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March 18, 2022 8:00 am
Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ.
Notice he always make time for what's important to you always. If something is important to you. You make time for what God is saying is I don't think I get this because you have trouble making time for me but you never have trouble making time for you. You have trouble in the relationship with me, but you never have trouble giving time to your relationship with others joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word meets our world. When Keller said science may have found the cure for most evils, but has found no remedy for the worst of them all. The apathy of human beings. Apathy is a Greek word pathos, no pathos, no emotions, no passion, indifference, apathy. It sucks the life out of everything that it touches sucks the life out of individuals. It sucks the life out of relationships. It sucks the life out of companies and countries. Edmund Burke said that all that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in this world is for good people to do nothing and drying, becoming apathetic, apathy and marriage results in a fractured relationship and can even result in divorce apathy in your company can end up in bankruptcy or failure apathy even affect civilizations. The Greeks, the Romans became apathetic, and they collapsed under the weight of apathy. What I want to talk about this morning is how apathy to get can be so devastating to Christianity at large and devastating to our church and, more importantly, apathy can be devastating.
Do you and you are all prime candidates to be apathetic toward the spiritual things of God. The Bible is so concerned about this that warns us over and over again about apathy but no place in the Bible is the warning any clearer than you find in the book of Haggai to open your Bibles to the book of Haggai at the end of the Old Testament. An extremely small book 2 chapters of your pages are sticking together pull them apart. Haggai is a prophet of Israel, actually a prophet of Judah is known to students of the Bible is post-exilic is a post-exile prophet that is after Judah God and of the 70 year captivity in Babylon, and they were brought back into the land under the leadership of Zerubbabel when men like Nehemiah and Ezra, God had to sort of shake his people up and he sent to profits ones name was Haggai and the others was Zachariah, and Zachariah was one of those profits. It has or has his head in the clouds. When you read that book to be mystified by it is an incredibly prophetic book.
Haggai will be mystified at all is a nuts and bolts, no-nonsense kind of guy I would imagine right now.
The Haggai's probably hang around with James in heaven because they are very much alike, very straightforward stew very pointed and they don't mince words. See, the problem was they got back into the land and under Leah Nehemiah's leadership. They rebuilt the walls and the gates of the city and better protected themselves and the next thing on their agenda was to rebuild the temple of God, but they never really got around to it. They never really were able to get it going. In fact, 15 to 18 years had passed by the time Haggai shows up here and they still didn't get around to it and become spiritually apathetic and so he wants to confront that in the best way that he can.
His name means my feast is an extremely un-usual name in Hebrew, the name Haggai in your notice is not a lot of kids around name Haggai either delivers four messages in his time of prophecy was extremely short, and some guys like Isaiah prophesied over decades, Haggai prophesied from September to December. That was it for him and for little messages over a very short period of time, but he did exactly what God wanted him to do this first chapter.
Look at this morning is simply saying this, there are tremendous consequences we face when we become apathetic to God.
Notice verse one in the second year of Darius the king that is a Persia.
He said the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of sheltie L governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehoshaphat the high priest saying, thus says the Lord of host this people says the time has not come.
Even the type of the house of the Lord to be rebuilt. The word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, is a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate.
Firstly, I want to say this morning is this our apathy to us always seems reasonable. It always seems reasonable to an apathetic believer to be apathetic. We always have a good rationale for apathy notice and nurse case when there apathetic.
In verse two never really got around obeying God's will.
This people says the time is not come. Even the time of the house of the Lord to be rebuilt to rebuild the temple we get time. 18 years later when we get time. It's not the timing is off to do some really spiritual her, but it's not quite the right timing yet the timing will be in the future. Consumer apathetic toward God. We never really get quite around the doing as well. We are like that only see this was indicative of them or something more. They want to build the temple gave us a passion for God. They really didn't want to worship and they didn't really want to get involved in prayer and praise and adoration and communion with God. They said the temple can wait were busy.
We have a lot of stuff on our plate. We have a lot of things we need to be about in the temple can wait is not quite the right time presented to think we do that. Not quite the right time to make a worship, a priority in my life. Not quite the right time to get involved with other believers. Not quite the right time to get involved in a small group and intimately involved with other believers.
Not quite the right time to serve in some capacity asked me later. Maybe my timing would be better talk like the right time to get involved in some community service but is not quite the right time.
It is not quite the right time to ask for forgiveness is not quite the right time to grant forgiveness at the right time at the really get into the word of God on my own. Maybe later maybe when I get out of school.
Maybe a more time for that. Not quite right time to really make prayer important part of my life not quite right. Not not not yet innocent time on the thoughts in the words of apathetic Christian were apathetic.
We always talk about that.
It's never the right time, but every one of these things that I mentioned how things of God expects us to do now expects us to make worship a priority. He expects us to be involved in the lives of other Christians expects us to serve the body of Christ expects us to serve the community at large expects us to offer forgiveness expects us to ask for forgiveness expects us to be into his word. He expects us to have a prayer life expects those things from us is not a matter of timing is his will that we do it now, just as it was his will that they get involved in the temple were apathetic toward God. We never really quite get around to his will that always seems reasonable to us. Not quite the right time to do that so often many of you going through those cycles walked away from the World Wide Web and the church's church or another church spent a long time away and thing was not quite right time.
Maybe in the future I will times better is no time for apathy. Second, in verses three and four were apathetic to God, we almost always preoccupied with ourselves and the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate so there's more here than meets the eye as it will looks to me like all they did is they build their own houses they need to have a place to live together to build the temple. It's not quite that simple. When he talks about paneling their own houses. He's talking about or inferring about he saying that the what you were supposed to using the temple you actually rock could put in your own house you see the one thing about living in Jerusalem at this time was the wood used in doing anything with wood from Jerusalem would import the word affected import the wood from Lebanon and normally always imported from the great cedars of Lebanon and so the what had to be carried by cart from the coast all the way to Jerusalem. They brought the what in and in a second of the temple.
I mean it it's it's a good thing.
I've been all that, but she we have a place to live and about you but I cannot like that at Cedar look good.
My den Nesta did paneled their own games made nice with himself became too preoccupied with themselves. That's what always happens when work spiritually apathetic. See they had passion was just misdirected.
They had Papaw's.
It was all about them buttons unlike any of us does it do the same kinds of things to notice the always make time for what's important to always if something is important to you. You make time for what God is saying is I don't think I get this because you have trouble making time for me but you never have trouble making time for you. You have trouble in your relationship with me, but you never have trouble giving time to your relationship with others.
You always seem to be concerned about whether you can really support me but you don't have any trouble supporting all of your own interests and hobbies.
People always make time for what's important to us. We do the promises believers when we do that were becoming apathetic toward God from the story about a week ago that really illustrates this point.
There was a couple that from Atlanta Georgia.
This is many years ago and they were real fans of Broadway and the hotter show on Broadway was my fair Lady and boy they really want to see it. And so what they did is a set offer tickets, but they find out when they sent off the tickets will be almost a year before they can get tickets to the performance I said, well, that's okay.
I mean, this is my fair Lady so they sent off the tickets for many months passed by, the tickets came due for the time for them to go to New York to get on a plane and fly to New York get into a really first-class hotel and they go to Broadway and AC my fair Lady when they watching my fair Lady. Of course you just the thing in the small wonderful thing there in the center section 7's role in the middle right near the orchestra. It's just great man's looking around and every seed in the place is taken as it is for every performance except the seat right next to him and it simply so he sitting there wondering about that as I was on the first act, then skunk comes down to sitting there at this little time of a break or pause any he's wondering when the seat one the best seats in the house be empty to liens across the embassy to the woman sitting at the side of it and says him again.
Can you understand why the seat would be empty. Why would anybody buy a ticket to this show as hard as it is to get in the not come or send somebody else in their place, and she says well I know the story of Missy Missy belongs to me his insurance. You will have some sort of. She said this was to be my husband seen all she said to him, he died, he said to her. He said all I am so sorry to hear about that he thought about her womanly back of the seat.
He said, but I can't quite understand. He said this is such an tremendously hard seat to get why would you just give the seat to one of your friends took him so why would she said with her all the funeral home always make time for what's important to us always. That's what happens when we become apathetic. CS Lewis says, put first things first and you get second things thrown in, put second things first thing you lose both first and second things is right asking this question. What are your priorities don't answer yourself is why it's especially in church, God is my first priority that my family as somebody who knows you well just ask your spouse. Ask a child as a friend to based on what you see in my life was the priority of my life might be amazed what you hear what you think about knowing your net twilight zone. Some of your and right now you know when you're just sitting in the car stay and use are staring into infinity and your thinking. I'm assuming there's thinking going on there. When you're thinking what you think about what goes on in your head what one of the thoughts you have, what fills your thoughts up in the day when you talk about when you walk up to somebody or Flinders what's the first thing you want something you enjoy so much as much passion talking about to tell you what were your hardest. I remember when I was at Dallas seminary non-smoking. He taught preaching classes to get so upset with us because you know we just had this we almost had this cadaver thing going for Chino you know you pretty much get up in class. You see a guy in and say no open your Bibles to Matthew 415 today will be looking at Jesus as he is a prelude to the sermon on the Mount. This was written and it was just going to Dawson again. It was great. Prof. he said what is wrong with you guys. He said I was just down the hallway coming to this class and the same guys were doing that from the pulpit were talking about the Cowboys. The cowboy game the day before and he said and they got all this enthusiasm and passion. Our arms are failing. He said they got all this energy and in the come in here and preach a glass understand and stare at us and preach a sitting with the problem is guys get more passion for the Cowboys you do for God. He was right.
It was right because you're impassioned about you want to talk about what are your priorities apathetic to God to our apathy seems reasonable to us just can't get around to it right now maybe later.
And I think I for myself and have my own responsibility got my own paneling to do here to care my house here seems reasonable. Our apathy not only seems reasonable to us, but second the our apathy has consequences see in verse six he says them. You have so much, but harvest little weak but there's not enough to be satisfied to drink but there's not enough to become drunk you put on clothing, but not enough to warm yourself, and he who earns, earns wages and puts it into a purse with holes. Verse nine.
Look for much behold it comes to little when you bring it home. I blow away. Why, declares the Lord of hosts because my house which lies desolate. While each of you runs to his own house. Therefore, he says, because of you. The skies withheld.
It's doing the earth is without its produce, and I called for a drought on the land on the mountains, on the grain on the new wine on the oil and on the ground on the on what the ground produces, on men and cattle and all the labor of your hands. Apathy has consequences.
God withheld his blessings from them do it from you and for me will hold. He was trying to wake them up a bit of a national level that was drought. That's huge for them thrust as a culture we watch Wall Street was the investments, stock market, we want to know if it's crashing a knife all kinds of things are important to us.
Words like recession scare us a word like depression terrifies us, but not them bid and looked Wall Street they look to the sky in a cultural society they live or die based on the rain when there's no rain there's no prosperity, God said I'd turn to rain off that I did that and I was on a national level innocent suffering with the guilty and on a personal level. He says, notice what you have in your life.
He says you look for much but behold it comes to little when you bringing home some like your paycheck is as yet you you harvest that there's little to eat close yourself. You're never warm enough more you work behind her. You get about us treats a little differently than that is the same thing. You see, God promised Israel that if they went into the land. They were faithful God they would go into a land that flowed with milk and honey to be phenomenal national blessing for them. They were faithful to God apathetic to God because of her apathetic to God withheld the kind of blessing Jesus promised us to give us life pieces and I'll give it to you abundantly.
A life that's marred with happiness and satisfaction and joy and peace and hope. He says that's why I'm getting give you that life but I'm telling you, if you're apathetic to God not getting it right now.
You're not satisfied your life feels like it's in a spiritual drought.
Things are going as wonderfully as you would hope you find yourself despairing. See, we just seem to fall short of these kind of things. I don't think we often think that the reason for that is where apathetic to God. I want you to notice that in this whole book he doesn't tell them that their terrible idol worshipers. Israel did that at times he doesn't say there is some kind of gross immorality. Israel did that plenty of times he saying that their only problem is is that there spiritually apathetic to God and probe preoccupied with themselves because of it. Their life is not what they thought it should be, and neither will yours be that way apathetic to God withholds the blessing that there is no peace but to some fear there is no hope of despair.
There's no joy canvas Harley filling what Jesus offered us was so different than it William Ward said real happiness is more of a habit than a bowl more of an attitude than attainment is the companion of cheerfulness, not the creature of circumstances. Happiness is what overtakes us when we forget ourselves when we learn to open our eyes and optimism and close the door in the face of defeat. We went happiness when we lose our self in service to others is a say over and over again. Happiness is giving yourself away because that's God's will for you is to give yourself away to down set a happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes trying matter what's going on.
We are the people actually this is amazing were actually will be able to attract unbelievers to us because were so giddy happy they should be drawn to us because they see this overflowing joy that we have. We don't have it. I wonder for being apathetic to God or not overnight said joy is the flag that flies over the castle of our hearts, announcing the king is in residence today in great that someone sees someone you did anything mentor must be the king is in residence today in her heart is a joy is overflowing seat apathy to us seems reasonable but has tremendous consequences in our life we never get out of the life that we want what God has for us. I'm hoping that the not really depressed.
You I would leave that way the word of God never leaves that way when it is kind of depressing that our apathy seems reasonable lost almost all of us are apathetic. Apathy has its consequences in which most of us are experiencing basis on the else this chapter is wonderful.
Our apathy is curable and great our apathy is curable versus 78. Thus says the Lord. In verse seven. Consider your ways verse five now therefore, says the Lord of hosts. Consider your ways best translation, in which I can come up with.
Think about it. I think that's what you say is a look. Think about think about life. Think about you think about God. Think about it. Consider your ways.
You start curing apathy.
Consider your ways. You must repent your thinking you have to think differently. That's the trap of apathy dislikes against this. We just start singing hundred is a stop and rethink this pastor broke your heart on the radio ministry of fellowship in the world. If you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like listening to the message one more time. Remember, you can Google a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the Fellowship in the Word online at that website you will find on with today's broadcast. Also, many of our previous audio programs as well that Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help his radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting us monthly with just a one-time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is a sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible church visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC and oh LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds pastor Bill sermon you can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you're looking you can search by title.
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