Key Verse: “Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.” Haggai 1:8,KJV

To be Baptist is to believe the Bible but to be Missionary is to believe that we are called to work the works of Christ by spreading the gospel and ministering to those in need across the globe (i.e, Lott Carey, Betsey Stockton etc.)

We as Baptists believe the Bible is infallible and trust that God has called out of darkness into the church where our growth as Christians includes the building of our faith, the fellowship with each another and the worship of our God.

• Build Faith by Hearing the Word of God and Carrying on the Works of God
• Fellowship with each other by embracing the family values of love, unity, respect and encouragement
• Worship God by offering Him our Time, Talent and Treasure for the purpose of uplifting Father, Son & Holy Spirit Only

GREEK DEFINITION(S):

Phonetic Spelling: ( ek-klay-see’-ah )  V. Transliteration: Ekklesia     MEANING: To be called out

BEAUTIFUL BLESSINGS OF BEING IN A MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

          Baptist Church members lend their unique gifts to God to build His Kingdom

Scripture	Text	Thought
Ex 25:8	Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.	Presence
Ex 25:9	According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.	Pattern
Ex 31:7	the tent of meeting, and the ark of testimony, and the mercy seat upon it, and all the furniture of the tent,	Property
Lv 19:30	You shall keep My sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the Lord.	Priority
1 Ki 9:1	And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,	Property * notice its not the house of Solomon
2 Chr 7:7 CR: 2 CHR 7:14	When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house.	Presence
Matt 4:23	Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.	Presence/Emmanuel *notice jews used these for daily prayer, reading & sermons *note: The Greek word synagoge [sunagwghv] means “assembly”
1 Pet 2:9	You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.	Presence   *Ecclesia which means congregation/church

Introduction:

Presupposition(s):

1. The Christian Church has been created by God for His People to Assemble and Seek His Presence.        
2. The Presence of the Lord is Always Here and Always Revealed through Christian Faith & Christian Work.

Thesis: God-Ordained Christian Work includes our individual investment of Time, Talents and Treasure!

• Ex 25-31;35-40 First mention of Sanctuary or Tabernacle
• Temple or House of the Lord
• Synagogue
• Church
• Tonights text backdrop is
• Post Egyptian Slavery 400 years
• Babylonian Enslavement 70 years
• Post Exilic period circa 561BC
• They’ve returned but failed to rebuild for 20 years

20 Considerations for Every Christian

Chapter One

1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,

• God has a destiny for His people that we often derail due to our own doing

² Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.

• God desires that we devote some Time to Him

³ Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,

• God determines the method, model & man or woman to whom He Speaks (He uses whom He chooses) CR: Eph 4:11, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers

⁴ Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?

• Gods Church is the primary means through which His Presence is Experienced

⁵ Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.

• God places high priority on His people coming into His Holy Presence

⁶ Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

• Apart from Gods Presence Life is devoid of Purpose and only little, lack and loss are left

⁷ Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.

⁸ Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.

• God desires glory through our investment of Time, Talent and Treasure

⁹ Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

¹⁰ Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.

• God knows what we need and desires that we have it

¹¹ And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

• Without Gods Presence nothing we do will Prosper

¹² Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord.

¹³ Then spake Haggai the Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord.

• Responding to Gods Word always Reaps Rewards

¹⁴ And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,

• Responsiveness to God removes the barriers that block our blessings

¹⁵ In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

Chapter 2

2 In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying,

² Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying,

³ Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?

• Gods Biggest blessings often start out small CR: Matt 13:18

⁴ Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts:

• God desires that everyone of us offer back to Him our talents

Everybody cant do Everything but Everybody Can do Something

⁵ According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.

• God desires that we are faithful and not fearful

⁶ For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;

⁷ And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.

• People are edified when God is Glorified through our time, talent and treasure

⁸ The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.

• Giving back to the one who gave us all we have is not a loss but a gain

⁹ The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.

This was a reference to the Prince of Peace who would walk into the Temple

• Gods Promises His Presence to all who Praise Him Publicly through their time, talents and treasures

¹⁰ In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,

¹¹ Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying,

¹² If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No.

¹³ Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.

¹⁴ Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

¹⁵ And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord:

¹⁶ Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.

¹⁷ I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the Lord.

¹⁸ Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider it.

¹⁹ Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

• When we get serious about Gods Stuff then He gets serious about our stuff

²⁰ And again the word of the Lord came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying,

²¹ Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;

²² And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

²³ In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts.

• God desires us to access all kinds of the things in the natural but first we must actualize the Spiritual

ILLUSTRATION:                                                           

FOR FURTHER STUDY:

CONCLUSION:                                                                                                                                        

PRAYER LIST: Bro. Alonzo “PeeWee” Lewis    

QUESTIONS?  

HOMEWORK:    Job 38