Matthew 11:29

Haggai 2:10-19

Do you feel like everything is falling apart? The church you grew up in isn’t the same. The town you raised your kids in has changed. The country feels unrecognizable, your dollar doesn’t stretch like it did, and the leaders you trusted didn’t keep their word. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, the past started sounding a whole lot better than the present. And a grief sets in. Not a loud grief — a dull one. A low-grade ache that whispers: the best days are behind us. Those were the glory days. Things made sense back then. And that grief — if you let it — will quietly stop you from moving. Not all at once. Just slowly. You stop hoping. You stop reaching. You pull back. You manage. You survive. And you call it faithfulness. That is exactly where God finds His people in Haggai 2. Not vaguely discouraged — specifically paralyzed by the gap between what was and what is. And He meets them there — on their feast day, in their grief — and asks the question that is our title this morning: How do you see it now? Because He is going to meet their yesterday, their right now, and their future — by naming their grief, promising His presence, and bringing a greater glory than anything they’ve left behind.

Haggai 2:1-9

Because God himself is with us in the Spirit, stop living for your own kingdom and give yourself to growing His Vine before he returns. 1 Stop Fooling Yourself (vv. 1–2) A. We lie to ourselves when we procrastinate what God has commanded. B. Our God of heavenly armies exposes our hearts with the truth. 2 Tomorrow Will Never Come (vv. 3–11) A. Excuses come under the judgment of the Lord of heavenly armies. B. Be faithful to the good commands of the Lord. 3 God’s With Us Right Now (vv. 12–15) A. Because the Lord is with us we fear and obey him. B. Because the Lord is with us his Spirit empowers us.

Like Christ, we pay the cost to welcome a brother into the mission — expecting more good ahead, and held together by grace. 1 (vv. 17–20): We pay the cost to receive someone — the way Christ received us: a. Because of what we’ve already seen God do (v. 17) b. Because the gift of our own life came through someone else (vv. 18–19) c. Because real joy comes from a refreshed heart, not a settled score (v. 20) 2 (vv. 21–22): We get ready for the family Christ is bringing: a. Because full surrender reaches higher than the bare minimum (v. 21) b. Because we make space and pray, before we can see the guest (v. 22) 3 (vv. 23–25): We belong to a family that grace holds together: a. Because we’re all in the same work together (vv. 23–24) b. Because grace is our sunrise and our sunset (v. 25)

For love's sake, we willingly receive as a brother the one Christ has also reborn as we: 1. We appeal for love's sake because Christ changes useless to useful. 2. We send our heart and trust God for the outcome. 3. We recognize the story God has been writing.

Through partnership in Christ, we take up the cost of receiving one another — not by the world’s status grid, but as Christ has done for us — first in the household, then out into the network. 1 (vv. 1-3): Gospel partnership grows out of the ground of undeserved grace and peace from God. - through human weakness (Paul as prisoner, v. 1) - through shared family (Timothy as brother, v. 1) - through shared ministry (Philemon, Apphia, Archippus, vv. 1b-2) - through shared gifts of God (grace and peace, v. 3) 2 (vv. 4-7): Gospel partnership grows to refresh Jesus' people. - by inward love and faith turned outward (vv. 4-5) - by activating the good Jesus put inside us (v. 6) - by giving joy and comfort to their hearts (v. 7)

Pray hard, speak well, partner together for the sake of the Gospel.

They fit perfect when you're in Jesus, but what do your new clothes look like?