We're gonna be back in the book of Haggai today. So I want to begin with a word of prayer first, so let's pray. Lord, thank you for this morning, a beautiful day as far as weather goes, but also a great day to be gathered with your people here to worship you and singing and prayer and looking at your word now together. We pray you'd bless our time studying your word and looking here in Haggai to ask that you would prepare our hearts to receive all the messages You have for us to be learning here to see how these things apply in our lives that we'd be willing and teachable and eager to obey and pray you help us to understand more of your character and your glory today through the things we're studying. Pray you guide my words that they would be accurate and true and bring glory to Christ. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. So imagine with me that maybe you and a couple of friends were going to get together and do a landscape project. Maybe we're going to build a retaining wall. And so I might say, hop in my truck, take it over to the job site. I'm going to pick up some materials. I'll meet you over there. And so you get to the job site, you're waiting for me, and you decide, oh, maybe we should go ahead and get tools out to get ready for this job. So you open back the truck, and in your eyes, there's no tools in the truck. And that would be a big problem. You have to have equipment, you have to be equipped in order to do the job that you have to do, in order to do the work that we have before us. And we can see that God's Word equips us for the work that God has for us to do. We can see in 2 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 16 and 17, All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. So the passage we have today in Haggai is part of God's work, and it's how God will equip us for the good work that He has for us to be doing. It's also how God is equipping the people in Haggai's day for the good work that He had for them to be doing. We're going to begin this morning by reviewing where we've been so far in Haggai. So as you're turning there in Haggai, today we're going to be in chapter two, but review back of what we've covered so far. We said that the overall theme for Haggai is about being the people of God. So as we look at Haggai, we're going to be learning more about what does it mean to be the people of God? How does that look when they live that out, when they're obeying God rightly? So if you're taking notes here in Bolton, that's the first planks, being the people of God. Now we also have a summary for Haggai. What we're going to see as we're going through Haggai is that God calls his people to join in the great work that only he can accomplish. God calls his people to join in the great work that only he can accomplish. So last week we saw kind of the beginning of that where God is calling his people to continue building the temple, to resume construction on the temple. We're going to see more today about, in this second prophecy, that it's a great work. We'll especially see that even in the second half of this sermon. I'm going to do it in two parts. So this prophecy will cover the first part of it today, verses 1-6, and next week we'll look at the last part of that prophecy, which is verses 7-9. So in the first two sermons, remember, we've seen that God addresses the people and he brings to light their focus. They're focused in the wrong places. Remember, kind of centered on verse eight, where he says, go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple. But I may be pleased with it and be glorified, says the Lord. So rather than focusing on the houses, or focusing on their farming, or whatever it was that was keeping them busy, God says, don't focus on the gifts, but pursue God himself. And that was our theme for that first prophecy. The people have responded well, you remember, and they, Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, high priest, and all the people, get together, the Lord stirs them up, enables them to obey, and they begin building. And God sends another short message to Haggai that, I'm with you. And so we see things are off to a great track, And we're going to pick up today now in chapter 2. And I just want to read through the text first. So Haggai chapter 2, I'm going to read verses 1 through 9. On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnants of the people, saying, Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison? But now take courage, Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Take courage also, Joshua, son of Jehoshaphat, the high priest, and all you people of the land. Take courage, declares the Lord, and work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts. As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My spear is abiding in your midst, do not fear. For thus says the Lord of hosts, once more in a little while I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations and they will come with the wealth of all nations. 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 will be greater than the former. says the Lord of hosts, and in this place I shall give peace, declares the Lord of hosts. We'll stop there for today in that chapter. So our theme for this whole second prophecy of Haggai is going to be stick to the work God gives you because his plan is perfect. Stick to the work God gives you because his plan is perfect. God's people may at times be tempted to give up on the work that God's given them because they feel too difficult Or maybe they feel it's not significant enough. It's not they're not making a difference. Is this really worthwhile? This is because we're not seeing the full picture not seeing everything that God knows about the situation and in reality God's using his people to bring about a masterpiece for his glory and so Even though we can't see it all that at that moment God's working working through his people for his glory and And as I already said, we're going to focus on verses 1 through 6 today in the text and look at 7 through 9 next week. So for today, I want to pull out three principles. We're going to be seeing some details about the participants in God's work. We're going to be seeing some things about their initial impression, how did they feel about it as it was getting started. And we're also going to see where their strength was coming at, how they were strengthened to do that work. kind of following that route we've been following in the other sermons we had, we'll first look at the text, we'll consider what did that mean for the people of those days, Haggai's days, and then we'll consider Christ and how did the principles that we were seeing in the text point us towards Christ, and then ultimately we'll consider application. What does this text mean for us today? How is this text equipping us to do the work that God's given us to do? So, first we'll look at verse one in the text, and this is really the context that gets us set for where we're at in time. He says in verse 1, on the 21st of the 7th month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet. So this is just giving us a stamp in time of where this happens. Haggai does a good job of telling us that on every one of the prophecies. Remember the last one was in the 6th month, starting on the first day of the month. That section in chapter one ended on the 24th day of the month. So now we're about one month later in time. We've come to this 21st day of the seventh month. I checked, last time it was, remember that chiasm structure, all kind of pointed in the middle. We don't have that in this chapter. So that's not there, but he does give us the time. Now it's, if we, the study Bible says that'd be about October 17th, 520 B.C. So about this same time of year. It's actually kind of interesting, priesthood Haggai during that same, It wouldn't fall there for them, I believe. And so, yeah, I said it comes one month after the first prophecy. So they received that call to start working. They get started on it. You know, there's eagerness, probably excitement. Hey, we're making progress. It feels good to be obeying the Lord. And now we're going to get our next snippet view. How's things going a month later? The 21st day of the seventh month is interesting. That's a significant day if we think about the fall feasts that God had for his people. If we went back to Leviticus 23, we can see there's three fall feasts, and they all happen in the seventh month. On the first day of that seventh month was the Feast of Trumpets. Then the 10th day was to be the Day of Atonement. And the 15th day is the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles. And so the Feast of Booths, they're supposed to live in these shelters made out of branches for seven days. So the last day of that would be the 21st day of the seventh month. And that's the day the Lord gives his prophecy through Haggai. So that's interesting. That would be a time in Leviticus 23, we have a little bit of detail about the Feast of Booths, what the Lord intended that to be for the people. He says, chapter 23, verse 42 through 43 of Leviticus, you shall live in booths for seven days. All the native born in Israel shall live in booths. so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God." So this would be an opportunity for them to be reflecting on how God had dealt with them as he brought them out of Egypt, an opportunity for them to be teaching their children. came out of exile in Egypt. They're delivered and brought across through the Red Sea. They came to Canaan, or not Canaan, to the Mount Sinai. And how God had instructed them to build a tabernacle, God was going to dwell there among them. So it's really a fitting time for this prophecy in Haggai, where they're called to be rebuilt in the temple and instructions that continuing season of them rebuilding the temple. Once again, God has brought us back from exile, this time not from Egypt, but from Babylon. And once again, he's instructed them to be building, not a tabernacle this time, but rebuilding the temple that had been destroyed. What's interesting though, as we look at more context about Haggai, and we go look at Nehemiah, they actually weren't celebrating the Feast of Booths. And even in the days of Haggai, they weren't celebrating the Feast of Booths. Because it says in Nehemiah chapter 8, so this happens about 75 years after the time of Haggai, it says, Nehemiah 8, the people have been rebuilding the city, remember? And the elders get together with Ezra, they're studying the law, they want to understand the text, the scriptures better. And it says, they found written in the law, our Lord had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel should live in booths during the feast of the seventh month. So that would be that feast of booths. And then a couple of verses later we see, the sons of Israel had indeed not done so from the days of Joshua, the son of Nun, to that day. I spent quite a bit of time studying this passage out and thinking, oh, it's the Feast of Booths. And then I stumbled across this other passage and realized they weren't even celebrating the Feast of Booths. Probably Haggart might not even have known that was something they should have been celebrating. But God knew in His timing and calendar and that this was something significant. So it's a fitting time for Him to be giving this prophecy. All that kind of background to see why is that a significant date, although the people probably never appreciated that detail of it. It's the 21st day of the 7th month. Now we're going to get into the message of this prophecy, starting in verse 2. This is what the Lord says. And this first principle we're going to see is that all God's people have a role in God's work. All God's people have a role in God's work. So Haggai chapter 2 verse 2 says, Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Sheltiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehoshadak, the high priest. and to the remnant of the people saying, so, in this first verse, chapter, verse two, we see that the prophecy begins, he addresses Zerubbabel, the governor, Joshua, the high priest, and the remnant, everybody. And so, who is God, it's like, he's gonna give instructions on building the temple, and who does he talk to? Everyone, you all have a role in God's work. We can see that again in verse four of the same passage, the Lord's gonna speak to all of them, he says, But now take courage, Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Take courage also Joshua, the son of Jehoshaphat, the high priest. And all you people of the land, take courage, declares the Lord, and work. For I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts. So again there, he's talking to all the people. This is not a solo project for Zerubbabel and for Joshua to take on. God's work is for all of his people to be doing. They all have a role to play in that. So that's our first point. All God's people have a role in God's work. Now we're going to see the second principle, and this is going to be talking about their impression of this work as they're getting started. What's their initial impression of the rebuilding of the temple? And the principle we want to draw out of these next verses is that sometimes serving God seems insignificant. Sometimes serving God seems insignificant. Look at verse 3. It says, Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? How do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison? But then, as they're getting a little bit into it, their perspective's starting to change a little bit. Some of them would remember the temple that Solomon had built, and it's the glory and the splendor of that. And so, the older people that remember that would say, you know, this temple we're building isn't gonna be as great as that one. Because see, like, we're not on track to build such a great, it's not going to be as much glory as the first one. And so they might be starting to feel a little bit discouraged by the work they're doing that's not as significant. It's kind of like if you, maybe you start a project and then you go in for a couple days and come home and work on it again, and you come back and it's like, oh, this is not going as well as I remembered. Right in the moment, it seemed good, but as you get a perspective of the work that's going on, you might sometimes get discouraged that it's not going as well as you had hoped, or as well as you had pictured. This is the same reaction that the exiles had had about 15 years earlier when they first come back to land under, I don't think Ezra was with them at the time, but they first get back to land, they start to rebuild the temple, and remember it says they're laying the foundation. Some people were weeping because they saw that it wasn't as grand as it was the first time. Other people were in joy because they're making progress on the temple, so weeping and joy, that sound is all mixed together. That was in Ezra 3. So a similar feeling. Now we are about 15 years later. The Lord tells them, hey, you resume working on the temple, rebuilding that. And again, there's that. They might feel discouraged by the Lord saying, look, I know you can see it's not as great as what it was originally. And so from that verse, we're drawing the principle again. Sometimes serving God seems insignificant. Now, our third principle is going to be related to the strength of the work, and that's that God's favor is with them, and the principle is going to be God's people are strengthened by His favor. God's people are strengthened by His favor. We'll look at verses 4 and 5 for that. It says, But now take courage, Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Take courage also, Joshua, son of Jehoshaphat, the high priest, and all you people of the land. Take courage, declares the Lord, and work. For I am with you, declares the Lord. of hosts. As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, my spirit is abiding in your midst. Do not fear." So, as they're realizing the new temple is a poor comparison to the first temple, and they might feel discouraged, God now is going to encourage them. He says, take courage, Zerubbabel. Take courage, Joshua. All you people of the land, take courage. And then he tells them, he's telling them what to do, take courage, but he tells them, why should you take courage? Because we're, I am with you. Just like he told them about a month ago when they started rebuilding the temple, he says, I'm with you. He's reminding them of that again. I'm with you. He wants them to be strengthened knowing that God is with them, his favor is with them. It echoes the instructions that we had given to Joshua when they first come into the land of Canaan. The Lord had said to Joshua in chapter one, verse nine of Joshua, have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. So God was with his people then, he's with his people again now in Haggai. God's favor strengthens them for the task at hand. We can see another example if we look at the New Testament of God's presence associated with his favor of someone. If we look at when the angel comes to Mary in Luke chapter 1 verse 28, it says, Greetings favored one, the Lord is with you. So we see that the Lord's presence associated with his favor again there. People of Haggai's day were to be encouraged for the work because God's favor was with them. It's not a wavering favor that kind of coming and going. It's stable. We can see that in verse 5 of Haggai where it says, As for the promise which I have made for you, when you came out of Egypt, my spirit is abiding in your midst. Do not fear. So he pulls their minds back to think about when they had come out of Egypt and had come to Mount Sinai and God had made a promise that he would be with them. In Exodus 29, verses 45 through 46, it says, I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will be their God. They shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. So God had brought them out of Egypt so that He could dwell among them and be their God, they would be His people. And so, he's reminding them again, hey, just like that covenant, it still continues, you're still in that covenant that was made at Sinai, and I'm still with you, even now. And so, the exiles might have been wondering, you know, we had this series of bad kings, and we were carried away into exile in Babylon, now we've come back, you know, Where does that leave us? How do we relate to God now? God says, no, I haven't given up on you, I haven't abandoned you, I'm still with you, and I'm here to help you, my favor's on you as you guys obey me and take on this work that I've given you. So that, again, that third principle, God's people are strengthened by his favor. So we've seen the, now so far, the participants in the work, everyone has a role to play in God's work, and we've seen their impression of the work, they felt like it was inferior or insignificant, And we've seen the strength, the source of strength for the work is that knowing that God's favor is on God with them there. Now we're going to consider Christ, and we're going to see if Christ was doing God's work, then how might we see these principles pointing us to Christ or fulfilled in Christ? So, considering Christ, the first principle, again, was that if all God's people have a role in God's work, then we'll consider Christ leads God's people in the work of glorifying God. Christ leads God's people in the work of glorifying God. So, I'll stop here for an important clarification. When we say that all God's people have a role in God's work, we're not talking about them earning their salvation. We don't have a role in trying to do good things to earn our salvation. Christ has completed that work Himself. That's the work of Christ alone. But the work that we're talking about here is the work like we saw in Haggai 1. God calls his people to go to the temple for his glory. And so the work of glorifying God is something that all God's people have a role in, both in Haggai's day and in our day. We're going to see later in the application. And that work of glorifying God, Christ is at the forefront of that work as well. And that makes sense because in Haggai, remember who's leading the work? All the people are called to work, but who's leading the work? It's Zerubbabel and Joshua, the governor, high priest. And as we considered some last week, or last time I preached, Christ is the better king, that better high priest. So what the governor and the high priest were pointing us towards, Christ is the fulfillment of that. So it makes sense that Christ would lead his people in the work of glorifying God. We could look at Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3 to see that Christ is displaying God's glory for the world. It says that Christ is the radiance of his, that's God's glory, and the exact representation of God's nature. The author of Hebrews says, if you want to see the glory of God, you just have to look at Christ. He is the exact representation of that. We also see in John 17, I think we looked at this verse last time I preached, John 17, verse 1b, where Christ expressly says that his desire is that God would be glorified. So this is at the Last Supper, right before the betrayal and the crucifixion, Christ is praying, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son. but the Son may glorify you." So see, Jesus is all about God's glory and He's leading His people in that work of glorifying God. As He's offering salvation to all people, He's inviting all people to join in that work of glorifying God. So that's the first principle that points us to Christ, that Christ leads God's people in the work of glorifying God. Now the second principle we looked at in the text was that sometimes serving God seems insignificant. So we can consider Christ now and see that Christ's ministry appeared to fail. Christ's ministry appeared to fail. So, remember in the text, the people of Haggai, when they step back and look at the temple they're starting to build, the foundations being laid, they're disappointed. Like, this doesn't seem like it's amounting to very much. They're not impressed. It lacks the splendor, the glory of what they were expecting. And they might have been questioning, is God going to be pleased by this? This doesn't look like it's accomplishing that much. Is this really worthwhile? Well, we might see a similar pattern when we look at Christ's ministry, which also appeared to fail at that point of the crucifixion. Now, we know the story. We're very familiar with the whole story. And so we can't think of the crucifixion without thinking of the resurrection. And so we don't maybe appreciate that it looks like everything was falling apart and really was failing, like the people in the moment, the disciples would have been feeling. Christ would come, present himself as Son of God, he's calling people to repent, to fall after him. But he's rejected by the people. He's rejected by the religious leaders. He's arrested, condemned, executed. And his disciples, those that were following after him, who had thought, hey, this is God's work. We're on track. Well, then they abandon him. And they're scattered. And they deny they know him. And at that point, Saturday night after the crucifixion, it would look like maybe Jesus' ministry had failed. But of course it didn't. Isaiah 53 anticipated that it would go, that it would look like that. Isaiah 53 verse 3, prophesying about the coming of the Messiah, he says, He was despised and forsaken of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And like one from whom men hide their face, he was despised, and we did not esteem him. So an observer in Jesus' day might have thought that Jesus' ministry didn't amount to much, but we know that was only for that time until Christ's resurrection. Sunday morning comes, Christ is raised from the dead, and then an abundance of God's glory is displayed. God seems to love those surprise endings where everything turns, but there was a point in Christ's ministry where it appeared like it was insignificant, like it was failing in some way, and so that's kind of the ultimate of that principle that we've been seeing in the text today. Now the third principle we had drawn from the text was that God's people are strengthened by His favor. And so, now we'll consider Christ and see that Christ made God's favor possible for His people. Christ made God's favor possible for His people. Remember, in Haggai, the people were to be strengthened because they know that God is with them. His favor is upon them. But how has God put his favor on imperfect people? It's not that the people of Haggai's day were such great people and deserved God's favor somehow. It definitely wasn't a perfect generation. We can see from Haggai 1, they had the wrong priorities. They were focused on their houses, their lands. Instead of working on glorifying God and focusing on God, they were focused on those other benefits of being back in their land. we can see that it's Christ who allowed them to have God's favor on them, even then. So if we look at Romans 3, verse 25, Paul's talking about the wrath of God that was poured out on Christ, and he says, this was to demonstrate God's righteousness, because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed. So see that the sins of the people, even in Haggai's day, God was patiently overlooking those for a time. They would be covered by sacrifices until the day when Christ would come and erase those sins. So it was Christ who allowed the people to have God's favor, even back in the days of Haggai. And of course, it will point us to today as well. So at the cross, Christ paid the price for all sins, both before and after. That's how the people in Haggai's day were able to have God's favor, and that's how we'll have God's favor today as well. Okay, so we looked at how the text talked about the participants and who would be doing the work of God, and we talked about what they'd be feeling that this is an insignificant work, and we've seen that they're encouraged to continue the work because of God's favor that was on them through Christ. And we see that Christ, we also consider how this points to Christ. Christ was leading his people in the work of glorifying God. He's victorious in the midst of what was an apparent failure. It looked like a failure at one point in his ministry. And he's bringing God's favor to his people. But now we want to consider, how does this apply to us? What does this text mean for us? How is this text going to equip us to do God's work? And so I want to think back through these principles one more time. If all God's people have a role in God's work, then our first application will be that we should embrace your part in God's work. Embrace your part in God's work. If you're part of the people of God, if you recognize that Christ has finished the work of salvation, and the work that we couldn't do, turned from your sin, repented, embraced that free gift, then God has saved you, and He has you for His work, to be doing His work for His glory. Paul makes it clear in Ephesians that we're saved by grace for the purpose of engaging in good works. In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 through 10, it says, For by grace we have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we would walk in them. Again, it says there, we were created in Christ Jesus for good works. You were made for the good works. You were made for that role that God had for you, the role in God's work. Similarly, Paul tells Titus in chapter two, verse 14 of Titus, Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for himself a people for his own possession. He is zealous for good works. Zealous for good works. If you're a part of Christ's people, then you have a role to do in God's work. And one more passage makes it clear that everyone has a role in this. In 1 Corinthians 12, verse 12, it says, For even as the body, let's talk about the church, for even as the body is one, and it has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. And Paul goes on through that passage talking about the parts of the body, you know, similar, comparing the church to like a physical body. You know, you have some parts of a foot or a hand. maybe an eye or an ear and each part has a role that God's made it you know they don't have the same role but they all have a role to do in the work that God's given them to do and every believer has these spiritual gifts that God's given them that they can build up the church and so part of the way that we engage in the work that God's given us is to be building up the local church by practicing the gifts that he's given us it might not look the same as whoever it is around you and how their gifts are being practiced but we all have a role to play in that and so we ought to be So you can understand what can we be doing and opportunity to serve and serving in those ways. We don't have to wonder if we have a role to play. If you're a believer, you have a role to play in that. So embrace your part in God's work. Our second application is going to come from that principle that said, if God's work sometimes seems insignificant, then don't be discouraged by seemingly insignificant results. Don't be discouraged by seemingly insignificant results. So remember, people in Haggai's day are disappointed because the temple they're building doesn't seem like it's going to be that impressive. It's inferior to the previous temple that had been destroyed. And also you can think of Christ's ministry, that it appeared to fail at one point until the resurrection. Well, sometimes also the work that we have, that we're engaged in serving God also is going to appear insignificant. In Colossians 3, Paul is writing even to slaves in Colossians 3, and he tells them, Whatever you do, do you work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. So the work of a slave, I'm sure, is not always glamorous, but Paul tells even that is significant. It can be done with the attitude of doing as for the Lord. It can be active worship as you're serving, even in those small ways. Or the parable that Gary Olds read for us today, Matthew 25, we can see that Christ and the king in that passage valued even what seemed like insignificant work. Remember what he tells the sheep in verse 34 of Matthew 25. Then the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed to my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Father is hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in, naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me." Then the righteous will answer him, "'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?' The king will answer and say to them, "'Truly I say to you, To the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me." We can see that the king appreciated even what seemed like these insignificant acts of service the people had done, the sheep in that case, the God's people had done in their lifetime. They didn't realize it, but they were serving Christ. But God noticed, and He was pleased by that service. So what does this look like in our lives? When we recognize ways that we can be obeying the commandment of God, the will of God, even if it seems insignificant, we ought to engage in those opportunities as well. So maybe kids that might look like doing the chores around the house, helping out with your responsibilities, that can be serving the Lord, or praying for your cousin, or your grandparents, or whoever it is, things that may seem like they don't make a lot of difference immediately, but they're valuable. Or mothers, maybe, or women. Encouraging a friend. You know, call a friend, someone that you know needs encouragement. Or maybe preparing meals. Maybe cleaning house. Things that might seem like routine things, but it can be done in service to the Lord and be part of continuing the work that God has. or Father's Law, your work probably is to go do your job, which is gonna be providing for your family, but there's also other things, taking time to study God's Word so you're able to teach it well to your families, so you're able to engage well in questions our church is working through and things we're studying as a church. So we all have things to be doing, and our lives are full of mostly just a long series of ordinary moments, and so don't be waiting around for some extraordinary opportunity to serve the Lord. Take the time to engage in those ordinary moments, and serve God even in those small ways, and don't be discouraged by insignificant results. Now our last principle, we said if God's people are strengthened by His favor, then we can take courage and work because God is for us. Remember the people in Haggai's day were going to be strengthened because they know that God is with them. God wanted them to know that His favor was upon them. Today we, as believers, can be encouraged by God's favor. We have a clearer view, even clearer than the people of Haggai's day, of God's favor is on us. We can see clear how Christ has gained God's favor on our behalf. Christ has brought us in a new covenant, a closer relationship than ever with God. Like the people of Haggai, we're going to face struggles, setbacks, we might get discouraged at times. In Romans 8, Paul reminds us that God's favor is towards the believers. In Romans 8.28, he says, And we know that God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. God is working for our good. A few verses later, in 8.31 and 8.32 of Romans, he says, What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all. How are we not also with Him, free to give us all things? We don't need to fear when with trials and things are difficult, the work is discouraging. Christ is sure evidence that God's favor is towards us. That's thought to lead us to a boldness in obeying God. We can take example of that boldness as we think about Peter and John, Acts 4. Remember, they are coming to the temple and they, this is shortly after the Day of Pentecost. They come to the temple and they hear about a lame man, and people are coming to them to have an opportunity to preach the gospel while people are being saved. Then they get arrested by the Sadducees and the temple guards. And the next day they're ordered not to speak at all in the name of Jesus. But in Acts 4, 19 and 20, Peter and John answer and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge. For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard." So you see, they had a lot of boldness. They knew that they were obeying God, and they didn't need to be fearing men, because God is with them. And what about you? What work is God giving you to be doing? Are you nervous about what it might cost you, or maybe what people might think of you? afraid it might put you in a situation you feel like you're out of control of all the details of your life. These are opportunities where we can be trusting God and we can take courage and do the work that God's given us to be doing. We can remember in Christ, we have God's favor, it's sure. So, summary now of the sermon, we saw that first principle, all God's people have a role in God's work. We've seen then how Christ was leading his people in the work of glorifying God, and we saw that in light of all that, we should engage diligently in the work that God's given us. And we also saw a principle that sometimes serving God seems insignificant. And we saw that in Christ's ministry, it appeared even that it had failed at one point. And we saw the application we need not be discouraged by seemingly insignificant results. In the third principle, God's people are strengthened by His favor. And we saw that Christ is the one really who accomplished that, that God's people can have God's favor upon them. And so for us, rather than be discouraged, we can take courage and engage in the work that God's given us. Like we said at the beginning in 2 Timothy 3, verse 16, all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." So we've seen today how God was using the prophecy in Haggai to equip His people for the work that He had for them to be doing, and it's also recorded for our benefit. Like the people of Haggai, let's stick to the work God gives us, because His plan is perfect. Let's pray. Gloria, thank you for your word here in Haggai that's recorded and preserved through time that we would have it. We pray that we would all be engaged in the work that you've given us to be doing. We pray that we would not be discouraged when it doesn't appear to have a lot of progress in the short run. We pray that you would be a guidance to continue to engage in things that will bring you glory. We thank you that you're with us and we have your favor through Christ. We pray all this in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Amen. Comments, maybe questions if they're not too hard, and clarification on other things. Yeah. Well, I'll let you decide whether or not this is a hard question. Okay, chime in. Why is it so easy to be discouraged? I suppose if we're evaluating the wrong things maybe, or looking at a short picture of You know just in an hour. We want quick results, and so you don't see quick results and I feel like oh this isn't Working do you have any more thoughts on that? Well, I think we would all agree that Our time frame is not God's Yeah, and so It seems almost natural To be discouraged yet our hope Should not and cannot be in You should say, here and now. Yeah. Yeah. Did you guys all hear that? He said, our hope can't be in the here and now. So to not be discouraged by a too short term review. Yeah? I guess I'll just have my summary of the testimony with Matthew 25. OK. I mean, I went to the store to buy Friday. And, um, we're going to start a new show on Monday. And, um, I'm still thinking about that. And, um, I don't want to place the solace in my name. And Natasha is just starting to come out behind me. Just put my money back in my purse and just paid for it all. So it was like a testimony, you know, just not to come by. So that was a blessing to us. Not just one cashier, but like two. I said, I wish I don't move.