Haggai 1:12
¹²Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.

The Story: When the people understood that God was standing in the way of their selfish lusts, they feared Him. They saw that it was true, that He was opposing their distractions and using their disappointments and frustrations to lead them back to their proper task. What more might He do if they failed to hear His Word? Here we see the power of preaching to call God’s people back to their senses and to move them to resume their calling from the Lord. Haggai did not try to entice the people to obey the Lord with vain promises of prosperity and peace. He simply told them that they were in sin, needed to consider their ways, and then to turn back to the task they all knew had been appointed to them upon returning to the land. God’s Word is alive and powerful to accomplish His purposes, but we must be faithful to proclaim and hear it.

The Structure: These days in the churches we try to entice people to “be more involved” by all kinds of vain appeals. We promise them fun, friends, good feelings about themselves, and who knows what else. Should we not simply say to them, over and over until they hear it, “This is what the Lord says”? We don’t trust preaching the way church leaders in every previous generation did. But it is the power of preaching that ministers the Word of God to the souls of His people, convicting them of sin and righteousness and judgment and summoning them to the work of building the Church of the Lord.

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The Worldview Bible examines the teaching of Scripture according to the Story and Structure of Truth – the Framework of Christian Worldview – using only other Scriptures for illumination. Information about The Framework of Truth is available on this site. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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