GOD IS GLORIFIED IN OUR CHURCH LIFE WHEN WE LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES

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GOD IS GLORIFIED IN OUR CHURCH LIFE WHEN WE LEARN
FROM OUR MISTAKES

• Haggai 1-2

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Ezra 12-3

• Thus says Cyrus king of Persia All the kingdoms
  of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me.
  And He has commanded me to build Him a house at
  Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of
  all His people? May his God be with him, and let
  him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and
  build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is
  God), which is in Jerusalem.

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• Ezra 44 Then the people of the land tried to
  discourage the people of Judah. They troubled
  them in building,
• Ezra 424 Thus the work of the house of God which
  is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued
  until the second year of the reign of Darius king
  of Persia.

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I. Our Misses Messes In An Immature Ministry
(11 23)
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A. The Attitude Of Procrastination Dulls Us From
The Urgency Of Ministry

• Haggai 11-2 the word of the Lord came by
  Haggai saying, Thus speaks the Lord of hosts,
  saying This people says, The time has not
  come, the time that the Lords house should be
  built.

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Ecclesiastes 121

• Remember now your Creator in the days of your
  youth, Before the difficult days come, And the
  years draw near when you say, I have no pleasure
  in them

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Tonka Toys
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Hot Wheels
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Hot Wheels Sizzlers
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Barney Oldfield (now Autopia)
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B. The Focus On Form Deters Us From The
Priorities Of Ministry

• Haggai 13-4 Then the word of the Lord came by
  Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you
  yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and
  this temple to lie in ruins?

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C. The Busyness Of Activity Distracts Us From The
Fruit Of Gods Blessing

• Haggai 15-6 Consider your ways! You have sown
  much, and bring in little You eat, but do not
  have enough You drink, but you are not filled
  with drink You clothe yourselves, but no one is
  warm And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put
  into a bag with holes.

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Haggai 19-11

• 9 You looked for much, but indeed it came to
  little and when you brought it home, I blew it
  away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because of
  My house that is in ruins, while every one of you
  runs to his own house.
• 10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the
  dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.
• 11 For I called for a drought on the land and the
  mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the
  oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men
  and livestock, and on all the labor of your
  hands.

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D. The Pressure Of Success Deceives Us From The
Fundamentals Of Ministry

• Haggai 17-8 Thus says the Lord of hosts
  Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and
  bring wood and build the temple, that I may take
  pleasure in it and be glorified, says the Lord.

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E. The Drive Of People-Pleasing Defers Us From
Pleasing God

• Haggai 18b that I may take pleasure in it and
  be glorified, says the Lord.

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F. The Intimidation Of Obstacles Dims Us From
Obeying Gods Commands

• Haggai 112-15 the people obeyed the voice of the
  Lord their God And the people feared the Lord.
  the Lord to the people I am with you, So
  the Lord stirred up the spirit the whole
  remnant of the people. They came and began to
  work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God
  

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G. The Voices Of Comparison Discourages Us From
Gods Glory

• Haggai 21-3 Who is left among you who saw this
  temple in its former glory? And how do you see it
  now? In comparison with it, is this not in your
  eyes as nothing?

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Ezra 310-11

• When the builders laid the foundation of the
  temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their
  apparel with trumpets, to praise the Lord,
  And they sang responsively, praising and giving
  thanks to the Lord For He is good, for His
  mercy endures forever toward Israel. Then all
  the people shouted with a great shout, when they
  praised the Lord, because the foundation of the
  house of the Lord was laid.

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Ezra 312-13

• But many of the priests and Levites and heads of
  the fathers houses, old men who had seen the
  first temple, wept with a loud voice when the
  foundation of this temple was laid before their
  eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, so that the
  people could not discern the noise of the shout
  of joy from the noise of the weeping of the
  people, for the people shouted with a loud shout,
  and the sound was heard afar off.

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II. Gods Presence Promise In A Maturing
Ministry (24-9)
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A. Gods Presence Prevails Over Peoples
Expectations

• Haggai 24 Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel, says
  the Lord and be strong, Joshua, son of
  Jehozadak, the high priest and be strong, all
  you people of the land, says the Lord, and
  work for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts.

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B. Gods Promises Supercede Paralyzing Fear

• Haggai 25 According to the word that I
  covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt,
  so My Spirit remains among you do not fear!

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• Exodus 2945-46 I will dwell among the children
  of Israel and will be their God. And they shall
  know that I am the Lord their God, who brought
  them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may
  dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
• Exodus 3314 And He said, My Presence will go
  with you, and I will give you rest.

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C. Gods Pronouncement Of What Is Glorious Trumps
What The World Believes Is Glorious

• Haggai 26-9 I will fill this temple with
  glory, The silver is Mine, and the gold is
  Mine, says the Lord of hosts. The glory of this
  latter temple shall be greater than the former,
  says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will
  give peace,

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Steve Jobs to John Sculley, 1983

• "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of
  your life, or do you want to change the world?"