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Hagg 1v15b-2v9               The promised glory of the new house

His love has changed my life!

Play on word House.

Temple building of OT

Family of David

Is God’s temple the building or people, or both, or a transition from one to the other.

V3 God seeks to establish His glory by taking what is nothing and showing His faithfulness.

V5 Be strong, I am with you, he says to a broken people

V9 The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house.

God enjoys displaying His faithfulness.

·       He takes a people of no consequence and makes a covenant with them to be their God and they will be His people, and he makes them a great people.

·       He would reduce the army of David in the conquest in order to show that the victory was not won by great numbers but by the Lord’s presence, Ai and Jericho ect.

·       He takes a people who he knows will be faithless (hosea) in order to demonstrate his fithfulness.

·       He takes a people who are wayward sinners, in order to prove His love to them (us) and win our hearts to him.

Our God is a generous God who loves his people and loves to lavish his love on us, not because we deserve his love, but because he chooses to love us.

We can be super confident because this is about his desire and choice to love us, it is not about our sin or our ability to deserve his love.

The new covenant God has made with us is based on the sacrificial blood of Jesus (according to the OT law and covenant) atoning for the sins of all people, not just a few.

Note that the scriptures (Heb 9) say “once and for all.” Meaning that the sacrifice was made once and for all people, and for all time.  Not because we deserve it, but because of God’s abundant grace freely poured out upon us.

How else then can we live our lives but to respond with great love back to Him. He has changed our hearts by his love, he was won us over by his love, he has transformed our lives by his love. He has wooed us and won us by his love.

It is with this same model of love that he calls us to live with each other, it is by love that we will live beautiful, victorious and fulfilled lives.

We can only truly love others as we know the abundant love of God in our own lives, because we draw from that well of love and forgiveness as we seek to love and forgive others. If your well is dry you will have nothing to draw on.

Do you know just how much God loves you in this New Covenant?

Are you one of those still living under the Old Covenant?

The Glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house.

God dwells in His temple, the faithful people!