November 15

Haggai 1
“Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody care?” Maybe you recognize the lyrics from the classic rock song by Chicago. Do you know what time it is? The people of Haggai’s day didn’t. They were part of the first return to Jerusalem from their exile in Mesopotamia. About 50,000 of them had arrived about 538 B.C. under Zerubbabel’s civil leadership and Joshua’s priestly leadership. Their purpose was to rebuild the temple. They laid the foundation, became discouraged and quit. Haggai comes along about 520 B.C., about 18 years later. They were not even working on the temple. Haggai exhorts them that it is past time to finish and complete the temple, the house of God. For the Old Testament saints, it was the place where God’s glory dwelt! Instead of building the glory of the Lord they built their own houses. Their commitment to their own dwelling had become greater than their commitment to the dwelling of the Lord! It was past time to build the temple of the Lord.
Now God is not against us building houses, but He is against us making our houses more important than His house. That is exactly what they had done. As He puts it, “My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.” What a picture of the American Church! Does anyone really know what time it is? For the New Testament believer, it is not physical buildings in which the glory of Jesus dwells. His glory is found in the building of His body, the spiritual house of the Lord Jesus Christ! Peter put it this way, “4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” He is the chief cornerstone and we lay the foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God, of doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Are we more committed to the building of His body, His spiritual temple, than we are to our houses?
I spend a lot of time working on my house. The average American spends 30 years of his work life working to pay for his house, not to mention the hours of upkeep. For those who do not buy, they spend hours working to pay their rent. When I come to the end of my life, will I have spent more time working on my house or the Lord’s house? Is that not an indicator of where my priorities lie? Again, God is not against us building houses, He knows that we need good shelter. Do I really know what time it is? Do I have an over emphasis on my house? Why is this an issue? It is all about where God’s glory dwells. He does not dwell primarily in my house but rather in His church. He has gifted you and me to build up His temple for His glory to dwell. Am I exercising that gift to His glory? Those gifts are interdependent upon each other. When I do not pursue the exercise of my gift, the body suffers. When I control someone else’s gift, the body suffers. Let us pursue the building up of the body in love, submitting to one another in the fear of God! Does anyone really know what time it is? It is time to glorify the Lord! Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john