Text: Haggai 1:1-11

My purpose for this message: Do I spend so much of my money on other things that there’s little left for God?  And, does He get our first fruits?

Delivered: March 7, 2010

 

 

Best Investment

Pray.

“Growing for God’s Glory” is neither cheap—nor painfree.  Did you remember to wear steel-toed shoes today?  As we’re gearing up for a massive 3 year campaign to raise nearly $2 million, this is the 3^rd of 4 messages on giving.  We’re going to read what an ancient prophet named Haggai said to people of his day about the American dream: owning your own home.   

We know that a house is your best investment because…

·       Its worth goes up—especially if you keep it more than 5 years

·       Mortgage interest is deductible

·       Over time the mortgage becomes less and less burdensome since your income usually grows while your mortgage stays the same

·       Someday you’ll have neither rent nor mortgage payments.

So we buy or build a home, furnish it with nice things, remodel it and maintain it well.  It’s something we’re proud of.  Personally, it’s my most prized possession: you can have my cars, tools, musical instruments, TV, my computer, just don’t take my house.

 

But… FIND Haggai 1:1-11.  (By the way, stick with me even if you don’t own a house.  There is a truth for you behind Haggai’s truth.)

Israeli Jews are fiercely protective of their nation since prior to 1948 they were taken advantage of, persecuted, hated, butchered and enslaved.  That was their history for 2500 years.  In 586 B.C. Israel ceased to be a nation.  11 years before the southern kingdom of Judah—all that was left of Israel, had become weaker and weaker and eventually surrendered to King Nebuchadnezzar.  Babylon’s conquering king installed a royal heir named Zedekiah in Jerusalem as a puppet king to take orders, and pay Babylon a lot of money every year.

Zedekiah got fed up and after 9 years revolted.  As Jeremiah had warned, that was a bad move and soon Jerusalem was surrounded by a Gentile army which left no one in or out for 18 months.  Food was scarce—and then ran out and the people became little more than walking skeletons.

Finally the wall was breached, the ragged remnants of Israel’s army captured and killed, and Jerusalem was sacked.  The massive stone walls that protected the city were torn down and enemy soldiers leveled Solomon’s temple.  Anyone who was anybody was taken to Babylon as a POW.  Only some of the poorest Jews were left to tend to the fields and vineyards.

A half of a century went by.  52 years to be exact.

Babylon had changed hands and the Persian king Cyrus was actually taking orders from Yahweh.  At God’s bidding, Cyrus invited Jews whose families had been deported to Babylon after Jerusalem fell, to go back and rebuild their temple.  He even sent with them gold and silver items Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple.  Ezra 2 says about 50,000 Jews went back.

They got the temple’s foundation laid before opposition surfaced. Locals, alarmed by the progress opposed the project and through some official maneuvering, put the project on hold for 18 years.  So the Jews turned their attentions to their own homes, fixing them up so they were nice and comfortable—even luxurious.  Out the window on the elevated rise that was Mt. Moriah, they could see God’s unfinished house.

When anyone was bold enough to suggest they get back to work on the temple, the answer was always the same: “Now’s not the right time.”  It sounds wise—as if the pros and cons have been weighed and appropriate caution is being exercised.  But in fact the people may have simply been scared, or didn’t think the cost is worth it. 

Haggai called them out.  READ Haggai 1:1-11. 

 

1.     Self-indulgent people, neglected God.  1:4, 9b

When they left Babylon, these people had the best intentions: “Let’s go rebuild God’s house!”  Vision is always exciting, painting a picture of a bright future.  But the road to every bright future is strew with obstacles; always is.  When opposed by powerful neighbors like Rehum, Shimshai, and Tattenai (see the book of Ezra), it was easier to tackle a project without obstacles: let’s build and improve our own houses.

And so they installed new flooring and replaced the drapes; they remodeled kitchens and bathrooms, added decks and patios; they landscaped and created gardens; they painted, tiled, and put on additions.  And God was dismayed—not because He wanted them sleeping under the stars or even because they had spent too much on remodeling.  But the price for improving their houses, was neglecting His.  Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?  The truth behind Haggai’s truth was that the people’s problem was a priority problem, not just a house problem.  They neglected God’s work for their own works.  It could have been anything that diverted their attention and resources—just like it can be for us.

  

2.     A link between confused priorities and financial failure?   1:5-11 (cf. Mal.3:10-11)

The price of your self-indulgence has been… 

·       You plant much but have poor harvests

·       You never have enough to eat

·       You never have enough to drink

·       Your clothes don’t keep you warm

·       Your wages don’t last nearly long enough

The casual observer might have said, “Well, you know it’s a bad economy,” or, “the weather hasn’t been working in our favor lately,” or “I need to find a job that pays better,” or “I guess I shouldn’t have set my sights so high”.  But God said, “Your problems are not economical; they’re not climate or wage-related; not due to too much ambition.”

You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.  What you brought home, I blew away.  Why?  Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house (9).  God had interfered with their success.  Not because they owned homes, or even because they were luxurious (paneled), but because they indulged themselves in their houses, at the expense of God’s work.

The average church-goer in America gives the Lord between 2-3% of his/her income.  Whether the economy soars or bottoms out, that statistic has changed little.  And yet American homes get bigger and bigger, more and more lavish, while people go deeper and deeper into debt to pull it off.

Haggai hits me close to home because if someone handed me $20,000, I’d dump it all into my house.  But maybe that’s not you.  Give it to Betty, and she’d be booking flights to Switzerland, France, and God knows where else.  Some of my friends at the Sporstman’s Association would buy a couple of new guns—or just one plus a Kodiak bear hunt.  Some of you are fashion horses who fill your closets with so many purchases that you don’t have to wear the same outfit more than once a month.

Maybe you’re into cars or pickups or motorcycles, or maybe like fine dining…, or investing.  Haggai’s prophecy only starts with the house, it doesn’t end there.  Is there anything I spend so much money on that I can’t give to the Lord’s work, or can’t give as much as He asks?  So ponder these 2 questions:

1.    What do I love to spend my money on?  In most cases, the answer is neutral, not right or wrong.   The next one’s different.

2.    In light of my answer to the first question, Is God getting my first fruits, my leftover scraps, or nothing at all?  Proverbs 3:9 reads: Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops…?  When you get your paycheck, your commission check, when you determine your budget, is God first in line, somewhere in the middle, or not even in line? 

Firstfruits.  Since it is God who gives each one of us the ability to earn wealth, we should not be surprised if He links His generosity to us, with our generosity to Him.

Does He get His portion first?  And is the portion He gets what He’s asked from you?  If not, it may explain a lot about why your income never seems to measure up to your outgo. 

The occasion for this sermon is the building project that God willing, we’ll start in 2012.  But even if we weren’t doing that project—or it was completed, Haggai’s words should have the same impact.  It’s always God’s plan for His people to sponsor His work: the local church ministry, missionaries, or Christian ministries like Water Street rescue mission, the Bible League, CCEF, or Campus Crusade.

READ 2 Corinthians 9:6-11.  The TV preachers have turned sowing and reaping into a cash cow for obscene lifestyles—considering it’s often done on the backs of people thinking to purchase a miracle.  But they’ve got a biblical principle right: there is a connection between our generosity and God’s.

 

Concl:

What’s our best investment?  Most financial advisors say the house, real estate.  God’s says it’s His work.  What matters most is not my mansion, but His mission.  When we die somebody else gets everything we’ve ever worked for—including the house.  And then we go to our reward.  Jesus warned, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… where those things don’t happen (Matthew 6:19-20). 

You hear me say often, “You can’t outgive God”.  It’s true.  But I struggle with believing that all the time just like you do.  So this is what I reread to get myself straightened out: READ 2 Corinthians 8:9. 

All our generosity begins with Jesus.  In verse 8 Paul says that the neglect of—or participation in God’s work, that all stinginess or generosity towards Him, is directly linked to our love for Him.  Do we appreciate Jesus; that the prince of heaven laid aside all His wealth, humbled Himself, took on the form of a servant—a broke one at that, and became obedient to the Father’s will, dying a sinner’s death on the cross for you; for me.

When we get this, we stop asking “How much must I give?” and start asking, “How much can I give?”