Start Building…Again

The Israelites stopped building the Temple because their priorities were not God’s priorities.  They got in their own way.  So, God sent prophets to get them back on the right path.

But now the LORD says: Be strong, Zerubbabel. Be strong, Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people still left in the land. And now get to work, for I am with you, says the LORD of Heaven's Armies. My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.' (Haggai 2:4-5 NLT)

God sends those who can help us get back on track as well.  God’s Son was sent to teach us and to bring us back to God.  God’s Spirit is sent to help us recognize God’s priorities, fight the real enemies, and give us the strength to do our part of God’s plan.  God sent us the Apostles and the Prophets to give us God’s Word for all of us.  God sends us one another, God’s Church, to encourage one another and build each other up.  We are not alone.

Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak responded by starting again to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them and helped them. (Ezra 5:2 NLT)

God gives us everything we need to heal, strengthen, and get back to work.  So, back to work we go.  It may feel like we are behind, that our part is not getting done fast enough, or that our part is not significant.  But it’s simply not true.

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.. (Zechariah 4:10a NLT)

God’s got this.  God’s got you.  God is ready to move forward with you.

But Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues soon arrived in Jerusalem and asked, "Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and restore this structure?" They also asked for the names of all the men working on the Temple. But because their God was watching over them, the leaders of the Jews were not prevented from building… (Ezra 5:3-5 NLT)

How about you?  Are you ready to move forward with God?  Are you ready to do your part of God’s Plan?  Are you ready to start building…again?

Building and Me

The people of Israel have been stopped from rebuilding the Temple of the LORD.  They are being told by Zechariah and Haggai that they are the reason the construction has stopped.  They are wrong.  They have sinned.

Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel's right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. And the LORD said to Satan, "I, the LORD, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire." (Zechariah 3:1-2 NLT)

The truth is that we are sometimes the reason that the building project stops, too.  We don’t do our part of God’s plan, so the building project does not move forward as well as it would with us on board.  God convicts our hearts so we will change that behavior.  Satan piles on just to make us feel guilty and quit.

Jeshua's clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. So the angel said to the others standing there, "Take off his filthy clothes." And turning to Jeshua he said, "See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes." Then I said, "They should also place a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean priestly turban on his head and dressed him in new clothes while the angel of the LORD stood by. (Zechariah 3:3-5 NLT)

God never tempts us to quit.  God wants us to move forward.  God wants us to heal.  God wants us to be strong.  God wants us to build.  So, God provides a solution to our problem of failure.  God heals us, strengthens us, and builds us up so we can get back to our building projects.

Then the angel of the LORD spoke very solemnly to Jeshua and said, "This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: If you follow My ways and carefully serve Me, then you will be given authority over My Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here. (Zechariah 3:6-7 NLT)

Jeshua was healed, strengthened, and built back up.  He was sent back to live out his role of God’s plan.  The same can happen to us, too.  We simply need to let God build us up again.  God loves us and is ready to help us as well.

"Listen to Me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring My servant, the Branch. Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day. "And on that day, says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, each of you will invite your neighbor to sit with you peacefully under your own grapevine and fig tree." (Zechariah 3:8-10 NLT)

How about you?  When the person stopping the building project is yourself, what do you do?  Do you let God love you?  Do you let God heal you?  Do you let God strengthen you?  Do you let God build you up?

Building and “Living Stones”

The Israelites were trying to build the Temple of The LORD, but enemies and neighbors kept working to stop them.

Then, with a show of strength, they forced the Jews to stop building. So the work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem had stopped, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia. (Ezra 4:23b-24 NLT)

When the building progress stopped, the people were discouraged.  The LORD sent them prophets, though, who would help them get things back on track.

At that time the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. (Ezra 5:1 NLT)

God’s message to them, however, was not what we would expect.  The remnant of Israel had been faithfully rebuilding the Temple of the LORD, but they were stopped by outside pressure…or so it seems.

Don't be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, 'This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.' (Zechariah 1:4 NLT)

The LORD’s message through Zechariah was clear.  The building project stopped because the people were not walking with God.  They were starting to get off track like their ancestors who eventually were defeated by the Babylonians.

Then Haggai responded, "That is how it is with this people and this nation, says the LORD. Everything they do and everything they offer is defiled by their sin. (Haggai 2:14 NLT)

Zechariah wasn’t the only one delivering this message from the LORD.  Haggai was pointing out the same problem.  The Temple of the LORD was not being built because of the rebellious sin of God’s chosen people.

"This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: The people are saying, 'The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.'" Then the LORD sent this message through the prophet Haggai: "Why are you living in luxurious houses while My house lies in ruins? (Haggai 1:2-4 NLT)

God made it clear that they could continue building if they wanted.  They simply did not make God the priority that God should be in their lives. So, they did not get what they worked for either.

This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: Look at what's happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes! (Haggai 1:5-6 NLT)

Sometimes, the same problems get in the way of our building projects today.  The people of God (The Church) are the ones who are working against God’s priorities.  Often times the problem is simply our misplaced priorities.  Because we don’t make God’s priorities our priorities, God does not bless our efforts with harvest for our labor.

"This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: Look at what's happening to you! Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild My house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the LORD. (Haggai 1:7-8 NLT)

How do we build God’s Church when the people working against us are God’s people?  Simple.  Love them.  Keep building.  This is matching our priorities to God’s priorities.

How about you? Do you experience “living stones” (other Church members) who get in the way of building God’s Church?  How do you respond to them?  Do you love them?  Do you keep building?

Building and Neighbors

The Remnant of Israel (remaining Israelites after being beaten and captured by the Babylonians) have returned to Jerusalem.  They have been equipped by God, through King Cyrus, to rebuild the Temple of the LORD.  Their enemies tried to infiltrate their ranks.  It did not work.

Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work. (Ezra 4:4 NLT)

Sometimes the people trying to stop the building of God’s Temple today (The Church) are not outright enemies.  In fact, when you meet them, you really can’t tell whether they are with God or against.  They fall into a question mark (?) kind of category.  All you really know is that they are in the area.  These people would be considered neighbors.

They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans. This went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus of Persia and lasted until King Darius of Persia took the throne. (Ezra 4:5 NLT)

What, then, do we do when our neighbors are working against us as we are building people up into God’s Church?  Jesus, the Head of God’s Church, had some thoughts on this.

He said to him, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands." (Matthew 22:37-40 HCSB)

What do we do with neighbors who are working against us as we build people up into the Church?  Simple.  Love them.  Keep building.  Even when they work against God and us, we still follow these simple principles.

Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. (Ezra 4:6 NASB)

When a teacher of the law wanted to justify his theology, he asked Jesus the question, “Who is my neighbor?”  Jesus responded with a story that we often call “The Good Samaritan.” 

Jesus replied with a story: "A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. "By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. "Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, 'Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here.' "Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked. The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy." Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same." (Luke 10:30-37 NLT)

How about you?  When a person that you don’t know very well is working against you building up God’s Church, what do you do?  Do you love them?  Do you keep building?

Building and Enemies

When the builders completed the foundation of the LORD's Temple, the priests put on their robes and took their places to blow their trumpets. And the Levites, descendants of Asaph, clashed their cymbals to praise the LORD, just as King David had prescribed. With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the LORD: "He is so good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!" Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the LORD because the foundation of the LORD's Temple had been laid. (Ezra 3:10-11 NLT)

Last week, we finished with this picture.  The remnant Israelites were returning to Judah, specifically Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple.  They did the hard work and laid the foundation, and a celebration broke out.

But many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders who had seen the first Temple wept aloud when they saw the new Temple's foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy. The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud noise that could be heard far in the distance. (Ezra 3:12-13 NLT)

The older members of their group were weeping because the foundation of this new Temple paled in comparison to the previous one built by Solomon.  This Temple was not going to be nearly as great.  To make things worse, they were going to run into construction delays.  Enemies were going to try to stop them.

The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were rebuilding a Temple to the LORD, the God of Israel. So they approached Zerubbabel and the other leaders and said, "Let us build with you, for we worship your God just as you do. We have sacrificed to Him ever since King Esarhaddon of Assyria brought us here." (Ezra 4:1-2 NLT)

These enemies tried to come off as friends.  They smiled and offered a hand, but, in reality, they were trying to get close enough to do some real damage.  When faced with an enemy who is working against the building of God’s Church, it’s important to remember what Jesus said about facing such enemies.

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:44-45 ESV)

It seems strange that Jesus would instruct us to love enemies rather than fight them.  It’s not strange, though, when we remember how the Scriptures describe “enemies.”  They are human beings, made in the Image of God.  They are fearfully and wonderfully made. When they sin, they are rebelling against God more than us people and God is willing to reconcile with them if they are willing to repent (turn away from their rebellion and return to God). This picture of “enemies” not only matches what Jesus teaches.  It matches what Paul wrote in his second letter to Timothy:

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:24-26 ESV)

When in battle, we fight enemies.  We set captives free.  It’s important to remember that our real enemies are not the people who we see.  Our real enemy is the one we don’t see who has taken people captive to do his will.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 ESV)

This enemy wants to turn us against one another.  That’s because God’s design and desire is that we love one another.  The enemy hates that.

If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven--if there was anything to forgive--I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:10-11 NIV84)

God calls us to build one another up into Christ who is the head of the Church.  We are called to build up, not tear down.  That’s because every person is a human being made in the image of God – even enemies.  We do not work together with enemies as though they are allies or team members, but we do work to build them up just like everyone else.  We were sent to set captives free.

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other leaders of Israel replied, "You may have no part in this work. We alone will build the Temple for the LORD, the God of Israel, just as King Cyrus of Persia commanded us." (Ezra 4:3 NLT)

How about you?  Do you run into enemies in your daily walk?  Do these enemies try to stop you from building people up into Christ?  Do they slow down or stop your building process?  How do you respond?  Do you treat enemies like enemies to be destroyed or like captives to be set free?