Go up to the mountains, bring wood, and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be honored,” says the Lord Haggai 1:8

God promises to set “you above all the nations on earth” and says, “you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.” God promises these blessings if you obey the Lord your God. But what’s the reality of our situation? Do you feel like God has set you above all nations? Are you borrowing from none and lending to many? Let’s look at why we find ourselves in debt, unhappy, and living unfulfilled lives as Christians.
One.
As Christians, God blesses us when we become temples where God resides. We should be turning all our attention and effort to becoming a house of God, a temple where God can reside. We should work day and night to build this house, but what are we doing instead? We spend everything we have to improve our quality of life on Earth. We’re devoted to money, promotions, a bigger house… anything that we think will improve our quality of life. In the midst of this hustle and bustle, we forget about building God’s temple. There’s no place for Him inside of us because we’ve constructed nothing appropriate for Him to stay for even a short time!
Two.
What happens to someone who doesn’t build God’s temple? Take a look at Haggai 1:6. “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.” Can you think of anything more pitiful than a life where the results never match your efforts? A life that is sabotaged at every corner? Do you feel like nothing is ever enough? Are you on the verge of success but never quite get there? Think about your temple. Are you building it, or have you abandoned it?
To make matters worse, God curses you when you neglect building His home. Haggai 1:10-11 says, “Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.” How can you beat God? If you are experiencing any calamity that is out of your control, think about your temple.
Three.
We can only receive God’s blessings if He lives inside of us. He cannot live inside someone who has forsaken His redemption. Our eyes, ears, mouth, hand, feet, hearts, thoughts, desires, will, knowledge, disposition, and spirit must coincide with His redemption for God to live inside us. In other words, we must “wear” His redemption, or God has nowhere to stand inside us. We must make an effort to keep His commands, obey Holy Inspiration, and make an effort to become one with God.
This might be the most important question we can ask ourselves: what are you building? Are you building a family? A career? Are you building for a better life? Yes, we need to do all these things, but are we working on this house while His house remains a ruin? Do you pray for His blessings while leaving His house in ruins? From this moment on, let’s build His temple. Let’s build a place where God can reside. If we don’t, we have nothing good to look forward to; things will not pan out, and things out of our control (God’s curse) will end up destroying us. So build His temple! Obey His word! Incline your ear to Holy Inspiration! Become one with God. Build His home and see how your life changes!

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1985-3-17a