700 billion dollars. Can you say wow? Yep, that's what it's costing taxpayers in order for our government to bail "us" out of this economic mess. And make no mistake about it, we are in an economic mess--rising unemployment, failing financial institutions, plummeting stock market, historic number of foreclosures, and the list goes on. So, the best that Washington can do is to take our hard earned money and rescue "us" from the brink of economic disaster, the likes of which we have not seen since the 1930's. As these events unfold, our national attention has been glued to the various proceedings concerning this issue. It is the proverbial talk of the town, and rightfully so. Everyone is being affected, either directly or indirectly, so it's understandable that people are consumed with what's happening. But, as I told my congregation this past Lord's Day, there is a greater crisis occurring which has dire consequences which affects God's people far more than any economic crisis we might ever experience. And that crisis is sin! More specific, it is the sin of neglecting God.
As I am preaching through the book of Haggai, our congregation is being especially challenged to "consider our ways" (1:5, 7) in relation to our commitment to God and His kingdom. In chapter 1, God chides His people for busying themselves with their own plans; all the while God's house lies desolate. As a result, God rebukes them for investing in their own "paneled houses" (1:4) rather than investing in the work of the Lord. And as a result of their negligence, they were experiencing their own economic crisis, which unlike America's, theirs was directly related to their own sin of neglecting the Lord. But just as Americans are working harder for less, so too were the people of God; they were "earning wages to put into a purse with holes" (1:6). All of their efforts, all of their energies, and all of their pursuits were yielding little, if anything at all. They were unfulfilled, dissatisfied, and discontented, and yet dreadfully tired because they were giving their best to themselves instead of to the Lord. O' how we as God's people need to hear this word.
But what about us in terms of a bailout plan. Can the Church's true spiritual maladies be fixed by a 700 billion dollar buyout? Of course not. Our problem requires something much more profound, something spiritual, something which God alone can offer. And He does. God's bailout plan is Repentance. That has always been God's plan to bailout His people when they lose their way. It was true in Haggai's day and it is just as true today. So the people in Haggai's day heard the rebuke of the Lord and they repented -- the Lord graciously "stirred up their spirits," (1:12) they then "showed reverence for the Lord their God," (1:12) and consequently they "obeyed" (1:12) and "worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God" (1:14).
Do you see it there? God does bailout His people. He grants us repentance so that we might share in His priorities, and thus, walk in the fullness of His blessings. That's what we need today! Enough with looking to Washington to solve the Church's woes. Our woes are spiritual, and we need to return to the Lord. We need to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, [trusting that] all these [other] things will be added . . ."
So I call the Church to repent! Repent of your negligence. Repent of using your time, talents, and treasures on yourself, instead of investing in God's Kingdom. And as you do, remember to thank the Lord for His sufficient bailout plan. Which by the way, He did not have to take anyone else's capital to provide, and yet it did cost Him. In fact, it cost Him something that makes 700 billion dollars look like pennies. It cost Him His own dear Son. For it was Christ who bore our sins on the Cross as His Father poured out His wrath on Him as our substitute so that we might be bailed out of spiritual recession. Yes, it cost God the life of His eternal Son. Now that's some bailout plan. Will you take it? Repent, and return to the Lord!
