1. Haggai 2:1-9 The Promise of His glory

3. Circa 650BC Circa 523BC Circa 550BC Circa 250BC

4. The Promise of His glory Never preached on Haggai before but these words have a contemporary feel The first tranche of exiles, led by Zerubbabel, have returned from Babylon shortly after the fall of Babylon (538/9 BC). But 18 years later (about 520BC) the Temple is still not re-built An uncertain time with the conquest of Egypt

5. The Promise of His glory Haggai notes in Chapter 1:4-6…. You that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes – very contemporary God says through Haggai this sense of futility and lack of flourishing is because you have not re-built God’s house You have not honoured God therefore God has not honoured you Stirred by these words they start rebuilding

6. The Promise of His glory 7 weeks later they are getting discouraged Some remember the former Temple and are saying this is nothing like it (don’t you just love people like that) God speaks again through Haggai – take heart God’s promise: I am with you, my glory will fill this Temple as it did the last and be greater still If you honour me you shall prosper & flourish

7. The Promise of His glory I mentioned a contemporary feel to these words Our nation feels like it is subject to forces it cannot control, global capitalism, the EU, climate change, refugees/immigration Let’s read those verses from Ch. 1 again Many of us are debt slaves working long hours to pay mortgages and other debts – it’s the way of life pushed at us for the last 35 years

8. The Promise of His glory Do we honour God? – well our Church buildings in good shape But do we keep the sabbath holy? Many people too busy working to pay their debts. Sunday trading came in 25 years ago, our Government is now proposing to abolish any restrictions Interesting to note 2 companies were at the forefront of pushing for Sunday trading 25 years ago - Tesco and B&Q, neither are particularly flourishing today – humbled by God?

9. The Promise of His glory As a nation we are becoming obsessed by money Yes we need a strong economy to spread wealth and pay for the services we demand (Victorians) But the attitude of many to the refugee crisis for instance suggests the milk of human kindness is running short in our society We know the cost of everything but the value of very little Was Jesus said: what does it profit a person if they gain the world but lose their soul?

10. The Promise of His glory The message of Haggai is that we need God to be first in our hearts – to desire his Glory to be amongst us, sadly our society turns its back Consequently many experience the futility Haggai describes Where your treasure is, there will be your heart There is a spirit of selfishness and meanness at large in our society

11. The Promise of His glory God’s promise: when we honour God, God will honour us (many who tithe will attest to that) We need to desire his glory amongst us The blinding light of his love to bring to light those things hidden in darkness - to expose our mean spiritedness The healing love of God to transform us The passion and gratitude to spread his love to our nation lost in idolatry The desire to restore his name amongst us.