WEBVTT - But Now Be Strong 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:04.080 How are you doing, Christian amazing? Have you recovered from 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:07.520 tour fully? I was recovered last Sunday? Huh I felt 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:13.319 good last Sunday. Yeah, last Sunday was crazy? Were you here? 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:20.240 God is so faithful? I wanted to I wanted to 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:22.919 just mention real quick, how good of a timing this 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:25.320 is for you to be in church every week. Some 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:27.159 people are here for the first time or back for 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:32.240 the first time. This is a good one. This weekend, 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:35.480 we're getting ready, we're starting getting ready for our year 0:00:35.720 --> 0:00:44.800 end offering. Why is that exciting? Because it builds our faith, 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:49.440 it shows our love for God. And we're inviting everybody 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:51.880 all over the world that's a part of this ministry 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:54.319 to be a part of this year end offering. Now, 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:59.600 the official date of the offering is December twelve. How 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:02.200 do y'all know it better than the pastor they already 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:04.920 talked about it, But we do it every year. It's 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:09.400 an opportunity for those who have been blessed by this ministry, 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:12.360 who God has used this ministry to change your life 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:17.119 to be a blessing. And so for thousands we'll begin 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:20.920 the process of tithing and putting God first in the 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:24.280 area of your finances with that first ten percent that 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:27.600 belongs to him anyway, the whole hundred is his. You 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:34.040 know that right, So for all of you who already 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:36.200 trust the Lord in that way, thank you for making 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:40.800 the ministry possible. For those of you who are praying 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:44.160 about it. We always do an above and beyond offering 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:46.800 every year, Holly and I have been doing that every 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:50.240 year for over fifteen years now. It's a privilege to 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:53.840 do it. It's a privilege to do it. It's an 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:56.640 honor to do it. When I look around and see 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.880 what God has done and what He's building. Nobody has 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:04.120 begged me to give. I invest in this ministry because 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:08.200 I believe in this ministry and I believe God's promise. 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:11.040 How about you? Do you believe? Do you take God 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:16.679 at his word? Well, this is an excellent time and 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:18.840 they'll share all the details about how to do it, 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:21.000 but I just wanted to mention it. I always pick 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:23.959 a word at it's been getting later and later. I 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:25.919 used to pick a word that we could focus on, 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:28.120 and I would pick it in the summer and then 0:02:28.120 --> 0:02:32.160 they would make all these graphics and videos around that word. Lately, 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:35.320 I've been picking it just so late that I don't 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:37.720 even tell Hollywood it is until I tell the whole church. 0:02:39.080 --> 0:02:41.480 And last week I was preaching the passage, the same 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:43.360 passage that I'm going to preach here today. I'm going 0:02:43.440 --> 0:02:47.120 to continue what God started last week. God dropped something 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:54.000 amazing last week. And there was a scripture in Hagi 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:57.160 two nine that said that the glory of this present 0:02:57.200 --> 0:03:01.519 house will be greater than the glory of the former house. 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:06.760 And we'll unpack it a little week by week. I'm 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:09.040 not going to preach about giving today. Okay, So if 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:12.040 you're like exit strategy, texting your church partner or something 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:14.800 like that, you don't need to do that. But our theme, 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:17.240 our one word that we're going to come around, is 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:23.840 a simple word better. Doesn't that feel good to believe 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:30.079 that whatever, whatever you've seen before, tell somebody you haven't 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:38.960 seen anything yet. Oh oh oh, you want to say it? Okay, 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:42.880 say it in the King James, you ain't seen nothing yet. 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:52.320 God is always bringing us into something better. So for 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:55.160 our year end offering, I wanted to mention that I 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:59.920 also want to celebrate the eleventh year anniversary of elevation 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:11.320 and Blakeney, let's give God praise for Elevation Blakeney. Oh yeah, 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:15.040 that's where I preached live for about five years before 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:18.279 we moved over here to Valentine, and I might go 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:21.479 back if you'll ever stop acting righting. I love it 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:25.239 over there. A lot of great stories in that place, 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.960 not the building, but the people saw God do amazing 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:31.279 things there. So Father, I thank you for your presence today. 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:36.039 Your presence is real, it's not abstract. We thank you 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:40.160 that your presence is more than just like energy. Your 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:43.680 presence is more than just feelings. Your presence is the 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:47.640 bedrock where I can come back to every time and 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:50.400 just know that you are with me in every moment. 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:53.520 I thank you for the promise that I have concerning 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:57.600 your presence, that in your presence is fullness of joy 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:04.240 at your right hand, pleasure Forevermore so, Lord, we want 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:08.000 to enjoy your presence today. We're taking a moment just 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:11.480 to put everything out of our mind that's causing confusion, 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:15.920 everything that's got us tied up in knots, everything that's 0:05:15.960 --> 0:05:19.120 got us just like poppin' alka Seltzer with heartburn because 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:23.560 we're worried about it. Everything that's got us angry, frustrated, offended, 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:26.599 we're putting all that that doesn't get to play on 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:29.080 the movie screen right now, Lauren. But we want to 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:33.400 see your goodness, your love, your glory. We want to 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:36.200 see it revealed. We want to see Jesus. We want 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:38.400 to see the one who is and was and is 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:41.120 to come. We want to see him as he really is. 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:45.839 Reveal Jesus to us today through your word. It's in 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:51.440 his name. We pray. Amen. Everybody say amen. Act achieving. 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:59.040 All right, be seated. We're going back to Hagai chapter two. 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:04.080 So it's like, my mom cooks so much food. You're like, Mom, 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:07.200 what were you thinking that the whole football team was 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:10.120 coming over here? She over prepares. And I felt a 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:14.000 little bit like that last week. Honestly, when I look 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:16.240 back over my outline, I had four points and we 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:20.960 got to one. So I just put it in the 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:24.920 fridge and I figured, all right, well we'll we'll get 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:27.880 this out this week. And then God, God was speaking 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:30.360 to me in such a unique way. I'm excited about it. 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:34.880 I'm excited about it. Y'all sound excited too. I'm gonna 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:39.520 be honest, it feels exciting in here. It's amazing. Wow, 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:46.800 y'all quiet down now this church. Let me read you 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:49.559 this scripture. See if this will put a spark plug 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:54.359 in your spirit real quick. In the second year of 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:57.640 King Darius, on the twenty first day of the seventh month, 0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:02.800 the word of the Lord came through the prophet Hagi. 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:10.160 The word of the Lord came through the prophet Hagi. 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:13.440 All right, so we got we gotta talk about that 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:16.840 for a minute. God is going to give you a 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:22.880 word for your weakness. The more you work the word 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:26.520 that He gives you, the more strength you will discover 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:31.920 that was there all alone. The word of the Lord 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:35.480 came through Hagi. And I love how God speaks through 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:40.240 people in seasons when we need it, don't you. And 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:44.480 this is what the Lord said to Hagi. Speak to Zarabebel, 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:49.400 son of Shialtl, governor of Judah, to Joshua's son of 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:53.160 Josephac the high Priest, and to the remnant of the people. 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:57.960 Ask them, so this is crazy, because God speaks. How 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:01.040 many need God to speak to you today? Put a 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:02.680 hand in the chat. Put a hand in the chat, 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:04.160 Put a hand in the chat. Put your hand in 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:05.800 the ear. I need God to speak to me. But 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:09.720 here's what's crazy. God doesn't speak with an answer. He 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:16.880 speaks with a question. Sometimes you will ask God for 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:22.240 an answer and he will answer with a question. One day, 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:24.480 I'm going to preach a sermon called the Blessing of 0:08:24.560 --> 0:08:30.680 a better question. So a better question would be like, 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:34.040 instead of God, why did I have to go through 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:37.000 all that? It would be God, what do you want 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:40.480 to do now through the things that I went through? 0:08:41.920 --> 0:08:44.280 And why is the devil so intimidated of me that 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:46.560 he brought all that against me? What is it in me? 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:54.080 That's a better question, because a bad question it would 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:57.320 be like, God, why did they reject me? Well, you 0:08:57.360 --> 0:08:59.959 can never know that. Maybe they rejected you because they 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:03.760 they are stupid. Maybe they didn't see the value of you. 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:09.320 A better question is God, what were you using rejection 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:15.720 to protect me from? That's a better question. And so 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:20.040 we rejection proof our spirit by asking three questions, or God, 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:24.560 are you redirecting me through this rejection telling me that 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:27.000 this is not the one? God? Are you protecting me 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:29.360 from something that I can't see? And there was a 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:31.080 third one, but I forgot it. All right, Let's go on, 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:37.840 And he said, ask them, ask the people who of 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:42.839 you is left? Who saw this? House. Everybody say this 0:09:42.880 --> 0:09:47.920 house good, good, good, good good, this house in its 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:52.520 former glory. How does it look to you? Now? Does 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:58.880 it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong? 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:04.360 But now I feel you're anointing God. Be strong, But 0:10:05.120 --> 0:10:10.679 now be strong. That's my title for this message today. 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:17.720 But now be strong. Say it, but now be strong. 0:10:18.040 --> 0:10:22.400 Last night you were a little weak, But now be strong. 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:25.200 Three years ago you just gave into the temptation. But 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:27.760 now you're resisting the devil a little bit more. But 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:34.560 now be strong, Zorabebel, declares the Lord. Be strong. Joshua 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:37.840 was son of Joseph Aak be strong, brit be strong, 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:42.960 Might be strong, Holly, be strong, Elijah, be strong, all 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:46.520 you people of the land, declares the Lord, and work 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:52.160 for I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty. This 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:55.120 is what I covened with you. I didn't say nobody 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:58.240 would be against you. I just said that I would 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:03.920 be with you. God never promised the absence of problems. 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:07.840 He promised his presence right in the thick of it. 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:12.520 He said. I was with you in Egypt, and I'm 0:11:12.520 --> 0:11:14.840 with you to this day, declares the Lord. My spirit 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:17.760 remains among you. Do not fear. This is what the 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:21.240 Lord Almighty says. In a little while, I will once 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:24.560 more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:29.080 the dry land, and I will shake all nations, and 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:33.480 what is desired by all nations will come. And I 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:42.400 will fill which house, this house, this house, with glory, 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:46.840 says the Lord Almighty. The silver is mine and the 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:51.360 gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty. And the glory 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:59.760 of this present house will be greater, better, greater than 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:03.760 the glory of the former house. Now it's not going 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:07.040 to have as much gold as the old house, because 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:10.800 Solomon's temple had a lot of gold, but it's going 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:19.880 to have more glory. Oh Jesus, the glory of this 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:21.760 present house will be greater than the glory of the 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:24.960 former house, says the Lord Almighty. And in this place 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:32.160 I will grant peace, declares the Lord Almighty. There's a 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:35.600 book called Making Peace with Your Past, and you may 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:41.160 have read it. There's a course or program that goes 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:44.000 along with the book, and millions of people had probably 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:47.080 benefited from it. I don't know. I never did the course. 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:49.400 I've always remember the title Making Peace with Your Past. 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:55.080 It's about dealing with the trauma that happens to you, 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:59.120 so that your trauma watch this doesn't become your template, 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:07.199 so that what you went through doesn't become the ceiling 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:13.719 of what you think can be possible in your life. 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:16.640 Like we discussed last week a little bit, you know, 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:20.720 not only are they building a temple, but they are 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:27.800 reinventing their template. They're getting a new blueprint for how 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:30.040 God is going to bless them now, and they need 0:13:30.080 --> 0:13:34.400 one because they've been in Babylon for over fifty years. 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:39.439 And while they were in Babylon as exiles, almost an 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:44.720 entire generation died that had seen the former temple. So 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:47.959 now when we get to Haggai chapter two, the prophet 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:51.080 is encouraging the people because they have become two things 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:59.679 that you have become distracted and discouraged. Distracted and discouraged, 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.960 distracted in that they have lost their sense of priorities. 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:08.960 They have gotten comfortably settled now they've come back to 0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:13.920 their homeland, but in the process of building the Lord's 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:18.360 Temple where God's presence would dwell at that time, they 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:23.400 got distracted by building their own houses. Never happens to you, 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:28.920 happens to me sometimes Sometimes I go to read my Bible. 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:31.320 Then I see a text. The text makes me think 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:33.760 of something else that I need to text. Before I 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:37.480 know it, I'm on Wikipedia searching about giraffes. How did 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:42.960 I get here? But it does put a question in 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:49.400 your mind? Are you distracted? And are you discouraged? Now? 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.520 I love how Guy's method because, as I mentioned, he 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:56.440 asks a question, who of you is left That's what 0:14:56.480 --> 0:15:01.920 we talked about last week. The remnant remnant it means 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:05.160 whatever is left over. Now get this picture. They're looking 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:08.760 at a city that is still for the largest part 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:13.200 in Ruin. When the Babylonians came to take the people out, 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:17.640 they actually destroyed everything that they left behind. Now at 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:21.320 this point they haven't seen Neemiah yet. You've heard of him, right. 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:23.520 He rebuilt the walls of the city, which was the 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:25.800 protection of the city. But he did that later. The 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:29.680 walls are still down. The infrastructure of the city was 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.520 completely shut down, or at the very least, it was 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:37.120 about as organized as the DMV. It was about like 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:40.280 the airport's security right about. Now, it's just it's a mess. 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:45.880 But in the middle of all of that mess, God 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:48.840 sends a messenger to ask a question, who of you 0:15:49.160 --> 0:15:54.320 is left. You have to learn how to focus on 0:15:54.400 --> 0:16:02.760 what is left, not what is lost. Sometimes the distraction 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:06.360 is you thinking about something that you had in the 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:09.320 past that you don't have right now. Sometimes you are 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.600 missing things that God is bringing because you are missing 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:17.000 people that God removed. I'm not saying that everybody that 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:18.880 leaves your life is because God took them out because 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:21.240 they couldn't handle you on the next level. That's not 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:25.440 my message. But there was a word in there where 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:29.720 he said, speak to the remnant. There are only sixty 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:34.000 thousand Jews that came back. Talk to those, Speak to 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:37.120 the ones who are still here. Work with the strength 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:41.040 that you still have, Muster the energy that is left 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:45.360 in your body. Take the opportunity that you have seriously. 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:48.320 And that's the first r that we mention. But the 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:51.280 second one, I think, I think it's really important because 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:54.520 his second rhetorical question, he says, who of you verse 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:59.640 three is left that saw this house in its former glory? 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:03.240 And then the second question, it's also a rhetorical question, 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:09.479 how does it look to you? Now? What a question? 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:16.560 This is not just rhetorical, this is historical because there's 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:19.320 a few of these, a few of these returning exiles 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:27.280 who saw Solomon's temple firsthand, and they remember what they 0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:31.960 think it was like. Oh, by the way, the future 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:34.720 and the past have one thing in common. They're both fiction. 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:44.200 The future you imagine for you, you you know, thirty pounds 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:49.960 lighter or or thirty million richer or whatever it is. 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:54.280 You know what I'm saying. Like that future, that future 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:57.800 is no more imaginary than the story you tell yourself 0:17:57.800 --> 0:18:03.240 about how the past was. Because watch this, the future 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:06.480 is filtered through your ignorance. You don't know what's gonna 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:09.400 happen at one thirty today. You didn't even know cam 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:12.520 was coming back, did you. Nobody told you that, nobody 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:15.520 called you, nobody approved that with you. You You didn't see 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:18.560 that coming, And you really think you can predict what 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:20.560 it's gonna be, Like, I love people. You need to 0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:22.680 make a ten year plan, Honey, I need a ten 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.560 minute plan. It's twenty twenty one. I need a ten 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:28.720 second plan. I need a way right now, in this moment. 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:36.600 Not to freak out. Now, no certificates you so far 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:38.200 out there in the future and see yourself married, or 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:40.560 see yourself divorced, or see yourself whatever condition you are 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:42.560 praying about. That's opposite of the condition that you prayed 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:47.240 yourself into. Right now, that's a fantasy, but so is 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:53.720 what we tell ourselves about our best. You know, nobody 0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:58.080 ever really believed in me. I wish I could ask 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:01.400 all of your middle school teachers how much they had 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:04.119 to put up with out of you just not to 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:06.560 kick you out of school, because the truth is you 0:19:06.600 --> 0:19:09.359 should have been expelled. The fact that they believed in 0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:12.560 you is the fact that they graduated you and gave 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:15.280 you a C just to get you out of their class. 0:19:19.359 --> 0:19:20.879 You know, I'm having fun with it, but it's real. 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:24.560 It's really it's really kind of a deep thing to 0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:30.560 consider that sometimes what holds you hostage is a story 0:19:30.600 --> 0:19:36.280 that you have told yourself that never really happened, like 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:40.760 you memorized it in your heart, and then with time 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:45.720 you look back and say, oh, well, maybe actually I 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:49.480 was part of the reason to blame for that, huh, 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:52.160 Because now I've seen the same exact pattern play out 0:19:52.200 --> 0:19:58.320 in eight straight relationships. Maybe it wasn't eight dysfunctional devils 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:04.760 that I was dating. Maybe the smell is coming from 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:11.679 inside the car. I'm gonna give y'all twenty seconds to 0:20:11.720 --> 0:20:18.280 wake up hear the word of the Lord. I think 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:20.280 it's something under the floor mats, I don't think. I 0:20:20.320 --> 0:20:27.760 don't think it's And so the people who were there 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:32.439 to see it firsthand. You gotta imagine this amazing moment 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:37.760 right back from Babylon. Future is in front of us. Man, 0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:40.399 maybe we can be a nation again, Maybe the glory 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:42.800 of God will visit us again. And at the moment 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:50.080 of great possibility comes the memory of the past, the 0:20:50.119 --> 0:20:54.480 past as it never really was the past, as you 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:58.399 imagine that it was the past, as you remembered that 0:20:58.480 --> 0:21:02.960 it was. I keep a list of stuff that I 0:21:03.040 --> 0:21:06.359 did for my kids, So when they go to therapy 0:21:06.400 --> 0:21:10.120 one day as adults, I'm gonna make sure their therapist 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:13.679 gets that list before they start. Here's what they're not 0:21:13.960 --> 0:21:18.119 telling you. Here's all the vacations that they don't remember. 0:21:18.440 --> 0:21:21.040 Here's all of the times that I was nice to 0:21:21.119 --> 0:21:24.800 them and didn't take their phone. Here's the time I 0:21:24.880 --> 0:21:27.760 could have thrown them out a window, but I didn't 0:21:28.160 --> 0:21:31.760 because I'm a good, good father, and I got a 0:21:31.840 --> 0:21:43.159 list to prevent. It's been it's been traumatic. It's been traumatic. No, 0:21:43.320 --> 0:21:46.159 it's really been traumatic for these people. This is not 0:21:46.359 --> 0:21:51.320 like they the economy was shut down for months. Their 0:21:51.400 --> 0:21:53.880 nation was completely destroyed. No, no, no, I don't mean 0:21:53.960 --> 0:21:57.200 like the economy was destroyed and the stock market was fluctuating. 0:21:57.880 --> 0:22:00.080 I mean they had to they had to develop a 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:03.840 completely new template in Babylon. So now you've got two 0:22:03.880 --> 0:22:07.280 things happening simultaneously, and you always do. You've got the 0:22:07.359 --> 0:22:12.600 new generation who didn't see Solomon's temple. You've got the 0:22:12.640 --> 0:22:16.120 older generation, specifically the priests, the Leevites, and the leaders 0:22:16.800 --> 0:22:20.800 who saw the old one. And Ezra tells us what 0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:26.480 happened that made Haggi's encouragement necessary. Go to Ezra chapter three. 0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:33.200 Please right there on the y'all aren't flipping your bibles. 0:22:35.280 --> 0:22:38.239 You got it on your phone. See, this is one 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:40.880 of those things where as a preacher, I want to fuss. 0:22:41.080 --> 0:22:44.080 I remember when people used to bring their Bibles to church. 0:22:45.080 --> 0:22:48.120 But you know what, I don't think that's necessarily better 0:22:48.160 --> 0:22:51.000 than having it right there on your phone. Because if 0:22:51.040 --> 0:22:53.199 it's right there on my phone, I can just have 0:22:53.280 --> 0:22:55.880 it any time that the devil hits me. I could 0:22:55.920 --> 0:22:58.080 just look at it. Nobody even knows that I'm reading 0:22:58.119 --> 0:23:01.000 my Bible. I'm acting like I'm paying attention. To this meeting. 0:23:01.200 --> 0:23:03.280 Let me check my notes real quick. But I'm really 0:23:03.320 --> 0:23:08.840 over here in Obadiah. So notice the temptation. Oh it 0:23:08.960 --> 0:23:11.760 was better when people used to bring their Bibles to church. 0:23:12.119 --> 0:23:15.120 Oh it was better before they didn't read them during 0:23:15.119 --> 0:23:21.359 the week back then. So now watch this. This is 0:23:21.359 --> 0:23:23.400 on the screen. Put it up on the screen. Ezra 0:23:23.520 --> 0:23:26.560 chapter three, when the builders laid the foundation of the 0:23:26.600 --> 0:23:28.920 Temple of the Lord, I'm a preacher ready for this. 0:23:29.520 --> 0:23:36.280 They lay the foundation, and the priests, the sons of Asaf, 0:23:37.280 --> 0:23:41.560 with their vestments and trumpets, and the Levites, the Sons 0:23:41.560 --> 0:23:46.200 of Asaf with symbols, took their places to praise the Lord, 0:23:47.040 --> 0:23:52.439 as prescribed by David, King of Israel. Next verse, please 0:23:53.240 --> 0:23:59.480 with praise and thanksgiving. They sang to the Lord. He 0:23:59.600 --> 0:24:05.040 is good, good, his love toward Israel endures forever. So 0:24:05.080 --> 0:24:12.199 they were singing, I am good, you are loved, I 0:24:12.240 --> 0:24:16.160 am good, you are loved. And all the people you'll 0:24:16.160 --> 0:24:19.200 get ready to act out the text gave a great shout. 0:24:24.160 --> 0:24:27.879 That's a medium shout. Wasn't a bad shout, but it 0:24:27.960 --> 0:24:34.120 wasn't a great shout. All the people gave a great shout. 0:24:35.400 --> 0:24:37.880 I want to see which campus can shout the loudest. 0:24:38.600 --> 0:24:40.760 Make a video of your campus and send it to 0:24:40.800 --> 0:24:47.639 me real quick. Ah, the people take a great shout, 0:24:49.280 --> 0:24:55.280 a great shut I'm coming a baby shout. No, no, no, 0:24:55.320 --> 0:25:07.360 that's a great shout, a great shout. Look at the foundation. 0:25:08.760 --> 0:25:12.400 This is amazing. We're gonna have a temple again. We're 0:25:12.400 --> 0:25:15.000 gonna have a temple again. We're gonna have a temple again. 0:25:15.160 --> 0:25:16.639 Touch three people and tell them we're gonna have a 0:25:16.640 --> 0:25:18.800 temple again. Touch twelve people. Tell them we're gonna have 0:25:18.840 --> 0:25:21.040 a temple again. That's twenty four people till we're gonna 0:25:21.040 --> 0:25:22.480 have a temple again. Oh, I heard about the temple. 0:25:22.480 --> 0:25:24.400 Always wish I could have a temple. My grandad would 0:25:24.400 --> 0:25:25.720 tell me about temple. You talk about the instances. He 0:25:25.720 --> 0:25:27.199 tell me about the bulls, tek about the prayer, time 0:25:27.200 --> 0:25:29.240 about the Holy of Holies, talking about sacrifice, about you 0:25:29.240 --> 0:25:30.800 told me talking about the mercy, talking about the press, 0:25:30.880 --> 0:25:32.640 time about the glory, tell me about the interesting, talking 0:25:32.640 --> 0:25:34.359 about the better. We have a temple. We have a temple. 0:25:34.359 --> 0:25:38.520 We're getting a temple. We're getting a temple. So they 0:25:39.040 --> 0:25:43.800 they start blowing trumpets, they start playing at at OHA's. 0:25:44.560 --> 0:25:49.240 They start having a party and praising God over the progress. 0:25:49.800 --> 0:25:55.240 You have to learn to prace God over progress, not 0:25:55.400 --> 0:26:02.440 just product. You have to learn that's what gives you momentum. 0:26:03.040 --> 0:26:07.560 That's what gives you momentum. You have to praise God 0:26:07.880 --> 0:26:13.160 for ten yards, not just touchdowns. You have to praise 0:26:13.320 --> 0:26:18.399 God for every trimester. You have to praise God. You 0:26:18.520 --> 0:26:25.000 have to do it, or you'll get distracted and discouraged 0:26:26.600 --> 0:26:31.960 like the Levites. Because while one generation is praising God, Oh, 0:26:32.359 --> 0:26:35.600 we're gonna have a temple, y'all. It's gonna be amazing. 0:26:36.000 --> 0:26:39.040 I can't wait to get in this temple and praise God. Oh, 0:26:39.119 --> 0:26:43.160 this is gonna be incredible. And here come the people 0:26:44.000 --> 0:26:48.960 who should be leading the praise party. And while the 0:26:49.320 --> 0:26:52.920 young people are blowing trump is you got trumpet sound 0:26:53.000 --> 0:26:56.480 or anything like that, get one ready, and we just 0:26:56.480 --> 0:27:04.600 do it real quick. It says verse twelve. Many of 0:27:04.680 --> 0:27:07.960 the older priests and Levites and family hads who had 0:27:08.000 --> 0:27:14.600 seen the former temple wept aloud when they saw the 0:27:14.640 --> 0:27:25.159 foundation of this temple being laid, while many others. But 0:27:25.240 --> 0:27:28.960 here's the problem. Thirteen. No one could distinguish the sound 0:27:29.040 --> 0:27:31.760 of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping 0:27:32.840 --> 0:27:38.879 because it all just started sounding like noise. Has it 0:27:38.920 --> 0:27:44.080 been noisy in your heart lately? You can't tell the 0:27:44.080 --> 0:27:46.600 difference of whose voice is this? Is this God or 0:27:46.640 --> 0:27:50.440 is this the devil? Or is it just my Twitter feed? 0:27:53.040 --> 0:27:56.000 Is this God? Is this the devil? Or is it 0:27:56.160 --> 0:28:03.360 just me? Is this fate or is this foolishness? How 0:28:03.400 --> 0:28:06.800 could a group of people from the same nation be 0:28:06.920 --> 0:28:11.760 standing at the same foundation and one of them pulling 0:28:11.800 --> 0:28:20.120 out trumpets, and one of them in tears, trumpets and tears, 0:28:21.880 --> 0:28:29.960 trumpets and tears, both at the same time, trumpets and tears. 0:28:31.119 --> 0:28:35.439