Aligning Our Lives with God's Agenda

 

Summary

Taking a moment to reflect on the message today, we are reminded of the importance of prioritizing God's agenda over our own. The story of Haggai serves as a powerful illustration of this principle. The people of Haggai's time were neglecting God's work to focus on their own homes, leading to God's curse. However, when they realigned their priorities and rebuilt the temple, God promised to bless them. This simple yet profound lesson calls us to examine our own lives and ensure that we are placing God's desires above our personal ambitions.

In our modern context, especially in places like Southern California, it's easy to feel spiritually accomplished by doing the bare minimum because the standard around us is so low. Yet, when we compare ourselves to the early church and the teachings of the New Testament, we realize how far we fall short. The early Christians gave everything for their faith, and what we might consider extreme today was simply normal for them. This calls us to a higher standard, urging us to not be complacent but to strive for true New Testament Christianity.

Moreover, the message challenges us to consider the authenticity of our worship and service. If we are living in sin, our offerings to God are defiled. True repentance and turning away from sin are necessary before our worship can be pleasing to God. This is a call to genuine transformation, not just outward acts of piety.

Finally, the concept of being God's signet ring, as mentioned in Haggai, is a powerful metaphor for being chosen to set an example. It challenges us to live in such a way that we become a model of faithfulness and devotion, regardless of what others around us are doing. This is a call to be distinct, to be a true reflection of God's holiness in a world that often settles for less.

Key Takeaways:

- Prioritizing God's agenda over our own is crucial. When we put God's desires first, He promises to take care of everything else. This requires a conscious decision to evaluate how we spend our time, resources, and energy. [02:21]

- The standard of Christianity today often falls short of the New Testament example. What we consider extreme was once the norm. We must strive to live out true New Testament Christianity, not settling for the low standards around us. [04:07]

- Authentic worship requires repentance. If we are living in sin, our offerings to God are defiled. True repentance and turning away from sin are necessary before our worship can be pleasing to God. [18:21]

- God's discipline is an act of love. When things don't go our way, it's important to evaluate our lives and see if God is trying to get our attention. His discipline is meant to bring us back to Him and produce righteousness in us. [26:56]

- Being God's signet ring means being chosen to set an example. We are called to be distinct and live in such a way that we reflect God's holiness, regardless of what others around us are doing. This is a call to be a true reflection of God's standard. [34:12]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:14] - Church Updates
- [01:18] - Finishing Haggai
- [02:03] - God's Agenda First
- [03:24] - New Testament Christianity
- [05:05] - Personal Reflection
- [06:43] - Southern California's Spiritual Climate
- [08:23] - Comparing to God's Word
- [10:24] - Prayer for Conviction
- [11:13] - Haggai's Message
- [13:19] - The Significance of Sacrifices
- [16:20] - Defilement and Holiness
- [19:02] - Reconciliation Before Worship
- [25:53] - God's Discipline
- [30:37] - Marking the Day of Blessing
- [34:12] - Being God's Signet Ring
- [38:47] - Call to Be an Example

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Haggai 2:1-23
- Matthew 5:23-24
- Hebrews 12:5-11

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Observation Questions:

1. What was the main issue that the people in Haggai's time faced, and how did God respond to their actions? [01:50]

2. How does the sermon describe the difference between the early church's standard of Christianity and the current standard in places like Southern California? [03:44]

3. According to the sermon, what is the significance of being God's "signet ring"? [34:12]

4. What does the sermon say about the relationship between sin and worship? How does this relate to the offerings made by the people in Haggai's time? [18:21]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the story of Haggai illustrate the importance of prioritizing God's agenda over personal ambitions? What are the consequences of neglecting God's work? [02:21]

2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that modern Christians might be fooling themselves about their level of devotion compared to the early church? [04:07]

3. What does the sermon imply about the nature of God's discipline, and how should believers respond to it? [26:56]

4. How does the concept of being God's "signet ring" challenge believers to live distinctively in their faith? [34:12]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your current priorities. Are there areas in your life where you might be placing your own desires above God's agenda? How can you realign these priorities this week? [02:21]

2. Consider the standard of Christianity you are living by. How does it compare to the example set by the early church? What changes can you make to strive for a more authentic New Testament Christianity? [04:07]

3. Think about your worship and service to God. Are there any unconfessed sins that might be defiling your offerings to Him? What steps can you take to seek true repentance and reconciliation? [18:21]

4. When faced with challenges or hardships, do you view them as potential discipline from God? How can you use these moments to evaluate your life and grow in righteousness? [26:56]

5. How can you embody the role of being God's "signet ring" in your community? What specific actions can you take to set an example of faithfulness and devotion? [34:12]

6. Identify a specific area in your life where you feel spiritually complacent. What practical steps can you take to overcome this complacency and pursue a deeper relationship with God? [03:44]

7. Reflect on a time when you felt distant from God due to sin. How did you find your way back to Him, and what can you do to maintain a close relationship with God moving forward? [24:10]

Devotional

Day 1: Aligning with God's Agenda
When we prioritize God's agenda over our own, we align ourselves with His divine plan and purpose. The story of Haggai illustrates the consequences of neglecting God's work in favor of personal pursuits. The people of Haggai's time focused on building their own homes while the temple lay in ruins, resulting in God's curse upon them. However, when they shifted their priorities and began rebuilding the temple, God promised to bless them. This narrative serves as a reminder to evaluate how we spend our time, resources, and energy, ensuring that God's desires take precedence over our personal ambitions. [02:21]

Haggai 1:7-9 (ESV): "Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you are prioritizing personal ambitions over God's desires? How can you begin to realign this area with God's agenda today?


Day 2: Striving for New Testament Christianity
In today's world, especially in regions like Southern California, it is easy to feel spiritually accomplished by doing the bare minimum. The standard of Christianity often falls short of the New Testament example, where early Christians gave everything for their faith. What we might consider extreme today was simply normal for them. This calls us to a higher standard, urging us not to be complacent but to strive for true New Testament Christianity. We are challenged to live out our faith with the same fervor and dedication as the early church, not settling for the low standards around us. [04:07]

Acts 2:44-47 (ESV): "And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

Reflection: In what ways can you challenge yourself to live out your faith more fully, reflecting the dedication of the early church? What specific actions can you take this week to raise your spiritual standards?


Day 3: Authentic Worship through Repentance
Authentic worship requires a heart that is right with God. If we are living in sin, our offerings to God are defiled. True repentance and turning away from sin are necessary before our worship can be pleasing to God. This calls for genuine transformation, not just outward acts of piety. It is a reminder that God desires a sincere heart, one that seeks to be reconciled with Him before offering worship. This involves examining our lives, confessing our sins, and seeking God's forgiveness, allowing our worship to be a true reflection of our devotion to Him. [18:21]

Isaiah 1:16-18 (ESV): "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."

Reflection: Is there a sin in your life that you need to confess and turn away from to make your worship authentic? How can you take steps toward true repentance today?


Day 4: Understanding God's Discipline
God's discipline is an act of love, meant to bring us back to Him and produce righteousness in us. When things don't go our way, it's important to evaluate our lives and see if God is trying to get our attention. His discipline is not meant to harm us but to guide us back to the right path. It is a reminder that God cares deeply for us and desires our growth and transformation. By understanding and accepting His discipline, we can learn to trust in His plan and allow it to shape us into the people He wants us to be. [26:56]

Hebrews 12:5-7 (ESV): "And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? 'My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.' It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?"

Reflection: Reflect on a recent challenge or setback in your life. How might God be using this situation to discipline and guide you back to Him? What steps can you take to respond to His discipline with faith and trust?


Day 5: Being God's Signet Ring
Being God's signet ring means being chosen to set an example, living in such a way that we reflect God's holiness. This is a call to be distinct, to be a true reflection of God's standard, regardless of what others around us are doing. It challenges us to live a life of faithfulness and devotion, becoming a model for others to follow. As God's signet ring, we are called to embody His values and principles, standing firm in our faith and being a light in a world that often settles for less. [34:12]

Zechariah 3:8-9 (ESV): "Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day."

Reflection: In what ways can you be a signet ring for God, setting an example of faithfulness and devotion? How can you reflect God's holiness in your daily interactions and choices?

Quotes



The message is this: there were people who were neglecting God's work right in order to build their own home, so God cursed them. So then the people go, we don't like God's cursing, let's go rebuild the Temple. They rebuild the Temple, and God says, from now on, I'm going to bless you. [00:01:44]

I should put God's agenda above my own, right? Okay, I shouldn't put my own home, my own desires, all this stuff. I got to put God's agenda and just go, okay, God, what do you want me to do with my time, my life, my resources, everything? I want to put that first, and then you'll take care of everything else. [00:02:10]

When you read the New Testament, you know, like we've been doing, those of us who've been reading through the New Testament in a year and the Old Testament, you know, it just showing the Life of Christ and the standard that he calls for. Then I start reading the book of Acts, and I look at the way the Christians live, and I go, wow, look at what they did. [00:03:52]

The problem is, nowadays, what we would label as a person who's overboard, a person who's just a fanatic, what we call a fanatic, overboard, extreme Christian today is what they used to call Christians. You know, and now we're saying, oh, that guy's just, he's gone overboard, he's gone nuts, everything else. [00:04:18]

It's so important that we always compare ourselves to the word of God, not to the people around us. You see, you can start feeling self-righteous so quickly if you start looking at the people around you, the way the world lives around us. And here in Southern California, wow, they are so evil. [00:08:17]

When you're living in sin, there's only one thing you can do that pleases the Lord: turn from your sin. You don't come to church and say, well, I'm living in the sin, but I'll go to church, that'll make up for it. I'll give a lot of money, that'll make up for it. I'll sing really loud with all my heart, that'll make up for it. [00:17:32]

If you came here to give some sort of offering or service or worship to God, but you know out there is another Christian brother or sister, and you haven't done everything you could to live at Harmony with them, he goes, then don't bother. Don't bother serving me, don't bother singing to me, praying to me. [00:19:02]

God says he disciplines us, he punishes us. Okay, now we're very quick to defend and say, well, that doesn't mean that every time something bad or something difficult happens that God is punishing me. And that's true, okay, not every trial is a direct punishment from God, but it's also true that sometimes it is. [00:27:03]

Whenever something does not go my way, you know what the first thing I do is? I take an inventory of my life, and I ask myself, could this be God disciplining me? It's the first thing I ask. I don't blame God and go, ah, why'd you do that to me? I don't deserve it. [00:28:58]

God's saying, I'm going to change everything now, okay? I'm going to start wiping out all these people that were attacking you. But then he says in verse 23, on that day, declares the Lord Almighty, I'll take you, my servant Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and I will make you like my signet ring. [00:32:43]

I want to be the signet ring, don't you? Don't you want to be that person that says, I don't care what anyone else does on this Earth, because maybe everyone in this city is so off. And so let me just keep looking at his word and say, okay, this is all that matters to me. [00:41:04]

If you have not turned from your sin, don't do any of those things because it's just dirty. It's you, you yourself are unclean because you haven't confessed your sins to God and turned from that. Okay, God's saying, don't sing to me, your voice is dirty. Don't pray to me, your speech, it's just, it's defiled. [00:41:49]

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Transcript
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