Introduction

Good morning. Let us turn to Haggai, chapter two. Although this book has only two chapters, discerning the theme of the second chapter can be challenging. Initially, I thought the theme of this chapter was The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former. However, I adopt a certain method when reading the Bible, where the theme I choose for the entire passage should knit the content of the chapter together.

If some content is unrelated to the theme, then the theme is incorrect. After repeated contemplation, I have settled on the theme for this chapter as Consider now from this day onward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord. Why do I say this? Because they are about to be blessed.

Humans have an interesting characteristic, which is that when life is good, they fail to recognise it as grace, assuming it is something they are entitled to, which is also very normal! We should reflect on what it was like to live under a curse in the past.

The theme I have chosen for this chapter serves as a bridge. The theme of the first chapter is Consider your ways, which is essentially to examine why one is living under a curse. The second chapter then is Consider now from this day onward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord. This theme is a good reminder for us as well.

For example, one sister lived a very miserable life before coming to our church. She had two children, one with a 38-degree spinal curvature, and the other frequently ill. After coming to our church, she began to be blessed. Thank God, she has not forgotten the curses she suffered in the past to this day.

Therefore, consider the days of the curse, because people tend to forget when life is good. One of the most fatal things in life is once the pain is over, the lesson is forgotten. Such things are abundant! Therefore, we must learn to recall the days of the curse. If you are still living under a curse, with poor finances and unfavorable circumstances in all aspects, then you should read the first chapter of Haggai and examine why you are under a curse.

The Most Important Ability is the Ability to Reflect

The most important ability is the ability to reflect. For example, if we are living under a curse, we should reflect: Is this right? Is this how life should be lived? Life is like a soap opera, and every episode is melodramatic, it is quite lamentable!

So one must reflect: How did I end up like this? Is this my fate? It shouldn't be, right? I tell you, a person who builds God’s glorious church should be blessed, but some are cursed. What exactly happened? The key lies in what is in people's minds. In the previous chapter, I spoke of one's mindset determines whether one is blessed, so one's mindset is very important.

How did the Israelites live for sixteen years after returning to Jerusalem from Babylon? Not well! Why? It was a problem with their mindset. When asked to build the temple, they said: My house hasn't been renovated yet! Can building the temple fill our stomachs? As a result, they lived very poorly.

As the scripture says: Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands. (Haggai 1:10-11)

Moreover, they looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it, why? Because God's house was desolate, people would be miserable. Ultimately, it is because people are living small lives! Thinking only of renovating their houses: I want to do a wabi-sabi style, a cream style, a Japanese style, thinking about this every day.

I have a set of ideas about this, namely, I know what is worthwhile and what is a loss. Otherwise, how can I teach everyone? Therefore, there are two things in this world that must be firmly remembered: what is blessing and what is a curse? Unfortunately, people often forget blessings and curses, and immediately think of worldly logical systems.

Therefore, what we need to reflect on frequently is: Am I doing this right? What am I trying to achieve by doing this? Does doing this please God? If God is not pleased, wouldn't that be troublesome? Therefore, the most important ability is the ability to reflect, and never forget the days of the curse.

Sometimes, my heart also turns cold. Some brothers and sisters also feel sorry for me, because I once served some orphans and widows. They were living in misery, and later, with my help, and thanks to God’s blessing, their lives improved day by day, and then they forgot their former days, so they returned to the days of the curse.

Therefore, we must know what is most worthwhile? Serving God is most worthwhile! And what is best? Building God's glorious church is best! Our brothers and sisters must reflect, if you can conclude such a conclusion, it is very great, it is difficult not to be blessed!

Consider Now, Remember Those Days of the Curse

Consider now from this day onward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord. Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the Lord.

Consider now from this day onward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you. (Haggai 2:15-19)

In reality, God was in a dilemma. God wanted to bless His people, but after they were blessed, they immediately forgot the days of the curse. This is the history of the Israelites, and also a portrait of many Christians.

What I see is also this situation. They come to church living in curses and pain. I ask him, Why don't you work? He says, I'm sick. I ask again, If you're sick, why don't you work? He says, I can't do it! So after I lead him in prayer, he gets well, and then he doesn't come to church anymore, because he is busy with work.

I wonder, when he was sick all those years, why didn't he work? Then why did he suddenly start working after he got well? What do you do with this kind of person? If he is a treasure, he is a treasure, if he is garbage, he is garbage! I cannot change his life, nor can I turn garbage into treasure, so there is no need to do anything.

But do you choose to be garbage or a treasure? Do you want to be an unclean person, or do you want to be a holy person? One must figure it out for oneself.

For those Israelites, from September 24th, God was going to start blessing them. On June 1st, Haggai reminded them: Why haven't you built the temple yet? How long do you want to live under the curse? Get up quickly! As a result, the Israelites pondered for twenty-four days after hearing him say this, and only started construction on June 24th.

Then why did the Israelites start construction? Because the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. After reading this passage, I feel like God ate a dung beetle, like a farting bug! How smelly! What are these people thinking? They want to live a blessed life, but they still need God to stir them up and stimulate them, which is called kick him once, he takes a step, if you don't kick him, he retreats two steps.

Then, by September 24th, God was going to start blessing them. At this time, was the temple completed? No! After three months, the temple was still the same. Although they didn't do much work, God intended to bless them. When God blessed them, He first said: Consider now from this day onward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord. Because God had to remind them! God was really in a dilemma!

But I tell you, from the time of Zerubbabel and Haggai, all the way to the time of Nehemiah and Malachi, the Israelites lived very miserably! The Israelites built the temple from June 24th to September 24th, these three months, why didn't God bless them from the start of construction on June 24th? God is quite troubled!

You may also be surprised: Why doesn't God bless me quickly? Cannot! God originally wanted to bless you quickly, but after blessing you, you would throw God away, just like people throw away their shoes when they arrive home. If we are treasures in God's eyes, how could God not bless us every day? Therefore, consider now, remember those days of the curse. God is afraid that after blessing you, you will slip back.

The Israelites were exiled to Babylon, and later the Persian Empire defeated Babylon. The emperor of the Persian Empire, named Cyrus, sent Zerubbabel to Israel to be the governor of one side, and let him bring the Israelites and the gold and silver vessels plundered by the King of Babylon back to build the temple, but sixteen years passed in a flash, and God's house was still desolate, what happened? God was afraid that once He showed them grace, they would forget it.

When the Israelites were walking from the Persian Empire to Jerusalem, everyone was very excited, vowing to build God's house well, but what happened? They went home and busied themselves with their own affairs! The most surprising thing to me is: God's affairs are always ranked second, and one's own affairs are always ranked first, which is a very common phenomenon, so consider now, remember those days of the curse!

There is a pastor who is very interesting. His daughter had cancer. After I ministered to his daughter, he vowed to emulate Chinese Mingding Doctrine, but where did his emulation go? However, there must be obstacles at the beginning of emulation, among which the most powerful obstacles were his wife and children. As a result, he said: God is first, family is second, and church is third. Can everyone understand this logic? I can't understand it. That the days of the curse have not passed enough, and must continue to live.

We must remember that the most fatal thing for Christians is not ghosts, but God. If you want to gain much, you gain little, and when you bring it home, God blows it away. Because you are against God, isn't this the result? I would like to remind everyone again that we cannot forget those days of the curse!

We Must Summarise God's Deeds

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No.

Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. (Haggai 2:11-14)

Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the Lord. (Haggai 2:16-17)

Can you understand this passage? If you touch these holy things, they are not considered holy, but if you touch filth and then touch these holy things, these holy things must be considered unclean, that is to say, holiness is a difficult thing. For example, a pot of rice porridge, although there is only one rat dropping in it, do you think it can still be eaten? I dare not eat it! Another example: this piece of meat is very good, but it has rotted a little, can it still be eaten? Cannot be eaten!

So what counts as holy? What counts as unclean? It is easy for people to become unclean, but for people to become holy, they must be wholly consecrated to the Lord! If your core interest is to build God’s glorious church, and understand that serving God is our Mingding Doctrine, then is it that difficult to be wholly consecrated to the Lord? Actually, it is not difficult!

So the problem is that people's core interest is their own lives, which causes all kinds of work under their hands to become unclean, and what they offer on the altar is also unclean. Can God not hate these things? Our brothers and sisters must know God's deeds, and must consecrate them wholly to the Lord. As long as it is not consecrated to God, it is unclean.

Our brothers and sisters are blessed, not because you are holy, but because of God's grace and mercy. But you must begin to recall the days of the curse, and then summarise one thing: I must be wholly consecrated to the Lord, and I don't want to go back to the days of the curse. If people want to live under a curse, it is very simple! People are considered unclean, and naturally they are cursed; people are not considered holy, and naturally they live under a curse.

We must know that it is key to dedicate everything to God, but you say: Dedicate everything to God, can we still live? Then I ask you: Do you want to live a cursed life, or do you want to live a blessed life? If you are wholly consecrated to the Lord, how can you not live? The gold and silver are all God's, is there a problem with that?

I have never seen Abraham begging for food, nor have I seen Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob being penniless. Neither have I seen them living under a curse! So why can't we live well? People who have God with them are doing well! People are just foolish. They do not know how great God's power is. People are afraid of everything, except going against God. What kind of brain is that?

Now everyone should have summed it up, right? You must know that the days of being cursed are like the state when not one stone of the Lord's temple is laid on another.

In all that time, when anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. (Haggai 2:16-17)

Now God wants to bless the Israelites. How much have they changed? Actually, they have only changed a little bit. We really need to recall the days of being cursed! Have we really changed the most fatal concept inside? We corrupt ourselves, one is equivalent to two, but when we build ourselves up, two are not equivalent to one! How can we live like this? If you go against God, can you still live well?

I feel like living in this state: originally I could get fifty measures, but I only get twenty. I wanted to get twenty measures, but I only got ten. How can I live like this? I can't! So I remind everyone, you must recall the past days of being cursed.

If you are still living under a curse, go back to the previous chapter and examine yourself. If you examine yourself, God will bless you. So you must often recall the days of being cursed. To be a Christian, you must be a Christian at the top of the Golden Pyramid, a resounding, die-hard Christian.

Know That God Will Surely Shake Heaven and Earth, and Shake All Nations

You must recall the days of being cursed. Now the days of blessing are about to begin. Don't ever say: How can we live like that? Why?

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 what is desired by 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,' declares the Lord Almighty. (Haggai 2:6-9)

What is God doing in this passage? God is going to shake all nations, shake heaven and earth! Do you know how to pan for gold? It is to put the sand containing gold in a basin and shake it, shake the gold out, and after shaking it out, refine it, and the garbage is discarded.

What is God actually doing? He is selecting treasures. Through shaking, He allows what is imperishable and eternal to remain forever. He allows what is perishable and defiled to be shaken away and归 to the garbage heap. We must know that what is defiled will be shaken away, and what is holy will be归给 God! Originally, God was selecting treasures, and He selected Zerubbabel.

Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. 'In that day,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the Lord, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the Lord Almighty. (Haggai 2:21-23)

What did Zerubbabel experience? He experienced a shaking, and then he made a decision: I want to put down my work. He was the governor of Judah, and his work was very busy, but he chose to put down his work and start leading the people of Israel to build the temple. If his political enemies reported him to the emperor, could he still live well? Has anyone reported him? Yes, they have.

But he risked building the temple, putting down his work. Is this wholly consecrated to the Lord? He certainly is! He thought: I don't care if I lose my job. In fact, God can also protect him. Nothing happened to his work. The emperor of the Persian Empire also issued an edict allowing him to continue building the temple, and told the people around him to give Zerubbabel the wood he needed to build the temple.

However, not everyone has such faith as Zerubbabel. On what basis can such faith be based? It is to be mindful of God's temple. It is not that God protects you first, and then you come to build the temple, but that you first take a risk to build God's temple, which is the exercise of faith. If you are a person of faith, you will completely trust God.

In fact, the position of governor is not comparable to that of a small manager. The governor reports to the emperor. If he loses his job, he will lose his head. God wants to make Zerubbabel like my signet ring. What does it mean? It is to take him as an example so that we can imitate him. After imitating him, you will really be gold. Gold will shine wherever it is!

We must know that holiness must be wholly归耶和华 God. For the sake of our God, we still have to take some risks, but what is this risk? If you take this risk, God will begin to bless you. If you want to get twenty measures, you will get thirty measures. Thirty measures is three times more than ten measures! If you want to get fifty barrels, you will get one hundred barrels. One hundred barrels is five times more than twenty barrels! Is life good? How can life not be good with God?

So know that God will surely shake heaven and earth and shake all nations, so that what cannot be shaken will be received into God's kingdom as treasures, and those who are wholly归耶和华为圣 like Zerubbabel, God will begin to delight in. God said, My servant Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, in that day I will make you like my signet ring.

We must begin to imitate Zerubbabel. Later, although the Israelites were not easy to deal with, and everyone's heart was crooked, Zerubbabel still brought the people of Israel up and built God's temple. This is not easy!

Think about it, what about the family business of the Israelites when Zerubbabel asked them to build the temple? What about the decoration of the home? This is indeed a contradictory thing, but Zerubbabel is a leader with courage, so he did it! Maybe Zerubbabel really had to kill a chicken to show the monkeys. So God will surely shake heaven and earth and shake all nations. What is He going to do? It is to collect treasures in God's kingdom.

Know That Building the Temple Is an Exercise of Faith

Is Zerubbabel building the temple an exercise of faith? Yes! On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Israelites began to build the temple. Alas, it looks very shabby, and it is simply incomparable to the temple built by Solomon! Solomon used gold to wrap the pillars, but when Zerubbabel built the temple, he had nothing, no wood, no power.

The kingdom of David and Solomon was very strong, and the surrounding countries paid tribute, but Zerubbabel was just a governor, and he did not have so much power, so after the temple was built, he felt uncomfortable in his heart.

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem like nothing to you?' (Haggai 2:1-3)

Can you continue to build the temple? But you have to persevere. No matter who it is, as long as you have this heart, especially our brothers and sisters, or others who want to build a church, after listening to my sharing of Haggai chapter 2, maybe you are building a very shabby church, maybe the temple you are building does not look like anything, but God does not look at these things.

'Be strong, Zerubbabel,' declares the Lord. 'Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the Lord, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the Lord Almighty. 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit is with you; do not be afraid.' (Haggai 2:4-5)

Our brothers and sisters must remember that when you start building the temple, you may not have the knowledge of building the temple, and after building it, you may not like it no matter how you look at it, and it looks very shabby, but don't care about these things! Because God doesn't care what the temple looks like at all, God cares whether you have a heart to build the temple.

If you have a heart to build the temple in your heart, even if it is shabby, you have pleased God. So you must be strong, build the temple, don't care about the shabby temple. You must see with the eyes of faith that the glory of this temple later will be greater than the glory of the former temple. What is the glory of the latter? They are all treasures shaken out by God, gold, silver, and treasures, built with the faith of people.

So our brothers and sisters begin to have faith, and through this shabbiness, see the glory of the latter, which is the exercise of faith, you must have the eyes of faith, you must be strong and build! I am a person who likes to exercise faith. The situation of our church at the beginning was not generally miserable, but my faith was not generally faith! If I had ordinary faith, I would not be able to do this extraordinary work!

It feels very bad at the beginning to build a church. There are many 10,000-member churches in Singapore. Their stages are bigger than our church. The stage, drum set, and singers are not like me, who runs out of tune when singing! I really don't feel good in my heart, but I have a heart, I want to build a church, I will build a church full of God's glory, and God's word keeps encouraging me.

The glory of this latter house will be greater than the glory of the former, why? Because we are all exercising faith, through the eyes of faith, building a church full of God's glory. Of course, is our church good now? No! We need greater faith to move forward, so that the church we build is nothing else, but to please God. The church is not because there are drums, guitarists, music, stage, and lights, but because we have a fiery heart.

Our fiery heart is to build God's glorious church, build a resounding church, build a victorious church, and build a church that tramples on the devil and the enemy! I really thank God. Although after many years of hard training, I saw that God is really among us, clearly with us, according to the words of the covenant He made with us when we came out of Egypt, God's Spirit lives among us, and we are no longer afraid.

Now when I look at the drum set and guitarist, those things are so 土! Do you think you are holding a concert? We don't have these things, we only have Bible study, prayer, healing, and deliverance. Our testimonies are like clouds, and God's work is really among us.

I want to tell you that the glory of the latter will be greater than the glory of the present, and the glory of the future will far exceed the glory of the present ten times, a hundred times or more! We must not be satisfied, we must not stay where we are now, we must continue to run forward, remove the absurd things in this Christian faith, let the gospel of Jesus Christ once again manifest His power, and let our brothers and sisters once again enter into the days of blessing through Jesus Christ!

We must not only enter the days of blessing, but also not forget the past days of being cursed. We must recall the past days when we lived in sickness, curses, and poverty! There is a very strange thing about people: they cannot suffer any sins, but they cannot enjoy any blessings. After enjoying blessings for a long time, they feel that these are all taken for granted.

Through Haggai chapter 2, I want to remind everyone again, and also remind myself: in the days of blessing, do not forget the past days of being cursed, and then run forward with faith.

Summary

The days in front of us are days of blessing. We must often remind ourselves of the past days of being cursed. This is not a joke! Completely destroy the worldly logical system in our hearts, and rebuild a logical system that is wholly归耶和华为圣, and build a logical system that makes God's treasures.

I just want to be God's treasure, this is my ambition, I just want to build God's glorious church, this is my dream. My core interests are unshakable, and no one can deprive us of this blessing! Even if we suffer a little sin and pay a little price, it is also paying a price for my God. What a wonderful choice this is!

We will talk about it here. May God bless everyone!