1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:06,240 Well, good morning. Greetings from Christchurch 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,840 Central in England. It is an honour to be with you 3 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:12,080 and I confess somewhat overwhelming experience this 4 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:15,400 morning. The first time I ever came to 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,000 the States, I got off the plane and went to Chick-fil-A. 6 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:24,280 The lady there asked me for an extra dime. 7 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:26,720 I didn't know what a dime was. We started talking. 8 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:33,800 We uncovered the fact that I come from England, not America. 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,800 We chatted a little further. At the end of the conversation 10 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,640 she said to me, can I just say you speak very good English for 11 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:47,920 a foreigner? So my apology in advance is I'm 12 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,040 aware I do not speak your language. 13 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:57,760 I hope I will try and speak slowly and clearly in an attempt 14 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,160 to cross cultures. Let me start with a Kennedy. 15 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:05,120 A story about President Kennedy. You may have heard it visiting 16 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:07,080 NASA. Walking down one of the 17 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:11,240 corridors, he came across a man and he didn't realize the man 18 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,880 was just a janitor. He cleaned the bathrooms, swept 19 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:19,040 the floors, and President Kennedy said to the man, what is 20 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:21,680 it you do here? The man said. 21 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,560 Mr. President, I'm here to help put a man on the moon. 22 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,640 There is a man with what we would see as a small and 23 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:37,240 insignificant job, a man whose name is lost to history, but a 24 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:41,720 man who could connect his life to a greater purpose. 25 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:49,240 If PCPC is anything like Christchurch, central Leeds, in 26 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:54,400 many ways it is not, but in crucial ways it will be. 27 00:01:55,440 --> 00:02:00,720 Then like us in the UK, there will be times when your life 28 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,960 does not seem connected to any great purpose, where the 29 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,880 day-to-day tasks that consume your emotions, your heart, your 30 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,520 mind, your money, your time seem incoherent. 31 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:20,240 They lack connection. And I I hope what the Lord will 32 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,560 do for us this morning through this book of Haggai is sell us 33 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,960 again, set before us a vision for what he is doing, the story 34 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:32,720 that he is telling, and see how our lives connect into that 35 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:37,080 story, even in small, seemingly insignificant ways. 36 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,200 To give us a purpose but also a power. 37 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,400 So that missionary work might not be just for those carrying 38 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:53,120 flags, but for all God's people. The book of Haggai is not a well 39 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:58,000 known corner of the Bible. So let me just orientate us 40 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,200 briefly. We're at the end of the story of 41 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:02,760 the Old Testament. God's people have returned from 42 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,040 exile, but the temple lies in ruins. 43 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:10,040 The temple, you remember, is God's dwelling place on earth. 44 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,040 And if you'd been here yesterday for chapter 1, you would have 45 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,960 seen that through Haggai, the Lord called his people to get 46 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,400 back to the work of building his temple. 47 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:27,880 They'd actually been back in the land for 1617 years, but they'd 48 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:32,080 grown apathetic. They weren't anti God, anti 49 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:34,880 gospel, anti Kingdom, anti temple. 50 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:39,520 But there were other priorities. They'd poured all their wealth, 51 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:43,960 all their time, all their energy into building their own houses 52 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:49,120 and neglected God's house. But by the end of chapter 1, the 53 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:51,560 Lord had revived them and they were working again. 54 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:58,560 And yet, as we start chapter 2, we see another problem, verse 55 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,440 three. Who is left among you who saw 56 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:04,600 the house? The house is the temple. 57 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:08,440 Who saw it in its former glory? How do you see it now? 58 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:15,480 Is it not as nothing in your eyes that is the problem for 59 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:20,240 God's people? Those who remembered what the 60 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,840 temple used to be like in its former glory saw the current 61 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:26,080 work, and it seemed like nothing. 62 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,200 Those who remembered the prophecies during exile, you'll 63 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,000 have read them, you've heard them preached. 64 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:39,920 The desert will bloom when you return Ezekiel's prophecy that 65 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,880 the the temple will will be a thing beyond human imagining 66 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:52,840 that the Spirit will flow to the nations and then they see a few 67 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:57,600 holes in the ground, a foot or two of walls, a work of God that 68 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,880 seems powerless and purposeless. And so they begin to give up 69 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:06,400 hope that the prophecy is dated. Did you notice that we're given 70 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,240 a very specific day in verse, one that is unusual for the 71 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:12,400 prophets. We don't often have the ability 72 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:14,880 to to pin their prophecy to a particular day. 73 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:20,520 But Haggai, his name means feasts, my feasts, as in the 74 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,880 celebrations of Israel. And he's preaching here on the 75 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:29,720 last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, sometimes called 76 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,920 the Feast of Booths. He's preaching on the very day 77 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:37,600 that Solomon's temple was opened, as it were, when the 78 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:42,000 glory cloud fell and the people bowed in awe. 79 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:49,800 And yet now they see a building site as you look around in many 80 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,080 ways, I mean, this morning has been incredible, hasn't it? 81 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,200 I, I, honestly, I've seen nothing like it, heard nothing 82 00:05:55,200 --> 00:06:02,000 like it, the music. And yet, and yet, we know just a 83 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,800 fraction of Dallas are worshipping the Lord this 84 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,920 morning. And that fraction in Dallas is 85 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,680 probably quite large compared to the fractions of the world who 86 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:16,800 are gathering on the Lord's Day to worship. 87 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,200 It can seem like God's work is not prospering. 88 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,080 I read this week there are now more people identifying as 89 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:29,760 witches in America than Presbyterians. 90 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,840 That's striking. In my own city, back in Leeds, 91 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:39,400 one of the largest cities in England, a generous guess is 92 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:44,120 that 0.7% of people go to church once a month. 93 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:47,800 That's England, the supposedly Christian nation. 94 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:51,720 Where is the Lord? What is going on? 95 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:56,720 Where is the power? Of course, our role is not to 96 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,760 build a physical temple, either in Jerusalem or Dallas or Leeds. 97 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:06,000 But as the commands of Haggai come to us, they come through 98 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,640 Christ, who sends us out to build the temple of the Holy 99 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:14,520 Spirit, the church. So in many ways, as Haggai 100 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,760 instructs his people to put their hands to the plow, to pick 101 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:23,560 up trowel and build a temple, he is saying to us, take the gospel 102 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:26,840 out, work for the growing of the church, the building of the 103 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:29,960 Kingdom. And he gives us 2 promises this 104 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:31,880 morning. First of all, the promise of the 105 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:35,480 power of God. Be strong. 106 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:43,280 Verse 4, be strong, but it's not just be strong out there on your 107 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,920 own. Rather, verse 5, my Spirit 108 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:52,800 remains in your midst. Fear not, you might feel weak, 109 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:58,400 but my spirit is at work in you. The Lord doesn't send us to work 110 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:03,080 for Him while He stays off stage to await the results. 111 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:08,480 Rather, He pours his Spirit into His people to empower them to 112 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:13,680 build. I've said already that this 113 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:18,160 prophecy in verse one is dated to the last day of the Feast of 114 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:21,440 Tabernacles. On that day, Haggai, or rather 115 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:27,200 the Lord through Haggai, says to God's people, work for me, build 116 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:33,240 for me, for my spirit is in you. Why did they need telling? 117 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:39,520 Surely if the Spirit was in them, they'd know already. 118 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:45,400 They wouldn't need reminding. But the reality is that it's not 119 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:47,080 always the case for God's people. 120 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:51,440 We need the Word of God to remind us of the power of God, 121 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:56,120 even the presence of God. It is the Word that comforts and 122 00:08:56,120 --> 00:09:01,000 strengthens us when we begin to doubt and fear that we are on 123 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:06,080 our own. Some of you will feel this 124 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:10,160 morning, or rather worry this morning, that perhaps the Holy 125 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:14,480 Spirit does not dwell in you, and the cause of those fears is 126 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:16,600 that your feelings aren't strong enough. 127 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:26,240 We'll take comfort that on the very same day that Haggai 128 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,760 preached to God's people in ancient Israel, on that very 129 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:36,360 same day, centuries later, another man came to preach in 130 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:40,240 John 7. Again, we're given a specific 131 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:44,880 date, John 737, On the last day of the feast, which is the same 132 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:48,240 feast that Haggai was preaching in the Feast of Booths, the 133 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,360 great day, Jesus stood up and cried out. 134 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:55,960 If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 135 00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:00,520 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his 136 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:06,960 heart will flow living waters. And in case we've missed the 137 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:11,480 point, John then explains. Now this he said about the 138 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:16,480 Spirit whom those who believed in Him were to receive. 139 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:22,280 If you put your trust in Christ, you have received the Spirit. 140 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:28,720 He is in you to empower you. I think it's an incredible thing 141 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:32,160 that the dates match exactly Haggai's promise. 142 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:38,040 Build the temple because God's Spirit is within you. 143 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:42,760 Centuries later, Jesus Christ, the same day, the same feast, 144 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:47,720 the same festival, Believe in me and the Spirit will be poured 145 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:53,120 upon you. So believe the Spirit is in you. 146 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:58,800 Never fear that you are too sinful, too weak, too fallen. 147 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:03,480 But you've stumbled too many times for the Lord to use you in 148 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,480 building His Kingdom. The Holy Spirit will dwell in 149 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:11,280 the dustiest of hearts. Your body is a temple of the 150 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:15,400 Holy Spirit. Your body may be decaying. 151 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:20,320 It may be a mess physically, and you may be also aware of the 152 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:22,920 dirt spiritually that dwells within you still. 153 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:27,320 And yet in His grace the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us. 154 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:32,800 There is no less grace and love and mercy in the Spirit than in 155 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:37,560 the Father or the Son, and He Stoops to dwell in people like 156 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:40,880 you and me. Believe God's Spirit, He is in 157 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:44,840 you, and believe therefore that you can do what you thought you 158 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,840 couldn't do. There's a British writer, a 159 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,160 British scholar, who writes on this passage and says this 160 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:58,280 despondency says I can't, therefore I won't. 161 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:08,480 The obedience of faith says I can't, but he can and so I will. 162 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:12,840 That is what the Lord is saying to us through Haggai. 163 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,080 In whatever ways He's calling you to be a part of the building 164 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:20,560 of His church, be it praying, be it giving, be it going. 165 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,280 Never believe that you have no power to make a difference. 166 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:33,920 He builds through you. You may say I can't, and He says 167 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:40,160 you're right on your own. You can't, but He can, and 168 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:44,920 therefore we obey. We have power, but we also have 169 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:46,760 purpose. In verses 6 through nine of our 170 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:48,640 passage, we're given the purpose of God. 171 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:54,800 Verse 6. For thus says the Lord of hosts. 172 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:58,960 Yet once more, in a little while I will shake the heavens and the 173 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:03,120 earth, the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations. 174 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:07,160 So the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill 175 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:10,400 this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. 176 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,520 Work is the great command. Verse 4. 177 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:18,360 Work to build. Go make disciples of all 178 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:19,320 nations. Why? 179 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:22,440 Verse 6? Because 4. 180 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:25,800 For this reason. This is why I'm commanding you 181 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:28,400 to build. This is why I've given you the 182 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:31,440 Spirit, because this is going somewhere. 183 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,200 God gives his people in Haggai's day a vision of the future. 184 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,280 He says he's going to shake the world. 185 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:42,320 And this temple is not just going to be for a few Israelites 186 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,040 in Jerusalem, but for all nations. 187 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:49,840 I have young children and my youngest likes to play with 188 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,520 sand. And England is always cold. 189 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,840 So we, we bring the sand inside and we, we lay a rug out on the 190 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:01,160 floor and she sits in the, the middle and she plays with her 191 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,320 sand. And at the end we, we, we tidy 192 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:06,280 her away, little Iona off the rug. 193 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,600 And then my wife and I will grab the four corners of the rug and 194 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:13,120 lift it up and shake it and pour the sand back into the box. 195 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:16,520 God says, I'm going to pick the world up like that rug and shake 196 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:19,360 it one day and the nations will scream in. 197 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:24,200 He wants a Church of all tribes, all tongues, all people, and 198 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:30,080 there will be great glory. The end of the Bible is greater 199 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:37,600 than the beginning. In fact, this very feast that 200 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:40,840 Haggai is preaching on, the Feast of Tabernacles, was always 201 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:43,840 meant to teach God's people. In the Old Testament there was 202 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:47,280 something greater to come. Two elements of the feast 203 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:50,080 pointed to that. The first was that this Feast of 204 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:54,240 Tabernacles, of booths, they had to go and live in the kind of 205 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:57,120 tents they dwelt in during the Exodus. 206 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:05,080 And you might think, well, why it's like every, I don't know my 207 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:07,200 American history dates actually, so let me just not give a date, 208 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:11,880 but every summer ish when you guys celebrate throwing off the 209 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:16,400 king. See, we don't study this in our 210 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:20,280 history lesson, so I can't do the dates every every summer you 211 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:21,720 serve. It's as if every summer you you 212 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,160 go and get back on a ship and, and lob a load of tea in the 213 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,200 harbour. So recreating what happened 214 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:31,360 before or you're going to get back on the Mayflower and why 215 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,640 that that that year is over. But nose is God. 216 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:37,600 This is not just to remind you how I saved you, but also to 217 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:40,000 remind you that you're not at the end of the journey. 218 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:45,120 The Old Testament is not the end of the story. 219 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:50,480 I'm building a temple far greater during that festival. 2 220 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:53,520 is a second sign that things were meant to be greater. 221 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:57,320 There was an elaborate series of sacrifices day after day after 222 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:58,760 day. You can read them in the Book of 223 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:02,120 Numbers, but if you add up the number of bulls sacrificed, it 224 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:03,680 comes to 70. Why? 225 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,640 Because 70 in the Bible is the number of the nations. 226 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:12,800 Right from the book of Genesis with the around the time of the 227 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:17,040 flood, God sends out 70 nations. That's why Jesus sends out 70 228 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,440 disciples. It is a picture of the nations. 229 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:23,480 In other words, the sacrifice is meant to be for all nations, not 230 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:30,800 just one nation. God is saying to his people, 231 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:35,640 build, rebuild Haggai in your day, rebuild this little small 232 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,960 insignificant looking temple because I promise you it is 233 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:47,690 connected to a greater goal. God is saying to us this 234 00:16:47,690 --> 00:16:56,250 morning, your life in some way is connected to a great end 235 00:16:56,250 --> 00:16:58,130 goal. The great end goal of the temple 236 00:16:58,130 --> 00:17:00,210 of God that finishes the Book of Revelation. 237 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:03,560 The temple that fills the whole earth, where every tribe and 238 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,240 tongue and nation is there, where there's no more sin or 239 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:10,359 suffering, no more death, no more mourning, where we see the 240 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:14,359 Lord Jesus face to face. Somehow your work is connected 241 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:18,680 to that end. I don't know how, but it is. 242 00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:26,640 There's an old story in England of three men and each of them 243 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,080 are laying bricks. They're doing the same job. 244 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:33,840 And as the noble walks past, he asked the first, what are you 245 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:35,760 doing? And the man says, I'm laying 246 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:37,840 bricks. He says to the second man, what 247 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:39,960 are you doing? And the man says, I'm building a 248 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:41,680 wall. He says to the third man, what 249 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:43,520 are you doing? And he says, I'm building a 250 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:47,880 cathedral for the glory of God. He sees the big picture. 251 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:51,720 As you disciple your kids around the kitchen table, as you turn 252 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,320 up to the missionary prayer meeting, as you increase your 253 00:17:54,320 --> 00:18:00,160 standing order, or whatever it may be seemingly so significant, 254 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:05,360 tie it to the end goal. God is achieving that end 255 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,320 through your small acts of service. 256 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:19,370 That is how he builds In Haggai, too. 257 00:18:19,410 --> 00:18:24,410 You will see that the action begins, or rather the commands 258 00:18:24,410 --> 00:18:29,090 are addressed, first of all to Zerubbabel, who's the king, to 259 00:18:29,090 --> 00:18:32,130 Jehovahadak who's the priest, And they come through Haggai, 260 00:18:32,290 --> 00:18:37,120 who's the prophet. 3 anointed offices, prophet, priest and 261 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:39,040 king. They are, as it were, the 262 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:44,360 messiahs of the Old Testament. Nothing looked powerful or 263 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:47,920 spectacular, and yet God was changing the world through them. 264 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:50,840 And of course they point us forward to the Lord Jesus. 265 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:55,360 What would you have seen? What would you have seen with 266 00:18:55,360 --> 00:19:00,000 your eyes when the Lord God Almighty decided to change 267 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:04,400 eternity? You would have seen a small, not 268 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:08,880 particularly good looking Jewish man walking the streets of 269 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:15,560 Jerusalem. Nothing spectacular in the 270 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:19,920 moment where God rescued millions upon millions from the 271 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:21,800 flames of hell to the glories of heaven. 272 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:23,920 What would you have seen? You'd have seen a man upon a 273 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:25,960 cross. You'd have seen three men on 274 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:28,560 crosses. You'd have seen, frankly, A 275 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:32,680 mangled corpse of a man nailed, bleeding, choking to death. 276 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:35,320 It would have looked as of nothing. 277 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:39,600 And yet there was the temple of the Holy Spirit. 278 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:41,440 Remember, that's how Jesus describes himself. 279 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:45,480 He is the true temple, His body, because he was God dwelling on 280 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,040 earth. And that temple was destroyed on 281 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:49,800 the cross. Why? 282 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,480 Out of love for you and love for the nations. 283 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:56,080 In order that He might rise again on the third day, pour out 284 00:19:56,080 --> 00:20:00,920 His Spirit on the body, and the disciples might be made to the 285 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:05,000 ends of the earth. His desire to build His church 286 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:08,360 far exceeds our desire to build for Him. 287 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,960 His love for you far exceed yours for Him. 288 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:20,840 And even the way Christ saved and began to build that church 289 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:24,000 in its atoning death on the cross looked weak. 290 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,960 To the eyes of this world it looked as of nothing, and yet 291 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:38,780 all the power of God was at work to transform eternity in Him. 292 00:20:38,780 --> 00:20:42,980 All your sins forgiven in Him, your eternity secure in Him the 293 00:20:42,980 --> 00:20:49,100 gift of the Spirit, and in Him to that call not to be passive, 294 00:20:49,580 --> 00:20:54,820 but to work. First four, be strong. 295 00:20:55,020 --> 00:21:00,680 OPCPC declares the Lord be strong, PCA be strong, Dallas, 296 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:04,400 be strong brothers and sisters this morning, for I am with you. 297 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:15,040 My Spirit remains in your midst. Work, work to that great end 298 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,920 goal of the renewed heavens and earth. 299 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,000 What is it specifically? The Lord this morning is calling 300 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:27,600 you to do in that great task? You are called not to put men on 301 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:31,640 the moon, but you are called to put men and women and children 302 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:35,080 into glory. And the Lord has equipped you 303 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:39,280 for that task, and He's got ahead of you in that task. 304 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:42,040 And he's even walked the path that you will walk, a path of 305 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:47,240 seeming weakness, despised by the world, and yet to the eyes 306 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:50,320 of faith, transformative of eternity. 307 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,880 PCPC, in his power, brothers and sisters, in his power, go and 308 00:21:55,880 --> 00:22:01,040 build and connect your story to the great story that God is 309 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:04,680 telling, the story that ends in everlasting glory, everlasting 310 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:07,040 peace, and everlasting joy. Let's pray. 311 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,400 Our Father in heaven, forgive us our lack of faith. 312 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:16,640 Forgive us those times we have doubted the work of your spirit 313 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,760 within us. Forgive us the times we've lived 314 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:23,440 incoherent lives, seemingly detached from the great story 315 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,360 you are telling, the great building project you have 316 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:31,280 embarked upon. But we asked this morning that 317 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,640 you would show us where it is that you want us to work for 318 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:36,600 your glory, for the building of your Kingdom. 319 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:40,440 Use us, we pray. Our time, our money, our gifts. 320 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:43,920 Use all that we are to see the Kingdom built. 321 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,480 We pray that for Dallas, for Texas, for the USA, for the 322 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:54,960 United Kingdom, for every nation on the face of this earth, but 323 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:56,960 we ask in the name of Jesus, Amen.