If you'll turn with me in your copy of the scriptures to Haggai chapter 1 and Then following the consideration following the reading of that then we'll all go ahead and pray again. I Want to give credit to pastor Warren Peale whose outline you have before you On your handout if you so choose to use that Haggai chapter 1 Haggai if For those of you that are still flipping pages, you'll find that it's the third last book. It's a small book in the Old Testament, so if you find the Gospel of Matthew, you're not far off. Haggai chapter 1. In the second year of Darius the King, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehoshadak, the high priest. Thus says the Lord of hosts. These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, verse 4, is that a time for you yourselves to dwell in paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins. Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. You have sown much and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough. You drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. Thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house. that I may take pleasure in it, and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why, declares the Lord of hosts, because of my name, because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore, the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast and on all their labors. Well, let's go to the Lord again in prayer, shall we? And even as we've read just now, Father, That repeated phrase, thus says the Lord. We are coming in contact with the words of the God who has made this world, who has made us. and who has not kept a secret who he is, but he has spoken through, in this case, the prophet Haggai, and through all of your word, dear Lord, we pray that you would minister that word to each of our hearts, whatever the appropriate application would be. Spirit of God, we ask that you would come by your power and cause this word to give life to the dead and strength to your people. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. I'm practicing my skills here. There we go. All right. Just by way of brief review from last Lord's Day. Recall with me that Haggai is preaching to the Jews who returned from exile in Babylon. And they have returned primarily to rebuild the ruined temple. But the work very quickly came to a halt some years not long after they had arrived there because of opposition. And nothing has been done for 16 years. And now God appoints Haggai to speak to the Jews to stir them up to rebuild the temple. His book consists of five messages, which took place over the course of approximately 15 weeks in the year 520 BC. And this evening, we're gonna consider the first of those addresses. So with that brief introduction, could you shut this off? There we go. All right, great, thank you. With that brief introduction, how does Haggai begin? How does he start to teach the people to rebuild the house of the Lord God? What is the first fundamental lesson that they, and by extension we, need to learn? Recall with me that this is the first time that God has spoken to his people in some 20 years. It's likely hard for us to comprehend the impact uh that he has had upon his first hearers how might they have first reacted upon hearing these words thus says the lord of hosts that phrase what we called the prophet formula has not been heard for 20 years What is God going to say? Is God going to bring them a word of commendation? A word of encouragement? What is the message of the Lord to us? And so as you can see, neither of those things as we consider the first 11 verses. Words of encouragement will come, but not yet. The people need to hear particular message to come first. And the Prophet begins by calling to attention the people's priorities. Their priorities are badly skewed over the course of those 16 years. They've been putting the last things first and the first things last. And if they're going to be successful, it's important that they, as well as we, have our priorities straightened out at the first. Imagine with me, suppose that you go purchase a home, a real fixer-upper. And I'm sure you'd agree with me that the leaky roof is going to take precedence over that drippy faucet that's in the laundry room. And so, true to any project, if our priorities start out skewed from the beginning, then the whole project is going to be at risk, even from the very start. And so, when first setting out to accomplish something, first decide on the outcome that you're seeking to realize, and then never, never lose sight of that priority. And we'll need to do that this evening as well. Consider with me Jesus' words from Matthew 6. and I know you know them very well, where he says, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. And so that's the issue that Haggai is addressing in this first message. God and God's glory are simply not his people's top priority at this point in time. And as long as that is the case, there is no way that that temple is going to be rebuilt. And so tonight we're going to understand the problem of putting God last. And as I said, I wanted to give credit to Pastor Peel for the outline that you have before you. And so let's consider on that outline, Roman numeral one, the defense offered, the defense offered. Let's take a moment to consider the people Haggai addresses on this first occasion. There's been some 42,000 Jews that have returned from Babylon, added the many more thousands that have chosen to stay there in Babylon. And so it is these faithful followers of Yahweh who have heeded Cyrus' decree to return to their homeland to rebuild the temple. The 70 years of exile predicted by Jeremiah are now over, and these are they who chose The hardships, the hazards, the inconvenience of that long journey back to Jerusalem. To a land ravaged by war. And you can imagine what they may be anticipating. These are they who anticipated the age of the Messiah to come about. As we considered from the book of Isaiah last week. They started off very well. The remnant had donated some 1,100 pounds of gold, worth millions in our day, as well as three tons of silver. They had put their fortunes and their very lives into their commitment to honor their God. A wonderful start. These are not unbelievers, not even unconcerned believers. And they wanted to know the will of God and to do it. And yet, for all these first works, they allowed themselves to be distracted with other concerns. And so Haggai now. knows what the people are thinking. He sums up their thinking, their defense for why the temple still lies in ruins for the past 16 years. And so consider with me verse 2 of this chapter. Thus says the Lord of hosts. These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. The tense of the verb is to say, it means that this is something that has been said in the past and they continue to say that in the present. This is their settled, accepted response. This is their throwaway response. They have always said and continue to say that the time has not yet come. They don't deny their duty to rebuild the temple, but they're saying not yet. Other things need to come first. Other things need to take priority. Other things are more important than rebuilding God's house. And so no doubt the Jews, had all kinds of prudent, reasonable sounding, plausible arguments why rebuilding the temple is not at the top of their punch list. For one thing, they had lots of other things on their minds. If you look at verses 10 and 11, a severe drought had led to the repeated poor harvests. With anyone living in an agricultural economy, it would have been easy for them to consider how burdensome and distracting turning to this severe drought and the poor harvest would have been. We can't think about a building project just right yet. You have to see that we're in the middle of a severe crisis. This would have impacted their finances as well. You'd think, I can't afford what we're doing right now. We've got to tighten our belts for right now. We don't have any spare cash to go around right now. And there was also the very real opposition of their neighbors, the Samaritans, who are living in the land. These were dangerous times. In fact, Zechariah in chapter 8 refers to them, where he says, for before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in. For I set every man against his neighbor. And perhaps there were pious soundings, noble reasons for not rebuilding the temple. They may have said, we're not quite ready to rebuild the temple because we want to do it really, really well. And this is a very distracting time. We don't have the funds nor the energy to do things really well. One day we'll do it really, really well, just not yet. Some commentators have even speculated that they had theological reasons for not taking up the work just yet. According to Jeremiah's 70 years, the last of the exiles left in 587 BC, the year is 520. So technically, one could argue that three more years of exile would still fill out those 70 years. And so it's not yet time to rebuild the temple. The time to begin will be three more years. Or could that just be pharisaical hair splitting? I'll let you decide. Many of these concerns seem to be real. Genuine challenges to continue to rebuild. These things are still part of our lives as well. It's just not reasonable to expect us to drop what we're doing and continue with the construction at this point. Of course, it's not fair to expect that these poor people to continue to rebuild under these distressing conditions. But that isn't how God sees the situation. Now, of course, we're not immune to that kind of thinking, are we? James Montgomery Boyce made the observation that it's not uncommon for young people who begin adult life to be very active in this or that campus ministry during their college years, but once they settle down into a career and marry, it's easy for priorities to shift to those concerns. Well, We grew up accustomed to this certain lifestyle, to this level of affluence, this size house, this kind of car, this kind of neighborhood, these kinds of schools, and so on. These are the years that are characterized by gathering things, as you know. And of course, none of that is sinful in itself. So like these Jews, they had legitimate needs that needed to be addressed. But like them, we can easily allow career advancement, the athletic schedules of children, travel plans, and so on to crowd out church relationships, to crowd out the Lord's day, and even our witness and as believers as well. So how many times have you heard words like this? Well, yes, I believe in missions, but with the economy the way it is, there's just no time here. It's not the right time for us to expand our mission budget. Or well, of course, every Christian is to be a witness where he lives and works, but witnessing to my coworkers is a very delicate business. I don't think it's time to tell them about Jesus Christ yet. Or, I know I should tithe, but I can't do it this year. I just bought a new car. I have too many family obligations. Or you might hear, I'm very flattered that you might think my talents might help with this particular church ministry, but I don't have time to serve just right now. Perhaps later when the pressures of work are not so difficult, or perhaps when I retire. So how does the prophet address the reversal of these priorities? Well, Roman numeral two, the defense rejected, the defense rejected. Verse four, where God says, is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in paneled houses while this house lies in ruins? Notice the repetition of the word time. It's not yet time to rebuild the temple, verse four, is loaded with sarcasm, as you can see. It's not time for temple building. Well, you tell me what it is time to do then. Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies in ruins? Haggai exposes the Jews' hypocrisy. It's not time yet to build God's house, but it does seem time to build your own houses. It's not such an inconvenient time for building after all, as long as it's building the thing that you want to build. But the failure to proceed within temple was the result of inverted priorities, as you can see. And in the final analysis, all inverted priorities are adultery, excuse me, idolatry, aren't they? They put the creator, they put the creation before the creator. If you'd follow with me in verse nine, you looked for much and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why, declares the Lord of hosts, because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. These were not idle people, were they? They planted much, Haggai says, but they harvested little. They were always working. They were putting in extra hours at the farm or in the shop. And so like us, they took on extra jobs, working overtime, working through lunch, perhaps, rushing around to get ahead. They were not idle. It's also, however, a picture of frustration. They were on a treadmill, but getting nowhere fast. Haggai helps them to understand the cause for the economic downturn. He interprets their difficulties in light of the curses of violating God's covenant from Leviticus 26. Verse 19, and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze, and your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit. God sent emptiness to awaken them from their idolatry. And that's not too far removed from our lives, is it? People accumulate more cars, more furniture, more and better food, more entertainments, smart TVs, more games, more vacations, and yet remain unsatisfied. And so like the ancient Hebrews in the wilderness, we think of Psalm 106 verse 15, where it said that he gave them their requests but sent leanness. into their soul. You earn wages, but only to put them in a purse with holes in it. We save, but our savings dribble away, eaten up by taxes and the progressive devaluation of our currency. through inflation and government overspending. We don't need more government handouts, but what we need is to have faithful obedience to our God. And so they're each living in paneled houses. Note the contrast here of their homes on one hand and God's house in ruins there. That's what the time is to do. That word in verse 4 for paneled emphasized here as if it's underlined. This term is only used here and in reference to Solomon's temple in 1 Kings chapter 6 and 7. This indicates something of the luxurious paneled trimming by which they desire to surround themselves. not just a wooden dwelling, not just CDX plywood. This paneling was a feature of that first temple. And so you can see the irony. They're far too busy fitting out their own homes in the style of Solomon's temple. Their own houses are well-built, but God's house remains in ruins. You yourselves, in verse four, is very emphatic. You yourselves of all people. Is it for you yourselves of all people to dwell in paneled houses while this house remains in ruin? They are God's people and they've been given every possible advantage. In other words, if you people can't do it, then who can? Who will? You came from Babylon with the express purpose and mission to rebuild the temple of God. And yet here it is. This is why you came back. And before you left, you received large donations of silver and gold from all the Jews that were there who stayed behind. And as if that weren't enough, you were given piles of money from King Cyrus. for its rebuilding from the royal treasury. You are granted access to every material you could possibly need. Verse eight talks about going up to the forest for wood that they needed. They have plenty of wood for their own homes, their own paneled houses. There just isn't seem to be enough wood for the Lord's temple, not yet anyway. And so that makes their hypocrisy all the worse, doesn't it? In spite of all of these blessings, God's people can't seem to find the time to do God's work. They are ignoring his kingdom and his righteousness. They are focusing instead on the things of this world, of this life. And the defense offered and the defense rejected, you can see. So how then are we to profit from Haggai's first message? Well, under Roman numeral three, the applications, our defense offered, part A, our defense offered. Schoolteachers are used to, and other schoolteachers here, you're used to hearing the excuses of why that assignment didn't get completed by the due date. Times haven't changed that much, have they? The same excuses don't change from one generation to the next. And isn't that like the people of God as well? We trot out the same excuses for not building the church. Is there really any difference between the people of 520 BC and us here in the 21st century? And so we like Jews are urged to consider our ways in verse 7. Perhaps as we considered their excuses, they struck a jarring chord within some of us. It really comes down to those two words, not yet. Aren't we today sometimes tempted to say the same two words as these Jews did? The time has not yet come. There just isn't time to give ourselves to giving time to worship, to fellowship, and consider the first century Jerusalem believers, and you know the passage, Acts 2.42, and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to the fellowship, and to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. The means of grace haven't changed. What God requires hasn't changed with the intervening years. The apostles teaching, the breaking of bread and to prayers. So how is your commitment to the means of grace, to worship and to fellowship? I'm pleased to see the number of people coming to weekly prayer meeting that has remained strong even in these winter months. And yet we still have some seats available, don't we? Yes, yes, I'll get to it, I will, just not yet. I'm going to have to wait till I can pray in public and then I'll start attending, but it's just not yet time. Or I'm going to wait until the children are a bit older. I'm going to wait until I'm not so consumed by work. One day, but not just yet. There's some young people that really are mature enough to seriously consider being baptized and to join the church as a member. They may even profess Christ, but they haven't approached the church leadership concerning the waters of baptism. One day, certainly, I will speak to my parents, I'll speak to pastor about this, and yet the time just hasn't yet come. We have a duty to build the church by proportionate giving. Perhaps some here have been putting off a principled, proportionate, sacrificial, regular support of this ministry here and threw us to the ends of the earth. Perhaps your income is limited. Perhaps you may seem to be strapped financially. You're just about making ends meet. And yet, doesn't that sound somehow similar to these people of Jerusalem? Poor harvests, poor yields left them very little. And you can identify with that, and you say, the time has not yet come for me to give generously. I'm going through a difficult time financially. I certainly can't consider giving anything to God's work. Giving a tithe to my income is just not realistic under my current pressures. Maybe I'll wait until I've received my next promotion and have some savings in the bank, but not just yet. You may feel that you need to wait until you have some debt taken care of or to your children are out of school and their education is accomplished. The time has not yet come. Well, we have a duty to build the church also by telling non-Christians about the way of salvation. Maybe we say that the time has not yet come to witness for Christ. Perhaps we have plausible reasons, genuine reasons why we think it's not time to reach out to this or that neighbor or relative. Well, I want to wait till I know more. I don't want to get stuck for an answer. They may raise all kinds of tricky questions. I wouldn't know what to say. I'll just have to wait till I read more and know more. Or perhaps you want to wait until you're more godly. Well, I know my life is, as it is now, is inconsistent. I need to get some things straightened out, sorted out in my life, and then I can start talking to people about the Lord Jesus. Well, I need to wait until I'm more confident. I'm just very shy. I need to gain more confidence and then I'll be able to witness. The time has just not yet come. But what about those sins that may have a grip upon your heart? Well, I know I need to stop this to get rid of that. I know I need this to change. I know I need to resist this temptation, just not yet. I know that it's wrong. It's spoiling my relationship with God. I just don't want to give it up just yet. I just can't give it up. I just want to enjoy it a bit longer. The time has not yet come. So there's our defense offered. And yet what does God think of our defense? Part B, our defense also rejected. Our defense rejected. Just as God rejected the defenses of the people in Haggai's day, he rejects our defenses as well. We may think that our defenses are good and plausible and acceptable. In fact, it's almost a throwaway how we say these things. And that's exactly how the Jews felt about their reasoning as well. Haggai leaves us with no doubt about what God thinks about their excuses. We say that it's not yet time to give ourselves to worship and to fellowship. To look back at verse four. What is the time then to give yourselves to? It's not yet time to devote yourselves to these things. And so what is it a time to devote yourself to? And the truth is that we have plenty of time to give to the things that we really want to do. To the things that we believe are most important. And so as one older preacher was fond of saying, you're all here this evening. You're all dressed. Your hair is brushed. Your teeth are brushed. You're sitting there. And so we all make the time to do the things that we feel we must do. It's just a good question of priorities, isn't it? We all have the time we need to do our work or our favorite entertainments. We have time to binge watch through a series, time for sports and favorite hobbies. We have hours to spend or this or that or on social media platform. And yet when it comes to church, There just isn't time for two services on a Lord's Day. Isn't Sunday school and morning worship enough? Just isn't time yet. There's no time for prayer meeting, no time for giving myself to hospitality. And so, and also though you may be mature enough, perhaps you've judged that it's not time to speak to pastor about being baptized or joining the church. and committing yourself publicly to the Lord Jesus. Remember that baptism is not for perfect people, but it's for those who sincerely believe on Christ as their only hope of salvation and have repented of their sins. Or is there some darling sin, some greater love than God, some idol perhaps that stands in the way of you coming to Christ? some relationship, some earthly desire, not willing to give the whole Lord's Day to God. Perhaps you've delayed joining the church for this or that doctrinal concern that you're not completely convinced is right. You may feel that you need every question completely addressed before taking that step of joining the church. But more importantly, do you have a teachable spirit as we heard this morning from James chapter 1? Perhaps it would be better to commit yourself maybe to another church to the Lord's people there. to make this issue a priority of joining with the people of God to settle and submit yourselves to competent church leaders there. But continually saying to yourself, the time has not yet come. God rejects that kind of thinking. And I'm glad for the generosity of this church that's demonstrated, that's marked this congregation over the years. But perhaps there may be a place for at least a mention of this duty briefly when it comes to a principled, proportionate, financially supporting the church. We must ask ourselves the same question. Is it time to expand the music collection that we have on Spotify or what else? or our wardrobe, or to get the latest smartphone, or to get the new car, and so on, to support this hobby, and yet ignore this duty as a Christian. We do have the money, just not money for God. It's a question of priorities, isn't it, as you plan out your budget each month. It's better to start by giving something, I'm sure you would agree, than nothing at all. It's not yet time to tell non-Christians about the gospel. Well, when will it be the good time to tell them about the gospel? Will you really wait until you feel that you can soundly respond to every possible question an unbeliever may ask? As we say on Coastal, that bus ain't never gonna come. but realize that you and I are never going to be perfectly consistent in our witnessing. And that's a comfort, isn't it? It's a comfort to know that God is going to take our imperfect, stumbling witness and words, our imperfect lives, and uses those to bring people into his kingdom. Certainly there is a place of being aware of what some of the objections may be about the gospel and making some preparation for that. But remember God's word through Zechariah in the same time frame as Haggai. Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit says the Lord of hosts. And Zechariah was speaking to the same people that Haggai was speaking to. Or some of us may be saying, it's not yet time to put this or that sin to death. Oh, but it is time. It's always the right time to put sin to death. Now is the best time to put sin to death. Do you really think that the longer you put it off, killing that sin is somehow going to get easier for you? Now is the best time. God says. There is never going to be a time when it's going to be easy. You're not going to drift somehow into holiness. And as it's been said before, we're all floating downstream spiritually, away from God, away from holiness of life. And the longer that you and I indulge in something, in sin, the harder it will be to get rid of it. It's like standing in a pool of hardening cement. The longer you stay there, the harder it will be to break away. There is never going to be an easier time, an easier moment than right now. So we continue to say, not yet, not yet, not yet. Well, what are we really saying when we say that to God? Are we not really saying not ever? We say not yet, but what we really mean is not ever. Perhaps the Jews were just trying to soothe their consciences by saying not yet in 520 BC. It would have been too honest. Too shocking to say that out loud. Well, we don't want to build the temple. So they told themselves and each other, not yet. It's a convenient excuse, isn't it? Haggai challenges each one of us to stop saying, not yet. To put a stop to the procrastination of this or that duty that God has given to us for our own good. And instead we need to start saying, now. Now is the time. Here we're going into a new year. And what better time to take stop. And they even say the second week in January, that's called Quitter's Week. Did you know that? After the resolutions have been made on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. We're in Quitter's Week right now. So what a better time to say now. Now to deal with this. And to reflect and freshly commit ourselves with God's help and say now is the time. This or that area of neglect or sin that marked 2024 must come to an end. Now I will address this issue, God helping me. Now there is work that God has for each of us to do. Perhaps for some of us, God's kingdom is just not the first priority. And so Haggai calls us to think long and hard about our lifestyles. He says, consider your ways. And he says that twice. So let's be clear about this. God was not calling them to reassemble the temple as a thing in itself. Be clear about this. We don't want to go back to Jeremiah's days. Of Jeremiah's heroes where they said, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. No, that's missing that. No, this is a call to put God first in their hearts and then in their lives. Recall with me 2 Corinthians 8 verses 3 through 5. where Paul is encouraging the Corinthian church by way of the example of the Thessalonians, where he says, for they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. And this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us. Perhaps you can reflect and honestly thank God for giving you a measure of faithfulness in each of the areas that we've touched upon this evening. Well, bless God that he has helped you. But we see as well how easy it is for these Jews to start out well and yet get sidetracked. None of us are altogether beyond that danger. And so like Paul to the Thessalonians, where he encourages them, 1 Thessalonians 3, verses 12 and 13, where he says, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for us all as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints to continue to persevere in the means of grace and continue to build the house of God. Jesus said in Matthew 16 that he is going to build his church, didn't he? He's going to do it. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And so we, like the 6th century BC Jews, we need to refocus on the priority of building God's house, of building Christ's church, as you can see. Paul personalized this, if you would turn to Colossians chapter 1. When Paul considered building the house of God, there were names, there were faces that he thought of. And he mentioned this in Colossians chapter one, verses 27 through 29. Beginning at verse 27. To the saints, God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery. He's referring to the gospel. which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ. It's building the church. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. Every person Paul anticipated that each one would be a beautiful jewel in God's house. They might not look like that right at that moment, but by grace what they one day would be mature and complete in Christ. Do you view each other that way? That visitor coming through the door. This could be a precious jewel in Christ's church. Complete in Christ. The Lord Jesus is in the process of bringing many sons to glory. And that primarily is through the local church, isn't it? And so let's stay focused on that glorious reality, that great hope of our Lord's return. And Christ is building his church through each one of us. And so now, like Haggai, I focus my applications on those who sincerely believe in Jesus Christ, and yet there are those, perhaps this evening, that have not yet bowed their hearts, not really, to King Jesus. You may consider yourself to be a fairly obedient son or daughter. You follow the rules at home, in school, at church. You try to fit into the Christian culture of your home, church and yet there is this or that thing that you really really are drawn to in this world. You try to fit into the culture and yet there are these things these these things that make you say not yet. Perhaps it's making the starting lineup on your team, winning the approval of your non-Christian friends, getting them to laugh at your jokes, whatever it is, your need for approval. Like these ancient Jews, you've been on a treadmill, seeking pleasures from the things of this life, and have come away empty, unsatisfied, frustrated, unfulfilled, for all your attempts for the pleasure of this life. And you keep saying to God, not yet. I'm not yet a Christian. I'm sure that I will one day, but just not yet. Years ago, a pastor wrote a sermon by that title. Not yet a Christian. You may have heard it. Or are you saying, really saying to God, never a Christian? Go now, go now to the Lord Jesus in prayer and agree with God now that you've had the cart before the horse in your life. Seek his forgiveness now for your idolatry. Determine with his help to turn back toward him. to seek him first in your life. It is never a mistake to let go of what you can never keep, to trade it for what you can never lose. And I close by considering our Lord Jesus' words in Mark chapter 8. And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross. and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with his holy angels. Well, let's pray. Dear Father, dear Savior, Jesus, forgive us for saying not yet. Too many times. and help each one of us, speaker and hearer, to heed those three words, consider your ways. Give us grace here in the beginning of 2025 that we would stop saying not yet to you, dear Lord, but that we would begin to say now, to choose wisely, to heed the instruction of your book as we heard this morning. Give us grace to believe, to trust in, to choose Jesus as we get up tomorrow morning, to be committed to walking in his ways and there forevermore looking for his great return and that amazing future that's beyond our comprehension that you have for those that trust in Jesus. to be with you forever in unspeakable joy, full of glory, no more sin, in the most perfect of company, and in your presence forevermore. Lord, we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.