Reclaim | Take Care of the Important Stuff First

Take Care of the Important Stuff First | Haggai 1Isaiah 58:12 “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”

Ezra 3:11a “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” 

Ezra 5:1-2 “Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.”

Haggai’s 3 Directives to Rebuild the Temple
1. Make God your first priority (1:1-4)

Haggai 1:2“This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’”

3 Actions to Make God your First Priority:
A. Stop justifying your inaction to God’s calling.
“The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.”

Benjamin Franklin “I never knew a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else.” 

B. Stay focused on how God is working.

Isaiah 45:13a “I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free,”

C. Live a life consistent with God’s calling.

Haggai 1:4“Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”

Warren Wiersbe “…some of the people had built, not just ordinary dwellings, but “paneled houses,” the kind that kings built for themselves.”

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

Is God the first priority in all areas of our lives?

2. Evaluate your ways (Haggai 1:5-11)
Haggai 1:5 “Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.”

Haggai 1:9 “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.”

What would God say if He evaluated your calling?
3. Start serving God (Haggai 1:12-15)

Woodrow Kroll “The God who knows you best knows the best for you.”

Romans 8:28 “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” (NASB).

Haggai 1:12 “Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.”

“feared the Lord” means “reverent awe and respect for God”

Haggai 1:13 “Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord.”

Philippians 2:13 “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

1. What’s my business?
2. How’s business?

1 John 4:4b KJV “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”