Rebuild the Ruins

Good afternoon family!......well, at least it's the afternoon for me as I write this blog lol. On yesterday I preached a sermon titled "Rebuild the Ruins" and that sermon title also happens to be our theme for the year at the Christian Center of Fort Worth! I preached from Haggai chapter one that deals with the prophet Haggai encouraging Israel to rebuild their temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonian army 70 years prior. The returning exiles had started to build the foundation of their temple by year two but unfortunately due to conflict, hardship and personal distractions the Israelites elected to put God and their spiritual lives on hold as each person each put his or her focus on their own lives.

I think we can learn so much from Israel in this story! We see after Haggai calls them to build the temple their reply was essentially " We don't have time" Let us remember the three points from the message in regard to priorities and what God wanted them as well as us to see today

#1.) God wants us to see the reality of our priorities

After Israel tells God they don't have time, he reminds them what they do have time for by pointing out the time they were making for their own personal goals and plans. Let us take inventory today and see what it is that we actually make time for on a given day/week/month/ year! Where we choose to invest our time truly shows what we value

#2.) God wants us to see the results of our priorities

After causing Israel to see what they prioritized, God wanted them to see the fruit their priorities were producing in their lives. He says in verse 6 "You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it" Haggai 1:6......The Lord desires us to see what effects are of placing him on the back burner! In this passage he focuses in on the lack of true satisfaction in the lives of his people as a result of their spiritual neglect. Take a look at your priorities and their effects today, perhaps you might need to adjust some things like Israel did.

#3.) God wants to see the response to our priorities

Finally, after God calls Israel to see the rotten fruit that their priorities had been producing in their lives, he wants to see the proper response to the problem. He only makes us AWARE of an issue that we might take ACTION! in Israels case, he had called them to rebuild the physical temple that they might begin to worship properly once again. In our case, under the new covenant, God isn't concerned with the proper place to worship as in a temple in Jerusalem, but he's more focused on us worshipping properly in Spirit and in Truth the way we were created to!

Be encouraged this week as you self-evaluate, knowing that even if your priorities are off base, God is merciful and gracious and only wants the best for you in the end!

Love you all, Pastor J