REBUILDING

Verse of the week: Haggai 2:6-7 
‍6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory.

We’re back with week two of “Shake the Ground” today! If you missed part 1, check out our latest blog post, click through to the YouTube link, and get plugged in. It really sets the tone for the series, which is all about raising the level of our expectations, believe that God wants to shake the ground among us today. 

It’s actually what God spells out in our verse of the week, Haggai 2:6-7. Through this passage, God is saying, “I want to do what only I can do in your lives. I want to shake the ground. And you’re going to see my glory like you’ve never seen it before.” That sounds incredible!  But there’s more to the message. There’s a call for the people to shift to a whole new set of God given priorities. See, God wants to shake the ground, but something needs to shift first. Here are three big ideas from Haggai – God’s wake up call– to shake the ground and rebuild His house:

#1 – God has promised glory.
‍God knows when his people have endured a season of discomfort and trial, and when we’re looking backwards to the comforts of the past instead of to the future. He hasn’t left us in those moments. In fact, he understands we need to be reminded that we haven’t seen anything yet! It doesn’t matter what we’ve seen, whether that’s thinking back on how great life was before the COVID-19 pandemic, receiving an unexpected gift, or even acing a test at school – with God, there are greater days ahead. Greater glory is coming! 

It can be tough to actually believe that, especially in the middle of pain. One way we try to manage discomfort in our lives is by lowering our expectations. And it almost works. Research actually shows that in the short-run, people with lower expectations are happier. It makes sense – they don’t experience the let-down of something not happening. But that same research shows that over the long-run, people that live the fullest lives, that accomplish great things, and that are fulfilled over a lifetime are those with high expectations.  Low expectations keep us from pursuing mountaintops, while high expectations plus God’s strength leads to the summit.

#2 – Building God’s house builds my house.
It’s not always easy to live with high expectations, especially if we’re used to being let down. We’ve all gone through a tough two years, and it turns out that isolation and turmoil isn’t great for motivation. It can lead to a disconnect between our vision and God’s. 

It can lead to us hoping for “someday” when God says, “TODAY.” It can lead to us compromising, saying that we’ll follow God’s plan just as soon as we’re through our busy season. The thing is, God has things He wants to build and do in our lives that aren’t even on our “To do” list.

Have you ever been through a season of just surviving? Putting your head down, working hard, and trying to achieve your dreams, and building for yourselves?  You may be able to do it for a while, but more times than not, it doesn’t work out. Living without alignment to God’s purpose for our lives actually limits the degree to which we can experience His glory.Because when we’re left to ourselves, we make life about ourselves, and that’s not how life was intended. 

God says to get His house in order first, and then His glory will be in our house. As we continue to press through this pandemic and push through the other side, is God’s house at the top of your rebuild priorities? How are you pursuing God’s glory?
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#3 – Get ready.
Building the church is a big job, it doesn’t just fall on one person. But as a church community, we can do it. We have His strength that binds us, and united and committed we can come into this next season stronger together. 

That’s the beauty of the story of Haggai – we see how over and over God doesn’t just tell the people what to do, but He stirs their hearts to do it. Look no further than Haggai 14: 

‍14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people.They came and began to work on the house of the Lord. 

God’s going to stir hearts in our communities, cities, and nations for His good. He’s going to shake the ground. Are you believing it, and expecting God to show up in your life? Are you ready to build His house

Make sure to check out the full message here!