𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Tell us about a time you stained or ruined something permanently.
• Have you ever moved homes? Tell us about a funny or memorable experience during that time.
• What is one thing that you had to spend a lot of time on before you could see results?


𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
“𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘯. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺. 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘭, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋.” 𝗛𝗔𝗚𝗚𝗔𝗜 𝟮:𝟭𝟱–𝟭𝟳

(Read also 𝗛𝗔𝗚𝗚𝗔𝗜 𝟮:𝟭𝟬–𝟭𝟰, 𝟭𝟴–𝟭𝟵.)

God’s people had changed their ways, obeyed God, and began to build His temple rather than prioritizing their own houses. And yet we learn from God’s words through Haggai that though they had obeyed Him externally, their hearts were not fully turned to Him. That’s why, even six months into the building of the new temple, the fruit of their labor was still falling short. God called their attention once more so that they would turn their hearts to Him. Today, we will learn about the kind of obedience God desires from His people.

𝟭. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.
“‘𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺?’” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘕𝘰.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘪 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯?” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦, 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯.” 𝗛𝗔𝗚𝗚𝗔𝗜 𝟮:𝟭𝟮–𝟭𝟰

Haggai asked the religious leaders about God’s law given through Moses. They confirmed—holy items will not make other things holy, but unclean things will make anything they touch unclean. The offering of unclean people is unclean; therefore, because God’s people were only obeying God externally, even the rebuilding of the temple was unclean. Sometimes we do things for God out of habit or religious duty, but our hearts are far from Him. But God is not looking for our outward obedience. Recall a time when you obeyed God only externally. How did you realize the error of your ways?

𝟮. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗶𝗺.
“𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘭, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋.” 𝗛𝗔𝗚𝗚𝗔𝗜 𝟮:𝟭𝟳

When we obey Him, God is looking at our hearts, not just our actions. The way parents discipline their children to mold them and form them, God disciplines His people. He knows exactly what we need, even when it’s painful, so that we can learn His ways and realize how much He loves us. What are some moments in your life where it was through difficult times that God caught your attention once again? What did you learn from those moments?

𝟯. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.
“𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺-𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩. 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋’𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳: 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘯? 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝗛𝗔𝗚𝗚𝗔𝗜 𝟮:𝟭𝟴–𝟭𝟵

God had caused the fruit of His people’s labor to dwindle so that they would search for Him and find Him. Then He told them to take note as He turned their fortunes around on the day the foundation of His temple was laid. He made it clear that it was He who was causing their seed to produce bountiful harvests. It’s not how hard we work that brings in profits; it’s God who gives us the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18), and He can bless the work of our hands. What are some lessons you can glean from Deuteronomy 8:18 on work and earning?
 

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• What are some things you do that are only outwardly obedient to God? Ask Him for forgiveness for these and pray for His transforming power to renew your heart.
• God calls our attention because He wants us to draw near to Him. If you have not yet had an encounter with God that revealed His great love to you, would you like to pray to experience this today?
• Ask God to draw you back to Himself today and every time you somehow lose your way. Pray that you would walk in step with His Spirit and hear His voice, being aware of areas in your life where you need His transforming power.


𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God that He cares for us so much that He will draw our attention back to Him. Thank Him for His promise to bless the work of our hands as we obey Him.
• Ask God for the grace to obey Him wholeheartedly. Pray that you will never take God and His blessings for granted.
• Claim God’s promises for your family, community, and nation, that people will turn to Him wholeheartedly and come to know Him personally.