Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?
- the Lord Almighty through the prophet Haggai (NLT)

A couple of years ago while raising a young family in Alaska, I found myself reading a pamphlet on finances and poverty that cited Haggai.  I pulled out the Book and opened to Haggai.  The Lord made His Word in Haggai come alive to me that night.  The condensed version of Haggai’s message is simply “Build my house, and I’ll build yours.”  Hundreds of years after Haggai was written, Jesus said nearly the same thing: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things (referring to clothes, food, and drink) will be given to you as well.” 

A little over a year later, after leaving Alaska in search of a remedy to a family health issue, a warmer coastal climate, and like-minded organic fellowship, I found myself in Oregon unemployed despite all my efforts to provide for my family.  Then some time later, God came through in dramatic fashion with a job offer which enabled me to once again provide for my family upon return to Alaska. 

As I look across the nation at the lives of some of my closest friends from years past and present, I see similarities with my own experience in Oregon.  I see a professor and department chair at a Christian college in Iowa who will be laid off this May, a communications professor who is employed temporarily at a Christian college in Oregon for 75% pay but works 40 hours or more per week, a Wycliffe Bible translator who is now living in South Carolina after returning to the U.S. for family health reasons who has seen his support dwindle to the point where he has contemplated seeking other employment, and a consultant in Virginia who was recently laid off.   

All of these friends are Jesus-followers and all have had to deal with issues of employment and/or finances recently, just like me.  Something is going on.  You might say – “It’s the economy, stupid.”  And you’d be right of course.  But my question is “Does God have anything to do with all this?”  Or in the words of my consultant friend, “What is Jesus doing?”  If He does have something to do with all of this, we need to know so we can cooperate with Him in His plans. 

As you might have already guessed, I think He is up to something across America.  That night a couple of years ago, God spoke to me directly through Haggai and made His ancient prophecy come alive.  Perhaps Haggai’s message is also a timely message to the American church in these uncertain times.  In the passages below, I attempt to apply Haggai’s message to the current state of affairs in the American church.  Don’t take my word for it.  Read Haggai yourself – the whole two chapters - and decide for yourself if the message of Haggai is applicable to us. 

SCENE I

God (speaking to His followers in our nation):

You have said it’s not time to build My house.  Instead, you are building your own houses, doing additions, buying flat-panel TVs and boats on credit, and drinking Starbuck’s lattes.  But you have neglected building My house (the church).  I don’t mean you have neglected building church buildings and organizations.  You have certainly not neglected that.  But you have neglected building My people.  I want a bigger house, just like you do.  But my house is made of people, and I have architectural plans for a gigantic addition – a harvest of people.  Is it right for you to spend all your energy on yourselves, your families, and your material stuff while neglecting the discipling of the lost and broken, the young and the feeble?

God continues: 

Think about what has been happening.  You have built businesses and worked long hours, but you are still broke. You eat, but never have enough.  You drink, but never have your fill. You buy name-brand clothing, but still you want more.  You earn lots of money, but you put it in a wallet with big holes.  You work, work, work.  Where does all your money go? 

Think about what you have been doing.  I want you to build My people.  I want you to go out to the marketplace - to banks, courtrooms, schools, malls, homeless shelters, bridges, treatment centers, jails, hospitals, city corners, department stores, and corporate offices.  I want you to gather the lost in those places.  I want you to bring them to Me so that I can build them together with you as a part of My dream-house.  You expected much; but see, it turned out to be little.  What you brought home I blew away.  Why?  Because My house lies in ruins while you are each busy with your own house.  Because of this, banks are failing and prices are rising.  I called for the recession across this nation.  I am bigger than the banking industry, the auto industry, and the housing industry.  I let these industries falter.  I have been trying to tell you that you should be building My house. 

SCENE II

Then the leaders of the American church and believers across the nation obeyed the voice of their God. 

God (speaking to the prophets in our country):  Tell my followers in your nation, “I am with you.” 

The Lord stirred up the spirit of the leaders in our nation.  And all the believers in our nation came together and began building God’s house by discipling others. 

APPLICATION

If the church is God’s House in this age, and His church is made of people, then it only follows that the way we build His House is by building His people - discipling.  Of course, He is the one who builds His church.  But His Spirit lives in us, and desires to work through us.  We need only ask Him what He is doing and join Him in the building process. 

Since my teenage years, I have loved the book of Acts.  In the past, I viewed it as a defense and description of the work of the Spirit.  But after falling “accidentally” into organic meetings with other graduate students at Regent University in our apartment complex while in law school, my wife and I were “ruined” for life by the experience of active participation by many and of the presence of God in our gatherings.  After graduating from law school and moving to bush Alaska where my wife and I experienced a degree of isolation, I dug into books by Gene Edwards, Frank Viola, Rick Joyner, and Graham Cooke.  These books drove me deeper into Acts itself as well as many of the epistles in the New Testament.  It was then that I realized that Acts was not only about the signs and wonders of the Spirit but also about church government – about church-planting and kingdom expansion. 

So when it comes to kingdom expansion and the building of God’s church, I like to look to Acts 2 as a blueprint because the disciple-making that happens there is no less than amazing. 

One cannot help but see God’s stamp of approval.

In Acts 2, we see the preaching of repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We see Jesus-followers devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer.  We see Jesus-followers spending time together and sharing their stuff.  We see Jesus-followers selling their possessions and giving to anyone in need.  We see them meeting together in religious places and in homes.  We see them breaking bread in homes and eating together with happy hearts.  We see them praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.  And during this or maybe because of it, we see the Lord building His house – adding to their number daily those who were turning to Him and obeying Him.