Telling the Truth

Guest (Male): Today on Telling the Truth, we'll hear the conclusion of Stewart's message, the empowering effect of encouragement. You don't want to miss what he had to say, so stay with us. We'll get started in a moment. But first, everyone experiences disappointments in life. And when things don't go the way we expect or desire, either tragically or in similar ways, discouragement can become entrenched as we begin to believe destructive thoughts like, it's always going to be this way, or I'll never overcome this. And when those thoughts are left unattended, they can lead you to despair and cause you to miss out on the abundant life Jesus promises.

That's why we want to help you win the battle against feelings of discouragement by sending you Stewart and Jill Briscoe's five message series, Hope for the Disheartened. In it, Stewart and Jill help you discover why your hope must be tied to trusting God and reliant on his strength and timing. You'll learn that even in trouble times, you have a God who loves you and gives you every reason to look forward with unspeakable peace, hope, and joy. The Hope for the Disheartened series is our thanks for your gift to help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth.

So request your copy when you give today. 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, let's get back to today's teaching.

Stuart Briscoe: Guess what God is saying authoritatively to his people. What is he saying to them? Be strong. Is this a suggestion? No. Is this a nice idea? No. Is this a little pat on the head? No. Is he wiping their fevered brow? No. Is he patting them on the back? No. Is he kicking them lower down? No. He is simply saying, I am God. Sit down, be quiet, listen. I'm going to tell you something. Be strong. It is not an optional extra. It is that which is expected of those who live in a relationship with the Lord of hosts.

Now, that is a powerful word for us. Because you see, sometimes, and we know different from the people in Haggai's day, sometimes our discouragements are so discouraging that we feel it is perfectly appropriate and perfectly illegitimate for us to go around being discouraged. If we are looking at the discouragements, that is the answer. That is legitimate. If on the other hand we are listening to the oracle of God, the authoritative statement of God, it is totally illegitimate for us to be going around being discouraged because the command of God, the authoritative statement of God, the oracle of God is what?

Be strong. You say, oh, this is Old Testament. Well, what about the New Testament? What did the apostle Paul say? He said something very, very similar. In fact, he amplified the debate. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. After the Gulf War, George Bush invited his greatest ally during that whole situation, Margaret Thatcher, to come over. She had been kicked out of power, so he brought her over and gave her some kind of an award. And at the awards ceremony, President George Bush told a rather interesting story. He said that during the middle of the Gulf War when things were very difficult and some major decisions had to be made, he got a phone call from Maggie Thatcher.

And Maggie Thatcher said to him, and I thought it was rather interesting that President Bush admitted to her saying this to him, that she said to him in her inimitable style, George, this is no time to go wobbly. George, this is no time to go wobbly. Well, good old Maggie, she was right. This is no time to go wobbly. And I think Haggai is standing there in the ruins of Jerusalem with this pathetic little piece of work that they've worked on for three weeks and it's the best that they can do. And he stands on a rock and he says, ladies and gentlemen, in the name of the Lord, this is no time to be wobbly.

What a word of encouragement to us. You see, you encourage people different ways. And that's one way. But he uses other ways. He immediately goes on to say be strong to Joshua and be strong to Zerubbabel and be strong to the people and work. Now, here's a here's a great encouraging factor. He tells them, do something. Just do something. We got a temple to build here, folks. This this thing needs putting up. If we just sit around moping about the fact of how discouraging it is and how difficult the authorities are and how scared we are and how worried we are, how tired we are, and we got blisters and my back hurts.

If we sit around and we tell each other all these things, you can hear even more going more air going out of the tires. I've got a better way. Everybody do something. Everybody find something to do. You see, it it it's the people who do nothing who are the ones who get most discouraged and who are most discouraging. It's very interesting to notice. He speaks to the priests and he says, you do something. And he speaks to the prince and he says, you do something. And he speaks to the people and he says, all of you, you do something.

And if you read Ezra, you'll even find that the prophets themselves actually rolled up their sleeves and did something. And you'll be amazed. You'll be amazed if instead of sitting around bemoaning your fate, what a difference it makes if you just do something towards the goal that has been set before you. You see, there's different ways of encouraging people. Be strong and work, declares the Lord. But now the third thing. He then says this, and remember that I am with you, declares the Lord. This is another oracle. This is another authoritative statement. I am with you.

The situation, of course, was very very important that they understood this. Up until now, the ritual of their worship had required them to think in terms of the tabernacle has been the place where the presence of the Lord was. And from a ritualistic point of view, that was true. And when the temple had been built, then of course the presence of the Lord moved from the tabernacle into the temple. And there was a holy of holies, which was the ritualistic site of the presence of God. Nobody was allowed in there except the high priest once a year on very strict very very strict circumstances.

But now what the Lord is saying to them is this, you have no tabernacle, you have no temple. Don't worry about all that stuff. I am with you. Don't worry about the ritual. Don't worry about all the things that you find that are absolutely necessary. When you find yourself totally bereft of all the props and all the helps, what do you know? And you know what? I am with you. Oracle of God. Authoritative statement by the Lord. Oh, glory. Well, to know that the Lord is with you at all times and under all circumstances is, I would submit to you a very powerful, motivating factor.

But then he says something else that adds to the message of encouragement. I am with you, declares the Lord, verse five. This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And he introduces a word that on the lips of Haggai at this time would get the attention of those people in a hurry. What's the word? Covenant. This is what I covenanted with you when I brought you out of Egypt. There was something absolutely fundamental to the experience of the people of Israel. And it was this. They were God's covenant people in an utterly unique way.

Let me take a few minutes to explain this to you or to remind you of this. Perhaps the best succinct summary of this covenant is found in Exodus chapter 19. I am reading three verses to you from verse four. This is what the Lord says through Moses. You yourselves, he says to the children of Israel, you yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now, if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession.

Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Now, what does what does that do for us? Notice that God has instituted a covenant with the people of Israel. Covenants in those days were not at all uncommon. You see, each city would have its little king and the surrounding area would be his kingdom, often very very small indeed. But then along would come a bigger king. And bigger kings would chew up little kings. Now, some of these bigger kings would simply assassinate the smaller kings and take over their property.

But the more enlightened ones would not do that. They would enter into a covenant with the smaller kings. And the bigger king would say to the smaller king, now I have taken over. I have the power around here. But I want to work out an arrangement with you. I, the bigger king, will protect you and I'll provide for you. And I will make sure that you have all that you need to live wisely and well. And the only thing I ask of you is that you respond in a trusting, obedient, submissive manner. Now, if you do it, these will be the blessings.

If you don't do it, these will be the downside or the cursings, as they call them. And there are many instances of those suzerainty covenants being drawn up in those days. We found copies of them archaeologically. Now then, that idea transferred into God's relationship with Israel. He is the great king. He is all powerful. And he could wipe the children of Israel off the map in a flick of the thumb if he wants to. But he chooses not to. He chooses to establish a covenant with them. And it's a covenant of grace and it's a covenant of mercy and it's a covenant of love.

And out of grace and mercy and love, he says to them, I will be your protector. I will be your provider. I will be all that you need to live wisely and well. And your side of the covenant is to respond to me in loving, trusting, obedience. And as you choose to be part of this covenant, then this is what I promise I will do. Or by the way, and this is what will happen if you don't. And the covenant was entered into. And that was the beginning of the God's relationship with Israel. Now, he reminds them of this covenant.

The downside of the covenant is this, that part of the list of cursings was what would happen to them if they didn't obey the covenant. And they just experienced that for 70 years in exile. Now they're back. And he said the blessings of the covenant are available to you. But remember, he says, that this covenant means that I have drawn you to myself. I proved who I am. I brought you out of Egypt. I bore you up on eagles' wings. I brought you to myself at Sinai. And I've revealed myself to you. Now then, you need to understand you are my treasured possession.

That's a beautiful expression. You are my crown jewels. If you've ever been to London, I hope you've been to the Tower of London. If you've been to the Tower of London, it is full of priceless treasures. And as you go further into the tower and you look at all these priceless treasures, if you're fortunate and the line is not too long, you may be able to go down down down into the vaults, into the most secure place imaginable. And there under heavy glass, you will see the crown jewels. When Jack Hayford saw those, he was so moved by them that he went away and he wrote his song, Majesty.

For he got this picture of what majesty is all about and what the crown jewels of majesty really look like. And this is what God says about his covenant people. You are my crown jewels. He says actually you are a holy nation. That means you collectively among all the nations of the world are my set apart ones, my show piece. You are my model, folks. And not only that, he says you are a kingdom of priests. You are a kingdom, a unique kingdom, not a kingdom of soldiers, not a kingdom of politicians, not a kingdom of power, not a kingdom that rules by coercion, a kingdom of priests, a kingdom that will spread around the world on the basis of people who know how to serve and who know how to worship.

That's who you are. And this little beleaguered group of discouraged people sitting around on the rocks of a battered, devastated Jerusalem with the best that they can do in three weeks building their temple. They sit there and they listen to that and they look at each other and they say, where is crown jewels? We we're we're his masterpiece. We we're we're his model. We we're his show piece. We we're we're the kingdom of of priests that's supposed to be by service and worship and and enthusiasm for the Lord our God sweeping the world. That's what we are.

Oh boy. Come on, guys. We better get our act together. You see there's different ways of encouraging people. Different ways of encouraging people. And Haggai knows this. And one after the other he brings these things to bear on these people who are experiencing the debilitating dynamic of discouragement. But then he goes even further. He says in my spirit remains with you. My spirit remains with you. That word remains jumped off the page as far as I was concerned because I just thought I I thought of what they already knew about the work of the Spirit.

They knew that at the creation the Spirit of God was brooding over the face of the waters. They they knew that. They knew that when God took young Joseph down into Egypt, he did so well there and the Pharaoh said, can we find a man such as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? They knew that when Moses was discouraged then they said that he needed to share the responsibility. Then God took the spirit that rested on Moses and shed it abroad on the 70 elders. They knew that when David became king, the spirit was given to him in power.

They knew, of course, when the spirit was poured out at Pentecost that 120 frightened people, they didn't know this, obviously they didn't know this, but we know this, that when the spirit was poured out at Pentecost, 120 frightened people became a powerhouse. We know, of course, that the spirit that rested on Martin Luther, the spirit that rested on Francis Xavier, the spirit that rested on Wesley, the spirit that rested on Whitfield, the spirit that rested on Billy Graham remains remains with us. The same spirit who historically has worked whenever God has been at work, his spirit has been at work, remains with us.

For the Christian is a person indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul says it very very bluntly, if you do not have the Spirit of God, you are not a Christian. Conversely, if you're a Christian, the Spirit of God remains with you. So he says, don't fear. Don't fear that I've deserted you. Don't fear that your enemies will triumph over you. Don't fear that what I have started I will be unable to finish. Don't fear that my purposes will be thwarted. Don't fear. Why? Because I'm God, he says. I'm God. I was never less than God.

I never will be less than God. And I will work and no one will hinder me. Now, be strong, get up, get to work, get on with it. A message of encouragement. That is the end of my second point. Thirdly, and you say, oh no. Oh no. And the answer is, you're absolutely right. Your homework is to look at the rest of it. It's all about the positive power of promise. I am going to read to you, just read without comment practically to you the last words practically, yes, the last words of Haggai two. This is what he says.

I'm going to make a slight emphasis. See if you can pick it up. This is what the Lord Almighty says. In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations and the desire of all nations will come. And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty. The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty. The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, says the Lord Almighty. And in this place I will grant peace.

What was the emphasis?

Guest (Male): I will.

Stuart Briscoe: Well, oh you noticed. I will. One story and I'm through. I was preaching in a church in England years ago. Big church. Congregation all huddled on the back pew. No amplification, so you yell and holler as loud as you can and they sit as far back out of earshot as they can get. They were sitting there in a devotional posture. Let's put it like that. I had no idea if they could even hear me. So I decided that I would find out if I could get any kind of reaction from them. So I intentionally misquoted a verse of Scripture with emphasis.

Jesus said, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hear my voice and open the door, I might come in. And they sat there like this with the exception of one little boy who jumped up on the seat and shouted at the top of his voice, he didn't. And that woke up his mother. And she grabbed hold of him and pulled him down. And I said, leave him alone, missus. He was the only one listening. What did you say, son? I said he didn't. Who didn't? Jesus didn't. Jesus didn't watch. Jesus didn't say he might come in.

What did he say? I will come in. What's the difference between I will and I might? Well, if I might, I might not. But if I will, I will. I said, thanks, son. Sit down. You got the message. If I might, I might not. If I will, I will. What did God say? I will do this. I will do this. I will do this. I will do this. And I will do this. And remember this. There's not a might inside. It's called the power of promise. So you get hold of what God has promised. You make application of what is legitimate to you.

You remind yourself of who he is in your situation and in him, however discouraging things might be. And we never minimize the reasons that people discouraged. But however discouraged we might be, we'll be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. And that's Haggai's message of encouragement.

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us today here on Telling the Truth. We pray today's message has helped you to experience life in all its fullness through Jesus Christ. Here's a note from a listener named Jeanette who says, wonderful to hear Stewart's continuing legacy. His clear, accessible teaching and just heard that perfect example of a thimble full of ocean. Jill's teaching too is a joy. Thank you for your encouragement, Jeanette. Everyone experiences disappointments in life. And when things don't go the way we expect or desire, either tragically or in similar ways, discouragement can become entrenched as we begin to believe destructive thoughts like, it's always going to be this way, or I'll never overcome this.

And when those thoughts are left unattended, they can lead you to despair and cause you to miss out on the abundant life Jesus promises. That's why we want to help you win the battle against feelings of discouragement by sending you Stewart and Jill Briscoe's five message series, Hope for the Disheartened. In it, Stewart and Jill help you discover why your hope must be tied to trusting God and reliant on his strength and timing. You'll learn that even in trouble times, you have a God who loves you and gives you every reason to look forward with unspeakable peace, hope, joy.

The Hope for the Disheartened series is our thanks for your gift to help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth. So request your copy when you give today. 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. We're glad you listened today. Come back tomorrow for a message from Jill that's all about restoring hope. That's next time right here on Telling the Truth.