Ultimately in the sum of life, what matters will not be the choices that you have made, but the choice that Jesus made.
Sermon Title: HOPE FOR THE CHOSEN
Sermon Text: HAGGAI 2:20-23 NIV
Sermon Series: HAGGAI: THE TIME IS NOW
By: PTR NIC SY
Sermon Notes:
HAGGAI 2:20-23 NIV
20 The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month:
21 “Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth.
22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
23 ‘On that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”
LABELS
Zerubbabel | Heb: זְרֻבָּבֶל
“begotten in Babylon”
2 KINGS 24:8-9 NIV
8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem.
9 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father had done.
EZRA 4:4-5 NIV
4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.
5 They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.
MATTHEW 6:16-18 NIV
18 so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
GOD’S PROVIDENCE
Nothing is certain in our ever-changing world.
ECCLESIASTES 9:11-12 NIV
11 I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.
12 Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.
ISAIAH 14:24 NIV
24 The LORD Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.”
God moves in a mysterious way
William Cowper, Light Shining out of Darkness
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread,
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
MATTHEW 10:29-31 NIV
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
God’s efforts are strongest when our efforts are useless.
GOD’S PURPOSE
HAGGAI 2:23 NIV
23 ‘On that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”
JEREMIAH 22:24 NIV
24 “As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off.”
JEREMIAH 22:30 NIV
30 This is what the LORD says: “Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah.”
MATTHEW 1:12 NIV
12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
LUKE 1:32-33 NIV
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
1 PETER 2:9 NIV
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Behind our believing, behind our coming to Jesus, is the grace of God.
Ultimately in the sum of life, what matters will not be the choices that you have made, but the choice that Jesus made.