Speaker 1: Welcome to the City Life Church podcast.
Speaker 1: We hope it encourages you.
Speaker 1: If you'd like to learn more about City Life or our mission, connect with us online at citylifesandiegoorg.
Speaker 1: And.
Speaker 1: While podcasts and Sunday mornings are helpful, they are no substitute for deeper personal relationships in the church.
Speaker 2: Well, it's my pleasure to introduce to you today Pete Ramirez.
Speaker 2: He is the California Southern Baptist Executive Director.
Speaker 2: He was elected in May of 2022.
Speaker 2: He's responsible for leading the staff in church planting, church revitalization, evangelism missions.
Speaker 2: He also leads the area related to business services and communications.
Speaker 2: I have to tell you one thing he is a Dodger fan, but I ask that you be nice to him.
Speaker 2: Yes, we got one Dodger fan over there, but his passion to reach the local church it's something you'll get to know him.
Speaker 2: You'll know why, and he has been very supportive of our church long before he held this title.
Speaker 2: I can remember when we were doing our Easter egg projects and communicating with you, and the way that you were so excited for us when we had victories, and so we're just grateful to have you here with us today.
Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure we're in Haggai today.
Speaker 2: In our Bibles Is that right, so Haggai 2.
Speaker 2: Sorry, our mics keep cutting out, we don't know why.
Speaker 2: Also, friends, if you need a good Bible, we have good study Bibles on both sides we would love to give you one.
Speaker 2: If you don't have one for free, we want you to put your name on it.
Speaker 2: We also have them in several languages.
Speaker 2: Tenemos bilingües disponibles.
Speaker 2: Tenemos biblias bilingües disponibles a costar de Solón.
Speaker 2: Bonjour, muen satsin cantar Nueve avec Muen isit la Nueve en bib.
Speaker 2: Creo acier Puno gratis.
Speaker 2: No samson o creo.
Speaker 2: All right, pete, come on up.
Speaker 3: Pete.
Speaker 3: Come on up, bro.
Speaker 3: This is awesome to be able to speak in three different languages.
Speaker 3: I can speak Spanish.
Speaker 3: I can do it in English.
Speaker 3: I brought my Spanish Bible today, by the way.
Speaker 3: Actually, it's bilingual.
Speaker 3: Let me open it up to where we're going to be.
Speaker 3: If you have your Bibles, do open up to Haggai, chapter 2.
Speaker 3: I pastored for 17 years here in California, mostly in the LA and then San Jose area.
Speaker 3: When I was in San Jose, I was a chaplain for the Giants, a Dodger fan.
Speaker 3: I have a 2014 championship ring that the team gave me.
Speaker 3: It sits in the safe.
Speaker 3: I hardly ever wear it.
Speaker 3: I don't have a San Diego Padre, anything, but you know, I don't want to take your hat.
Speaker 3: Pastor, just how many of you speak primarily Creole?
Speaker 3: Is that the right way?
Speaker 3: How many of you guys?
Speaker 3: How many of you guys speak primarily Spanish?
Speaker 3: And then the rest of you?
Speaker 3: You know all three languages.
Speaker 3: That's pretty awesome.
Speaker 3: That is pretty awesome.
Speaker 3: You know, in my role, I get to go to a lot of churches.
Speaker 3: I get to go to some real big churches, like you know, a couple hundred, even in the thousands.
Speaker 3: The smallest church I ever went to there was seven people there.
Speaker 3: It was like two male and five females and it was in Daly City, right on the beach, and I'm going like man.
Speaker 3: You guys can't grow a church here.
Speaker 3: That's pretty hard, right, and I get a different sense every time I go into a church, and what I sense as I come into this community is I sense family here, from the minute I try to find parking out here in the street.
Speaker 3: You know, it just reminded me of the church that I grew up in in East LA, and it was just family.
Speaker 3: It speaks a lot to your heart, pastor.
Speaker 3: I want to tell you guys that the message I brought to you guys doesn't start with anything like what I'm talking about right now, but I'm just really, really encouraged as I see this community here.
Speaker 3: As you see, the message to today's sermon is remembering the past but focusing on the future, and I don't have a lot of time so I can't talk forever while I'm here, but as we get into this passage in Haggai, chapter two, we're going to see a passage of people that were moved by God after having been in Babylon and in Persia, being held hostage there for 70 years.
Speaker 3: They were held captives there and they returned back to the Holy Land, to the place that was supposed to be rich with milk and honey and the temple of God and the walls of Jerusalem and this glorious place that they were told about For 70 years, some of them Others were born in captivity Come back Because God stirred the heart of the people, and that's what we're going to see today.
Speaker 3: We're going to see this passage Haggai, chapter 2.
Speaker 3: I'm going to ask you to stand as I read God's word in honor of God's word.
Speaker 3: I'm going to ask you to stand as I read it, and it says this verses 1 through 5.
Speaker 3: On the 21st day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through Haggai.
Speaker 3: The prophet, speak to Sarah Babel, son of Shattel, governor of Judah, to the high priest, joshua, son of Hesodak, and to the remnant of the people who is left among you, who saw this house in its former glory.
Speaker 3: How does it look to you now?
Speaker 3: Doesn't it seem like nothing to you?
Speaker 3: Even so, be strong, sarah Babel, the Lord's declaration.
Speaker 3: Be strong, Joshua, son of Hesedek, high priest, be strong all you, people of the land, the Lord's declaration work, for I am with you, the declaration of the Lord of hosts.
Speaker 3: This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt, and my spirit is present among you.
Speaker 3: Do not be afraid, let me pray Father.
Speaker 3: I pray that your word may be an encouragement, father, to the beautiful church this morning.
Speaker 3: May it be a challenge, father, to their hearts.
Speaker 3: And may, father, you do a work.
Speaker 3: Father as your word is spoken, father through me, and Father as your word is implanted in the hearts and in the mind of every one of my brothers and sisters that is here today, father.
Speaker 3: Speak now, father, and let us listen and be glorified.
Speaker 3: Father in the life of every person and in the heart of every person.
Speaker 3: In the name of Jesus, we pray.
Speaker 1: Amen.
Speaker 3: You may be seated.
Speaker 3: What we're going to look at this morning is we're going to look at one observation that I want to make out of the text and three commands, three derivatives that we find in this passage, and they're easy.
Speaker 3: The first one is, you know, be careful about how you compare to things.
Speaker 3: The second one is be strong.
Speaker 3: The third one is work.
Speaker 3: And the last one, fear not, okay.
Speaker 3: And so we're going to look at these four things, the observations and the commands, and the first one that we see here we find again these people.
Speaker 3: They've come back from being in captivity.
Speaker 3: God had put in their hearts to leave a place where they had a home, a place where they had a roof, a place where they had food, people that gave them jobs, to a place that was desolate.
Speaker 3: When they came back to Jerusalem, the place where strangers living in the homes, the properties where they that was part of their family, there were people that were giving them a hard time.
Speaker 3: If you guys ever look at the books of Nehemiah or Ezra, those are books that talk about what's going on in the time when these guys have returned.
Speaker 3: And Haggai, the prophet, here, is, uh, speaking on behalf of God to these people, and we're finding that they're going through a time where things are not what they expected.
Speaker 3: Things are not like they thought they would be.
Speaker 3: And the people that it's talking about here.
Speaker 3: First is this this guy in in verse 2 Sarah Babel, son of Shattel.
Speaker 3: He is the grandson of the previous king, okay, but he's not king.
Speaker 3: Because you see, what happens is that, after the captivity, when God's people were sent into captivity for 70 years, there never was another king, except for King Jesus when he became the king of the Jews, king over Israel, right?
Speaker 3: So this guy that was from the bloodline of kings, he's no longer king, he's now judge, governor.
Speaker 3: And then you have Joshua, the high priest, who was supposed to do the work in the temple.
Speaker 3: That's what priests did.
Speaker 3: Kind of like pastor, he does everything here at church, right, cleans the toilets, unplugs the sinks.
Speaker 3: Pastors do everything.
Speaker 3: Well, the priests did everything back in the day too.
Speaker 3: But guess what?
Speaker 3: They get back to Jerusalem.
Speaker 3: There's no temple.
Speaker 3: Temple's gone, destroyed.
Speaker 3: All the beautiful things that it talks about in the Bible, about King Solomon's temple, it's gone.
Speaker 3: Some of it went to Egypt, others went to Babylon.
Speaker 3: I mean, they were raided so many times that everything was torn down.
Speaker 3: Things were burned down, I mean, everything was destroyed.
Speaker 3: Priests didn't have much to do Not much priestly, things to do when there's no temple.
Speaker 3: And then all the remnant, all the people that came back, that small group that God put in their heart to come back.
Speaker 3: They came back to something they thought it was going to be glorious.
Speaker 3: And so the question is the questions are asked here in verse three who is left among you?
Speaker 3: Who saw this house in its former glory?
Speaker 3: So there might have been some people there that were like in their 80s and 90s, that maybe remembered what it was like.
Speaker 3: Who of you saw this house in its former glory?
Speaker 3: How does it look to you now?
Speaker 3: Doesn't it seem like nothing to you?
Speaker 3: Matter of fact, in Ezra, in chapter 3, in verses 10 through 13, it says that there were different reactions to when they saw the foundation temple when it was completed.
Speaker 3: It says when the builders had laid the foundation of the Lord's temple, the priests dressed in the robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites ascended from the top holding symbols.
Speaker 3: They took their positions to praise the Lord, as King David of Israel had instructed.
Speaker 3: They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, for he is good, his faithful love endures forever.
Speaker 3: Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the Lord's house had been laid.
Speaker 3: But listen to the verses 12 and 13.
Speaker 3: But many of the older priests, the ones that had remembered what it was like before, the Levites and family leaders who saw the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundations of this house.
Speaker 3: But many others shouted with joy, joyfully.
Speaker 3: The people could not distinguish between the sound of the joyful shouting and from that of the weeping, because the people were shouting so loudly and the sound was heard far away.
Speaker 3: See, there was two generations the generation that was comparing the things from the past and the generation that was here today and was joyful because of what they were seeing.
Speaker 3: In churches.
Speaker 3: We have a lot of that that happens.
Speaker 3: We compare the past to what we have today.
Speaker 3: People think like man.
Speaker 3: Back in the day, you know, we used to have good knees, we can bend down and we didn't have to huff and puff when we got up out of our chair, right?
Speaker 3: But nowadays it's like man, I need help getting out of the chair.
Speaker 3: Things change, folks.
Speaker 3: That's just the reality of things.
Speaker 3: But if we're stuck in the past, comparing to man, how great that was how great those things are or how great somebody else is, folks, you're going to be very disappointed.
Speaker 3: We need to be careful not to be comparing, especially the past.
Speaker 3: God gives us things in the past for us to appreciate, for us to be thankful for, but he has given us today the present as a gift for us, and every good thing that we have is from the Lord.
Speaker 3: Amen.
Speaker 3: And if you have life, it's for the Lord.
Speaker 3: It's for you to praise the Lord, it's for you to live for the Lord.
Speaker 3: Because let me tell you something that when we compare, when we start comparing things like these guys, comparing the old temple to what they have now, and how discouraged they were, this foundation was nothing like the previous foundation.
Speaker 3: They were so discouraged Folks.
Speaker 3: When we start doing that, all we end up is being discouraged.
Speaker 3: And I can tell you this Satan's favorite tool to get you to stop coming to church, satan's favorite tool to get you to go down the road of depression, satan's favorite tool to get you to go away from him, from God, is discouragement Is discouragement.
Speaker 3: And so, obviously, there were people that were discouraged here.
Speaker 3: There were people that were thinking man, it's not like we thought it was going to be.
Speaker 3: It's not as great as it used to be, and so you've got to be careful as you guys go forward, church, continue after 10 years and go to 20 and 30 or 40 or whatever it might be, until the Lord comes.
Speaker 3: You need to be careful never to be comparing, because it will bring discouragement.
Speaker 3: That will then lead to unfaithfulness, to serving the Lord and being grateful for the things that he's given you.
Speaker 3: Today there are some people that are just joy suckers because they're always comparing and all I know scripture says is rejoice in the Lord, always.
Speaker 3: And again I say rejoice, and this is Paul speaking when he's in a jail, and not the pretty ones like we have today.
Speaker 3: Folks, we need to be careful because Satan wants to unmotivate, he wants to discourage and folks, they had so many people coming and attacking, making fun of them as they were trying to do the work that God had called them to do.
Speaker 3: They were so discouraged.
Speaker 3: They had so many reasons to be discouraged.
Speaker 3: But be careful, because it's Satan's tool, and their disappointment led to discouragement, which leads to depression, and eventually it leads to doubt.
Speaker 3: Did you get that?
Speaker 3: As soon as you start getting disappointed about something, it will lead to discouragement, which will lead to depression, which will lead to doubt.
Speaker 3: Ecclesiastes 7.10 says do not say why were the old days better than these, for it is not wise to ask such questions.
Speaker 3: Ask such questions, folks.
Speaker 3: Be careful that you're not comparing, but look forward to anticipation, to what God wants to do, amen.
Speaker 3: So then we see in the following verse what must they do?
Speaker 3: He says, even though, be strong, sarah Babel.
Speaker 3: He tells the governor be strong.
Speaker 3: This is the Lord's declaration.
Speaker 3: Even though you're not king, though, be strong, sarah Babel.
Speaker 3: He tells the governor be strong.
Speaker 3: This is the Lord's declaration.
Speaker 3: Even though you're not king.
Speaker 3: Be strong, he tells Joshua.
Speaker 3: But be strong, joshua, son of Hesedek, you high priest, even though there's no temple, even though there's just a foundation that's beginning to get built, and you've been here for years now.
Speaker 3: Be strong, be strong all you, people of the land, not just the leaders, but all of years.
Speaker 3: Now be strong, be strong, all you, people of the land, not just the leaders, but all of you.
Speaker 3: Be strong.
Speaker 3: This is the lord's declaration.
Speaker 3: Be strong now.
Speaker 3: This is not talking about your own strength.
Speaker 3: That man.
Speaker 3: I'm a, I'm a hispanic, I'm a macho man.
Speaker 3: I don't even cry, bro, like those are sweats coming out of my ears.
Speaker 3: You know I'm not talking about that kind of being strong.
Speaker 3: I'm talking about, like joshua, joshua one nine, you know, in three times, being reminded by the lord be strong and courageous.
Speaker 3: Be strong.
Speaker 3: Be strong and what?
Speaker 3: Not in your own strength, but be strong in your faith in the lord, that he is the one that has delivered you out of captivity, that he is the one that has taken you out, brothers and sisters, from being in your sin, from still living a life where all you were trying to do is please yourself and caring all about just yourself.
Speaker 3: And he has given you the ability to understand that he loves you, that he sent Jesus to die on the cross for you.
Speaker 3: Be strong in your faith.
Speaker 3: That he that began the good work will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Speaker 3: That all the things that you don't know right now, that one day, when we're in heaven, it says we're going to be like him in the way that we're going to understand things and know things.
Speaker 3: But not right now you can't even know what your wife is thinking.
Speaker 3: There's just no way.
Speaker 3: But one day you'll know it all.
Speaker 3: One day Not today, okay, I hope it's not today.
Speaker 3: Be strong in your faith.
Speaker 3: Be strong in your faith that he is doing some divine work in your life.
Speaker 3: You know, even those things that come into our lives sometimes that we think are bad like COVID, you guys think that was bad.
Speaker 3: That's really stunt, isn't it Even that's for our good, you know.
Speaker 3: They say that COVID accelerated what happens in churches, like by 10 years, so like if somebody was going to leave your church in the next 10 years.
Speaker 3: They left during covid.
Speaker 3: Thank god, thank you, lord, right, pastor, aren't you happy?
Speaker 3: Some of them left, some of you come back, just good.
Speaker 3: Okay, this is what god meant.
Speaker 3: Right, it accelerated the process.
Speaker 3: You were supposed to come back, but folks know that God's divine hand is at work.
Speaker 3: Do not be discouraged.
Speaker 3: Be joyful, be expectant, be strong, knowing that the Lord is at work.
Speaker 3: Again, the people were discouraged and Ezra 4.4 says the people had already been in the land, discouraged.
Speaker 3: The people of Judah had made them afraid to build, but can I tell you what happened?
Speaker 3: That kind of shows them God's faithfulness in God's hand.
Speaker 3: It tells us that in the book of Ezra, in verses 6 through 8, it tells us that there was a decree that was made, and the decree was a decree by the king, telling the elders, the Jews, that they can rebuild God's house.
Speaker 3: This is the king that was not a believer saying you know what?
Speaker 3: Go ahead and build God's house.
Speaker 3: Matter of fact, he told them not only go build it, but guess what?
Speaker 3: We're going to pay for it out of our money.
Speaker 3: Now you imagine I know you guys are trying to blow out this back wall and you're going to do it.
Speaker 3: It's just a matter of time.
Speaker 3: Can you imagine if Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump got together and they decided that they're going to give you the money to blow out the wall?
Speaker 3: Right, that's like what happened here.
Speaker 3: Okay, you think that could happen.
Speaker 3: Oh, if God wills it.
Speaker 3: If God wills it.
Speaker 3: I'm not saying it's going to happen, it's okay, it's not.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's almost.
Speaker 3: That would be a miracle, that would be an impossible.
Speaker 3: But you know what?
Speaker 3: There's no impossible for God.
Speaker 3: So be strong in your faith, because God does it the way he wants to do it.
Speaker 3: There are things going on in your life that you're like there's just no way.
Speaker 3: God's like watch, just wait on me, put your faith on me, be expectant.
Speaker 3: I'll be with you, I'll help you out.
Speaker 3: Be strong and courageous, like Joshua was ordered to be.
Speaker 3: Be strong in the Lord.
Speaker 3: Put your hope in him.
Speaker 3: He will never ever, ever never, ever lead you wrong, never.
Speaker 3: If you think that God has led you wrong, you were not following God, you were following somebody else.
Speaker 3: He will never fail you.
Speaker 3: When you look at the past and you see his faithfulness, you can say he has not failed me then he will not fail me now.
Speaker 3: So be strong in your faith, look forward with anticipation, with faith in the lord, and when you do that, guess what you can do.
Speaker 3: You can do what he's called them to do here.
Speaker 3: In the end, at the end of verse four, he says work, work.
Speaker 3: Now, nobody likes that four-letter word, right?
Speaker 3: Nobody likes that word.
Speaker 3: Nobody likes to work.
Speaker 3: I would much rather just relax, go on vacation, take it easy.
Speaker 3: But God's people have been made and created to worship God and to work.
Speaker 3: From the very beginning, man was called to work the land, to work the field, to take care of the things that God has given him.
Speaker 3: To take care of.
Speaker 3: Work is something that we're called to be obedient to.
Speaker 3: It's an action.
Speaker 3: It's hard, it will come with a lot of criticism.
Speaker 3: When we work, when we work for the Lord, people always say well, I don't know why he does it like that, you could always do it, I could do it better, but they won't.
Speaker 3: Right, it's not always glorious to do the work of the Lord.
Speaker 3: You know, I heard the story about, you know, this lady that was praying with the leaders at the church and they're praying for their new pastor and they said, lord, you take care of all his needs and we'll just keep him humble.
Speaker 3: You know, it's just not glorious man Like the pastor's supposed to work for everybody, right, I'm supposed to work for all the pastors.
Speaker 3: Imagine that that's even harder.
Speaker 3: You think it's hard?
Speaker 3: It's hard Sometimes.
Speaker 2: The work that God calls us to is you know you've got to be humble when all you want to do is fight and stand up for yourself.
Speaker 3: That's hard To work with the fruit of the Spirit before us, joyful when things are hard, loving when people hate us, right?
Speaker 3: You see, we're called to work in a divine work, in something that is God-honoring.
Speaker 3: They were to work in rebuilding the temple, but you know what?
Speaker 3: They had started kind of doing their own thing.
Speaker 3: Instead, they started rebuilding their homes.
Speaker 3: You find that story in chapter 1, but guess what?
Speaker 3: This is one of the few times when God speaks through the prophet and they actually do the work, which is pretty cool.
Speaker 3: They were faithful.
Speaker 3: They didn't let the discouragement, like you know, just keep them away from doing the work, or the hardness of the work from doing the work they recognized God had put in their heart.
Speaker 3: This is a good work.
Speaker 3: This is a good work that you should be invested in.
Speaker 3: See, we've got good work that God has called us to do.
Speaker 3: When you look out in your community, do you see people that are without hope?
Speaker 3: Do you see people looking for hope in all the wrong places, like they think that going to Petco Stadium is going to give them hope and joy.
Speaker 3: I don't care if you're a Dodger fan, giant fan.
Speaker 3: That's not going to give you hope.
Speaker 3: That might give you temporary, you know, like an ability to scream, yell, but that's not going to give you true hope, that's not going to give you true peace.
Speaker 3: That's temporary.
Speaker 3: I mean, look at the A's they're moving to Vegas at some point and all those Oakland fans are just like devastated.
Speaker 3: Our God ain't going anywhere.
Speaker 3: Our God is staying.
Speaker 3: And the work that we're called to do is to tell people about Jesus that they might have hope in the one that doesn't change.
Speaker 3: There's work that we're called to do.
Speaker 3: Those of you that have adult children, you know, how hard it is to raise adult children.
Speaker 3: You know how Blood, sweat, tears almost.
Speaker 3: I mean it's hard to raise them in the ways of the Lord.
Speaker 3: It's hard.
Speaker 3: It's hard, but that in the ways of the Lord.
Speaker 3: It's hard.
Speaker 3: But that's the call that we have See, their job was to work on a physical temple and make that place a place of worship, so that everybody could see that God was in this place, that God was with his people, that God was faithful.
Speaker 3: Our job is that people may have the spirit of God inside of them, that they may become the temple of God, that they may have the hope of God, the faith in God, so that when people see lives that are changed and transformed, they may glorify God for the work that we're doing for him.
Speaker 3: It ain't much different, is it?
Speaker 3: But it's still very hard work.
Speaker 3: Everything we do in church, as God's people, is so that people may have the spirit of God inside of them and be transformed for the glory of God.
Speaker 3: Church.
Speaker 3: That certificate that I gave this church earlier was one that was reminding this church of its faithfulness of doing just that.
Speaker 3: I pray that this church would always understand that that's the most important work that we have is to glorify God and to serve God by telling others about Jesus that they may have the Spirit of God inside of them.
Speaker 3: My question to you is who are you talking to?
Speaker 3: Who are you praying for?
Speaker 3: Who are you sharing Christ with?
Speaker 3: Are you doing the work that God has called you to?
Speaker 3: Start in your home, with your children, with your family?
Speaker 3: Then go to your neighbors and your co-workers and your friends and the guy that maybe cuts your hair.
Speaker 3: Go to whoever God puts before you.
Speaker 3: God puts before you, and the last thing that we see on here after the call is to go and to work is this is a promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt, and my spirit is present among you, folks.
Speaker 3: where the spirit of God is, there is power.
Speaker 3: By the way, don't be afraid.
Speaker 3: Why are you chicken?
Speaker 3: Why are you afraid of telling people about Jesus?
Speaker 3: Well, they don't like us here.
Speaker 3: What tough luck.
Speaker 3: They didn't love him either.
Speaker 3: They hung him and put him on a cross.
Speaker 3: They ain't going to put you on no cross.
Speaker 3: That mean my time's over.
Speaker 3: No man, I'm thinking on no cross.
Speaker 1: That mean my time's over, no man.
Speaker 3: I'm thinking I didn't keep track of my time.
Speaker 3: Uh, folks, don't be afraid, I don't know what to say.
Speaker 3: Hey, just tell them what God has done in your life and then and then and then memorize the verses so that you can share with them the word of God.
Speaker 3: But, folks, do the work that God has called you to do.
Speaker 3: Do not be afraid, he is with you.
Speaker 3: I just heard this amazing story of a pastor that was in church on a Sunday and said that this guy that was about 6'4 came into the church and he was wearing a jacket around him and he'd never seen this guy before and he did not look like a kind guy.
Speaker 3: And he said when the pastor went up to preach, the guy a couple times just stood up and reached into his jacket and then went and sat back down again.
Speaker 3: He did this like three or four times during the middle of service, during the time of the invitation, the guy went up to the front and started praying with the pastor to receive Jesus as the Lord and Savior of his life and to give his heart to Jesus.
Speaker 3: This guy kept hugging on the pastor and did not want to let go of the pastor and did not want to stop talking to the pastor.
Speaker 3: So the service ended and then the guy said Pastor, could I talk to you some more?
Speaker 3: And the pastor said sure, let's go talk in my office.
Speaker 3: By the way, his office was like a little closet.
Speaker 3: There was not much space in there.
Speaker 3: There was space for about the pastor's chair and his desk and that's about it.
Speaker 3: But they fit another chair in there and this 6'3 guy stood in there and he sat in that chair and he tells the pastor pastor, I came here today.
Speaker 3: And he reaches into his jacket and he puts on his desk a gun.
Speaker 3: He says I came here today to kill you.
Speaker 3: I came today because someone told me in my head that I had to come and take you out.
Speaker 3: He says but instead I gave my life to Jesus.
Speaker 3: Now I don't know about you.
Speaker 3: I would have been scared right about that moment.
Speaker 3: And you know what the pastor did.
Speaker 3: He grabbed the gun.
Speaker 3: He says you don't need this anymore and he put it on the floor.
Speaker 3: And then he started praying for this guy.
Speaker 3: I don't know if he prayed with one foot over the gun and one eye open, just one.
Speaker 3: Close your eyes when you pray, but, folks, when we're called by God to do the work we should not fear, for he is with us, he goes before us, he opens doors, he guides us in the way that we should go.
Speaker 3: I want you guys to jump in Haggai, chapter 2 to verse 9.
Speaker 3: This is what it says About this temple that they're working in.
Speaker 3: Again, they're faithful in doing the work.
Speaker 3: It says the final glory of this house will be greater than the first.
Speaker 3: The first one was the one that Solomon built that was made of gold and just beautiful.
Speaker 3: The final glory of this house will be greater than the first.
Speaker 3: This was the declaration that the Lord had given to his people as they were struggling through the work that God had called them to do.
Speaker 3: As they were struggling through this, god had let them know that they were about to do something that was more wonderful than Solomon's temple.
Speaker 3: Now the temple would be built, destroyed, rebuilt again in the same place and eventually, at some point, the King of Kings in the flesh, the Lord of Lords, would appear in that temple.
Speaker 3: I think that's more glorious than what they had seen before.
Speaker 3: In this temple, that king of kings would teach In that temple.
Speaker 3: The king of kings would heal In that temple.
Speaker 3: That king of kings would drive out the merchants.
Speaker 3: In that temple, the king of kings would discuss theology with those that were there.
Speaker 3: In that place, the king of kings would come and one day be worshipped.
Speaker 3: Folks, we're called to do an amazing work and I pray that in the next 10 years to come, that God may continue to use you as a church, as you work faithfully, without being discouraged, putting your faith in the Lord, that God has called you to do a great thing and that he will be with you.
Speaker 3: Guess what?
Speaker 3: Always, always.
Speaker 3: So do the work, don't forget to do the work.
Speaker 3: Don't forget to do the work that people may become the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 3: That happens when they give their lives to Jesus and ask Jesus to come into their lives and forgive them for their sins, recognizing him as the Lord and Savior the only one that paid for their sins through that death on Calvary's cross and the shedding of his blood for all.
Speaker 3: scripture says that would put their faith in the Lord, believing that God raised them from the dead, that they may be saved.
Speaker 3: And at that moment, when they say to Jesus, forgive me, jesus, come into my life and be the Lord and Savior of my life, at that moment, boom, there's a transformation that happens.
Speaker 3: Scripture says the old things have passed, all things have become new.
Speaker 3: The Holy Spirit comes and indwells that person.
Speaker 3: And once that Holy Spirit indwells that person, that person becomes alive in Jesus and that person is no longer dead, condemned by their sins, but forgiven and saved to walk with God forever.
Speaker 3: Forever.
Speaker 3: I don't know where you're at in your walk of faith.
Speaker 3: If you've not given your life to Jesus, today is your day to put your faith in him.
Speaker 3: Faith in him for the salvation of your soul.
Speaker 3: For the rest of us, may we continue to do what that four-letter word Work, work, work, church.
Speaker 3: There's much work done.
Speaker 3: Amen, let me pray.
Speaker 3: If you're here this morning, you want to give your life to Jesus.
Speaker 3: You've never given your life to Jesus.
Speaker 3: Right now is the moment you can do that.
Speaker 3: It's a confession.
Speaker 3: It's a confession of who we are.
Speaker 3: It's a confession of who he is.
Speaker 3: That's the way we receive Jesus, because with our mouths we confess that he is Lord.
Speaker 3: With our mouth, we let him know what our intentions are.
Speaker 3: With our mouth, it speaks of what our heart believes.
Speaker 3: And so today you could just say, if you're not giving your life to Jesus, jesus, forgive me for my sins, come into my life and save me, lord, help me to live for you, if that is your prayer right now.
Speaker 3: Lord Jesus, come into my life, forgive me for my sins, help me to live for you.
Speaker 3: I know that you've paid for my sins.
Speaker 3: Save me, lord, if that's your prayer right now.
Speaker 3: You've never prayed that prayer, but you've prayed it right there where you're at.
Speaker 3: Will you just let me know, by raising your hands, with everybody's eyes closed, just where you're at?
Speaker 3: Will you just say, pastor, I prayed that today, I see your hand.
Speaker 3: I see your hand For those of you that just prayed that I need you guys to come up to me and Pastor Dale after service, because we want to make sure that you get guided in knowing who God is, more and more, and what your decision that you made today is all about.
Speaker 3: For the rest of us.
Speaker 3: Let us pray, pastor.
Speaker 3: Are we praying in small groups right now?
Speaker 3: Is that what we're doing?
Speaker 3: I'm gonna pray, father.
Speaker 3: Lord, I know everyone that's here knows somebody that needs you.
Speaker 3: Everybody that's here, father, knows somebody that's far away from you.
Speaker 3: Father, they need to know that you are God and they need, father, salvation for their soul.
Speaker 3: Father, I pray that this week you may open opportunities, father, in which we would not be afraid to share who you are, to let them know about your love and the hope that comes in you, father.
Speaker 3: I pray that, lord, they may be encouraged to come to church after they give their lives to Jesus so that they may continue to grow in the love for you, father, bless this church that it may have another 10 years of continued father growth and people that know you and love you and serve you and this community may see that there is a hope in a god that is good.
Speaker 3: Thank you, my god for jesus.
Speaker 3: Thank you for sending your son.
Speaker 3: Thank you for your love for us for your constant care over us, lord God, thank you for servants that are faithful.
Speaker 3: Father, let us not forget to do what you've called us to.
Speaker 3: In the name of Jesus, we pray and all God's people said Amen.
Speaker 2: Praise God for that good word.