After 70 years of exile, the Israelites returned to Jerusalem with one assignment: rebuild God’s temple. They started — then stopped when things got hard. 16 years later, the temple was still in ruins. In this week’s message from Haggai 1, Pastor Matty asks a confronting question: are we doing the same thing?
- Stop Making Excuses (Haggai 1:2)
The people said “the time has not yet come” to rebuild. But their timing was selective — they found plenty of time to build their own houses. When God calls us to something and it gets hard, it’s easy to rebrand disobedience as wisdom. Ask yourself: what has God told me to build that I’ve been putting on hold?
- Stop Being Selfish (Haggai 1:3–4)
God asked a piercing question: “Is it a time for you to be living in your panelled houses while this house remains a ruin?” They didn’t just build houses — they imported expensive wood from Lebanon to build luxurious ones. God wasn’t against their houses. He was challenging their priorities. As Matthew 6:21 says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Stop Missing God ‘s Blessings (Haggai 1:5–6)
“You have planted much but harvested little… you earn wages only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” God was not blessing their efforts because they had sidelined His kingdom. Not every hardship is the result of disobedience — but some is. It’s worth asking whether there’s an area where the Lord has been waiting for your yes.
KEY SCRIPTURES
- Galatians 4:4–5, 7 — Adopted into sonship; no longer a slave, but an heir.
- Haggai 1:1–7 — God’s challenge to the people to consider their ways.
- Matthew 6:21 — Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.
This week, take time to do what Haggai 1:7 says: “Give careful thought to your ways.” Is the kingdom of God truly your priority?
