Consider Your Ways

Haggai 1:3-11  Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,  (4)  Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?  (5)  Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.  (6)  Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.  (7)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.  (8)  Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.  (9)  Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.  (10)  Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.  (11)  And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

INTRODUCTION:           Haggai was appalled because his people failed to consider their ways.  The Lord had delivered them out of bondage but Israel did not change their ways.   So the prophet cried out, “Consider Your Ways!”

    

Let us look at some of those in the Bible who failed to consider their ways:

I.            LOT FAILED TO CONSIDER THE SHAME OF SODOM.

(2 Peter 2:7-8)  And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

              A.           Pitched Toward Sodom

                             1.           He looked at sin

                             2.           He was aware of the sin

                             3.           He lived with it

              B.           He Sat At The Gate

                             1.           He was a city councilman

              C.           Failed To Consider The Shame of Sodom

                             1.           He knew sodomy was wrong

                             2.           He knew that homosexuality and

                                           i.            Prostitution was an abomination to

                                                          God.

II.           SAMSON FAILED TO CONSIDER DELILAH.

(Judges 16:20)  And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.

                       

              A.           His Strength Was The Spirit

                             1.           Samson was unique

                             2.           He had the Holy Spirit

                             3.           That is where he got his strength

              B.           He Got His Hair Cut In The Devils Chair

                             1.           Delilah was the devil’s barber

                             2.           The Holy Spirit left him

                             3.           Then He Was As Other Men

                                           i.            Then he got his strength back

                                                                        ii.           He killed more in his death than in life

III.         DAVID FAILED TO CONSIDER THE SWORD OF             JUDGMENT.

              A.           David Was A Man After God’s Heart.

                             1.           God loved David

                             2.           David was generally obedient

                             3.           David sinned more than once

              B.           David Was Promised A Great Throne

                             1.           God promised him and eternal throne, via

                                           Jesus Christ

              C.           The Sword Of Judgment Fell

(2 Samuel 24:14)  And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

                             1.           David knew not to count the people of Israel.

                             2.           He knew better, but he did it anyway.

IV.         BELSHAZZAR FAILED TO CONSIDER THE SCALES OF            

              GOD.

(Daniel 5:27)  TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

              A.           He Was A Mighty King

                             1.           His father Nebuchadnezzar left him the world.

                             2.           Belshazzar inherited the kingdom

              B.           He Was Self Centered

                             1.           Prideful like his father

                             2.           His father Nebuchadnezzar got saved.

                             3.           He considered his pride, and then accepted

                                           God as his Lord.

V.           PETER FAILED TO CONSIDER THE TEARS OF DENIAL

(Matthew 26:75)  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

              A.           Peter Walked Off.

                             1.           He walked away

                             2.           He was dismayed

                             3.           He didn’t understand

                            

              B.           He Warmed By The Wrong Fire

                             1.           For the Lord the right fire

                             2.           He Denied the Lord

                                           i.            Not once but 3 times

                             3.           He shed bitter tears

VI.         JUDAS FAILED TO CONSIDER THE STING OF SILVER.

(Matthew 27:5)  And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

              A.           Judas was One Of Twelve

                             1.           Chosen of God

                             2.           Personally selected

              B.           Judas Sold Jesus For Thirty Pieces of Silver.

                             1.           The price of a slave

                                           i.            Not a good slave

                                           ii.           A poor working slave

              C.           Have you failed to realize the weight of money?

                             1.           Consider that if it isn’t being used for God

                                           i.            It is worth nothing. 

CONCLUSION:               What good is money when you are dead?

Have you considered that money:

Is like the scissors Samson dealt with,

              Is like the judgment that David had to deal with,

                             Is like the pride that Belshazzar had to deal with,

It weighs us down.             You might say no it keeps me comfortable, isn’t it God who is to keep you comfortable?

Consider your ways.

If the Lord is working on your heart come down when the invitation starts or come now to this altar and consider your ways, get right with God through His Son Jesus Christ. 

Ask for the forgiveness you do not deserve.  See what God’s mercy can do.

If you don’t know the Lord Jesus, come now and let me show you how to get to know Him.

Tonight may be too late.

Have you failed to consider the shame of your life style might be causing God?  You may not be doing anything wrong, just allowing things to be, sodomy, abortion, alcohol use, drug use, pornography.  You may not be involved at all, however we stand at the gate and look the other way.

We seem to forget to consider that, He our God our Lord and Saviour is all knowing, all seeing, and all hearing.  (Omnipresent)

Have you failed to consider what those scissors are doing to your life?

You say well Brother John the Holy Spirit isn’t going to leave me as he did with Samson.  And that is right, but what about all those things you have to do, that keep you away from serving God.  Have you considered all the tasks that drain your strength, so you cannot serve God?

Have you failed to consider the sword of judgment in your life? 

Just like David we do things that that we know are wrong, and we know God will be displeased with us for doing it, and he just might judge us here on earth. 

I am NOT saying that anytime something goes wrong in your life that it is the judgment of God. 

I don’t know, only the defendant knows, but have you considered that possibility?

Have you failed to consider the scales of God?

Have you considered what your pride may be doing to your walk with the Lord?

You see Belshazzar failed to consider his pride, failed to humble himself before God. 

Sometimes our pride will cause an early call from the Lord, because we will not consider the abomination that our pride is to the Lord.

Have you considered, by not witnessing for the Lord about the Lord we are denying Him?

One day we will remember the prophecy that is applied to each of us,

              “Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.”

We will hear the cock crow, how bitter will those tears be?

http://www.fundamentalbaptistchurchwellington.org/index.html