Vision: First the House of God

(Audio: Spanish)

SUMMARY: The book of Haggai is a message from God to the Hebrew people who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile. They had started to rebuild the temple, but opposition from pagan nations caused them to abandon the project. In the meantime, the people focused on their own material pursuits and neglected the house of the Lord. God sent Haggai to remind the people that the first priority should be the affairs of the kingdom of God. God's order is always to put the house of the Lord first and then worry about everything else. The Lord honors those who give generously and cheerfully out of their poverty, like the widow who gave her last two coins in the temple. The Lord wants us to give beyond what we feel comfortable so that we can honor Him and be blessed by Him.

The speaker encourages generosity towards God and emphasizes the importance of disciplined giving. He uses biblical references to support his message and emphasizes the importance of rebuilding the church to honor God and glorify Him in the community. He believes that through disciplined giving, the community will be blessed with ministries for youth, families, and adults. The speaker encourages commitment to rebuilding the church and creating an exemplary community that shows the world the beauties of the Kingdom of God.

Haggai Chapter 1, we're going to go from verse 2 to the end of this chapter. Says the word of the Lord, verse 2, like this, "thus has spoken the Lord of hosts" these are words of God brothers, saying "this people says: the time has not yet come, the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt . Then the word of Jehovah came through the prophet Haggai, saying: Is it time for you, for you, to live in your paneled houses and this house, that is, the temple of the Lord, is deserted? For thus saith the Lord of hosts: meditate well on your ways.

You sow much and you reap little, you eat and you are not satisfied, you drink and you are not satisfied, you dress and you do not get warm, and the one who works for the wages receives his wages in torn sacks. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Meditate on your ways, go up to the mountain, bring wood and rebuild the house and I will put my will in it and be glorified, says the Lord. You search a lot and you find little and you lock yourself up at home and I will dissipate it in a breath. Because? says the LORD of hosts. Because my house is deserted and each one of you runs to his own house. That is why the heavens stopped the rain above you, and the earth stopped its fruits. And I called drought on this land and on the mountains, on the wheat, on the wine, on the oil, on all that the earth produces, on men and on beasts, and on all the work of hands.