Sermon Listening Guide
Speaker: Dr. Condy Richardson
Scripture: Haggai 1:5-11
Sermon Title: This is what the Lord Almighty says
Haggai 1:5-11 (NIV)
5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.
6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.
8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.
9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.
10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops.
11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”
6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.
8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.
9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.
10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops.
11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”
First Thoughts
In August of 520 BC, God tells his people to return to him.
They had not been faithful to do the things he told them to do.
Robbing God
The picture of their unfaithfulness was the temple that had not been rebuilt.
While their houses were fully decorated, the temple was not.
They showed that they failed to understand God’s goodness to them.
We have much to give because God has given much to us.
God’s generosity should change our priorities.
Reaping Poverty
Because of their stinginess, they would reap poverty.
God would “blow away” the prosperity they had and bring drought to the land.
C.S. Lewis famously said: “Pain is the megaphone of God.”
Sometimes God punishes us to get our attention.
What meaningless things do you hold as a priority before the things of God?
Return to God
The temple was the stone symbol of the presence of God.
By rebuilding the temple, they showed him to be their top priority.
We find true rest in the presence of God (Matthew 11:28-30).
Final Thoughts
How are you putting God first in your life?
What should you immediately do to reprioritize your life?
In August of 520 BC, God tells his people to return to him.
They had not been faithful to do the things he told them to do.
Robbing God
The picture of their unfaithfulness was the temple that had not been rebuilt.
While their houses were fully decorated, the temple was not.
They showed that they failed to understand God’s goodness to them.
We have much to give because God has given much to us.
God’s generosity should change our priorities.
Reaping Poverty
Because of their stinginess, they would reap poverty.
God would “blow away” the prosperity they had and bring drought to the land.
C.S. Lewis famously said: “Pain is the megaphone of God.”
Sometimes God punishes us to get our attention.
What meaningless things do you hold as a priority before the things of God?
Return to God
The temple was the stone symbol of the presence of God.
By rebuilding the temple, they showed him to be their top priority.
We find true rest in the presence of God (Matthew 11:28-30).
Final Thoughts
How are you putting God first in your life?
What should you immediately do to reprioritize your life?