Is it Time for You?

Haggai 1:1-15

INTRODUCTION: A good number of believers can look back to a time when they answered an initial call to follow God. After all, most would trace this back to the call to salvation. However, few follow through to fulfill the will of God for their lives. Instead, they get occupied or sidetracked.

I. THEIR CALLING (Ezra 1:1-11; Ezra 2:1-70—see especially Ezra 2:64-65)

A. Their Heritage (Ezra 1:1-2; Ezra 2:64-65)

1. The Jews were fresh off of seventy years of Babylonian captivity.
2. Those who were young and healthy enough to make the journey had either spent their entire lives in Babylon or the vast majority of them.
3. The temptation for all would have been to stay where they had grown comfortable, especially now that the new king in power seemed favourable toward God’s chosen people. In fact, many did remain.

B. Their Appeal (Ezra 1:3-4)

C. Their Hearts (Ezra 1:5)

1. God had raised their spirits.
2. Specifically, this was done for the purpose of going to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.

II. THEIR START (Ezra 3:1-11)

A. Their Priority (Ezra 3:1-3)

1. They were as one man in Jerusalem (Ezra 3:1).
2. They built the altar of God (Ezra 3:2-3).

B. Their Feast (Ezra 3:4)

C. Their Sacrifices (Ezra 3:4-6)

D. Their Preparations (Ezra 3:7)

E. Their Progress (Ezra 3:8-11)

1. They set forward on the work of the house of the LORD (Ezra 3:8).
2. The foundation was laid (Ezra 3:10).
3. The priests were prepped (Ezra 3:10-11).

III. THEIR HINDRANCE (Ezra 3:12-13; Ezra 4:1-24)

A. From Within (Ezra 3:12-13)

1. Many that saw the beginning of the work shouted aloud for joy (Ezra 3:12-13).
2. Those who were ancient men who had seen the first house wept with a loud voice (Ezra 3:12-13).
3. One can only imagine how discouraging this was to those who were rejoicing that for the first time in their lives they were seeing a foundation for a house for the Lord.

B. From Without (Ezra 4:1-24)

1. The approach of their enemies (Ezra 4:1-3)
2. The hiring of trouble makers (Ezra 4:4-5)
3. The halting of construction (Ezra 4:6-24, see especially Ezra 4:24)

IV. THEIR CALLING (Ezra 5:1-2)

A. The Authority (Ezra 5:1)

1. The arrival of prophets
a. Haggai
b. Zechariah
2. The sender of the prophets—“in the name of the God of Israel”

B. The Message (Haggai 1:1-11)

1. The LORD’s interpretation of their cessation of work (Haggai 1:1-2)
2. The selfishness of the people in their cessation (Haggai 1:3-4)
3. The conditions in their selfishness (Haggai 1:5-11)
4. The call to change the circumstances (Haggai 1:8)

C. The Outcome (Haggai 1:12-15; Ezra 5:2)

1. The leaders rose up (Haggai 1:12).
2. Others followed and they obeyed the voice of the LORD (Haggai 1:12).
3. Their spirits were stirred as at the first (Haggai 1:14).

CONCLUSION: Your obligation in following the Lord is not complete until you follow Him to the end of your task. Did you get a good start, but fail to continue in God’s work? Is God trying to get a hold of your heart now to get you to rise up and do what He initially called you to do? You will never find the true joy and peace God intends until you rise and do His bidding.