Will you please turn to Haggai, the third-last book of the Old Testament?
Ye have sown much, and bring in little;
ye eat, but ye have not enough;
ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink;
ye clothe you, but there is none warm;
and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.
Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house;
and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
And now, I pray you, consider from this day and backward, before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord.
Through all that time, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten;
when one came to the winevat to draw out fifty vessels, there were but twenty.
I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the work of your hands; and ye turned not to Me, saith the Lord.Consider, I pray you, from this day and backward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider it.
Is the seed yet in the barn? Yea, the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, as we gather here in Thy presence, we do pray that Thou wilt reveal Thy mind to us. Open our understanding, and bring us into Thy very thought, that we may know what is Thy thought, and learn to obey Thee, follow Thee, and glorify Thy name.
We commit this time into Thy hand. It is Thy time. Lord, I pray that Thou wilt use this time to bless Thy people. Enable Thy people to understand Thy heart, and bring us into that which Thou art after. We are ready to give Thee glory. In Thy precious name we pray. Amen.
Thank God for bringing us together again this morning.
In the book of Haggai, you find the word consider four times. In other words, God wants us to consider.
Even if you look at the chronological table in the Bible, you will find that in 588 BC, Nebuchadnezzar completely destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple.
But fifty years later, in 536 BC, Cyrus, the emperor of Persia, gave orders for the Jews in captivity that whoever desired to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple was free to do it.
And because of this, Zerubbabel and Jeshua, with a remnant, returned from Babylonian captivity and went back to Jerusalem. Jerusalem at that time was a desert place. Everything was destroyed, so they had to begin from the very beginning.
After they arrived in Jerusalem, they gathered together the next year and started to lay the foundation. When the foundation was laid, some people cried because they had seen the former temple. Other people shouted, because they were young people who had never seen the former temple.
But while they started to build the temple, the enemies tried to disturb them. So they appealed to Artaxerxes, and Artaxerxes listened to them and commanded that the building of the temple be stopped.
Thus, the building of the temple in Jerusalem was stopped for fifteen years. During those fifteen years, what did the remnant who returned do? They built their own houses. They built beautiful houses for themselves, thinking that the time for building the temple had not yet come.
But then God raised up two prophets: an old man, Haggai, and a young man, Zechariah. They began to prophesy to the children of Israel and encouraged them to start building the temple in spite of opposition.
Thank God, the people listened. So they began to build the house of God in the second year of King Darius.
Of course, they were still surrounded by their enemies. But thank God, they continued to rebuild the house in spite of opposition, through the encouragement of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah.
So here you find, in the book of Haggai, an old prophet; and also in Zechariah, a young prophet. God raised up these two prophets to encourage the people to complete the building of the house of God in Jerusalem.
Haggai, being an old man, did not speak much. We find in the Bible there are only two chapters. But Zechariah, being a young man, spoke a lot.
When Haggai spoke, there is one word that he repeatedly used, and that is the word consider.
Consider means: think over, think deeply, think well. Think what has happened. Think what will happen if you obey God.
Four times the prophet Haggai used the word consider. Think over, he said.
You build your own house and leave the house of God in desolation. What has happened to your life? Do you find your life satisfactory? No. You find that your life is very unsatisfactory. Why is it so? It is because you have left the house of God desolate and built your own houses.
So the prophet Haggai suggested that they should go to the mountain, get the material, and start the building of the house of God. Thank God, they listened to the prophet, and they started to do it.
Now, of course, their enemies were not happy about it. So they accused them before the emperor, Artaxerxes. Artaxerxes commanded the building of the temple to be stopped.
So the building of the temple was stopped for fifteen years. During those fifteen years, those who returned to Jerusalem had to do something, so they started to build their own houses.
They built their beautiful houses, their costly houses, to satisfy their hearts, because they said the time of building the temple had not yet come.
So God raised up these two prophets to encourage them to rebuild the house of God.
In the book of Haggai, you find four times that the prophet used the word consider. Consider means: think over, think deeply, think what has happened and what will be happening.
Brothers and sisters, how important it is that we do consider before the Lord. Sometimes we live our lives casually. We live day by day, as usual. But God wants us to consider: to stop, to think, to think over.
Brothers and sisters, this is the time for us to consider. Why is it so? Because we know that the coming of the Lord is imminent.
I often say that all the prophecies that go before the coming of the Lord in the Bible have been fulfilled, every one of them. There are still prophecies to be fulfilled, but these prophecies are concerned with the coming of the Lord and afterward, not before.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in a very exciting time. We are living in the last days. We are living in the days when we expect our Lord to return at any moment.
We are gathering here this morning. Do you know that it is quite possible that the Lord will come back today? If He comes today, are you ready? Are you prepared for Him?
So, brothers and sisters, it is of utmost importance that all of us who are living in the last days, at a time when the Lord may come at any moment, should ask: are we ready?
The children of Israel who returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple laid the foundation, but, because Artaxerxes had forbidden them to continue, they left it behind. They had to do something, so they began to build their own houses, beautiful houses to live in. They said, “The time of rebuilding the temple has not yet come.”
But thank God, He raised up these two prophets to encourage them to consider.
What should they consider? They should consider that they were building their own houses and leaving the house of God unfinished. Therefore, God had not blessed their living.
Haggai told them, “You consider. You did a lot for yourselves. You tried to have a good life. But because the house of God was left unfinished, what happened? You brought in more, but you enjoyed less.”
Go to the mountain, get the material, and start to build the house of God, in spite of the fact that it was forbidden by Artaxerxes.
Brothers and sisters, thank God, the remnant listened to God. So they began to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. But as they were doing so, their enemies tried to disturb them.
At first, the enemies came and said, “We will help you in your building.” They said, “No. This is our responsibility. We will do it alone.” So the enemy used all kinds of means to disturb them and tried to stop the work of building the house of God.
But thank God, through the two prophets, God encouraged them to go on.
Here in Haggai, you find four times that the prophet used the word consider. First, consider what had happened because you were building your own houses and leaving the house of God desolate.
He said, “You are taking more, but you enjoy less.” This is because the blessing of the Lord was not there. Go up to the mountain, get the material, build the house of God, and God will bless you.
Thank God, the remnant listened to the prophet, and they started to build. As you read, you will find that the enemies tried all kinds of means to stop them. But by the grace of God and the encouragement of the prophets, they continued on until the temple was finished.
So, dear brothers and sisters, here is an original lesson for us today. Why? Because, as I said, we are living at the end of our time.
All the prophecies before the coming of the Lord have been fulfilled. You search the Bible, and you will find it also. So now what is before us is the coming of the Lord.
Our Lord Jesus can return at any moment. But why is He delayed? Not because He does not want to return. It is because His bride is not ready.
I remember the story of the grandfather of Hudson Taylor. When he was a young man, he loved the world. He loved dancing. He loved the enjoyment of the world.
But on the day that he was to be married, in the morning he got up and suddenly remembered, “Today is my wedding day. It is a serious matter.” So he went to the field and prayed.
As he prayed, he forgot the time. He prayed and prayed and prayed. When he finished praying, he realized it was already the time of his wedding. Everybody was waiting. His bride was waiting at the window. Where was the bridegroom?
So he hurriedly went and was wed.
In the evening, before they went to bed, Hudson Taylor’s grandfather told his wife, “We have to pray.” It was a surprise to his new wife, because this was not the way of life they had lived before.
But Hudson Taylor’s grandfather made her kneel down, and he prayed. The result was that this family became God’s family. God used this family for His own glory for four generations.
The Taylors served God, and after Hudson Taylor, more generations served God. During the wartime, I was in Chongqing, and I saw Hudson Taylor’s grandson. He was going through the streets of Chongqing, shouting the gospel.
Brothers and sisters, this family was blessed by God and used by God because his grandfather served God.
So, brothers and sisters, God wants us at this moment to consider, to think over, to think deeply.
We cannot afford to be casual anymore. We are here this morning. Thank God for giving us the opportunity to meet together. But we do not know whether this day will be over and the Lord has come.
Do you think it is impossible? No. It is absolutely possible.
All the prophecies preceding the coming of the Lord have been fulfilled. You can search the Scriptures, and you will find it also. What is left are all the prophecies during the coming of the Lord and after His coming.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in a very crucial time. We cannot afford to be careless, like the children of Israel.
They had left the house unbuilt for fifteen years. They built their own houses. They thought that the time for building the house of God had not yet come; the time was not ready.
But, brothers and sisters, is that our thought? Do we think that the Lord will not come yet? We still have time. We can enjoy ourselves. We can wake up when the time is coming.
But, brothers and sisters, do not deceive yourselves. The time is now. The Lord may come at any moment. But the problem is: are we ready?
You remember the ten virgins. They represent the Christians.
They all had their lamps, with oil in the lamps, and they all went out to meet the bridegroom. That was the attitude of God’s people from the first generation onward: we are going to meet the Lord.
Why? Because it was possible that the Lord might come during the first century. But as they were waiting, they all died.
So these ten virgins in Matthew represent the Christians who have died through the centuries. They could not wait for the Lord’s coming.
But then suddenly, at midnight, there was the cry: “Behold, the bridegroom! The Lord cometh!” They all woke up, and that means they all will be resurrected.
But among the ten virgins, the wise ones not only had oil in their lamps, but they had extra oil in their vessels, because they did not know how long before the Lord would return. So they were ready. They were prepared.
But the foolish virgins thought the Lord would not be coming in their lifetime. They had plenty of time. So they also had vessels, but in their vessels they did not put oil. They put other things, things that they thought were precious to them.
But because the Lord delayed, they all fell asleep. In the Bible, falling asleep means they all died. That speaks of the Christians from the first century onward.
But thank God, the day is coming when the voice comes: “The Lord cometh!” And they all rose up. That means they will all be resurrected.
Brothers and sisters, the wise ones had extra oil in their vessels, so they could replenish their lamps and were able to go to meet the bridegroom.
But the foolish virgins thought they were wise, wiser than the wise virgins. They had other precious things in their vessels, but you cannot use these precious things to rekindle the lamp.
They had to go and buy oil. But while they went, the bridegroom came. So the wise virgins went into the wedding.
When the foolish virgins came back, we do not know whether they got the extra oil or not. I wonder if they had. But they came back and found that the door was closed.
They were barred from the marriage feast. They were cast into outer darkness.
Brothers and sisters, we are all very curious. When you are reading the Bible, I wonder if you have ever thought, “What is outer darkness?” You want to know what outer darkness is.
The Bible does not tell us. It just tells us that it is outside of the wedding feast. In other words, it will be outside of the coming kingdom of Christ.
They will not participate with the Lord in the kingdom of the heavens during the thousand-year rule. They will be cast outside, into outer darkness.
I know many people are wondering what outer darkness is. We all have that curiosity.
Of all the books that I have read, I read only one book that told us what the author thought outer darkness was. It was Robert Govett. But I will not tell you what he said.
Anyway, that is not the issue. Outer darkness is outside of the millennial kingdom of Christ.
During those thousand years, when Christ shall come and reign over the earth, and the overcomers will reign with Christ from heaven, these foolish virgins will be outside of that kingdom.
During that time, there will be gnashing of teeth. Now, gnashing of teeth simply means repentance. They will repent that, because of present pleasure, they forfeited the kingdom rule.
But thank God, this was not the end. Because the Bible says that when they were cast into outer darkness, they would gnash their teeth. In other words, that is the time they repented.
They repented that they were not ready for the Lord’s return.
Because of their repentance, thank God, God’s grace has no end. Whom He has chosen, He has called. Whom He has called, He has justified. Whom He has justified, He has sanctified.
So, dear brothers and sisters, if you believe in the Lord Jesus, you will be saved forever.
Not only forever, but you will be saved to the uttermost. Eventually, everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus today will be completed by the grace of God.
Because in Romans 8, we are told: whom He foreordained, He called; whom He called, He justified; whom He justified, He glorified. So every brother and sister will be glorified.
And then, in eternity, as you read Revelation 21 and Revelation 22, you find that all the Christians will be crowned and reign with Christ forever and ever. But during the millennium, they will repent in outer darkness.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord is coming. He may come today. Who knows?
We gathered this morning, but this afternoon, hopefully, this room will be emptied. Everyone will be taken, and no one will be left in outer darkness. That is my prayer.
Brothers and sisters, do not think that it is yet far off. Do not think that there is time for you to take pleasure for yourself, and then there will be time for you to repent and return to the Lord before His return.
Brothers and sisters, that is wishful thinking, because we do not know when the Lord shall return. He may come at any moment: today, tomorrow, or any time.
So what is proper for every one of us is to be ready at any moment.
Brothers and sisters, this morning I will challenge you with one word: Are you ready for the Lord’s return?
Is there anything in your life that stands in the way? If He returns today, will you not be taken, but be left in outer darkness? So may the Lord have mercy upon us.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, how we praise and thank Thee that Thy return is imminent. Lord, Thou hast warned us that Thou mayest come at any moment.
Do not allow us to be complacent, to love this world for a little while, not knowing that if Thou shouldst come today, where will we be?
Lord, we thank Thee that even so, Thou who hast called us wilt save us to the uttermost. Thou who hast called us, Thou wilt justify us. Thou hast justified us; Thou wilt sanctify every one of us.
Oh, what a God Thou art! What a gracious Savior Thou art!
Lord, enable us to understand Thy heart and offer ourselves completely to Thee. Allow Thyself to work out Thy full salvation in each and every one of us.
Do not allow us to covet the pleasure of this world just for a few moments and lose that reigning with Christ during the thousand years.
So we commit every brother and sister here this morning into Thy hand, and ask, Lord, that Thou wouldst have mercy upon us. Wake us up, that every one of us will be ready for Thy imminent return.
The prayer of our heart is, “Come, Lord Jesus.” We are waiting. In Thy precious name, amen.