothing satisfies, 1.6. He told them four times to consider how poorly they had fared despite taking all the prosperity for themselves. God told them to end this scandal and build his house. 1.8-11.
2. They Heard The Voice Of The Lord.
Hearing always means obeying as well, see James 1.22-25. In Haggais day the leaders obeyed, and all the people too. 1.12. The Bible says in Acts 5.32 that God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him, and so it was here. 2.5
3. God Did His Own Work Too.
God declared, "I am with you," and he did what only God can do because our obedience brings action. He stirred, or roused the spirit of the political Governor into action and excited the High Priest and all the people, and they began to work on Gods house. 1.13-15, Zecharaiah 4.6. God told the Governor, the High Priest and all the people not to fear, but to be strong and work because he was with them. 2, 1-5
A Prophetic Promise
Then God promised something which has never been more true than today, saying that he would shake the heavens and the earth. When God shakes the heavens and rattles the dominating powers of darkness it is not long before earth feels the effects. 2.6. We have had a century of shaking on the earth with once unassailable governments, nations, banks and even major forces like communism collapsing, and it is still happening all the while.
4. Look Who Is Coming!
Then the desired of all nations will come. Many take this to mean that Jesus, who is the desire of his people in every nation will return, and he surely will, but the verb used is actually a plural verb.
The Desired Will Come
This means that the desired ones, that is the ones that Jesus desires such as the 1.2 billion Chinese, Indias peoples, the Arabs, the proud westerners and even the most unreached nomadic tribes will come in Gods kairos time.
The final difficult message of Haggai is that touching something holy does not make you holy, only sin is that contagious. Equally knowing all about the Great Commission doesnt make you a Kingdom builder, because the power is not in the knowing but in the going. 1.10-18
5. Is There Any Seed Left In The Barn?
If life has not been satisfying, consider your ways and build Gods house today through prayer, going, sending and giving. You may not have born fruit for Jesus up to now but if you will empty your barn, Gods promise is that. "from this day I will bless you." 2.19
Iraq |
||
People Name | Language | Population |
Herki | Herki | 22,000 |
Luri (Lur) | Luri | 67,000 |
Persian (Irani) | Farsi, Western | 250,000 |
Shikaki | Shikaki | 22,000 |
Surchi | Surchi | 11,000 |