By the time we find Judah in the book of EZRA, after being prisoners of confusion in Babylon, they are tired of looking for change and seeing only sameness. As soon as they came from captivity, they set up an altar for sacrifice and laid the foundations of a temple. However, in Ezra 4, it tells us their neighbors discouraged them and frightened them away from building. They’d hired counselors against them to frustrate them. They wrote accusations against Judah and Jerusalem saying they would become traitors. The government then stopped them by force and work on the temple ceased until the second year of Darius king of Persia.
By then however, the storms of life had layered grit and grime on their “windows” making it difficult to see anything encouraging. They couldn’t see the need to keep on trying! They had no spirit nor courage to try again. They said, “Not NOW, we haven’t even recovered from captivity. We can’t deal with one more thing right now!”
Hag 1:1-4, “In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai. This is what the LORD Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built.'” Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” (NIV) Giving up because we are weary is not an option.
(This is the second excerpt from Kathy’s article “Rebuilding Our Temple“ which was published in SEEC Magazine [Marty and Kathy’s ministry magazine]. More excerpts will be posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Previous excerpts may be read by scrolling down this page.)
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Posted by Marty Gabler |
September 30, 2015 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: 1 Thessalonians 4:17, Apostle, Barbara Yoder, Beth Moore, Bethel, Bible, Bill Johnson, Body of Christ, celebrate, CFNI, charismatic, Chuck Pierce, church, Cindy Jacobs, circumstances, comfort, destiny, dreams, Dutch Sheets, elderly, encouragement, Ezra 1:4, faith, father, Five-Fold, FMCI, future, gifts of the Spirit, god speaks, grace, Haggin, happy, healing, Holy Spirit, hope, Identity, intercession, Isaiah 9:7, Israel, Jentezen Franklin, Jeremiah 29:11, Jesus, Jim Goll, Jim Hodges, John 3:16, John Eckhart, John Kelly, Joseph Prince, Joyce Meyer, Judah, Kathy Gabler, Kim Clement, Kingdom of God, Lakewood, Lance Wallnau, life, Lindsey, manifestation, Marty Gabler, Matthew 6:10, Matthew 6:33, Myles Munroe, obstacles, ORU, Osteen, power of god, prayer, problems, prophecy, prophesy, prophet, prophetic, prosperity, purpose, rejoice, Rick Joyner, Rick Pino, righteousness, salvation, Savior, SEEC Ministries, sons of God, spiritual warfare, success, TD Jakes, The Lord's House, Tony Evans, victorious, victory, visions, Will of God, wisdom, word of god | Leave a comment
Experience is hard to out argue. Experience can dominate our belief system. Experience can demand we doubt God and square-off with Him: “God, IF you’re there, then do something!“ Have you ever wondered why some people get prayers like that answered? They pray, “If you are God, heal me!” And they are healed! Or, “If there really is a God, give me a miracle.” And they get it! That’s got to be God’s goodness to bring them to repentance. Mature sons, already in the Vine, cannot start with, “IF you are God, then . . .” God will not accept that challenge. He knows a manipulative hissy fit when He sees one. At the point of a hissy fit, the next step is our response, not God’s. We can either repent and take some ground or spiral down into unbelief. 
