Part 2, No More Waiting, Start Obeying

Last week, we saw the people who were experiencing all strife and no satisfaction. All strife and no satisfaction was the title of the message last week. They had planted much but harvested little. They ate, but they were never satisfied. They drank, but they were not filled. They earned money only to put it in a bag with a hole in the bottom.

And we saw that there were some very practical, very human things that we can identify—reasons for the troubles they were experiencing. It goes back to the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah.

The book of Ezra fills in some of the history for us. These people in Jerusalem in Haggai’s day had come home from 70 years of exile. They had begun rebuilding the temple when opposition rose up. Ezra tells us their enemies discouraged them. Their enemies intimidated them. Their enemies frustrated their plans. And eventually they succeeded in having the work stop.

So from a human perspective, we understand some of the things that were happening, why they happened. They got discouraged. Anybody here ever get discouraged?

They got distracted.

Anybody here this morning already distracted?

They got comfortable, and eventually something that had started as just a temporary delay became a permanent decision.

But there was also a spiritual reason for what was happening. God had already warned them about this hundreds of years earlier. Remember, all of the Bible ties together—Ezra and Nehemiah and Haggai and 2 Chronicles and Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 28. God told Israel what would happen when God’s covenant people turned away from him. They would plant but not enjoy the harvest. Their land would suffer. Their labor would become frustrating.

In other words, Haggai wasn’t giving them new information.

No, God was saying, “I told you so.”

Amen.

God was saying, “I told you if you do this, this will happen. Don’t be shocked now that you did this, and what I said would happen when you do this is happening just like I said it was going to happen.”

Amen. God was saying, “I told you so.”

Last week, we heard from God saying twice, “Think carefully about your ways. Consider your ways.”

And then in the verses this morning, here’s the remarkable thing. Verses 12–15, God told them, “Consider your ways.”

And they did.

They stopped and considered their ways.

They stopped. They listened. They thought, and then they obeyed.

That’s a great message in itself, because some people spend their whole lives knowing something needs to change and never changing it. They know. They feel bad about it. They’ll talk about it to trusted people. They intend to do something about it someday, but nothing ever changes.

Not these people.

Praise the Lord for these people in Haggai chapter 1. Twenty-three days after Haggai preached that first sermon, the hammers were swinging again. The stones were moving again. The people were working again.

No more waiting.

They were obeying.

So what changed?

What happened to get them from saying, “Oh, it’s not yet time to rebuild the temple of God,” to them saying, “Let’s get to work rebuilding the temple of God”?

Something had to intervene. Some kind of huge cataclysmic thing had to shake them up. Shock and awe, so to speak.

What happened?

I see three things that transpired, and imagine that—they all start with the same letter.

What happened?

Number one, they had a prophet that they trusted.

Look again at verse 12. Then Zerubbabel son of Shitel, the high priest—said, uh, high priest Joshua son of Jehosedac—and the entire remnant of the people obeyed the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai.

Why?

Because the Lord their God had sent him.

So they feared the Lord.

Don’t miss that last phrase.

Why did they trust Haggai?

Because the Lord had sent him.

They believed the prophet Haggai. They believed he was God’s man bringing them God’s Word. And because they trusted the messenger, they listened to the message.

Same thing in Romans chapter 10 in the New Testament: “And how can they hear without a preacher?” And verse 17 says, “Now faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

It’s the same all throughout the Bible, folks. God has always used human messengers to proclaim divine truth.

Now, a few times he spoke in other means. He spoke through a donkey one time, and some of you may think he speaks through a donkey still today.

But most of the time, it’s through the preacher.

Amen.

But I want you to hear me now. That doesn’t make the messenger infallible. The message is infallible.

It doesn’t make the preacher inspired. The Word of God is inspired.

It doesn’t mean everything a preacher says is automatically the Word of God, because I’ve listened to a lot of reels and podcasts and know that ain’t so.

What it means is that God has chosen preaching as one of the primary ways for his Word to be proclaimed to his people.

Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.”

Oh, I tremble at reading those words.

Now, let me say something about this, because there’s been a lot of confusion out there in the public world and the church world about pastoral authority.

I get asked this, and I’ve been asked this on numerous occasions and in messages, and we’re in a closed group called SBC Pastors, and I’ve seen this question, been asked this question, but most of the time by—Brother Gunnar—by younger preachers. I get it. They want to know.

The question is, “Brother Kurt, how much authority do you have at your church?”

Well, I mean, practically, just not technically, but practically, a lot.

I’ve been here a long time. There’s a certain amount of influence that comes simply through tenure. Hopefully, there’s some credibility that’s been earned over many years preaching and ministering, proving—sometimes to the shock of others—proving that I knew what I was talking about when I said that.

So, walking through hospitals, burying loved ones, baptizing converts, counseling with families, that earns you credibility.

So practically, how much authority do I have?

Practically, a good bit.

But in reality, how much authority do I have?

None.

None.

Listen, I don’t know if I should tell you this or not.

Any member of this church could make a motion in a business meeting to fire me. And if they got 50% plus one, I’d be out the door with simply absolutely no recourse at all.

That’s Baptist church government.

And listen to me, I wouldn’t have it any other way, folks.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The only real authority that I have when I stand behind this pulpit is the Word of God.

That is the authority.

That’s it.

My authority is the Bible and your confidence in me that what I am telling you really is the Word of God.

That’s it.

You don’t owe me obedience because I’ve got a title. You don’t owe me obedience because I have an office. You don’t owe me obedience because I have an opinion.

But when the Word of God speaks, every one of us, pastor and people alike, all of us stand under its authority.

That’s why I raise the Word of God up every Sunday.

Amen.

Let me say this. Let me say this as plainly as I know how. And maybe this is for somebody watching or for future reference, but I’ll stand on this.

Folks, if your pastor is a man of God, follow him.

If your pastor is not a man of God, fire him.

Amen.

The church needs Haggais.

It needs prophets. Not in the sense of receiving new revelation from God, but the church needs men who will stand before God’s people and faithfully say, “Thus saith the Lord.”

And I take that responsibility very seriously because so much depends on it.

The health of a church depends on faithful preaching. Families are affected by faithful preaching. Marriages are affected by faithful preaching. The reputation of Christ’s church and Christ’s kingdom outside of these walls, out there in this world, is affected by faithful preaching.

When I preach, I understand this:

Souls are at stake.

When I preach, I understand this, and I’m cognizant of this. When I preach, I understand that precious little children are sitting in these pews looking up at their pastor and believing that when he opens this book, he’s telling them the truth.

Amen.

That ought to make every preacher tremble.

Haggai had earned something precious.

When he spoke God’s Word, the people trusted him.

They trusted him enough to listen to the word he spoke.

And when they listened, they obeyed.

What happened?

Number one, they had a prophet that they trusted.

Number two, they had a promise they believed.

Haggai in verse 13 delivers another message, and this one is wonderfully short:

“I am with you.”

This is what the Lord says.

Thus says the Lord, “I am with you.”

That was the whole sermon.

The whole sermon from God himself, given to Haggai to give to the people.

Four words.

“I am with you.”

And we can get into all kind of stuff about the tetragrammaton and the “I am” statements. We’re not going to do all that this morning. Maybe Wednesday night.

But I want you to think about what that statement meant.

“I am with you.”

Think about what it meant.

The opposition that they had hadn’t disappeared, but God was with them.

The economy hadn’t suddenly changed, but God was with them.

The temple had not miraculously built itself overnight, but God was with them.

The work was still difficult.

The obstacles were still real.

But now they knew something that changed everything.

And you can know something that changes everything this morning.

And that thing is:

God is with you.

Amen.

Friend, if God is with you, you don’t have to wait until every problem disappears before you obey him.

If God is with you, you don’t need perfect circumstances.

If God is with you, you don’t need everybody’s approval.

If God is with you, you don’t need unlimited resources.

If God is with you, you don’t need to know exactly how every little thing and detail’s going to work out.

All you need to know is, “God is with me.”

And that’s what makes all the difference.

Moses had it at the burning bush. God said, “I am with you.”

Joshua had it when he stood at the Jordan to lead the people over. God said, “I am with you.”

David knew it when he stood before the giant Goliath and his little sling in hand, saying, “You come against me with sword and spear, but I come against you in the name of the Lord.”

He had it.

He knew God was with him.

Daniel had it in the lion’s den.

Shadrach, Meach, and Abednego had it in the fiery furnace.

And we’ve got it today.

The same promise that the Old Testament saints, the New Testament saints, through all the generations have had—the promise from God:

“I am with you.”

What I told the children, what Jesus told his disciples:

Remember this.

“I will never leave you or forsake you. I am with you always to the end of the age.”

The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans 8:31:

“If God is for us”—say it with me—“who can be against us?”

Now, he’s not saying that no one exists—yeah, plenty may oppose us—but the question, if God is with us, is who can ultimately prevail against us?

If the Almighty God is for us, church—if God is for us—then climb the mountain, face the foe, cross the river, take the stand, have the conversation, attempt the ministry, give the gift, share the gospel.

If God is with us, raise those children for Jesus, even though the whole world is against you.

If God is with us, stand up for truth when everybody else stays sitting down.

If God is with us, keep going when you’re tired.

Get back up when you fall, because God is with us.

Amen.

Notice something important here.

God didn’t promise them ease.

God didn’t promise to take away every problem.

He promised them his presence.

Listen to me. This is what somebody needs to get out of this whole sermon, folks:

Having God’s presence is better than having the problem removed.

You are way better off having the problem in your life while you’ve got the presence of God in your life than not having the problem in your life but not having the presence of God in your life.

Amen.

Jesus said, “In this world you’re going to have trouble, but take heart, for I have”—what?—“overcome the world.”

Amen.

I got to move.

They had a prophet they trusted. They had a promise they believed. And then, and then, they experienced a power that transformed them.

Verse 14: the Lord roused the spirit of Zerubbabel, the spirit of the high priest Joshua, the spirit of all the remnant of the people, and then began the work on the house of the Lord.

Again and again and again, verse 14: the Lord roused the spirit, the spirit of the high priest Joshua the Lord roused, and the spirit of all the remnant.

So what’s going on here?

God stirred them up.

And church—the church of the living God—to, let’s not even go broad, New Bethl Baptist Church, Waldo, Mississippi, needs God to stir us up.

Something happened inside of these people.

The same people who had been saying, “It’s not time to build the house of the Lord,” were suddenly saying, “Let’s get to work.”

What happened?

God changed them from the inside out.

This isn’t the first time Scripture describes God working this way. Ezra 1:5 tells us that when King Cyrus, pagan king, permitted the Jews to return, everyone whose spirit God had roused prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord.

God stirred them to go home.

Now in Haggai, God stirs them to finish what they came home to do.

2 Chronicles 36:22 says, “The Lord roused the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia,” so that Cyrus issued the prophet.

Watch this. Watch the logical progression here.

God stirs up a pagan king.

God stirs up his people.

God stirs up their leaders.

And now God stirs up an entire congregation.

We see something similar, Exodus 35.

I’m trying to show you all throughout the Bible. All throughout the Bible. All throughout the Bible.

When the tabernacle was being built, the tent, Exodus 35:21: “Everyone whose heart was moved and whose spirit prompted him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work.”

Stewardship—God stirred up the spirit.

Generosity because God stirred up the spirit.

Service because God—

So, notice this.

Here’s where it begins.

Here’s where real revival that we sang about this morning—here’s where real revival begins.

God has to move upon the heart of men, women, boys, and girls.

That’s real revival.

Real revival is not the biggest crowds coming on a weeknight to the greatest evangelist with the most fantastic music program and everything planned and everything perfect and everything louder and longer than it normally is.

No.

Real revival.

Real revival isn’t primarily something happening around us.

Real revival is God doing something inside of us.

It’s when God takes a cold heart and warms it.

It’s when God takes an indifferent heart and burdens it.

It’s when God takes a selfish heart and makes it generous.

It’s when God takes a fearful heart and gives it courage.

It’s when God takes somebody who’s been sitting on the sidelines, gets them joyfully serving.

God takes somebody who’s been saying “someday” to saying “today.”

Philippians 2:13 tells us, “For it is God who is working in you, both to will and to work according to his good purpose.”

Philippians 2:13, if you want to write that down.

“For it is God who is working in you, both to will and to work according to his good purpose.”

Don’t miss those two things.

God works in us to will.

He changes what we want.

And then God works on us to work.

He enables us to act upon it.

That’s the power that we need.

That’s the power that transformed the people back then. And that’s the power that the folks at New Bethl Baptist Church need today.

We don’t merely need somebody to tell us to try harder.

We don’t need a pep talk.

We need God to stir our hearts.

We need the Holy Spirit of God to awaken something in us.

I’ve known people who for years, they knew what they ought to do.

They knew what they ought to do.

Everybody around them knew that they knew that they knew what they ought to do, and they wouldn’t do it.

Ricky, sometimes we prayed for them for 20 years before they did it.

You know what I’m talking about.

And then one day God gets a hold of them, and suddenly they say, “You know what? I need to get saved. I need to be baptized. I need to join the church. I need to forgive that person I’ve been holding the grudge against. I need to get my family in church. I need to surrender to ministry. I need to quit fooling around with this old sin. I need to tell somebody about Jesus.”

What happens to cause that great change in somebody’s life?

What happens?

It’s the Lord stirring their spirit.

And notice the result at the end of verse 14:

And they began on the work of the house of the Lord.

That’s how you know the stirring was real.

Because they did something.

They didn’t just say something.

They did something.

They obeyed the command of God.

So, folks, no more waiting.

There’s a tremendous difference between conviction and obedience.

Let me say that again.

There’s a huge difference between conviction and obedience.

Conviction says, “I ought to.”

Obedience says, “I will.”

Conviction says, “I know. Yes, I know.”

That’s conviction.

Obedience says, “I’ll say yes, Lord. Yes to your will and to your way.”

Haggai preached on the first day of the sixth month. Verse 15 tells us the work resumed on the 24th day.

Something happened between those dates.

What happened?

The Word was preached. The people feared the Lord. God promised his presence. God stirred up their spirits.

And then they went to work.

Friend, what has God been telling you to do that you keep putting off?

Last week the message was, “Think carefully. Consider your ways.”

This week’s message is, “You’ve thought long enough. Now no more waiting. Start obeying.”

Maybe there’s somebody you need to forgive.

Quit waiting.

Make that phone call.

Make the phone call before it’s too late.

Make that phone call before they’re dead or you’re dead.

Forgive.

Maybe there’s somebody you need to apologize to.

Quit waiting.

Go make it right.

Maybe your family’s gotten off course spiritually.

Quit talking about the way it used to be. Quit thinking about how it used to be.

And you be the one to make the difference.

Start today.

Maybe God’s convicted you on stewardship. Not, “When I make more, when things settle down, when I get this thing paid off.”

Honor God today.

Maybe there’s a ministry God’s been nudging you to, a class you could teach, a neighbor or co-worker you could witness to, a missionary to support, a place to serve.

No more waiting.

Start obeying.

Maybe you’re here.

Listen, and I’ll be done.

Okay, I want you to listen.

Are you listening?

Maybe you’re here and you’ve never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior.

You’ve heard the gospel.

You know you’re a sinner.

You know Jesus died on the cross for your sins.

You know he rose from the grave.

You felt conviction before.

You thought, “One day I’m going to do it.”

Friend, one day is not a day on the calendar.

Scripture says, “Now is the appointed time. Today is the day of salvation.”

Don’t wait until you’re better.

Don’t wait until you’re older.

Don’t wait until you get something figured out.

Don’t wait for another sermon.

Come to Christ.

Repent of your sin and place your faith in Jesus.

No more waiting.

Start obeying.

And Christian, dear saint of God, don’t leave here asking God for another sign.

Don’t leave here asking God for another sign or another message when you hadn’t done what he’s already told you.

Listen to the Word.

Believe the promise.

Depend on his power.

Take the next step.

Because the God who called you is the God who says, “I’m with you.”

The God who commands you is the God who empowers you.

The God who points out the mountain is the God who will climb it with you.

So face the foe.

Cross the river.

Climb the mountain.

Do the hard thing.

Do the hard thing.

Do it by taking the first step and trust the God who’s promised you.

Trust the God who’s stirring your spirit.

When he says, “I am with you.”

No more waiting.

Start obeying.

Let us pray.

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, I pray, Lord, that each of us has heard and will receive this word in a way that will glorify you and be obedient to you.

Lord, if there are those that need to come and kneel at this altar, I pray they will step out and find peace as they kneel before you.

And, Lord, if there are people here that need to join this church through believer’s baptism, I pray they will come.

There are those that need to come make the good confession of faith and say, “Today, I know I’m saved.”

Lord, I pray that the one who needs to know that today, they’ll come so they can know that they are saved.

Father, if there are any other decisions that need to be made public, I pray that you would give them grace, give them courage to come and make that decision public.

We pray all of this in Jesus’ name.

And all of God’s people say, “Amen.”