Vision: First the House 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.

And Zerubbabel the son of Sealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the rest of the people, heard the voice of Jehovah his God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as Jehovah his God had sent him. and the people feared before the LORD. Then Haggai, sent by the Lord, spoke at the command of the Lord to the people, saying: I am with you, says the Lord. And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Sealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the rest of the people, and they came and worked in the house of the LORD of the armies, your God.” Bless the Lord his holy word.

If we could take a title for this message and I am going to be very brief brothers and it is rebuild the house, rebuild the house, we cannot fully understand this text if we do not understand the historical context in which it is given.

The Hebrew people, as we know, were exiled to Babylon in the first exile and they spent 70 years in Babylon before King Cyrus of Persia, because Babylon had already been replaced by the Persians, allowed a group of Jews leave the capital of Persia and return again to Jerusalem. In that first emigration to Jerusalem came a group of Jews led by Zerubbabel and this man Joshua, high priest, arrived in Jerusalem in the year 538 BC. c and immediately began to rebuild the temple, the house of the Lord. Shortly after beginning the rebuilding of the temple, great opposition arose against that rebuilding of the temple, from pagan nations, who did not want to see that symbol of Jewish power again raised in the Jewish nation.

Brothers, let me tell you something, there is opposition from the kingdom of darkness against healthy churches, healthy churches, because the devil knows that a healthy spiritual community is a threat against the hosts of hell, a spiritual community where people worship in The name of the Lord in spirit and in truth is a source of renewal for an entire community and the devil will do everything possible to keep the churches poor, mismanaged, divided, led in inappropriate ways and keeping the people ignorant so that the church of Jesus Christ does not do the work for which God has destined it. And the Hebrew people immediately experienced opposition when they tried to build the house of God. The work was denounced to the Persian kingdom and from Persia came an order to stop the rebuilding of the temple. Years after that order had already lost its validity, the temple was still not built, and this word of God comes to the Jews 18 years after the construction of the temple began and it was abandoned almost immediately.

Almost 20 years had passed and the temple remained completely destroyed, unbuilt, and in those 20 years the Jewish people had devoted themselves to their secular tasks, building their houses, building their rooms, running the economy of the nation and the house of the Lord remained totally ignored. And Jehovah's annoyance made itself felt and God sent his prophet to bring a message to the Jewish people and God said to them: "Listen to me: Is it appropriate that you are out there saying the time has not yet come, that you are working on their houses, that they are beautifying the interiors, that they are beautifying the surroundings of Jerusalem and that the house of the Lord continues to be neglected and neglected? tell me if that is true house of Israel”. And the Lord told them "take care of my house, worry about the affairs of my house."

And I see here, brothers, some truths that are very important: number 1, the Lord wanted the proper order of things to be reestablished. In the mind of God, brothers, the first thing that has to be attended to is the house of the Lord. How many know that? The first thing that we have to pay our attention to is the affairs of the kingdom of God, we all know the word "Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice and all other things will be added to you".

Usually people who don't know God do the opposite. We put human things first, we worry about our economy, about our work, about having our bank account in good shape, about having all the bills paid, and then we say: O.K, now when everything is fine, now I'm leaving. to dedicate to bless the house of God. God has said that this is an order and not natural. God's order is always, first to worry about the house of God, the ministries of God having everything they need to positively influence our community, so that the work of the Lord can be carried out and then we have the opportunity to worry about everything else.

I remember in the scriptures one of the most dramatic passages is when the prophet Elijah, after a great drought and a great famine in Israel, God sends him to the house of a widow, a woman totally devoid of support and when Elías arrives at this widow's house, in a city called Zareta, discovers a totally depressive panorama. This woman at that moment, when the prophet arrives, is preparing to take the last handful of flour that she has and a little bit of oil that she has left and prepare the last meal, literally the last dinner that she and her son have left and then lay down to die, expect to starve because there is nothing to eat on earth.

And to that place God sent his prophet. And one wonders why God did not send him to other nations where there was abundance. Why did he send it to a widow, who was a symbol of poverty and deprivation? Because God thinks in different ways than we think. And when Elías enters this widow's house, he makes a scandalous request, I would say immoral, and it is as follows: "woman, prepare a cake for me first, prepare that cake for me and use that little bit of oil, give me a glass of water before you and your child eat. He was asking his brothers for their last sustenance, he was asking them for what they had left to eat and he told them: Don't worry, God will provide for you. Praise the Lord that this woman allowed herself to be carried away by God's mathematics and did what the prophet asked her to do and she prepared his food for the prophet and what happened? The word says that after that the blessing of God came and the multiplication came in such a way that that woman and her son ate for a long, long time. They never lacked food because when God asks, God also promises a blessing for those who are upright with Him.

And I see in this, brothers, a model, a clearly established spiritual principle and that is that first we have to look after the interests of the things of the kingdom of God. God had sent his prophet, who was the living word of God in Israel, to be ministered to and sent to that place so that a spiritual principle would be established that would govern for centuries and centuries. These Hebrew people were not carrying out that spiritual principle, they were worrying about their material things and God tells them: "you tell me that the time has not come."

Brothers, it is never time, in a sense, to tithe and offer to the Lord, it is never time, because if you look we will always have more debts, we will always have needs, we will always have commitments, it will always to see a better car to buy, you will always see an additional arrangement to do to the house, yes or no? It is never time or not, the time never comes to give to the Lord if we have, and I tell you something, if the time comes, you know what? It would not be appropriate to give to the Lord. Do you know why? Because I believe that God must be given out of time. You have to give it to God when it hurts, you have to give it to God when it's uncomfortable.

I think that what pleases God is when we give him in the zone of discomfort, if you give to God in the comfortable area, I think you are not giving him enough, because God honors him when one takes into count the fact that He is the King of the universe and He deserves us to honor Him by giving beyond what we even feel comfortable giving. My goal is that with the passing of the years, I feel free, my faith increases to give more and more to the Lord, more of my money, more of my time, more of myself, more of my talents, more every day. and more and more because I know that the more I give to the Lord, the more I am blessed, the more God prospers me. That is God's order. God honors the person who makes an effort and who gives generously to the Lord. God says he honors the cheerful giver.

One of the most revealing passages we have in the scriptures, I don't know why God likes widows so much with respect to giving and I think it's brothers know why, because widows in the scriptures were a symbol of helplessness and poverty and for a widow, giving is precisely an image of generosity towards God.

The word says that, the Lord Jesus Christ was in the temple observing from a vantage point the people who arrived and who gave money in the urn, from the tithes and the Lord could see the rich people arrive with their luxurious clothes and put money in the urn and the Lord clearly understood that these people were giving from what was left over. The rich have a lot of money and although they gave large amounts proportionally for them it was like nothing. But the word says that the Lord observed a widow, poor by definition, who approached and put the last thing she had in the urn, it could have been 25 cents, to buy a coffee, this woman had nothing else and the Lord with his wisdom discerned that this was all that this woman had and the Bible says that he called his disciples and told them: “this woman who in absolute terms what she gave was an infinitesimal fraction of what these rich people gave, before God she gave more because he gave out of all his poverty, he gave the only thing he had, he honored the Lord, with his love”.

Like Mary who took the alabaster vase, which contained an expensive perfume, and broke it in front of Jesus and anointed the teacher and the Lord praised her for that. I don't know why women are the ones who always get praise when giving, perhaps because they love more and because they are more tender towards the Lord. Sometimes we are very resistant to the things of God, we rebel against these truths, against those teachings. There are always people in the churches, brothers, who when people talk about money get upset, they get uncomfortable, they suddenly feel uncomfortable that they want to run out of the church, or they get upset with the preacher about it.

It reminds me precisely of Judas, when he saw that that alabaster vase was broken and that the expensive perfume was used to praise Jesus Christ and he thought to himself this: “Wow, this money could have been used for the poor”. It was a lie, he wanted it to steal it because he was a thief and the Lord Jesus Christ understood what the people were thinking and said you know that you will always have the poor with you but you will not always have me and this woman has honored me .

Brothers, God is not so interested in the money that you give him, understand me, I believe that God does not care, even ultimately, the amount that you give. And don't take advantage of that to reduce your tithes and offerings. Brothers, what interests God is that what we give is linked to a genuine desire to honor the Lord, to give to the Lord according to our strength and beyond our strength.

In another passage, in Second Corinthians, we have to praise a group of Christians who say that they gave not only according to their strength but also gave beyond their strength and God blessed them.

We have, brothers, to be generous with God. The time will never come when we can say I already gave, now I can concentrate on giving. God asks for the first fruits. God asks first. In the old testament, I believe that this is a principle that governs throughout history, the Bible called on the Hebrew people to bear the first fruits, the first animals had to be set aside, and they were animals that had no defect, that did not They had no disease and we had to set aside the best and first fruits for the Lord and today we set aside our tithes, our offerings. You cannot wait first to attend to your affairs and then, from what you have left to determine impromptu: "let's see, how much am I going to give today, 1 dollar or 2 dollars". The Lord wants a disciplined giving, a giving of faith, a giving that says I am going to honor the Lord no matter what it costs me.

The prophet David, when they offered him the free land to build the temple of the Lord, said: I am not going to give the Lord the sacrifice that does not cost me anything.

Brothers, God wants generous people. And what does God want that money for? God wants it so that his grace runs through the city. I believe that our city needs models of a community like ours, of people of different income levels, many workers, recently arrived immigrants, but people who have disciplined themselves to build an institution like this, which blesses the community. From this temple, brothers, ministries for youth, ministries for adults, families are blessed.

Yesterday I saw 30 children sitting in this section here, during graduation time, come up here, worship the Lord with a beautiful choir, all well dressed with that smiling face, with that love for the Lord. And I already saw men and women within 10, 15 or 20 years blessing their community, because they were founded on the word of God in a place like this, because men and women gave themselves so that there would be in this place to form an institution where those children could receive the word of God.

And just like them, hundreds of children will come through this church and our community will be blessed with hard-working people, wise people, people of solid moral and spiritual principles, who bless their community, couples like the brothers who were ministered to today, who came today and gave their testimony. How nice it is to see a couple being healed in their youth and being united in the things of God. How much is that worth? That is worth a fortune, brothers, in material terms it is priceless, because this church is in this place, and thanks to the Lord we have an orderly, beautiful place that represents the Kingdom of God well and represents our community well. That is what the Lord wants. The Lord says go up the mountain, bring wood and my will will be established. Brothers, let this church be a church where God's will is established, where God's good purpose for the city is established.

The Bible says in a passage “For I know that the thoughts I have for you are thoughts of good and not of evil”. God has good thoughts for this Latino community in Boston, God's will wants to be manifested and it will be through this church and churches like these. That's worth it, go up the mountain and bring wood. That means trying hard brothers. Each of us has his part to do.

I imagine that if God had wanted a temple, He could have, magically, as He created heaven and earth, have made the most beautiful temple you can imagine appear. However, He did not want to do that. He wanted us to build him the temple. God could make it rain money, but what good would that do? What good is a gift that is given by the giver, the one who receives the gift? It is useless, we have to give. God is honored and says: "and I will be glorified, rebuild the house and I will put my will in it, and I will be glorified, says the Lord."

Two things are going to happen as the town sets about rebuilding the house over the next 12 months, as you give to make sure that budget is met, and that building is rebuilt, and new ministries continue to flow into this congregation. God is going to be glorified in his will, he will be established in our community. Do you want to commit to me now in the name of Jesus? What a blessing we had this morning. We saw the heavens open and the glory of God descend, lives ministered to, felt God's organic touch of the Holy Spirit. That is priceless, and that it takes place in a beautiful place, that represents us well and represents, above all, the Kingdom of God well. We are going to work, we are going to rebuild the house, we are going to raise it a little more.

Put your head down, commit to me and the Lord right now. I commit myself to you, you to me, and we all to the Lord, to build a temple that honors God, that glorifies God in this city. Build a community, where the will of God is incarnated, build a space from where the unlimited grace of God emanates to the entire city and you will be part of that miracle, with your money, with your time, with your energy, with your talents, with your life, you are going to make this possible, and from now on we prophesied this year, we are going to exceed in the name of the Lord, our projections and everything is going to be given so that God is glorified in this community.

Father, we give you all the glory and all the honor for any good thing that comes out of this church, this temple, this house, Lord, that you have built, with our help, Father, because you do not do it alone. Thank you because men and women who know that the time has not come, but still have decided to give, have made this miracle possible, and we now ask that You lower more of your portion Lord, that You bless this projection that You have raised before the people, that You prosper your people Father because You promise that if we do that, You will rebuke the devourer, You will remove those leaks where money, energy, joy, life and health go, and you will bless your people, Lord, and the good shadow of Jehovah, will cover us and his mercy will follow us, because you honor a people that honors you. Thank you Father that you have made it so easy, in a sense, Lord, by promising us a reward for something that is actually an obligation. We love you, we love you for your generosity, prosper our brothers Lord this year, bless their jobs, bless their houses, bless their finances, bless their health, their families, their children.

Father, create for yourself a hard-working community, an excellent community, an exemplary community, that shows the world the beauties of the Kingdom of God.

We bless your people Lord on this day, and we thank you for everything that has been given in our midst, today praise your name and the people of God say: "Amen."