Part 3, When Glory Seems Gone

...minute, and it will begin to make sense when you find in your copy of God’s Word Haggai chapter number two. Haggai chapter number two, and you begin looking at verse number nine. Haggai chapter number two and verse nine.

And when you get there, if you are able, if you would stand with me as we honor God and the reading of his Word.

Haggai chapter 2, verse one.

Only if you’re able to stand. You can stand up on the inside while sitting. That’ll be okay.

Now hear the Word of the Lord.

On the 21st day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai. Speak to Zerubbabel, son of Shiel, governor of Judah, to the high priest, Joshua, son of Jehosedac, and to the remnant of the people.

Verse three, who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn’t it seem to you like nothing by comparison?

Even so, be strong, Zerubbable. This is the Lord’s declaration. Be strong, Joshua, son of Jehoshed, high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land. This is the Lord’s declaration.

Work, for I am with you. The declaration of the Lord of armies. This is the promise I made when you came out of Egypt. And my spirit is present among you. Don’t be afraid.

For the Lord of hosts, the Lord of Armies, says this: once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of the nations will come and will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of armies.

The silver and gold belong to me. This is the declaration of the Lord of armies. The final glory of this house will be greater than the first, says the Lord of armies. I will provide peace in this place. This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.

May God add his blessing to the reading, the preaching, and your hearing to understand his holy Word. May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ forever be praised.

And all of God’s people say, “Amen.”

Amen. You may be seated.

Before the sermon this morning, you heard a portion of Hondel’s Messiah, George Frederick Hondel, or Handel as we sometimes say. And the section was “Thus Saith the Lord.” And that which was sung there on the screen was literally the words from our Bible text this morning set to music in that great piece, that monumental piece called Handel’s Messiah.

Now, let me just by a show of hands see how many of you have ever heard Handel’s Messiah in totality.

Few of you.

Richard, I thought you sang it. What was the big thing you had at the hall and we all went to do and—okay. I thought, are you sure it wasn’t Handel’s Messiah?

Years ago, I had the opportunity to sing the great piece, and this is where the Hallelujah Chorus is from. And I got to sing it with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra.

And if you’ve ever been part of something like that, you know that the performance in the hall on that night is only the last little part. It’s the tip of the iceberg.

Before that grand performance, there are rehearsals. Lots of rehearsals. Learning the notes, learning the entrances, learning how to listen to everybody around you and blend with them, standing for long periods of time, going over the same passage, the same notes again and again and again with everybody until everybody is all together and it is perfect.

At least that’s the way we did it with Dr. Hermits.

It had to be perfect.

Work, pressure, anticipation.

And then the night of the performance finally comes. The orchestra was all there. The choir was in its places. The soloists were lined up. The hall was full. The music begins.

And then for that little while, you were just immersed in the glory of it all.

There’s something about being surrounded by a great choir like that and an orchestra, a full orchestra, performing music like the Messiah. Especially when it is biblical music like that.

It’s hard to describe it because you’re not just hearing it, you are feeling it.

The sound fills the room. The sound fills your ears. The sound fills your chest. You feel it.

And you reach some of those great moments in the piece like the one we just heard. It’s like the room itself has a heartbeat. The heartbeat of the tempo of the music becomes the heartbeat of the room. And the room itself is trembling, and the great glory is there.

And then, and then, it’s over.

And you walk out.

If you’re in the choir and the orchestra, you go home and you send your tuxedo to the cleaners. The next week rolls around, and I remember thinking back then, it’s kind of nice not to have so many rehearsals to go to this week, and the pressure is gone, and the schedule is lighter.

But there was something else missing, too.

The glory was gone.

The glory was gone.

And you know that feeling too, don’t you?

Maybe not from singing Handel’s Messiah, but you’ve experienced that. There was something wonderful that you got to experience, and something beautiful that you got to experience, or something important that you got to experience, and it was glorious.

And then it was over.

And you have a feeling of sort of, well, sort of let down.

Anybody?

That’s exactly where the people of Haggai’s day were in chapter 2.

Remember where we’ve been, just real quickly. They had returned from 70 years of exile in Babylon, and God had brought them back home to Jerusalem, and they had begun rebuilding the temple.

And then discouragement came, and then opposition came, and then misplaced priorities set in. And for years now, the work has stopped.

And then in chapter 1, Haggai comes, the man of God, the prophet of God, and he comes preaching. And he says, “Consider your ways and think carefully about your ways.”

And they listened, and they obeyed, and they went back to work on the house of God.

And when they did, God says, “I am with you.”

And the Bible says, chapter one, the Lord roused their spirit. The Lord stirs up their spirit.

And now we come to chapter two, and the work has resumed, and the people are doing exactly what they’re supposed to do.

And then God gives Haggai another message.

Verse one of chapter 2 tells us that this came on the 21st day of the seventh month. Don’t you love how the Bible throws in those details to show us the specificity, to show us the accuracy, that we can put these dates on a calendar?

And on that date, God asks them—God asked the people who here—he’s almost doing like a show of hands here.

How many of you here saw this temple in its former glory before it was destroyed?

How does it look to you now?

Doesn’t it seem like nothing in comparison?

Now, follow with me. Watch this.

There were people in Jerusalem who were at least in their late 70s, who had been in exile in Babylon 70 years, but they remembered. They saw the old temple. They saw the temple of Solomon.

And now they’re coming back, and now they’re seeing the temple being rebuilt, and God says, “Does it seem to you like it’s nothing in comparison to what the old one was?”

They were remembering the cedar, the cedar columns and beams. They remembered the gold. They remembered how big Solomon’s temple was. They remembered how beautiful Solomon—there was nothing like Solomon’s temple.

They remembered the great glory of the temple of Solomon that had been destroyed.

And now they looked at what they were building, and it just wasn’t the same.

Now, they were doing the right thing. They were obeying God. They were working, but they were looking at what was in front of them.

And you’ve done this.

You say, “Sort of like the disappointment I was talking about with the boys and girls. Is this really it?”

Sometimes that’s the hardest place for we to be as believers. Not when you’re openly rebelling against God, but no, but when you are doing what God told you to do. You are in complete obedience to God.

And it still doesn’t look like what you had hoped it would look like.

And that’s when glory seems gone.

Our first point is there is sorrow when glory seems gone.

On the 21st day, we get the date. Speak to Zerbel, son of Sheliel, and the people.

Who is left here who saw the house in its former glory?

How does it look to you now?

Does it seem like nothing in comparison?

Folks, there is sorrow in these verses.

And God doesn’t pretend otherwise.

And I want you to hear me say this: God does not want us to pretend like we’re not sad. God doesn’t want us to pretend like we don’t have sorrow.

We do.

He doesn’t rebuke them for remembering.

No, God acknowledges exactly what they’re feeling.

And he asks that question: who here is left among you who saw the former glory of this house?

Sorrow is a feeling.

And like other feelings, folks, it’s okay to have feelings.

Nod your head like this.

It’s okay to have feelings.

And feelings vary in intensity.

Sometimes sorrow is crushing.

Sometimes it’s just that little ache in your heart somewhere in between.

Do y’all know what I’m talking about?

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, a long way from home.

If you don’t know what sorrow feels like, that’s what sorrow feels like.

Sorrow is something every human being experiences and understands, especially when it seems like the glory is gone.

Do your shoulders like this. You might need it. Here we go.

Think about the glory of youth.

The time when you could stay up half the night and still function the next morning.

The glory of youth.

A time when your knees didn’t complain.

The glory of youth.

A time when your back didn’t have an opinion about everything you did.

The glory of youth.

A time when you looked in the mirror and didn’t wonder who that old person was looking back at you.

And somewhere along the way, you realize that that season of your life is gone and never coming back.

The glory seems gone.

Think about the glory of passionate love.

Maybe there was somebody you loved deeply, and maybe that relationship fell apart.

Maybe somebody broke your heart.

Or maybe it was a beautiful marriage, and death came.

And now there’s an empty chair, an empty side of the bed, a phone number you can’t bring yourself to delete from your phone.

The sorrow of glory gone.

Think about the glory of family traditions.

There was a time when everybody came home for Christmas, and grandma’s house was full, and children were running everywhere, and the table was piled high and overflowing, and everybody had a place.

And then people died, and families moved to different parts of the country, and relationships changed, and children grew up and moved on.

And one year, you suddenly realize we’re never going to have that Christmas again.

And that glory is gone.

It doesn’t have to be something so profound.

Let’s say you buy a new car, and oh, it’s just the one you wanted, and you’re so proud of it. And you polish that thing, and you keep that thing spotless, and you pull way back in the parking lot to keep it away from everybody else, and you baby that thing.

And oh, you’re so proud of it.

And it gets a little scratch on it, like that always happens. You buff it out, and you take it to the place to get it fixed, and oh, you’re so proud of this car.

One day in the future, it comes where it gets a dent in it or a scratch on it, and you look at it and you say, “Oh, well, the new is worn off and you’re the glor—”

See, even in the small things, the glory is gone.

We all understand sorrow when glory seems gone.

And I want to say to you clearly this morning, sorrow is real.

Faith doesn’t require us to pretend like it’s not.

Christians are allowed to grieve.

Christians are allowed to remember.

Christians are allowed to say, “I wish it was different.”

But sorrow doesn’t get the final word.

Because when glory seems gone and we’re filled with sorrow, number two, God gives us strength.

Number two, strength when glory seems gone.

In verses four through five, three times God says, “Be strong.”

He says, “Zerubbable the governor, be strong. Joshua, high priest, be strong. People, be strong.”

Be strong at the work you have been given.

In other words, yes, remember what used to be. Yes, this looks smaller. Yes, you’re disappointed. Yes, you feel sorrow.

But don’t sit down in the sorrow.

Keep working.

And keep going.

Don’t quit.

Be strong.

God says sorrow—listen—sorrow is real.

Are you listening to me?

Sorrow is real, but sorrow is a feeling.

And it’s just a feeling.

Amen.

Sorrow is real. Sorrow is a feeling, but sorrow is not a master.

You will have sorrow, but you don’t have to let sorrow decide what you do.

Let me say that again.

You will have sorrow, but sorrow is a feeling, not your master.

You will have sorrow, but sorrow doesn’t have to decide what you do.

Maybe all those things we went through—I’m sorry for making you feel that way—but I wanted you to feel this message.

Maybe that relationship is not what it once was.

Keep loving.

Maybe your family looks different today than it used to.

Keep showing up.

Maybe your body isn’t as strong as it used to be.

Do what you can.

Maybe your plans didn’t work out like you hoped.

Keep walking with God.

And notice the source of their strength.

Verses four and five. God does not say, “Be strong because you’re strong.”

He says, “Be strong because I am with you.”

There’s our promise again from chapter one.

I am with you.

I am with you.

I am with you.

I wish you all had been here Wednesday night for us to talk about that. We had a great time talking about the “I am” statements, the tetetrogrammaton in that statement.

And then verse five, there’s the source.

“This is the promise I made to you when I came out of Egypt. My spirit is present among you. Don’t be afraid.”

God’s promise, God’s presence, God’s spirit is there to strengthen us even in the sorrow.

Friend, when glory seems gone, you don’t have to manufacture strength out of thin air. You don’t have to convince yourself everything is wonderful when it’s not. You don’t have to just pick yourself up by your own bootstraps. You don’t have to deny the sorrow is real.

But you do need to remember who is with you.

The sorrow is real.

But he is with me.

There’s truth. Truth I want you to carry on with you.

If your faith is in the Lord, the source of your strength is greater than the source of your sorrow.

If your faith is in the Lord, the source of your strength is greater than the source of your sorrow.

Whatever caused your sorrow is limited.

God is not limited.

Whatever you lost is temporary.

God is eternal.

Whatever changed around you cannot change the God who is within you.

So keep working, keep believing, keep your courage, keep going.

Because when glory seems gone, God gives us strength.

And then he gives us something else.

He gives us a sign when glory seems gone.

This was “Thus Saith the Lord” that you heard at the beginning.

Verse six: “For the Lord of hosts—thus says the Lord of hosts—once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake the nations so that the treasures of all the nations will come. And I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies. “The silver and gold belong to me.”

This is what the Lord says.

A sign.

God is telling these discouraged people, “You’re looking at what you can do. I want you to remember what I can do.”

Think about how they got there in the first place.

For 70 years, they had lived as exiles. Jerusalem was ruined. The temple was gone. Babylon was the greatest power of the entire world.

Humanly speaking, there was no reason to believe that these Jewish captives would ever go home to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.

It just could not happen humanly.

But then empires changed.

Then Babylon fell.

And then the Meo Persian Empire rose.

And then God moved in the hearts of pagan kings.

And then Cyrus issued the decree.

And then the resources were given.

And the exiles came home.

And the support for the building was given.

Just stop and think about that, what God has already done in bringing them back to Jerusalem.

He used pagan kings.

God used pagan kings to bring his people home, to have the materials to build the temple.

Who could do that?

Only God.

Only God can do the things that only God can do.

You have to remember, folks, God has done the impossible before.

Listen to me real quickly. We got to move fast here.

Look back at your life.

Remember the door that God opened for you back then.

Remember the prayer that God answered for you back then.

Remember the provision that came at just the right time back then.

Remember the person that showed up at just the right moment.

Remember the situation you thought would destroy you, but by his grace, you made it through and came out stronger.

Remember the sign of what God has done in your life in the past.

Amen.

Those memories are not just nostalgia.

They’re signs.

Signs of the power of God, and signs of the love of God, and signs that the God who helped you back then is God who will still help you today.

Amen.

God had moved the hearts of kings before, and now he says, “I will shake the nations again.”

Don’t put God in a little box.

Don’t decide that because you can’t see how something could ever happen that it can’t happen.

Huh?

You don’t know whose heart God can change.

You don’t know what door God can open.

You don’t know what resources God can provide.

He’s got the cattle on a thousand hills.

Amen.

You don’t know what circumstances that God can change.

But I’ll tell you this: he can change it.

Let yesterday’s faithfulness become today’s confidence.

Remembering what God has done in the past to strengthen us into the future.

Because when glory seems gone, God’s past work becomes the sign that he can do it again.

Amen.

You weren’t expecting this, but there’s a four.

That’s why I told you, got to go fast. Here we go.

Lastly, salvation when glory seems gone.

Verse nine. God says, “The final glory of this house will be greater than the first,” says the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies. “I will provide peace in this place.”

Thus saith the Lord.

That’s the great promise.

Think about it.

Solomon’s temple that was destroyed had been magnificent.

Cedar, marble, stone, gold, bronze, craftsmanship—huge, beautiful.

Everything about it was impressive.

When the Queen of Sheba came and saw it, she said, “The half has not been told.”

And this second temple they were building was none of those things.

It wasn’t going to match Solomon’s temple in outward splendor.

Those old men who were standing there looking and shaking their heads, they were right.

The new temple that was being built was not impressive.

But glory does not ultimately come from marble.

Glory does not come from cedar and gold and bronze.

Glory does not come because of how wide or tall it is.

Glory comes from God.

And generations later, this temple that they’re building that they weren’t impressed with at all, God was going to do something in that temple that Solomon could have never imagined.

Because one day, generations after that temple was built, a young couple would come carrying a baby into that temple whose name was Jesus.

A man named Simeon would take that child in his arms and praise the Lord.

A woman named Anna would see him and begin speaking about him to everyone who was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Twelve years later, a boy would sit among the teachers on the steps of that temple, listening and asking questions, and everyone who heard him would be amazed at his understanding.

And that temple that wasn’t impressive to those folks—years later, Jesus would walk into that temple, a grown man.

He would teach there.

He would heal there.

He would confront hypocrisy there.

He would overturn tables there.

And he would call it “my Father’s house.”

The blind and the lame would come to him there.

Children would cry out, “Hosana to the Son of David,” there.

And standing in that temple precinct, Jesus would speak words that no ordinary man could speak.

He would proclaim the truth of God.

He would reveal the glory of God.

He would call sinners to himself.

In that place, he would say, “Before Abraham was, I am.”

Solomon’s temple had gold, but this temple had Jesus.

Solomon’s temple had cedar, but this temple heard the voice of the Son of God.

Solomon’s temple had the glory cloud, but this temple had the Word made flesh.

And then came the day when Jesus was taken outside the city, the temple in view, beaten, mocked, nailed to an old rugged cross.

And darkness covered the land.

And the Son of God bore the sins of the world.

And Jesus cries out, “Tatalsti, it is finished.”

And at that moment, in that temple that they were not impressed with, at that moment something happened inside that temple.

The veil that separated the holy place from the most holy place, that great curtain symbolizing the fence between sinful man and holy God, was torn from top to bottom.

The glory of that temple wasn’t the gold on the walls.

The glory was that the Savior had come.

The glory was that sin had been paid for.

The glory was the way to God had been opened.

Listen, and I’ll close.

Here we go.

That’s salvation.

And friend, when every earthly glory fades, the glory of salvation remains.

Youth fades.

Money disappears.

Buildings crumble.

Traditions change.

People we love die.

Even nations rise and fall.

But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Let us pray.

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning praying that people have heard this word and now in faith will respond to it.

Lord, let this be their invitation where they come and do business with you.

We pray this all in Jesus’ name.

And all of God’s people say, “Amen.”

Amen.