When people fear God

 

 

July 30, 2020

 

Haggai 1:12-15

 

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.

 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord.  So, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God,  on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.

 

The Church has never been in greater need of a Haggai than today.  It is apparent as a whole the Church has little fear of God’s wrath.  Haggai challenged the discouraged people of Jerusalem to examine the way they were living and to set a new course, with new priorities that would please God.  He reminded them that God was with them, that it was God who controls their future, and that the desires of God are for the people who go by His name to be holy.

 

When leaders obey God, and we see the people of God doing as their leaders, it is a good thing.  Let me share a few examples of evil kings leading the people away from God.  Hezekiah was a good king that led his people in the ways of God, but his son Manasseh was evil and led his people into evil.  His son's name was Amon, and he also led the people in evil to worship the gods of the nations around them.

 

Pastors are called by God, it is not a profession, it is not a career.  It is not even an easy life, but if you are being led by the Spirit of God, and not by trying to be liked by the mayor and leaders of the community, or even the members of your church, but seeking the will of God, it is the only life and the only way you can have the power to fulfill your calling.  When pastors first examine their selves, and confess their sins, and humble themselves before God and His church, then the people will do likewise, and renewal happens.

 

God has given pastors this insight often in the Scriptures, and we see the governor and the high priest doing so and the people following.  A healthy fear of God had come because of the leaders and the people because they knew that God was speaking through Haggai.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice