WHY ARE WE LEAVING THE HOUSE OF GOD IN RUINS?
Reading through the book of Haggai, where God sent Prophet Haggai to the people of Judah, you can see how bitter God was about the people neglecting His House (Temple) and focusing on their personal lives, Then it hit me, are we like the people of Judah, have we neglected the House of God, while trying to build every other thing? Let’s take a look at the people of Judah and relate it to our lives.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’ ”Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” Haggai 1:2–4
From the verses above you can see God stressing the fact that the people of Judah were all about their personal lives, trying to build and beautify their personal lives yet abandoning the house of God to lie in ruins.
Looking at your life, can you see any correlation to this? Are you really about your business neglecting the house of God? Are you trying to build a life for yourself, leaving the house of God in ruins? Are you trying to enjoy life at the expense of God’s house being destroyed? You might be wondering how you are doing this when you aren’t actively going to destroy a church building or anything within it. This is how:
God's House is not just a Building, You are God’s House.
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19–20
From the verse above you can clearly see our body been called the temple (House) Of God. You are God’s house. So I ask, How are you treating His House, are you leaving it in ruins?
Dangers of Leaving God’s House In Ruin.
Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Haggai 1:5–6
You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. Therefore, because of you, the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. Haggai 1:9–10
From the verses above you can clearly see that being busy trying to build a life for yourself and forgetting the house of God has a whole lot of deficiencies.
What Does It Really Mean To Leave God’s House In Ruins?
Now that we clearly see the dangers of leaving God’s house in ruins, I would like to ask you, how well are you taking care of your body, God’s House, Spiritually, Physically, and Mentally?
Spiritually
Is your body conducive for the Spirit of God to dwell in? God is Holy, Hence an Unclean Body can’t host him. Every time you are given to sin, you ruin the temple of God.
For I am the Lord your God; so consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. Leviticus 11:44 a.
Physically
How well do you take care of yourself physically, knowing your body is a temple of God and he dwells in it? Do you take your health for granted? Do you eat right? Do you exercise? Do you rest well? Do you take substances that are hurtful to your body? Do you keep your body clean? Your body is important to God. It is His Temple.
Mentally
What type of things do you engage your mind with? Your thoughts are powerful as they eventually frame who you become and what you do with your body. Are your thoughts in accordance with this scripture?
Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]. Philippians 4:8
How Then, Can We Rebuild God’s House?
Having learned, how we leave God’s house in ruins, it’s time to learn how we can rebuild God’s house and make it conducive for him to dwell.
Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored, says that Lord. Haggai 1:8
From the verse above, God is telling the people of Judah to climb up the mountains where they can get the timber required to build his house, so He would be honored and take pleasure in it. Have you ever climbed up and down a mountain before for pleasure or exercise or for any reason at all? I can confidently tell you it’s absolutely not an easy thing to do as it is really exhausting and tiring, now The people of Judah are not only climbing, they had to bring logs of wood down the mountain as well, it’s in no way an easy thing to do. How does this relate to us, are we to climb up a mountain? Yes. We are not building a physical Church but our body, so our mountain is different from theirs.
Rebuilding the house of God is not an easy task, but we need to make an effort, We need to climb up our own mountains, As exhausting and as tiring as it might be, we have to be determined to do it, if we want God to be honored and take pleasure in our bodies, His house. How then can we climb this mountain?
Spiritually
Get right with God. Realize and be conscious that your body is the House of God and keep every unclean thing away and keep it holy.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Romans 12:1–2.
If it means fasting, if it means depriving yourself of certain things, If it means dedicating time to praying and studying God’s Word, go up into the mountain. Whatever it takes, just make sure you get right with God.
Physically
Keep your body in good shape. Take proper care of your body physically knowing it’s God’s house. Whatever will harm your body do away with it, and be determined to stop every habit destroying your body, you need your body well in other to house God. Eat right, Exercise Well, and Rest Well. Go up that health, fitness, and cleanliness mountain today.
Mentally
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
The Mind is the processor of all information. Just like a computer, it is your central processing unit. It is from there you decide which actions to take. Every action you take is based on information your mind has received, processed, and stored. In committing a sin, your mind must have received the information, processed it and have chosen a decision to take. Let Philippians 4:8 be your guide on the things you should allow into your mind.
Whatever mountain God shows you, climb and come down with what is needed to build His House, Do not hesitate no matter how difficult, it might be for you, He best knows what material each house of His will need and which mountain to find them. The mountains we need to climb might be different. So seek God personally to know what mountain to climb.
God Doesn’t Leave You To Climb The Mountain Alone.
Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people [who had returned from captivity], listened to and obeyed the voice of the Lord their God [not vaguely or partly, but completely, according to] the words of Haggai the prophet, since the Lord their God had sent him, and the people [reverently] feared and [worshipfully] turned to the Lord. Haggai 1:12
And the Lord aroused the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people, so that they came and labored on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, Haggai 1:14
When the People of Judah listened and obeyed God, and made up their minds to go up the mountain no matter how difficult it was, God aroused their spirit, He gave them strength to do the required work. All God is looking for is an ear that will listen to Him and a heart that is willing to make His house conducive for Him no matter how difficult it might be and He will give you the required strength to do it.
The Beauty and Glory In Rebuilding God’s House.
Does anyone remember this house—this Temple—in its former splendor? How, in comparison, does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all!
But now the Lord says: Be strong, Zerubbabel. Be strong, Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people still left in the land. And now get to work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.’ Haggai 2:3–5
When the people of Judah started working on the house of God, it looked as if the house was even better off the way it was before they started working (the ruined state). But God told them to keep working for he was with them and they should not be afraid for his Spirit was with them.
When you make up your mind to leave your old way of life in other to make your body, the house of God conducive for God to dwell in, it is not always easy and sometimes you look at your former way of life and see how good you think it was, when you start the process of fixing God’s House, your body, it will surely look like things are not really working out, but don’t give up. God is telling you to keep working, I have your back, and I haven’t left you alone, It’s my House, and I am in this with you.
I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Temple. I will fill this place with glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Haggai 2:7–8
As you are working, God is also working, shaking up nations and treasures of the nations to fill His house. In a little while, you will see how beautiful God will make your life. Everything about His House has to be beautiful and He will make sure of it.
The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place, I will bring peace. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”Haggai 2:9
When you work on God’s House with His assistance, you will see that in all areas, your life will be better than whatever it has ever been.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. 2 Corinthians 3:7
Sickness can’t dwell where God dwells, Lack can’t dwell where God dwells, and Death can’t dwell where God dwells. He takes care of His House. What Can’t be found in God, can never be found where He dwells.
Using Paul as an example, think about the fact that Handkerchiefs and Aprons that touched Paul’s body could heal the sick (Acts 19:12). God lived in Paul. God wants to live in you too, He wants to do extraordinary things with you too.
Once again, go up the mountain. Keep working to make God’s house conducive for Him. God takes care of His House. Your job is to make it habitable for God.
Live consciously and intentionally knowing you are House God!
