The House of God III:
Zeal for the House
Haggai 1:1–15; Malachi 1:6 -13; 3:7-10
We are no longer strangers but fellow citizens with members
of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19).
Our well-being is connected to our attitude towards the house of God. We
experience the house of God in the environment for spiritual growth provided
within a community of believers, called the local church. While we enjoy
worship and fellowship in the house, we are also to serve faithfully as pillars
or ‘sons’. The attitude one has towards God’s house affects personal spiritual
progress.
Often when things do not work out as expected we are quick
to point to the good things we have done as if to suggest God is being unfair
with us. The prophets Haggai and Malachi lived among people caught up in doing
just that. The prophets had to clarify that God looks in disfavor not only when
bad things are committed but also when good things are omitted. Demands of
positive response from God based on selective obedience are often the pitfall
in which many Christians fall. In Haggai and Malachi’s cases, disregard or lack
of diligence in the business of God’s house deprived God’s people of God’s
blessings. In one case, it was neglecting the business of building the house in
the other it was withholding resources for ongoing operations of the house. The
message of the prophets comprised three parts.
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A Rebuke – ‘consider your ways’
Several times Haggai exhorted God’s people to ‘consider
their ways’. “You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you do not
have enough. You drink, but you are not filled with drink. You clothe
yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages earns wages to put them
into a bag with holes in it … You looked for much, and, behold, it came to
little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" says Yahweh of
Hosts, "Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy
with his own house.” - Haggai 1:5, 6, 9. Does this describe your situation?
Even to those for whom things were not yet as bad, the prophet was warning that
they were worse off than otherwise and that their life pointed to the situation
he described. The general principle is if you stop applying what you have to
work for God; soon you will find that nothing works for you any more.
Our fruitfulness depends on that of the house. Zeal for the
house is an opportunity, answer and strategy for fruitfulness. We are not only
to be in the house but like Jacob (Genesis 28) to experience the house. He
wants us not just to be alive in Christ but also to experience the abundance of
the life – the life of the life (John 10:10).
A Remedy – ‘bring Me an offering’
“Go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I
will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified," says Yahweh (Haggai
1:8). God provides for the business of
His house through the faithful giving of His people out of what He gives to
them. Giving is not always easy. It can be like going up a mountain to cut and
bring wood. Often the mountain is not
the work we do in our professions for that is part of God’s provision. The hard
part can be the mountain in our hearts we climb to bring the wood to the house
of God when there are many other pressing needs.
When God wanted Moses to build Him a tabernacle so He could dwell
among His people He had one source. He called for people to bring an offering
(Exodus. 25:1, 2, 8). As already stated,
we give to God by giving to His work from what He has given to us. The easiness
with which something leaves your hand to God’s business is a reliable indicator
of how much you have given yourself to God. A steward is someone who has given
himself to God first and therefore knows all he is and has belongs to God (2
Corinthians 8:5). Offering ourselves (Romans 12:1; Galatians 2:20), our praise
(Hebrews 13:15) and our substance (Luke 8:3) to God ensures there is food in
the house of God.
Malachi 3 the primary issue was not the often-preached
subject of giving money but ensuring there was food in the house of God. With
all other giving, remember the house of which you are a part. Charity is
supposed to begin at home. Giving of the whole tithe and offering was therefore
a strategy for food in the house not an end in itself (Malachi 3:10). Food in
the house includes daily provisions for the operation of the church. The house
of God has a ‘stomach’ – action plans need execution and budgets should be met.
The ‘stomach’ of the house requires resources of effort, time and treasure
contributed by members of the house. The
local church action plans and budgets are to fill communities with the teaching
and presence of Christ. They are to bring many to the experience of Christ’s
love and grace. They are for nurturing people in Christ to maturity and equip
them to reach out to others. The mature believers shine the light of Christ in
their worlds/circles. Mature believers must therefore increase in number and
distribution so that their light can shine better to the whole world.
A Reward – ‘Prove me now’
God will not fail to notice your labor of love (Hebrews
11:6). He rewards those who diligently
seek Him.
Ø
If you bring the wood from the mountain God
promises to be with you (Haggai 1:12-13). Being with Him is life in His house
where there is no lack and all curses are broken. ‘The silver is mine, and the
gold is mine,' says Yahweh of Hosts (Haggai 2:8). God is not in need of a house
on earth for His own sake but for our sake. .
Ø
If you bring your whole tithes and offering to
His house. God promises to keep the devourer away and pour out a blessing such
that you have no room (Malachi 3:10). God is also saying to us today, ‘Prove me
now.’ This is not about a once off act but being consistent until you see
fruit. “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and
patience inherit the promises (Hebrew 6:12).”
Ø
If you love Gods house you control/transform
circumstances (Psalm 84:1-2, 6; 122:1). To the Psalmist, God’s house was the
preferred place. Such people even if they pass through the valley of Baca
Ø
If you care about the welfare of God’s house,
God will build and establish your house. David had a heart to build Gods house.
God would not let Him do so but promised to build him a house that whose rule
would be established forever (2 Sam 7:11, 16, 19). His house would not fail to
provide a king for God’s people. He
already had a temporal house of cedar but gained a house with dominion forever.
Your house can also be established through obedience to God’s word (Matthew
7:24-25).
Ø
If you are zealous for God’s house, you will be
like Christ. May the zeal for the house also consume you (John 2:17). He
declared the house should be a house of prayer (Luke 19:46). Prayer magnifies
God above all else. In effective prayer, God is priority. God’s house is a place
for serving God’s purpose not for selfish interests. Take a keen interest in
what is going on in the house and zealously make your contribution to make
things right. How you respond to needs in His house is a test of your love for
God. With the zeal the Lord Jesus had for the house, it is not a surprise His
life was so fruitful. He is the model of effective life and ministry.
[This message is the third
among several in a series of messages on the house of God. The series raises
awareness of the importance of belonging and fully participating in the life of
a local church.]
Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.
Faith Ministries – Johannesburg
Faith Life
Center
Ground and First
Floors Sunset
Bay Building
204B Bram Fischer drive,
Randburg, Johannesburg ,
South Africa
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