Address—D. Bilisoly
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
In Haggai chapter 2, there's one verse I want you to notice.
Verse eight of Haggai chapter 2, the silver is mine and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. It almost seems as though it's out of its context. We noticed verses like that in parts of the Word of God that would almost seem as though they were out of their context.
There's a verse like that in the middle of Luke 16, but here, what is it all about? Well, to my heart it says this, that God knows all about values. We don't need to tell Him about values. They had lost heart in the value of a present testimony as we have brought out here in Haggai. But we noticed in chapter one that the Lord tells them.
To go up to the mountain in verse eight of chapter one.
And bring wood and build the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. He knows the value of the present testimony, and He wanted them to understand that it was that which would glorify Him and that which He could take pleasure in. And we need to realize that ourselves. Brother, I'm sure that there's many here that will be going back to small gatherings. Now you know when we're together.
In such a large number as this, we can enjoy the singing of the hymns, we can think a little more of the triumph of what we had in Exodus 15. But then we have to go back to the little assembly, so few and in number. But the Lord is just as much there as he is here. That's the wonderful thing to consider.
And he's just as much the chief musician as we had before us.
Little assembly as he is with such a vast number here. Oh, we should take courage at this, and remember values according to his mind. The silver is his, the gold is mine, saith the Lord. He knows all about the present value of a testimony. But now we notice as these two sing this song.
They certainly give the Lord the credit. Then sang Deborah and Barrack, the son of Abinom on that day, saying, Praise ye.
The Lord, Praise ye the Lord. Oh, we can always praise the Lord, just as we had before us. We can always rejoice in the Lord. We may not always be able to rejoice in circumstances, but the Lord is the same. He never changes. We're the changing ones so that we can always rejoice in the Lord. Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel when the people willingly offer themselves. And I think it's good to notice.
How the attention is drawn to the willing heartedness of the people. Oh beloved, here this afternoon, do we value the testimony? Is there a willingness of heart to continue on? Oh you dear young people, do you value the heritage that you have and the testimony that by the grace of God you have been exposed to? Are you truly gathered to His precious name?
So it says, Hear, O ye kings, give ear, O ye Princess, I even I will sing.
Unto the Lord I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel. Well, we would like to see more of a corporate response, but we can certainly we can sing as individuals and surely that praise and adoration must arise from our hearts as individuals. And then certainly there will be the collective warship. And we noticed too, as we read on down through.
That.
They admit to the failure in Israel.
There's statements here that indicate failure. They don't hide the fact, and it's good to own up to the fact that there is failure. It is a weak state of things. And if we're a testimony to anything, certainly we are a testimony to the ruin that has come into the Christian testimony. Why is it that more are not gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus? Oh, how active the enemy has been.
In robbing Saints of that precious truth, so few truly gathered to His name.
But we see that there was a turning aside in verse six. It says the highways were unoccupied and the travelers walked through byways introducing other things other than the true pathway, so to speak, that which is according to the word of God. And it says the inhabitants of the villages ceased. They ceased in Israel, that is, there was not a holding to the.
00:05:23
There was a scarcity, so to speak, and we see that God raises up this dear woman of God. Oh, I think that is so important to notice how that God would raise up a faithful one like this to stir up others that they might be faithful unto God, unto the Lord. And then in verse eight it says they chose new gods. Well, certainly we have that this afternoon. And how these things.
That are brought in certainly would bring upon us the judgment of God, innovations in regard to the truth and all new gods. Then was war in the gates? Was there a shield or a spear scene among 40,000 in Israel? They were just not ready, not equipped for the battle. There was other things that came in that were making demands upon them, the ease and comfort of this life.
I really believe that what we have in here exposes our hearts.
And so we see.
Verse 10.
Well, let's notice verse nine. My heart is toward the governors of Israel that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless you the Lord. Oh yes, the Lord will have leadership. He will raise up those who with exercise of heart will seek to carry on the testimony and will seek to be a help to the people of God.
How that should exercise the hearts of each one of us, that we might be of some service to the Saints of God. Oh, what a worthy thing to do for the Lord in a day of weakness especially. And we see how the Word of God draws attention to this willingness of heart. Oh, the Lord will have leadership in the assembly, and He values the willingness of heart. Bless you the Lord. Don't we bless the Lord when we see that exercise?
Carry on, the Lord will raise up, He'll have a testimony, and through His faithfulness it will be maintained. But oh, then we have what we have in verse 10. We have those that would seek the easier path, that would seek out the comfort of this life, the luxuries, and perhaps there would not be the exercise of heart in regard to the testimony.
And.
There's another point here that I almost dread to draw attention to, and that's verse 14.
It says out of Ephraim was their root against them.
Of them against Amalek. But that's not too good a reading. The other reading says something to the effect that out of Ephraim there was a root in Amalek. Something to that effect. In other words, there seems to have been.
Some link or connection with Amlik? Well, if you follow Amlek in the scriptures you can see that certainly Amalek is the flesh as motivated and activated by Satan. And we see with this tribe how there was more of a tendency towards pride.
And we see what happened, even to the point of a civil war, because of a state of soul.
And all of this is brought to the conscience of the people. And we notice too, that there were those that were of a divided mind. Verse 15. Oh, how ruinous that is to the testimony, when there are those divisions of thoughts, when there's not the oneness of mind, the flowing together, so to speak, according to the mind and the will of God.
And then we see in verse 16.
We see that there's that greater interest in our own things, so to speak, than what really pertains to the Lord's glory. I think we need to be exercised in our hearts about things like that. And they don't want to come to the battle, so to speak, to be identified as they should in the testimony, verse 17.
00:10:03
But we noticed in verse 18.
How quickly those that are faithful are recognized the Lord values.
Those that are faithful and he draws attention to this fact well.
We noticed too, in verse 24 that the Lord singles out in a special way those that are peculiarly faithful in His service and desire His glory, and they can go on in faithfulness for the Lord without stepping outside of their proper sphere. I think we learned that lesson from jail. She kept her place, yet in faithfulness did she seek to serve the Lord.
Well, brother and I just mentioned this and I feel that we have certainly a lesson here.
Of the value of a present testimony, weak as it may be, still is that which God values. May we be encouraged to go on to His glory.