Know Where You Stand, Part 01

Female Announcer: Here's Dr. Michael Youssef, introducing you to the prophet Haggai. This message of Haggai is for those who claim to know the Lord Jesus Christ, those who have submitted to Him as Lord, those who took Him as Savior of their life. This message today is for those who refuse to conform to the increasingly godless society. This message today is for those who have stood firm in the midst of the pressure of compromise. It's for those who love people enough to tell them the truth about the gospel. Here's what the Lord is saying. Stay strong. Examine your life.
Female Announcer: Look around and see or hear someone stand up for the truth, and you'll quickly see and hear the harassment descend. And then you'll quickly see and hear the not-so-subtle pressure to compromise. Up next on Leading The Way, Dr. Youssef looks at words in the book of Haggai. Here are words from a long time ago that offer challenge and courage for everything that was going on back then, and practical words about everything that's going on right now. His message series is called "Know Where You Stand," and you don't want to miss any episode. In fact, I want to remind you right now that all of Dr. Youssef's teachings are available for you in the Leading The Way app. You can listen and you can watch life-changing content anytime that works for you. So search for and download the Leading The Way app in your device's App Store. Do that today on mobile and smart TV. Right now though, dive with us into Haggai with Dr. Michael Youssef.
Dr. Michael Youssef: In times when people call good evil and evil good, there's a word from the Lord. In the times when wrong is called right and right is called wrong, there is a word from the Lord. In times when millions of people are departing from the truth one step at a time. At a time when thousands of pastors and preachers are slowly but surely undermining the truth of the Word of God and compromising it. In a time when many are unable to stand under the heat of the pressure of culture. In times when whole Christian denominations that once believed and taught the Word of God, now they have departed from it. We have a word from the Lord. In times when people are undermining the authority of the Word of God, denying its relevance and mocking its power. We have a word from the Lord. During times like ours, the Lord speaks afresh from the ancient prophet Haggai. And he's speaking to the remnant. And to put it in the words of the prophet himself, both in verse five and seven, repeated twice. And the message is this: give careful thought to your ways. Give careful thought to your ways. This short series of messages I'm doing from the book of Haggai is truly a word from the Lord for each one of us. And I pray that everyone at the sound of my voice will take it to heart. In periods of history like our history, we are facing unprecedented challenges economically. When we are facing challenges morally, spiritually, where people's love for God has grown cold. During these times, times of danger, times of trouble, times of confusion, times when people are asking questions, even those who don't believe in God, saying, "Where is God?" Times like these, it is of utmost importance for believers to know what to do. It can make all the difference in the world. Please hear me right because I'm aware of the fact that not many people like to do self-examination. And yet the scripture, both in the Old and the New Testament says, "Examine yourself, examine yourself, examine yourself." And here in the book of Haggai said, "Know where you stand. Examine yourself." Now not many people like the word examination, I'm aware of that. In fact, I remember when I was a kid, only the nerds liked exam time. Most of us just crammed on the last minute. When I thought of this, I thought of the two boys who were talking with each other and one said to the other, "Why does your grandma spend so much time examining the Bible?" And the other boy said, "I don't know, she may be cramming for her finals." Now I'm going to take you back to the year 520 BC. But don't switch off on me. This is not a boring ancient history time. This is a word from the Lord. The year 520. Year 520 would have been just like any other year. In fact, most historians would have probably glanced over it and forgot all about it. But in Israel's history, it was a very significant year. It was so important in the mind of God that he had to send one of his very special prophets to bring a word to the people in times of crisis. A crisis in faith, crisis in commitment, crisis in dedication that God had to bring the prophet Haggai in order that he may speak a word to his people. You say, "How come?" Well, 18 years earlier, and that is the year 538, the Persian emperor, Cyrus, who had taken over the Babylonian Empire. He issued a decree and the decree says that God's people can return back from exile. They can return back from the land of slavery. They can return back to their own land to Jerusalem. And that was in fulfillment of a promise that God made through the prophet Jeremiah 70 years earlier. God said, "I'm going to allow you to get into that exile, but in 70 years time, I'm going to remember you and I'm going to send you back to Jerusalem, bring you back to the heart of God, bring you back to the heart of worship, bring you back to me." But alas, of the hundreds of thousands of Jews who were in Babylon at the time, only around 50,000 returned under the leadership of the governor that was appointed. The rest of the Jews? Well, they were enjoying pagan lifestyle too much in Babylon to go back to God. There were lots of business to be done in Babylon. There were lots of entertainment to be had in Babylon. There were lots of distraction from the faith that we can get into. In fact, in the fall of 538 BC, the faithful Jews who trusted God, who anchored their hope on the promise of God, who were waiting for God to fulfill his promise, they returned. In the fall of 538. By the spring of next year, the following year, that is only six months, they began the foundation of clearing the debris and beginning to build the destroyed temple of God in Jerusalem. They were the real deal. These were the real people of God. They were not the ones who stayed in Babylon, they were the ones who came back. The moment they began to lay the foundation of the temple and clear the rubble, trouble began. But beloved, listen to me. It's always the case in your life and in your life and in mine. It's always the case. Whenever you begin to take your walk with Jesus seriously, whenever you begin to read the Word of God regularly, whenever you begin to rebuild your faith on God, whenever you begin to take responsibility for building your family on the foundation of the Word of God, whenever you do that, trouble always follows. Whenever you do that, opposition will raise its ugly head. Whenever you do that, discouragement will set in. Whenever you do that, some will mock you, others will distract you, others still will place obstacles in your way. And so with that kind of opposition, the work of God came to a standstill. In the New Testament, we have no temples. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Bible said it again and again that the Holy Spirit dwells in us and we are the temple of God. We are the ones who are worshiping God. We are the one with whom God is present. We don't have to go to a building to find God. He is dwelling in us. And I am not exaggerating to say, right at this moment of our time, many a Christian life, many a Christian home, many a Christian church, they're living in a greater ruin than the temple of God in the days of the prophet Haggai. And so from 538 BC to 520 BC, when God finally had to send this prophet Haggai to wake them up, to call them to repentance, to call them to renewal, to realize what they've done, they came and they started well, but they're finishing badly. To warn them of the consequences of not finishing strong, to warn them of the danger of giving up halfway, to warn them of the terrible result of losing interest in the priority of God. And in many ways, the Lord has a word for us from this very same prophet today. Be forewarned of the danger of not building our homes on the foundation of the Word of God. Be forewarned of the danger of getting too busy with life's problems and falling away. Be forewarned of the danger of following the popular culture. Be forewarned of neglecting your spiritual life. Be forewarned. Who is this prophet Haggai? Where did he come from? We have absolutely no idea. He's one prophet that we don't know much about at all. But that is well, because you see, the messenger means nothing. The message means everything. The truth is, Haggai was one of the very last prophets that God sent in the Old Testament, and then revelation stopped. There was no word from the Lord. It was Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, and then it ended. But his message is very simple. It really is a very simple message. But it's also a very different message from the rest of the prophets. The prophet's message was always to those who are sinful, living in a sinful lifestyle, and those who are self-righteous, to repent because the judgment of God is around the corner. That's the message of all the prophets. But Haggai's message is very different. It really is. You say, "Why?" Because his audience was the believers. His audience was the remnant. His audience were those who knew God. His remnant were those who worshiped God. True, they neglected the rebuilding of the temple. True, they lost heart and interest halfway through. But nonetheless, they had spiritual sensitivity left. To be sure, their priorities got muddled. To be sure, they began to live for self-interest, not the interest of God. To be sure, they were temporarily forgot the glory of God and why they even came back from exile, why they were delivered from the slavery. To be sure, they had shifted their focus. But nonetheless, they were the right people at the right place, doing the right thing for the right reasons. And these are my four points. These are the four points of the message. If you're taking notes, write them down. This message is for the right people who are in the right place, who are doing the right things, and who are doing it for the right reasons. That's what the message is. It's to everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone who claims to know him as personal savior and Lord. What do I mean by the right people? Are there right people and wrong people? Yes. Their devotion and zeal were unquestioned. After all, they could have stayed in Babylon, but they didn't. They chose to return to the heart of God. They chose to return to the Lord. And that is why they were called the remnant. The word remnant always refers to the ones who remained. That's where it comes from. They remained faithful believers in spite of opposition, in spite of difficulties, in spite of distractions. But out of the hundreds of thousands of Jews who were in slavery in Babylon, a handful, 50,000 returned. That's it. So these are the right people. These were not the compromisers. These were not the people who half-heartedly forgot. No, they were the right people. In fact, 42,360 to be exact, plus 7,337 servants and 200 singers. They were the only ones who came. They left the life of comfort. They left the life of ease. They dedicated themselves to God. They are the ones who made the long journey back to the heart of God. They are the ones who came to follow this man Zerubbabel, which was an expression of their devotion to the Lord. It's an expression of their zeal for his house. They distinguished themselves from the masses who fell into the cultural pressure of Babylon and ended up in conformity that you could hardly distinguish them from the non-believers. Listen to me. This message of Haggai is for those who claim to know the Lord Jesus Christ, those who have submitted to him as Lord, those who took him as savior of their life. This message today is for those who have not stained their garments with the stain of sin, for those who refuse to conform to the increasingly godless society, for those who have stood firm in the midst of the pressure of compromise. It's for those who have been separated and set aside for God and for his work. It's for those who love people enough to tell them the truth about the gospel.
Dr. Michael Youssef: And here's what the Lord is saying, "Stay strong. Examine your life. Determine where you stand." He's speaking to the right people. But he's also speaking to those who are in the right place, the right place. They were in Jerusalem. They were not in Babylon, they were in Jerusalem. They sacrificed everything to prove their love for the Lord. The right people will always be in the right place. It is absolutely true. The true and discerning believer could not sit for too long where the gospel is being compromised. It cannot happen. I've seen it over and over and over again. And Haggai was speaking to the right people who were faithful and they found themselves in the right place, worshiping and serving the living God. But also, thirdly, they were doing the right thing. They were doing the right work. Of course, there were too many good things and needed to be done. They're all good. Coming back from exile, they need to provide homes for their families. They needed to make a living. They needed to establish schools and shops and businesses. All good. All good stuff. These are valued and important things to do. But above all, these right people at the right place wanted to do the work of God. They placed their desire to serve God above their desire to serve their family or serve themselves. No wonder Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of your needs will be met." In fact, the book of Ezra, for those of you not familiar with the Old Testament. The book of Ezra gives you the details about these folks who returned from Babylon. Ezra and Nehemiah, both are books written for that time period. But in the book of Ezra, it tells you more, give you more detail about these folks who came back to Jerusalem from Babylon. As soon as they got back, the first thing they did, they took a free will offering. They were the right people at the right place doing the right things. And their free will offering, let me just give you a little bit of example of what it meant for those 50,000 folks. I don't know how that makes how many families. But they gave 1,100 pounds of gold, three tons of silver. They were the right people, in the right place, doing the right things. They gave of themselves to the work of God. And God blessed them. They put God's interest above their own interest, and that was not forgotten by God. Make no mistake about it, God will not forget your labor of love. And Haggai was speaking to these right people who were in the right place, who were doing the right things. And they were doing it for the right reason, which is my fourth point. Today, every time you watch the news, you find that atheists, agnostics, pagans, they're all doing good things. Through the United Nations are feeding the hungry, they digging for wells, they trying to stop human trafficking. All the good things. They're doing the, but if you ask any of them, "Why are you doing this?" They would say to you, "It makes me feel good." It makes me feel good. In other words, it's just helping me ease my guilty conscience. But beloved, you know and I know, the only thing that eliminates the guilt from our conscience is the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on Calvary.
Dr. Michael Youssef: But when God's people, when God's people serve, when God's people give of themselves, they're doing it for the right reasons. They're doing it in thanksgiving for their redemption. They're doing it in gratitude for their salvation. They're doing it to please the Lord and bless the Lord. These folks returned from Babylon to Jerusalem and they began to build. To be sure, they were not doing it to restore their national pride. They were not doing it to assert their independence. They were not doing it because it makes them feel good. They were not doing it because they have guilty conscience. No, in fact, they trusted God. They put their faith in the promise of God. They proved that they trusted God. But they were faithful to the Lord for keeping his promise that he made 70 years earlier. And they trusted in God. In thanksgiving to the faithfulness of God. They came back to Jerusalem. They turned down the luxury and the comfort of Babylon for the hard work of serving the living God. But tragically, they are now being tempted to give up before the work is finished. They were tempted to say, "We've done enough. We've given enough. We've served enough. We've prayed enough." And that temptation came at the most crucial time in the history of God's people. The most crucial time. Always, always Satan will tempt you to give up at the crucial time. And beloved, as I look around and see the saints of God who have prayed for revival, the saints of God who wanted to see God do his work with power, saints who have have zeal for the gospel, and their zeal is undeniable. But they're today discouraged. They're discouraged. Beloved, this is the crucial time. This is not the time to fall in the temptation of giving up. This is not the time to lose hope. This is not the time to stop going to prayer meeting. This is not the time to just show up at church a few minutes late and leave a few minutes early and think you are a great spiritual giant. This is not the time. This is the time for you to text everyone on your list to say, "Hey, I'm going to church, come with me." This is the time where the work of God needs to be rebuilt. This is the time to begin to build the Kingdom of God. The faithful Israelites were facing these temptations. And they fell for them. They fell for them. In the next message, we're going to see if they took heed of the words of the prophet, the warning of the prophet or not. The question is, will you take heed? Will you take that as a word from the Lord and a warning for us not to relax our grasp? Will you consider your ways? Will you renew your zeal and your commitment to be united in prayer, to seek God now more than ever before?
Female Announcer: Dr. Michael Youssef, challenging you to know where you stand. We thank you for joining listeners in and across six continents for Leading The Way. And if you'd like to speak with someone about where you stand, you can just get in touch with us by filling out a short contact form. Go to LTW.org/Jesus and speak with one of the Leading The Way pastors or counselors. Again, LTW.org/Jesus.
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