When pressed, press on!

Read text: Haggai 2:1-9

After returning from exile in Babylon, the Jews commenced rebuilding the temple, then ceased the work not long thereafter, largely because of opposition from the Samaritans. 

Sixteen years later God raised up Haggai to call the people back to the task at hand.

Upon his prodding, they began the work in September of 520 B.C. 

Barely a month had passed and the initial enthusiasm had waned once again. 

This time they were overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the project and by the memories of how great Solomon’s temple had been. 

By comparison their efforts seemed embarrassingly small. Why bother to rebuild when you end up building a shanty on the ruins of the former temple. 

Haggai now speaks to the willing but discouraged workers. 

The enemy try to stop us whether the work of God in the church or in our own personal lives.

Charles Spurgeon : 

Satan is always doing his utmost to stop the work of God. 

He hindered these Jews from building the temple; 

and today he endeavors to hinder the people of God from building the church.

A spiritual temple is to be built for the Most High, and if by any means the evil one can delay its uprising he will stick at nothing.

Here in Haggai the weapon he used to stop the work of God is discouragement & despair. 

To do his infernal work, he has many weapons in his arsenal.

1. He may at one time use greed/ materialism, 
2. another time use uncontrollable temper, anger, revenge
3. still another time use vices/ lust, evil desires. 

But of all his weapons, none is sharper than the one call discouragement.

If only he can get the saints of God to despair over their efforts, then his battle is already won. 

The cross reference of Hagai is Ezra, in…

Ezra 4:4 The peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah & make them afraid to go on building. 5 they hired counselors to work against them & frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia….

So the worked stopped for about 18 years & now after starting the work, again after 3 months, they are being discouraged because of the humongous task & comparison w/ the past temple.

Do not underestimate discouragement, it can totally sting us to be paralyzed & do nothing while our lives are quickly passing.

What are some things that discourages us?

Youth: Failures in some subjects, toughness in studying

Parents: Rearing up children- not that easy, the more kids the harder it is

Couples – unmet expectations in marriage, some are near separation or divorce

Working Professionals: Hard working environment- cant get well w/ your boss, or co employees, or want to change job but can’t find the right opportunity 

Or for those unemployed- waiting for a job

It could be that you have been roughly treated by someone who promised to love you forever or perhaps you have suffered at the hands of your own family.

I know many who feel mistreated by those with whom they work every day. 

It could be that you have had more than your share of sickness and calamity and now wish for a calm, sunny day but none is in sight. 

Let’s look first at the causes for their disappointment—and in so doing we will discover something about our own personal struggles. 

I. The Causes of Disappointment

Our text suggests several reasons for their discouragement, most of which revolve about the problem of a bad memory. 

They were guilty both of dwelling upon the negative and of forgetting the positive altogether. Memory can be a blessing or it can be a curse. 

For these Jews, it had become a heavy burden than hindered their progress. 

A. Good Memory of the Wrong things

v.3 “Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?                                               How does it look to you now?Does it not seem to you as nothing?”” 

The temple was destroyed in 586 B.C. Haggai prophesied in 520 B.C.—66 years later. 

1. It not impossible that Haggai himself was a young boy when the temple was destroyed.

Certainly there must have been many people over 75 who remembered the splendor of Solomon’s temple and mourned for what they had lost. 

2. When they spoke, they recalled the glory of the old days and remarked at how puny this new temple seemed by comparison. It hardly seemed like a temple at all.

It almost embarrassed them to see such a shabby structure erected where once the old temple had been.  

3. Where was the gold and silver that had marked Solomon’s temple? Imported wood, stones?

Perhaps it just wasn’t worth the effort.

Maybe it would be better to simply live with the happy memories of the “good old days.” 

Good old days:

Example

1. In marriage –when you where just newly married, honeymoon stage, very affectionate, dreaming together of your future family, home etc.
2. Church- before the split,  a lot of members etc. , choir, lots of activities, youth very excited etc.

Memory is a wonderful thing if you remember the right things. 

For the Jews of Haggai’s day it was a curse because they not only remembered the past, they lived there. 

B. Bad Memory of the Right things

Notice v 5 “This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt”.

The Jews had forgotten what God had done for them at the Red Sea. 

Somehow that amazing miracle seemed like only a distant memory. 

They had forgotten how they were trapped with the Egyptian army behind them and the Red Sea before them. 

Moses struck the water, the sea parted, and they walked through on dry land. 

When the Egyptians followed them, the seas came together and swallowed Pharaoh’s entire army. 

Why did God remind them of this stupendous miracle? 

Because he’s the same God today that he was back then. 

He still works miracles today. 

Look at the end of verse 5: “My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.” 

Think of the implications of that statement:

• Abraham is gone.
• Moses is gone.
• David is gone.
• Solomon is gone

But the Holy Spirit is still here! Fear not, keep on working. Don’t look back to the past, don’t worry about who isn’t here. 

Focus on who is here: the Holy Spirit of God.  

Therefore, be encouraged. Keep moving forward.

If we Live in the Past, we keep comparing, forget God, we downgrade the Present, and we become not hopeful.

In this case, it meant missing God’s promise to bring even greater glory to the rebuilt temple than it ever had during Solomon’s days (see v 9).

 Spiritual disappointment drains all our energy because we focus toward the past instead of moving confidently into the future. 

Our text brings before us a cure of spiritual disappointment. 

II. The Cure for Disappointment

Our text also suggests four specific steps we must take to free ourselves from the swamp of self-pity. 

The first step is the hardest, most basic, and in some ways the most important.

D. Get Moving!   Get up and get moving for God. 

That’s what the Lord said to the Jews. 3x times in verse 4 God says, “Be strong…” Rise up and do the work of God. 

v.4 But now be strong, O Zerubabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua….Be strong all you people of the land, declares the Lord, and work. For I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty.  

Be strong in the face of difficult and do the work of God. Don’t let anything stop you. Be strong and work! 

Too many of us sit around when the Lord says, “Get up, my child, and do the work I have called you to do.” 

Sometimes the best therapy is simply rising from your seat of despair and tackling the job in front of you.

So many people live in defeat because they can’t climb the steep mountain before them. 

Just remember this: You don’t have to climb the mountain. 

You just have to take the next step with God. He’ll help you w/ the next step.

…ask God to give you strength to take just one more step. 

You don’t have to go for three more weeks or even three more days. 

God is only asking you to take the next step. 

And in the taking of that step, he will give you the strength to take the next one.” 

Also in line w/ Moving on, you need to “Let Go!”

We will never grow/ move on until we learn to let go of the past. 

In this case, the Jews had to let go of their fond memories of Solomon’s temple. 

Until they did that, they would never make any spiritual progress. 

1. For you it may mean letting go of some painful memory from the past that keeps you from moving ahead.
2. It may mean choosing to forgive even though the other person won’t admit they did anything wrong. 
3. It often will mean deliberately choosing to let go of some dream you held onto for many years. No matter what it is—whether good of bad—if it’s holding you back, you’ve got to let go of it. 

But the great lesson that God wants to impress upon us is that God always does a new and different work. 

The thing that is coming in the future is always better for our present situation than the past.

Another version of v.4 God is saying, “Keep on working, I am with you. And when I am in your midst you don’t need to worry about how it is going to turn out. It may be different but it will always be better.” 

Students: Study

Couples: keep on loving each other

Parents: Keep on teaching your kids

Empoyees/ Employer: Keep on working, doing what is right

Unemployed: keep on developing yourself

Retired: Keep on being busy for the Lord’s work, you have so much to share w/ your experience 

As hard as it may be, you have to let go. Until you do, you can never move forward with God. 

B. Look Up!

To look up means to get a new view of who God is. 

1. Did you notice that Haggai used one particular name for God 6x in these 9 verses?
2. It’s the name translated as “The LORD Almighty.” 
3. If you look closely at the text, you’ll discover the word “LORD” is capitalized because it refers to the Hebrew word Yahweh, which is God’s personal name. 
4. The word “Almighty” translates in Hebrew, which means “the armies of earth and heaven.”

 meaning “He who is sovereign over all the powers of earth and heaven.” 

 It’s an extremely strong name for God. You might even call it a “military” name because it means that He is the God who is greater than all the forces of earth and heaven. 

No one can stand against him. No one can defeat his purposes. No one can hinder him in the least. When the LORD Almighty goes out to do battle on your behalf, you’re going to win because he’s never lost a battle yet. 

When your God is big, the task before you will be small. 

1. David’s God was so big that Goliath didn’t seem so big to him. 
2. The Jews of Haggai’s day had a small God so the task of rebuilding the temple seemed overwhelming to them. 
3. In the same way, your view of God radically effects the way you approach life. 

Take a good look at the God you worship. Is he big enough to handle your problems? 

If not, then you need to look up and get a new view of God—the LORD of Hosts, the LORD Almighty. 

C. Look Ahead!

God only sends his people in one direction: Forward! He never sends them back to the past, and he never lets them stay in one place too long. 

The people of Haggai’s had romanticized the past and completely forgotten about the future. And what was that future? Verses 6-9 make three specific promises about the future: 

1.A time of international shaking is coming upon the world. 

It’s interesting that Hebrews 12:26-27 quotes Haggai 2:6 and applies to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. 

26‘‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 

27 The words ‘‘once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Haggai said a day is coming when he is going to shake the earth again.

 But the next time he will shake the heavens as well. 

The day is coming when all the world will be shaken by God. 

A shaking greater than any earthquake.

 And in that final great day everything manmade will be destroyed. 

Only eternal things will remain. 

To me, an earthquake is the most terrifying natural disaster. If a tornado comes, at least you can head for cover. But what do you do if the very ground on which you stand gives way beneath you? Where do you go then? 

The scientists say that someday a great earthquake will come again to California.

They know it’s coming, only they don’t know when. 

The Bible says the same thing. But Haggai is talking about an earthquake greater than anything the scientists at Cal Tech ever dreamed about. 

When this one comes, the whole earth will be shaken apart and everything in which men put their trust will be gone. 

Money and houses, lands and cars, buildings and wardrobes, all of it wiped out in one brief moment. If you can see it, feel it, touch it, smell it, it will all disappear. Suddenly shaken apart and destroyed.

SCRIPTURES REFERENCED

What will be left? Only those things which cannot be shaken. Eternal things. 

The things of the Spirit. The Word of God. Your own soul. 

Hebrews 12:28 sums it all up as, “the kingdom that cannot be shaken.” 

Here’s the application. 

 The whole world and everything in it. It’s going to crumble and fall

If you live your life for this world, in that day everything you live for will be nothing but dust. 

Following God’s will as student, Parent, Couple’s, employer etc….

Therefore, if you have some money……invest it for God.

If you have some time on your hands….spend it with the hurting. 

If you have some good news….give it to the lost.

Secondly, in looking ahead….

2.The Desired of All nations Shall come. 

For many centuries Jewish and Christian commentators have agreed that this refers to the Messiah. 

In fact, Christians understand this as one of the titles of Christ: He is the Desired of Every Nation. 

When Charles Wesley wrote the beautiful Christmas carol, “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” he included this title in one of his verses:

Come, Desire of Nations, come

Fix in us your humble home;

Rise, the woman’s conquering Seed.

Bruise in us the serpent’s head.

How is it that Jesus can be called “the Desired of all nations” when so many do not believe in him? 

There are several answers: 

1) His coming was expected by the nations. 

2) His salvation is needed by all people. 

3) He is admired in every nation because he has followers in every nation. Gandhi

4) He will be prized by all in the end. 

He is the salvation of the earth. 

All kings will one day bow before him. Thus he is—and will ever be—the Desired of All Nations. 

Do you like him to come?

Will he find us faithful?

Youth

Couples, Parents

In our Respective Jobs/ work

In our Ministry

Lastly, in looking ahead…

3.The latter glory will be greater than the former glory. 

vv.8 The silver is mine & the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty.
9 the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, says the Lord Almighty. And in this place I will grant peace, declares the Lord Almighty.

But how can that be? Is this only wishful thinking? 

After all, Solomon’s temple was so vast and magnificent and this temple seems so small and insignificant. For hundreds of years this prophecy would seem impossible. 

But the day would come when Jesus himself would walk through the temple precincts in Jerusalem. He is the “greater glory” that God promised to the people of Haggai’s day.

Don’t miss the lesson. You never know what will come of your faithful service for God.

Some little thing you say or do may vastly impact the world and touch many lives for Christ.

Here is a wonderful antidote to discouragement. 

Be faithful because you never know who is watching and listening. 

And you never know the lives you can impact through your faithful service for Christ. Ex. Children in DVBS.

In the end, righteousness will Triumph

Person- Christ will come, Place renewed

Work will change, body will change, People will change, the world will change (gov’t.) 

Don’t Let Discouragement Drive You From God

1. It may just be that I am speaking to some very discouraged and disappointed people who wonder why God has allowed certain things to happen.
2. Perhaps you’ve been through a series of events that has shaken you deeply. Whatever you do, don’t turn away from God. How will things get better if in your despair you reject the only fountain of hope?

 Let God speak to you and pray for ears to hear His voice clearly. 

When pressed, press on!

Disclaimer: This message is compilation of research works from Bible scholars. My task is to synthesized them together and place my own input. All credits be given to the Lord who enabled us share His Word  and to the Bible Scholars who shared their works.