So, hows that workin out for ya?

One of the things I appreciate in Phillip Jensen's preaching is his tenacity in challenging the smug idea that ignoring God 'works' better than obeying God. Phillip is always finding new research that shows the downsides of ignoring the scriptures, individually and socially.

Last week I was preaching on Haggai 2, where Haggai (and YHWH) call for close attention to how obedience and disobedience 'worked out' for the people.
Now, while we are no longer under the covenant of Deuteronomy, and can't 'read' disaster and hardship the way it could be in the Old Covenant, ie as a sign of God's displeasure. (indeed, since we follow a Messiah who suffered outside the camp, perhaps we should be reading a lack of hardship as a sign of our disobedience). Still, there is a place for asking those who ignore God
' How's that working out for you?' . To give people the opportunity to stop and think.
Evangelism Explosion, with its new XEE, has a similar question 'on a scale of 1-10, how fullfilled would you say your life is right now? Would having God in your life make that number lower or higher?

In another tip of the hat to Dean Jensen, I wanted to centre my sermon around one word in the Hebrew, (roughly 'how was it for you'), but found the NIV didn't really translate that word at all. (to be fair there are some textual issues with the vowels, but 'how was it for you' is what BHS goes with). Sitting in Bible Study, one of the gents read out the passage, with the phrase I wanted. I jerked forward in my seat " ooo what translation was THAT, I like it". It was the ESV.
I still did the sermon the way I wanted to, just without the word to back me up.

A prayer for Haggai 2

God of the covenant
You are
God of all strength
Lord Almighty, God of armies, king of kings,
You command us to ‘Fear not’, to 'be strong', to 'work'

We say the names, we hear the stories, we remember your earthshaking resurrection,
and we still tremble. We are still afraid. Calm our fears.

We look at our broken world and wonder if there is hope. We look at those in power and assume they will last forever. But you have promised to shake again the heavens and the earth, and so we beg you today

Shake up our world

Shake away all that is evil
Shake the powers that enslave us
Shake away our greed and rampant desire
Shake tyranny to its core
and then build your temple, build your church, build your people.

Strengthen all of us, that we might work as for our Lord Jesus Christ
that we might not be distracted and choked by the pleasures around us
that we might not be disheartened by hardship
but that we might know your presence Lord God,
that your Spirit might dwell in us,
empowering us to love wildly,
to obey freely,
and to work wholeheartedly for your Gospel,
knowing that our work in the Lord is not in vain.