Haggai
1. The word of God – instructing, rebuking and encouraging people towards
obedience (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
This is the most trustworthy prophetic word
to which we will do well to pay attention. Prophecy is the Word come from God
and a prophet is the one sent of God to the people with a message. God Himself qualifies
anyone to take this title of a prophet, by giving him the message. Many today
are too quick to wear this title unadvisedly when they fail the test of a
prophet even on a secondary level (of faithful exposition of Scripture).
However, 27 times Haggai
pronounces, “Thus says the Lord…” or something close to that, a proof that this is not his own message – it is the message of God that he is delivering. We need the help of God's spokesmen or prophets and ministers to faithfully expound to us the Word of God. This is how we may understand His mind and meaning in His rod as well as in His word. Where there is faithfulness and consistency in handling God’s Word, people discover not only where they may have offended God, but also where God shows Himself offended at us.
The Israelites looked upon the prophet to be
the Lord's messenger, and the word he delivered to be the Lord's message to
them. So they received it not as the word of man, but as the word of
Almighty God. They obeyed his words, as the Lord their God had sent him
(1:12). In attending to God's ministers we must have an eye to him that
sent them, and receive them for his sake, while they act according to their
commission.
Then the word of God has its success when God by his grace stirs up our spirits
to comply with it; and without that grace we should remain stupid and utterly
averse to everything that is good. It is in the day of a divine power that we
are made willing.
The church of Christ is founded upon the one foundation of the apostles
and the prophets (Ephesians 2:20). This means that since the church’s inception
2000 years ago, it must depend upon the word of God spoken by His own
mouthpieces. There is no hope for any church that relies on anything else other
than the written word, for if they do not speak according to the testimony of
God, it is simply that they lack the light of dawn.
2. God appointed leadership
Here we see the priest – Joshua, prophet – Haggai and the governor.
These are the men that God employed for the restoration of His covenant people.
We know that God always works with the sovereignly appointed means. There is no doubt that when
God has work to be done, He will either find men or make men fit to do it, and
stir them up to it. He works with a few as well with many! Those that work for
God have God with them. But if God be for us, who can be against us? If he be
with us, what difficulty can stand before us? (Matthew Henry).
Our responsibility in the appointment of men to serve in His church is
to be sure that they meet the standards of God. The Lord has clearly told us
that a man to be appointed as either a pastor or a deacon, he must possess such
qualities that are spelt out in His Word, touching on his personal conduct, his
domestic life and his ministry life (the order is important). Before the
deacons were appointed in Acts 6, the apostles gave their qualifications.
1 Timothy 3:1-12 contain the qualifications of men to be called to be
deacons. Titus 1:5-9 reiterates the same. May give an example of the
qualifications of a pastor:
Qualifications - An Elder should not be a recent
convert but a man well thought of by outsiders who must possess the following
qualifications:
1) Personal. A man who is above reproach, the husband of
one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, not a
drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
2) Domestic. A good manager of his own household, with all
dignity keeping his children submissive.
3)
Pastoral. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word of
God and be able to instruct in sound doctrine and also rebuke those who
contradict it.
Unless a man has these
biblical qualifications, no matter how articulate he is, or how many seminary
degrees he has got, he must never be appointed to the office of a pastor for
any church, if it is the church of Christ.
3. Unity of purpose
Unanimity is absolutely necessary between the community and the
leadership. This is what we see in 1:12, 14 and 2:2. The people, in one accord
came along with their leaders and listened to the Word of God and they united
obeyed. It is where there is unity where the Lord commands a blessing. This is
what the Lord prayed for – that we may be one just as He is one with the Father
so that the world may see and glorify God. This is the paradigm demonstrated by
the early church – they were together in
one place (Acts 2:1); all who
believed were together and had all things in common (2:45); Now the full
number of those who believed were of one heart and soul… they had everything in
common (4:32).
Where there is unity of
purpose, as driven by the Spirit of God, great things will be accomplished for
God. remember the 133rd Psalm, one of the Psalms of Ascents, Behold, how good and pleasant it is when
brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down
on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there
the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. Psa 133:1-3. The Lord commands a blessing where there
is unity and harmony. In fact this unity is an indication of Christian maturity
– see Ephesians 4:1-16.
The Lord desires that with all humility and gentleness, with
patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace… And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the
evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of
ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity
of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, Eph. 4:3, 11-13.
ü Could it be brothers, that
we pull in different directions instead of harnessing all our efforts,
abilities and skills for God?
ü Could it be that we are too
concerned for our own individual comforts so that the house of the Lord lay in
ruins?
ü Could it be that your
thinking is too individualistic so that you do not see yourself as a part of
the whole church – you are an eye and yet what to talk?
ü Consider your ways and see where you have
acted improperly and so destroying the unity of the church.
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