You Build My House, and I will build yours.

Hag 1:2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the LORD to be rebuilt.”‘”
Hag 1:3 Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
Hag 1:4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house (6)lies desolate?”
Hag 1:5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways!
Hag 1:6 “You have (7)sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”
Hag 1:7 Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways!
Hag 1:8 “Go up to the mountains, bring wood and (8)rebuild the temple, that I may be (9)pleased with it and be (10)glorified,” says the LORD.
Hag 1:9 “(11)You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I (12)blow it away Why?” declares the LORD of hosts, “Because of My house which (13)lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.

This fits right in with:

Mat 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and (1Q)all these things will be added to you.

There are a lot of things about the Kingdom of God that are in our vision, our hearts, and in our hopes, but that
seem like they will never come to pass. Or, perhaps, we believe we might have misuderstood that Word from
the Lord that was told to us about the great exploits that He desires to do through our lives. We might even
scrug off those visions we had as just ‘visions of grandure’ and come to the conclusion that life is real, and figure
we might need to get a grasp on our lives and stop putting our heads in the clouds and get on with living.
Thus, be begin to build our own houses.

Well.. I might suggest that we re-evaluate all this. Keep your faith and press on to the high call.

Shalom

Shared from Pastor Tan
www.eaglevision.com.my

Doesn’t that look like Leviticus chapter l, 2 and 3? There are some things that are sweet to the Lord. Doesn’t it show we can please God? We can be the apples of God’s eye. God is not a person who practice favoritism in a sense that He says everybody can reach it if they obey my law. If God was to say I just give favor without principles, that is favoritism. Now what is favoritism? Favoritism is favor given without principles and laws. There must be principles and laws that govern our actions in our life. When we dispense favor on whom so ever without principles and without the laws, it will frustrate other people because they say I don’t know how to get the same thing. Secondly favoritism is favor given based on the giver. But God’s grace and favor that He gives and makes one an apple of His eye is based on the receiver and what the receiver does. That means that everybody if they would do what God wants to be done will become the apple of His eyes. Did Abel become the apple of God’s eyes? Yes. Did Cain become the apple of God’s eyes? No. But did God tell Cain how he could do it? Yes. He says, “Cain if you do well I will also give you favor and grace.” Does God favor some people above others? Yes. Is God practicing favoritism? No. On 2 grounds. No. 1 His favor is based on principles and laws. No. 2 it is based on the receiver not on the giver. It says here Noah found grace. Being born again is not the end of the story but a continual walk with God can win favor with God.

You know why the Body of Christ is not motivated to spend time with God? Because we thought that all our blessings are in Christ and therefore we don’t have to do anything. So it produces complacent Christians. It produces Christians without zeal to seek God. But when you understand that fact that there is a special grace we realize that getting up early in the morning is pleasing God is not based on works it’s based on obedience.

Christians have fallen to the other extreme and say, “God is not going to bless you because of how much you pray, not how much you read the bible, not how much your spend time with God. Everything is based on grace, grace in Christ. Not by our works of righteousness but by His works.” That is only one side of the coin.

The other side of the coin is that unless we obey all the principles and laws of Christ we don’t receive all the fullness of Christ. You say, “Do you mean that is by works and not by grace?” Salvation is by grace and reward is by works. We are all saved by grace. His rewards are based on works. Let’s be motivated to work hard for that. Coming into heaven and salvation is free by God’s grace there is no doubt about it. We are saved not because of what we have done.

But lets see the other side of the coin. Rewards are based on obedience to God, on our walk and our works in God. The key is to learn how to work in the Spirit and not work in the flesh.

If we have the wrong concept of Christianity we think in Christ everything is given to me. You could just lie down in bed from 8 pm to 9 am every morning and every night from 9 pm to 8 am and think that you will receive your reward. “Bless me, Lord I am going to lie down on this pillow and You are going to bless me not because of what I have done. Jesus has done on the cross for me. In Christ I am being made rich in Him. I am a multi-millionaire in Christ. In Christ I am healed by His stripes I am healed. In Christ I am blessed. I have everything in life.” You could just lie down and roll on your mattress and say that Jesus did all the works for you. That is not true. The only way we receive is based on works in God.

http://www.eaglevision.com/my