You have almost survived the first month of 2022. You have also almost survived your first sermon series of 2022.

We have been talking about First Things First.

Week 1 Build an Altar first

Week 2 Build a foundation first

Week 3 Face you opposition first

And today we are going to tell you dedication comes first.  In Ezra 6 they complete and dedicate the Temple of God.

Dedication Comes First

You will never build the life you want without dedication first. Great lives don’t just happen. Great marriages, great careers, big dreams, healthy bodies, minds, and spirits don’t just happen.  Everything you desire this year requires dedication.

Israel has faced and defeated their opposition through God’s help. They are now ready to build the Temple, God’s House.  Before we talk about the complete temple I want to talk to you about the promise. This relates directly to your finished product because God’s promises extend to us.

Promise

Right in the middle of Israel’s opposition God spoke through 2 prophets. Problems do not stop the promise of God. In the middle of the problem look up and open your eyes, have faith, and open your ears, because God’s promise often shows up in the middle of the problem.

Ezra 5:1 Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.(NIV)

In the middle of your opposition, listen for the voice of God. Don’t quit coming to church. Don’t stop praying. Read your Bible!  God wants to talk to you in the middle of trouble. 

In the middle of an unfinished rebuilding project, God sent word to Israel through 2 prophets. Zechariah & Haggai. 2 of the minor prophets who spoke in major ways as Israel came out of exile.

Zechariah received visions about the importance of the temple.  He gave a message that Israel should not give up because what they are doing is important. 

He gave a message that even though we are in the day of small things…  Big things are coming.

Perhaps you know the scripture “Don’t despise the day of small things” – that scripture was about the laying of the foundation of the Temple.

Zechariah 4:10 "Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. "(These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range throughout the earth.)"(NIV)

You may be in the day of small things.. You might be in the middle of struggle… but somebody needs to hear the word of the Lord!  Somebody needs to remember His PROMISE.  What you are doing is important! Do not stop! It may be small today, but you just watch what God can do.

We serve the God who took the small shepherd boy and defeated a giant.We serve the God who took small armies and wiped-out enemies who could not be numbered.We serve the God who took 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and fed 5000.We serve the God who takes the small and does huge miraculous wonders.

Haggai brought a message that harmonized with Zechariah’s message of small things.

Haggai 2:9 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."(NIV)

This is an amazing promise.  This is also a great example of a dual prophecy.  Let me teach for a minute..

The former house… the older house is – Solomon’s Temple.  The Temple that Solomon built.  It was torn down by Babylon.  The prophecy is that the (present) latter house… (called Zerubbabel’s temple) the house that will be built is going to be more glorious than Solomon’s temple.

It is a dual prophecy because it speaks to the immediate and then it also speaks to what is to come. The prophecy of Haggai 2:9 speaks to the immediate… the people who are trying to build the temple in Jerusalem… but it also spoke to what would come later and still speaks to us today.  Here is how..