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Sermon #8 Haggai Sermons
Title: The Desire of All Nations
Text: Haggai 2:6-7 Date: Sunday Evening — July 13, 2008 Tape: Haggai #8 Readings: Bob Duff and James Jordan Introduction:
We know that all men since the sin and fall of our father Adam are born sinners. We go astray from the womb speaking lies. Every sinner’s heart is enmity against God. And there is none that seeketh after God. Yet, in our text the Lord Jesus Christ is called “the desire of all nations.” How can that be? How can the Son of God be both hated by all and desired by all? Let’s read Haggai 2:1-9 together.
(Haggai 2:1-9) “In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying, (2) Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, (3) Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? (4) Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: (5) According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. (6) For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; (7) And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. (8) The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. (9) The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.”
Haggai was encouraging the Zerubbabel, Joshua and the children of Israel to go forward in the work of rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem. Yet, all are agreed that his words here were prophetic, pointing to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. · Some say that he spoke of the Lord’s incarnation and his first coming in humiliation to accomplish our redemption. · Others tell us that Haggai’s words are speaking of the Lord’s second coming, at the end of all time. · And others say that Haggai is talking about the Savior’s spiritual coming to his elect is the saving operations of his grace. And I say, “That’s right.” Haggai words are best understood and most properly understood when we apply them to the coming of Christ in his first advent, the coming of Christ in his second advent, and the coming of Christ in his saving power.
Let’s focus our attention tonight on verses 6 and 7.
(Haggai 2:6-7) “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; (7) And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.”
Proposition: Twice the prophet tells us that Christ’s coming is preceded by a shaking, a shaking of heaven, earth and sea, a shaking of all things natural. — I take that to mean that nothing is ever the same after Christ comes. — Everything is forever changed by the appearance of the great God and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
A Great Shaking
First, the prophet speaks of a great shaking that always attends our Savior’s coming. Wherever Christ is found, a shaking precedes him. Wherever he comes, he is preceded by a great shaking. The shaking prepares the way before him and is prophetic, telling us that the Son of God is at hand. · When the Lord God appeared at Sinai, heaven and earth shook before him (Exodus 19:16-19; Psalm 68:7, 8).
(Exodus 19:16-19) “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. (17) And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. (18) And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. (19) And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.”
(Psalms 68:7-8) “O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah: (8) The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.”
· When the Son of God appeared on earth, there was a shaking of things in heaven and things in the earth (Joel 2:30-31; Luke 2:8-14; Acts 2:19-20).
(Joel 2:30-31) “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.”
(Luke 2:8-14) “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. (9) And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. (10) And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (12) And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. (13) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, (14) Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
(Acts 2:19-20) “And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: (20) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:”
· And when our Lord comes again in the glory of his second advent, there will be a great shaking in heaven, in the earth, in the sea, and in all deep places (Isaiah 24:19-20; 2 Peter 3:10).
(Isaiah 24:19-20) “The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. (20) The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.”
(2 Peter 3:10) “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
This shaking is the removing of those things that are shaken, so that those things that cannot be shaken may remain (Hebrews 12:27). In other words, when Christ steps in something is removed. — Every divine interposition is the complete abrogation of that which Christ replaces. · When he came to fulfill the old covenant and bring in the new, the old was taken away. · When he came to fulfill the law, the law was finished. · When he came to be made sin, sin was taken away. · When the Lord Jesus came to die, death was taken away. · When he was made a curse for us, the curse was taken away!
Particularly, when the Son of God comes in saving grace, when he comes into the heart of a poor sinner, oh what a shaking he makes, as he lays judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet, and sweeps away every refuge of lies! · He strips that he may clothe. · He abases that he may lift. · He slays that he may make alive. · He disturbs that he may give peace. · He condemns that he may justify. · He defiles that he may cleanse.
The Desire of All
First, the Lord God declares that he will shake all nations. And, when he shakes the nations, he says, “the desire of all nations shall come.” This is, as we have seen, is a prophecy of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
How can it be said that the Lord Jesus Christ is all nations, when we know, because the Scriptures tell us, that none desire him except he create in them a desire for him? It is not that the nations of the world desire Christ, but that which is found only in Christ. Christ is the desire of all men, though none know it until he is revealed in them, in the sense that he alone can fulfill that which every man craves in his heart.
Here are seven things every human being craves, seven things that all men have always craved, throughout history, in every nook and cranny of the earth. Here are seven things you want, seven things without which you can never be satisfied. And they are all found in Christ. Therefore, when Haggai speaks of Christ coming to men, he calls him “the desire of all nations.”
1. A Visible God
Man has always wanted a visible God. The fact that man has always attempted to make some visible, physical representation of God is sufficient to prove my point. There is no place in the world and no time in history where fallen man has not shown a craving for a God he could see and touch. — Christ is that. He is God manifest in the flesh, a visible God!
(1 Timothy 3:16) “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
(John 1:14) “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
(1 John 1:1-3) “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (2) (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) (3) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
2. A Satisfactory Atonement
All human beings have in them a conscience that craves and demands a satisfactory atonement for sin. All men have an inward, inescapable sense of guilt and impurity and a desperate need for expiation. There is, deep in the heart of every man, an awareness of an offended God whose justice demands satisfaction. — Christ is that justice satisfying atonement and propitiation.
(2 Corinthians 5:21) “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
(Galatians 3:13) “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”
(1 Peter 2:24) “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
(1 Peter 3:18) “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”
(1 John 1:7) “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
(1 John 2:1-2) “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (2) And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
(1 John 4:9-10) “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. (10) Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
(Isaiah 53:8-11) “He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. (9) And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. (10) Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”
3. An Accessible God
All men and women in all the nations of the world desire an accessible God, a God speaks and is spoken to, a God who makes himself known and to whom we can make ourselves known, a God with whom we can have sweet communion. — That is our Christ! He is the Word! He is of God made unto us Wisdom! · He called Abraham his friend, and revealed his will to Abraham. · Moses spoke face to face with God. · Manoah and his wife saw him up close and personally. · He makes known his will to us, as his friends.
(John 15:15) “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”
4. A Divine Mediator
All men want a Mediator, a Daysman to stand between them and God, a Surety to undertake their cause. — That is what Christ is for us!
(1 Timothy 2:5) “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
5. A Sure Savior
All people desire a Savior, a sure Deliverer, one who can and will save, one upon whose arm they can confidently lean. — That is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is a sure Savior, and he bids you come to him, trust him, and cast all your care upon him.
(Romans 11:26-27) “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: (27) For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”
(Matthew 11:28-30) “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(1 Peter 5:6-7) “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (7) Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
6. An Accepted Substitute
All the nations crave and desire an accepted Substitute. Look at history. Read the histories of barbaric heathen. Man has always sought a suitable substitute, one that would be accepted by God and satisfy his own conscience. — Behold the Christ of God!
(Job 33:24) “Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.”
7. An Assured Immortality
All nations desire an assured immortality. — Christ alone brought immortality to light and gives eternal life to men.
(John 3:14-17) “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
(John 3:36) “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
(Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
(2 Corinthians 4:18) “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
(2 Corinthians 5:1-11) “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: (3) If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. (4) For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. (5) Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. (6) Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (7) (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) (8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (9) Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. (10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (11) Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”
“All my life long I had panted For a draught from some cool spring, That I hoped would quench the burning Of the thirst I felt within.
Feeding on the husks around me, Till my strength was almost gone, Longed my soul for something better, Only still to hunger on.
Poor I was, and sought for riches, Something that would satisfy, But the dust I gathered round me Only mocked my soul’s sad cry.
Well of water, ever springing, Bread of life, so rich and free, Untold wealth that never faileth, My Redeemer is to me.
Hallelujah! I have found Him Whom my soul so long has craved! Jesus satisfies my longings; Through His life I now am saved.”
Amen.
Don Fortner
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