Aligning Priorities: Worship and Obedience to God
Summary
### Summary
This morning, we delved into the book of Haggai, focusing on the themes of allegiance and worship. We explored how our allegiance is tested in every choice we make, and how these choices reveal our true priorities. The people of Israel, after returning from exile, faced a choice: to rebuild God's temple or to focus on their own lives. Despite their initial enthusiasm, they neglected God's house for 16 years, prioritizing their own comfort and security. This neglect communicated that God was not their priority, leading to a lack of satisfaction and divine blessing in their lives.
God's call through Haggai was clear: "Consider your ways." He urged them to rebuild the temple so that He might take pleasure in it and be glorified. This call to action was not just about physical construction but about realigning their priorities with God's. The people's delayed obedience was a form of disobedience, but when they finally responded, it marked a significant shift. Their obedience led to God's promise, "I am with you," highlighting the sequence of grace, obedience, and blessing.
We also discussed the broader biblical rhythm that when God speaks and creation listens, it is good, but when creation ignores, it leads to chaos. This pattern was evident in the history of Israel and is still relevant today. Our choices either lead to divine blessing or consequence, and true satisfaction comes from aligning our priorities with God's.
In conclusion, the sermon challenged us to evaluate our own lives. Are we too busy with our own agendas to prioritize God? Are we experiencing the fullness of His presence and blessing? The call is to make God's priorities our own, to worship Him with our lives, and to experience the joy and satisfaction that comes from His presence.
### Key Takeaways
1. Allegiance is Tested by Choices: Every choice we make reveals our true priorities and allegiance. Our allegiance is not proven by our words but by our actions. This means that every decision, no matter how small, communicates what we value most. [41:45]
2. Delayed Obedience is Disobedience: The Israelites delayed rebuilding God's temple for 16 years, prioritizing their own comfort. This delay was a form of disobedience. True obedience requires immediate action and alignment with God's priorities. [51:53]
3. God Withholds Blessing When We Withhold Worship: The Israelites' neglect of God's house led to a lack of divine blessing. God withheld His blessings because His people withheld their worship. Our satisfaction and blessing are directly tied to our worship and obedience to God. [01:00:53]
4. Grace, Obedience, Blessing Sequence: The biblical sequence is always grace, obedience, and then blessing. God extends grace first, calling us to obedience, which then leads to His blessing. This sequence underscores that our relationship with God is based on His grace, not our works. [01:09:39]
5. God's Presence is Our Ultimate Satisfaction: The ultimate goal of rebuilding the temple was to experience God's presence. When we align our priorities with God's, we experience the fullness of His presence, which brings true satisfaction and joy. Our worship and allegiance should be directed towards Him, as He is worthy of all our devotion. [01:14:41]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[39:50] - Introduction to Allegiance and Worship
[40:29] - Loyalty in Everyday Life
[41:03] - Detroit Sports and Loyalty
[41:45] - Choices Reveal Allegiance
[42:38] - Prayer for Guidance
[43:16] - Reading Haggai 1:1-11
[45:04] - Historical Context of Haggai
[47:25] - Return from Exile
[48:31] - Choices Communicate Priority
[50:30] - Rebuilding the Temple
[51:53] - Delayed Obedience
[53:21] - Misaligned Priorities
[55:57] - Personal Story on Priorities
[57:33] - Worship and Worthiness
[58:13] - God's Call to Rebuild
[01:00:08] - God Withheld Blessing
[01:02:22] - Aligning Priorities with God
[01:04:04] - Obedience and Fear of the Lord
[01:08:57] - Grace, Obedience, Blessing
[01:11:02] - God's Declaration: I Am With You
[01:12:53] - Mission and Unity
[01:15:16] - Glorify God in Your Body
[01:17:15] - Closing Prayer
Study Guide
### Bible Reading
- Haggai 1:1-11
- Genesis 1:1-3
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
### Observation Questions
1. What were the Israelites prioritizing over rebuilding God's temple according to Haggai 1:1-11? ([43:53])
2. How does the passage in Genesis 1:1-3 illustrate the pattern of creation listening to God and it being good? ([46:13])
3. According to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, what is the significance of our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit? ([01:13:45])
4. What was the consequence of the Israelites' neglect of God's house as described in Haggai 1:9-11? ([44:28])
### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the Israelites' delay in rebuilding the temple reflect their true priorities and allegiance? ([51:53])
2. What does the sequence of grace, obedience, and blessing reveal about God's relationship with His people? ([01:09:39])
3. How does the concept of our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit change the way we view our daily actions and choices? ([01:14:41])
4. In what ways does the sermon suggest that our satisfaction and blessing are tied to our worship and obedience to God? ([01:00:53])
### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your daily choices. What do they reveal about your true priorities and allegiance? Are there areas where your actions do not align with your stated values? ([41:45])
2. Have you ever experienced a time when delayed obedience led to negative consequences in your life? How did you respond, and what did you learn from that experience? ([51:53])
3. Consider a time when you felt a lack of satisfaction despite having many material blessings. How might this relate to the idea that God withholds blessing when we withhold worship? ([01:00:53])
4. How can you realign your priorities with God's priorities in your current season of life? What specific steps can you take to ensure that God's agenda becomes your agenda? ([01:02:22])
5. The sermon mentioned that God's presence is our ultimate satisfaction. How can you cultivate a deeper awareness of God's presence in your daily life? ([01:14:41])
6. Think about a specific area in your life where you need to surrender your priorities to God's priorities. What practical changes can you make this week to start this process? ([01:01:36])
7. How can you ensure that your worship and allegiance are directed towards God in all aspects of your life, including your work, family, and hobbies? ([01:11:02])
Devotional
Day 1: Choices Reveal Allegiance
Our daily choices are a reflection of our true priorities and where our allegiance lies. The Israelites, after returning from exile, faced a significant choice: to rebuild God's temple or to focus on their own lives. Despite their initial enthusiasm, they neglected God's house for 16 years, prioritizing their own comfort and security. This neglect communicated that God was not their priority, leading to a lack of satisfaction and divine blessing in their lives. Every decision we make, no matter how small, communicates what we value most. Our allegiance is not proven by our words but by our actions. [41:45]
Haggai 1:5-6 (ESV): "Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes."
Reflection: Think about a recent decision you made. What did it reveal about your priorities and allegiance? How can you make choices today that align more closely with God's priorities?
Day 2: Delayed Obedience is Disobedience
The Israelites delayed rebuilding God's temple for 16 years, prioritizing their own comfort. This delay was a form of disobedience. True obedience requires immediate action and alignment with God's priorities. When God calls us to act, delayed obedience is essentially disobedience. The Israelites' delayed response to God's call through Haggai was a significant issue, but when they finally responded, it marked a significant shift. Their obedience led to God's promise, "I am with you," highlighting the sequence of grace, obedience, and blessing. [51:53]
James 4:17 (ESV): "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
Reflection: Is there something God has been prompting you to do that you have been putting off? What steps can you take today to act in immediate obedience?
Day 3: God Withholds Blessing When We Withhold Worship
The Israelites' neglect of God's house led to a lack of divine blessing. God withheld His blessings because His people withheld their worship. Our satisfaction and blessing are directly tied to our worship and obedience to God. When we prioritize our own comfort over God's commands, we miss out on the fullness of His blessings. The call to rebuild the temple was not just about physical construction but about realigning their priorities with God's. [01:00:53]
Malachi 3:10 (ESV): "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need."
Reflection: Are there areas in your life where you are withholding worship or obedience from God? How can you prioritize worship and obedience to experience God's full blessing?
Day 4: Grace, Obedience, Blessing Sequence
The biblical sequence is always grace, obedience, and then blessing. God extends grace first, calling us to obedience, which then leads to His blessing. This sequence underscores that our relationship with God is based on His grace, not our works. The Israelites experienced this sequence when they finally obeyed God's call to rebuild the temple. Their obedience was a response to God's grace, and it led to His promise of presence and blessing. [01:09:39]
Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV): "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Reflection: Reflect on how you have experienced God's grace in your life. How can you respond in obedience today, trusting that His blessings will follow?
Day 5: God's Presence is Our Ultimate Satisfaction
The ultimate goal of rebuilding the temple was to experience God's presence. When we align our priorities with God's, we experience the fullness of His presence, which brings true satisfaction and joy. Our worship and allegiance should be directed towards Him, as He is worthy of all our devotion. The Israelites' obedience to rebuild the temple was a step towards experiencing God's presence and the satisfaction that comes from it. [01:14:41]
Psalm 16:11 (ESV): "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Reflection: In what ways can you seek to experience God's presence more fully in your daily life? How can you realign your priorities to ensure that God is at the center of your worship and devotion?
Quotes
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "Our allegiance is not proven by the words that we say. Our allegiance is proven by the choices that we make. There's a difference there." [42:38] (10 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "When you experience God's presence, there's nothing like it. Can anyone give testimony to that? Right? Man, when you experience the Holy Spirit in you, man, there's nothing like that." [50:30] (10 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "God is consumed with his supremacy and his glory every time. The word glory simply means weight. And so here's what God is saying. I want you to build my house so my glory may be in that place. And the weight of who I am may rest upon the shoulders of my people." [59:14] (17 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "If you know Jesus, know this. That God finds great joy in you. You can come in here as a believer and had a terrible week. Maybe terrible choices that you made. If you know Christ, God finds joy in you. If you're in Christ, God is proud of you." [01:11:02] (25 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "Worship the Lord with your life. Give him your allegiance. Give him. Your loyalty. Give him everything that you have. So God's temple is not something we go to. It's something that's in us. And when we gather together, he's here. He's present. He's meeting with us. He's changing lives." [01:15:16] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
### Quotes for Members
1. "Every choice communicates priority. And so what is the choice that God's people are going to make? Because the choice they make is going to communicate everything. Am I going to go back home? Or am I going to stay here in Babylon? Am I going to take the long journey home to a destroyed city? There's no businesses hiring there. No one's there. Am I going to go and rebuild my home, rebuild my life, uproot my family, take them there? Is that what I'm going to do?" [49:15] (27 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "God withheld blessing because his people withheld their worship. Why would a divine God grant divine joy when we're robbing him of the glory that's actually due his name? God is saying, listen, my divine agenda, build my house. Come and spend time with me. And you'll be full. There will be total satisfaction." [01:00:53] (27 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "For their allegiance to change, their worship had to change. For their allegiance to change, what they worshiped and who they worshiped had to change. So why would we obey the Lord? What was behind their obedience? Did you catch the phrase? It says at the end of verse 12, look at it again. And the people feared the Lord. They feared the Lord." [01:07:29] (31 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "So here's reality. Worship and allegiance are inseparable. They're absolutely inseparable. And we see God's priority here, but ultimately we see God's priority in the gift of his son, Jesus, who went to the cross to declare war against our sin for the glory of his own name and the good of his people." [01:13:45] (23 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you? Stop there for a minute. Stop there for a minute. This temple is his spirit within every one of his children. If you know Jesus, he's actually in you. Which means this, that God's not distant. God is always close. He's nearby. All the power of the resurrected king is in you. His, his character, his abilities are in the temple of our lives." [01:14:41] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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