It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that if you watch the media for any length of time, you will often come across news reports that are speaking about the demise of Christianity in this nation. In the coming months, as we approach Christmas, I can guarantee you those reports are going to increase. We are going to see experts coming onto our televisions telling us that Christianity is a spent force and now the nation is secular. The media will then bring out liberal theologians who will go onto our screens and they will smilingly say that Christianity must change if it is to remain relevant. If we want to survive, they will say, we must adapt and change. Now, in part, they are correct. Christianity is not that healthy in this land at the moment. If you travel around Cornwall, I'm sure you will see that this county once was overflowing with gospel light. I have been amazed in the three years that I've lived here just how many villages have multiple gospel churches in them who now lay in ruin. Places where the gospel was once herald now disappeared almost forever. It was said that a hundred years ago Cornwall had the highest rate of church attendance out of any other place in the United Kingdom. What a change has now occurred. And as we see the decline, as we see what is happening in our society, it's very easy for us as believers to look to the past. To look backwards and see mighty moves of God. And as we look to the past, it's very easy for us to get into the mindset of longing for the good old days. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we lived in times past when churches were overflowing? It's very easy to think that way. And if you do think that way or have thought that way, then in some way you will be able to relate to what is happening in chapter 2 of the book of Haggai. You see, in the book of Haggai chapter 2, we see that the people have been set to work by God to rebuild the temple. In chapter 1, God rebuked them for their slothful ease. He rebuked them for not doing what He called them to do. The people repented and then they got to work to build the house of God. They got to work in building the temple. And now, as we come into chapter 2, we see that construction of the temple is underway. The people are working hard, but as they work on the temple, there is a longing for the good old days. The people were working, yet they're still looking backwards. They're longing for times past. And as a result, the people were discouraged. They were discouraged by what they saw. Yet, as we look through our passage, as we read through chapter 2, we see that the prophet Haggai won't allow the people of God to live in the past. Rather, he draws their attention forward and he causes them to focus upon the future glory. You see, Haggai is not content to let people wallow in their discouragement. He says, look forward, great things are coming. And as we face a demise of Christianity in this land, we shouldn't look to the past. Instead, we like the people in Haggai's day should look forward and see the future is as bright as the promises of God. We should hold fast to the truth that there is a future glory. And I want to draw your attention to verse 1 to 9 and see this future glory that Haggai mentions. Haggai chapter 2 begins by telling us that a month has passed since the people have been called to repentance and since the people have begun to fear the Lord. Now, in that month the people have been busy. They haven't been sitting back saying, isn't it wonderful that the temple is going to be rebuilt? No, they have been active in the rebuilding process. For that month they would have been clearing the rubble. They would have been removing the old ruins of the temple. It would have been hard work. But finally, it has now come time that the foundation has been cleared for the construction to begin. But after a month of hard labour, the people are discouraged. As it comes to rebuild the temple, they discover that they do not have the material to make the temple as grand as the previous one. They find they don't have the wealth to make the temple as beautiful as Solomon's temple was. This discouragement would have then been added to, since there was some present in that rebuilding effort who remembered the former temple, who remembered what it looked like, and no doubt they were working and telling people what the olden days were like. As they worked on this new temple, you can almost picture the old fellas there going, well, let me tell you what it was like when I was a boy. Let me tell you what the old temple looked like. And as they shared what the old temple looked like, discouragement built and people weren't happy with what was going on. We are told in the book of Ezra that when the foundation of the temple was laid, that some of these older people actually wept. In Ezra chapter 3 verse 12 it says, but many of the older priests, Levites and family heads who had seen the first temple wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple. They grieved over this new temple. As the ground was being cleared, as the rubble was being removed, as the people were working for the Lord and as the Lord began a new work, the people found themselves living in the past Remembering the good old days. So they began to weep. They began to moan. So Haggai comes along. And he asks them a series of questions. In verse 3, Haggai says, Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? I mean, picture the scene. I can almost imagine what must have been happening. Here's the temple being rebuilt. But then there's these few people who are watching the work saying, Did you hear those psalm singers? They don't sing the psalms as well as they used to back in the day. Did you hear that preaching? Well, I'm sure it was good, but it was not as good as what dear old Rabbi Goldberg used to do. There's complaints, there's whinging, it's not as good. They lived in the past and they weren't happy with what the Lord was doing then and there. They wanted to go back to former days. You see, a much better response would have been to rejoice in what the Lord was doing in their midst. But instead of rejoicing in what the Lord was currently doing, they were missing what God was doing by pining for the old days. The problem is with pining for the old days is we fail to realise that the good old days actually weren't that good at all. We tend to view history with rose-coloured glasses. You see, things never happen in isolation. The bad times follow the good old days. Think of it like this. If you pour poison into a river, those downstream will get the poison. And what happens in today's culture, in today's worship, or in Haggai's day, at that temple rebuilding, is as a direct result of the fruit coming from the good old days. We often think history is better than it was. So the people complain, the temple's not as good. Or even better back in the day. I mean, they fail to realize it was their rebellion and their sin that resulted in the former temple being destroyed. But they still look to history. And we can do that too. It's very easy for us to take on this mindset of the people. Today we can look around and we can see the state of Christianity. We can see the demise of the church. And we look and say, well, it wasn't like this in Mr. Spurgeon's day. If we could just go back to what it was like when Charles Spurgeon was preaching, then surely things would be much better. Now, I love Charles Spurgeon. I love reading Spurgeon. But as I've read Spurgeon, something I've discovered is this. Spurgeon looked back to the time of the Puritans. He looked back to the time of the Reformers and said, if we could just go back to that, things would be better. You see, we have this tendency as believers not to focus on what is happening here and now. Instead, we focus on the past. And by doing that, we often can become discouraged. But Haggai won't allow the people to do that. Haggai won't let them wallow in their history. Instead, he goes to the leaders and he goes to the people and he tells them to be strong. Look at verse 4. Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehoshadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. See Haggai doesn't join in and say, you know, you're right, the psalm singing was better back in the day. Rabbi Goldberg was an awesome preacher, he doesn't do that. Instead he says, be strong and notice that the Lord is at work. As God says in verse four, for I am with you. God was at work even in the rebuilding, but the people missed that truth. You see, we know from the text that God was still with His people, that He was being faithful to the covenant promises that He made. So Haggai says, God is at work now. And then instead of saying, look to the past, Haggai says, God's going to do something great. God's going to do something tremendous. Look forward. Look future. See, in essence, what Haggai is saying, he's saying this work we're doing now is good, but it isn't as good as it will be. Look down the line to a future glory, a glory that'll be far better. Notice what Haggai does. He draws the attention of the people in verses six to nine to a distant future event. Look what he says. For thus says the Lord of hosts, Yet once more in a little while I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in. And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts. You see, what is happening in Haggai chapter 2 is more than a historical account of the temple being rebuilt. What we have is a promise of hope. A promise of future glory. Now, for those reading this passage, Haggai is saying it's not about you now. It's about what God is going to do in the future. And as we read this passage, we should look at the text and say, our God has not changed. and God is still going to do a great and wonderful work. Now, just in way of helping us understand the Old Testament, it is important to realise that when we come to passages such as this, we need to keep in mind that we are to read the Old Testament in light of the New Testament, in light of the fulfilment of the New Covenant. For instance, in Romans 15 verse 4, we are told that what is written in the Old Testament was written for our learning and our instruction. Then, in Luke 24-27, Jesus declares that the Old Testament all points to Him. So, as we approach this passage in Haggai 2, we should be asking ourselves a question. What can we learn, and how does this point to Christ? What can we learn, and how does this point to Christ? You see, we see references to a future glory. And we have to ask, what does that mean to us? How does it apply to us? But then we also have to ask, who is it pointing to? How does it point to Jesus? And as we ask those questions of the text, we start to realize that Haggai was speaking in such a way that could only be ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. You see, as Haggai speaks of the future glory, as he speaks of this mighty work that God is going to do, he was not speaking about a physical temple. Rather, he was speaking of the one who is the true and great temple, Jesus Christ. In John chapter 2 verse 19 to 21, we are told that Jesus is the greater temple. Jesus is the future glory. Jesus is the greater temple that outshines all the temples that have gone previously. In Matthew chapter 12, verse 6, Jesus, speaking of Himself, says, I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. In Hebrews chapter 12, verse 26 to 29, we find the writer of Hebrews actually quotes this passage from Hangai chapter 2, and he applies it to Jesus and His Kingdom. So as Haggai speaks here and says, look forward, he's saying, look to the Messiah. Look to the one who is going to come, who is going to be great and magnificent, who is going to be greater in glory than all the temples put together. You see, Haggai wants the people not to live in the past, not to focus on what God did in history, not even to focus on the building in front of them. Rather, he wants them to focus upon Jesus. He wants them to focus upon the ultimate fulfillment, the future glory that is the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the future temple, the future glory of Jesus will be greater than any of the temples that were built in the Old Testament. Jesus and His kingdom, the greater glory of Christ, will not be confined to a strip of land in the Middle East. Notice the language that Haggai employs. The language Haggai uses in this passage speaks of a worldwide glory. The text says that the Lord will shake the earth. He will shake the nations. And all the nations will come into the temple. They will come to Jesus. There's a worldwide image being presented in this promise. The future glory that Haggai speaks of was not the Middle East. But it was the world coming for Christ. See, this tells us that Jesus is for all nations. And instantly, as we understand that Jesus is for all nations, that should dispel any notions of racism that people have. Because Jesus is not just for one particular language or people group. Christ is for all nations. Haggai says the future glory is going to bring all the nations into the temple. We see this in Revelation chapter 7 verse 9. We see the worldwide impact of the future glory when Revelation 7 verse 9 says, After this I looked and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. There's the ultimate fulfillment of the future glory. People from every nation, tribe and language, a great number that no one can count, coming to Jesus. And Haggai, by encouraging the people here in this chapter, says the nations and all peoples are going to stream to Christ. Now, at times it has to be said the flow of the nations to Jesus may look small. Daniel chapter 2 tells us that the kingdom of Christ starts as a small stone, but over time it will grow and fill the whole earth. Isaiah chapter 9 declares that the increase of Christ's kingdom will know no end. Psalm 72 makes it clear that the reign of Jesus will stretch from sea to sea and Habakkuk chapter 2 says the glory of Jesus will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Or as Haggai puts it, the latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former. See in the midst of discouragement Haggai doesn't say look to the past. He says look to Jesus. Put your hope in Him. Look to the future glory because the future is bright for the people of God. Even for us we can say that the future is bright for the people of God. Christ is still bringing people to Himself. We don't have to look back and say, well, things were better in the past. And sure, the tide of Christianity is going out at the moment in this land. But the thing about tides is they come back in again. So we can look forward and say, yeah, things were great in the past. Things might be hard now. But the greater glory of Jesus will be shown. He is still at work. And we as believers are to look forward, we are to set our eyes upon Jesus and see what He is doing. Don't fall into the trap of just looking about what's happening here. Christ is for all nations, so step back and see what Jesus is doing worldwide. This may surprise you, but did you know the evangelical church, gospel churches, are actually growing worldwide. Statistics are showing that there is a growth in Biblical Christianity worldwide. We may not see that in our immediate context. But the world is a lot bigger than Cornwall. As you step back, you see that God is at work. The Gospel is spreading. People are being saved. The treasures of the nations are being brought to Jesus, the Temple. And that's what Haggai answers the objections with. Don't look back. Look to Jesus, the future glory. But there is also another question of our text. We see that Jesus is the future glory, but the question is, how can we partake in that glory? And that's what we see Haggai now go on to address in verses 10 to 19. As we come to verse 10, we see the fourth message of Haggai, a message which actually takes place two months after he spoke of the future glory. So he encouraged the people, and the people got back to work. They got busy in the temple again. But now, two months later, Haggai brings another message. Even though things are being achieved, there's actually an issue. There's a problem. Even though the temple is being worked on, there's a massive issue amongst the people and the issue is they weren't right with God. There were still some who were defiled by their sin and they were trusting in themselves and what they did to make themselves right with God. So what Haggai does is he asks more questions. And these questions may sound a little strange to us. as he uses the cleanliness laws to make a point. Look at verse 11 to 13. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ask the priests about the law. If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy? The priest answered and said, no. Then Haggai said, if someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean? The priest answered and said, it does become unclean. Now those questions to us might sound strange. And odd, because we don't live in a culture with an understanding of clean and unclean foods and practices. But in the Jewish culture, they took cleanliness very seriously. If you read the Old Testament, if you read the first five books of Moses, the Law of God, you see that there are multiple laws about how one can be clean and unclean. So Haggai builds off that to make a big point. The first question he puts to the people says, can certain foods become clean if they are touched by something that is holy? Can something become clean if they're touched by something that is clean, is what he's saying. And the priest, whose job it was to explain the law of God, reply and say, no. Just because something clean touches something that's unclean, doesn't make it clean. Okay, so something's not made clean by physical contact. The second question Haggai asked is that if something clean touches something that is unclean, does that clean item become unclean? There's a lot of cleans in this. And the priests reply and say, if the clean item touches the unclean item, then that which was clean is no longer clean. It has become unclean. So, something does not become clean by touching the clean, rather the clean becomes unclean by touching the unclean. There's no test after this, but there's a lot of cleans here as you can see. But the point Haggai is making is this. The people of God who worked on the temple who were not right with God thought by their efforts and their deeds, by their religious works, by their religious practices, that somehow, by doing that which is clean, good things that God commanded, that that cleanness would somehow rub off on them, and their sins would be dealt with. That's what they were thinking. They believed that even though they had sinned against God, even though they had broken his covenant promises, even though they had broken his laws, they believed that if they just did enough religious works, if they just did enough clean works, then they would cease to be unclean. But Haggai makes it clear that by being unclean, and trying to do clean works actually makes the clean works unclean. Which means their religious deeds, their religious efforts, their religious practices which they thought were good, God actually says they're now bad because of why you're doing them. They hoped That their efforts and their deeds would make them right with God. But God says your deeds are unclean. Because you are unclean. A bad tree can't produce good fruit. And someone who is dead in their sin and cut off from God cannot produce good works that makes them clean. Isaiah 64 verse 6 says our best deeds of righteousness are as filthy rags in the sight of God. You see, God, through Haggai here, is showing the people the depth of their sin. He's showing them that they won't see the future glory. They've heard about it. They've heard of the wonder of the future glory. But because of their sin, they won't see it. And as we consider what is being said here, we have to realize that humanity and our practice has not changed one iota. Because people today still have this understanding that if you want to get to heaven, if you want to be forgiven of all your sins, if you want to know God, then you must do something to remove your bad. But just like Haggai says to the people back then, you won't know the future glory for your efforts. So God would say to people today, you will not know the forgiveness of sins. You will not know eternal life. You will not go to heaven through your deeds. In fact, if you're here at church this morning, in the hope that by attending church, it will give you a few more credit points that will get you to heaven. Know that your religious deeds are unclean in the sight of God. If you pick up your Bible each day and read it, hoping that by reading the Bible that will somehow make you right with God, know that your Bible reading is unclean. Your works will not help you. It doesn't matter how close you get to that which is holy, you do not become holy by proximity. We will miss out on the future glory as well if we do what the people did back then. So what's the solution? Well the solution is to look to Jesus. To take our eyes off our religious deeds and to set our eyes upon Christ. To look upon Him and see the wonder of the Saviour. That the One who is greater than the temple He came to this earth and lived amongst us. Lived a perfect life. He was holy and undefiled. Yet He went to the cross and He became unclean for us. He became sin for us. He dies the death we should die. He is crucified, dead and buried. But then He rises again from the dead. And now he says, your sin, even though it deserves judgment, has been paid for. Repent and believe. And that's how we can know the future glory. Now, Haggai doesn't get that technical. He doesn't walk the Jews through the Romans road. He doesn't say, here's my evangelism strategy. Instead, notice what he does. He draws upon the same language he uses in chapter 1. He uses the word, consider. Think about it. Consider your sin, consider the Saviour and come back to Him. Remember in chapter 1 we saw that consider your ways spoke of repentance. And by Haggai employing consider again in chapter 2, he is calling people to repentance. And he says repentance is the only way that you will get to see the future glory. And the same is true for us. If we want to see the future glory of the kingdom and the reign of Christ, if we want to be partakers of His kingdom, if we want eternal life and the forgiveness of sins, we need to consider also. We need to pause and consider what Jesus has done. And then by faith we are to turn to Him. And trust only in Him. And God says, if you do that, I will bless you. I will bless you is what it says here in verse 19. The blessing he gives is sins forgiven, peace with God, and the hope of eternal life. So our passage gives us a picture. There's future glory. Here's how you can partake of the future glory. But then in verse 20 to 23, Haggai finishes by reminding us of the source of that glory. Now, I know our time is pretty much gone, so we're just going to hammer through these last three verses. You see, we've already seen repeatedly that the source of future glory is Jesus Christ. It is Jesus and Jesus alone. It's not us, it's not our efforts, it's not our nation, it's not our denominations, it's not our religious practices. No, it's Jesus and Jesus alone. And Haggai brings that out by pointing to Zerubbabel. Haggai, in the final verses, points to Zerubbabel. And he says, from Zerubbabel will come the One who brings the future glory. You see, in verse 23, we are told that Zerubbabel is like a signet ring. Now a signet ring was something that royalty wore. So Haggai is saying Zerubbabel is of the kingly, Davidic line. And it's through his line that one will come who will shake the heavens, who will shake the earth, and will overthrow the nations. Now as we read a text, we have to conclude that Haggai is not speaking of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel did not overthrow the nations. Zerubbabel did not shake the heavens and the earth. In fact, he pretty much disappears from the Old Testament. You don't see much of Zerubbabel after this setting. But you do see him again. in Matthew chapter 1 verse 12 to 17. Now that's a passage I'm going to guess that none of us have memorized because that's the genealogy of Jesus. All those hard names that preachers practice to say before preaching on that passage. But if you look at all the names in the midst of it all there is Zerubbabel. The one who has the signet ring. And as you trace the names down from Zerubbabel, you come to the ultimate King. You come to Jesus the Messiah. And we see that the source of the future glory that Haggai speaks of is found in Jesus. Remember the Old Testament all points to Him. So what Haggai is saying here points to Jesus and finds its fulfillment in Jesus. The future glory for the people of God is found in our Savior. Well, as we finish, let me just quickly recap. Haggai does not want us to focus on the past. We can learn from the past, but the past is not where it's at. He doesn't even want us to focus on what's happening here and now. No, we're to look at something far greater. We're to look at the future glory. We're to look at Jesus. And we're to pursue Him. And this morning, if you are a Christian, if you love the Lord Jesus Christ, then let me encourage you, keep your eyes upon Christ. When you see those news reports saying Christianity is doomed, say, no, it's not, because my Savior lives forevermore. He holds the keys of death and hell in His hands. And nothing's going to overthrow His kingdom. Rejoice in Him. The discouragement of today will fade into nothingness when compared to Christ. So keep your eyes upon Him. But this morning, if you're not a Christian, then look to Jesus, the future glory. Look to Him by faith. See the promises that He made. See His work. See the offer of forgiveness of sins. And then look to Him. And trust in Him. And He'll forgive you. And rescue you. And bring you into His kingdom. Flee to the One who is the conquering King. Who will shake the heavens and the earth. Flee to Him. Haggai's exhortation to all of us is look to Jesus. Are you looking to him this morning? Keep your eyes on Christ. And the latter glory shall be greater than the former. Let's pray.