Haggai 2:1-5

The word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 2 “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,
3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How
does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?
4 But now 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.
5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt.
And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’
 Overcoming
Discouragement
The causes of discouragement
1. The Things We Remember
‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you
now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?
Ezra 3:11-12
And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of
the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the older priests and Levites and
family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the
foundation of this temple being laid,
These people looked back, and they remembered the past. Remembering the past
is not always a bad thing, but they chose to live in the past
• Memory is a good thing if you remember the right things.
• When we hold so tenaciously to the past that we refuse to serve God in the present,
we are remembering the wrong things!
• The purpose of memory is to remember the lessons of the past and learn from it.
2. The Things We Forget
This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit
remains among you. Do not fear
• God tells them that He is still there! He says, “My Spirit remaineth among
you.” God said, “I am still here, just like I have always been!” Think about
what the Lord is telling them. He is saying, “Abraham is gone. Moses is gone.
David is gone. Solomon is gone. The first Temple is gone. But, I am still here!
Fear not!” / often when we are discourage we are so focus ont the
situation that we forgot who God is.
• It wasn't about what they used to have, it was, and always had been, about
the God Who dwelled in the Temple!
• Our primary concern is that we remember what life is really about! It is
about Him and His glory. As long as we keep our eyes fixed in His direction,
we will be fine,
3. The Comparisons We Make
How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?
God is asking the older people to their motives of their mind.
• If we are not careful, we too will get caught up in the comparison game. When
we do, it can be easy to get disappointed.
• Comparisons are always foolish, but they can be especially harmful when we are
constantly disappointed with the outcome of our comparisons, and we will be!
• Comparisons are always foolish, but they can be especially harmful when we are
constantly disappointed with the outcome of our comparisons, and we will be!
• If we are not careful we can be so against everything that is new and different,
that we end up discouraging others in their walk with God. We can kill their
enthusiasm for the work of the Lord by being negative towards anything that
isn't the same as it was
Gods way of Encouragement
But now 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.
5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my
Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’
Be Strong in the Lord.
• Gods approval for them is not on the task but on their will to continue the
work of God.
For God is with you
• As long as thy continue in obedience God is promise to be with them
Do not fear
• If God is for us who can be against us / seek approval from God rather than
man.
We are often discourage
• When we start looking on our strength and what we can accomplished
• When we start looking on ourself rather than looking to His promise and His
words
• When we look and remember the past as if it is more better than the present
Instead we must realized that the present defines the past to give us a thankful
heart.
That is why the more we know about God and trust Him the more we find
ourself strong
He promised that
He will be with us so that we must be strong and do not fear continue to grow
in the knowledge of His grace in Christ Jesus for faithful is the one who
promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us...