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Hi, guys. Where are we going to be one of the great names that you can pick for your children. If you would like. I’ll tell you what it means in a minute. But. Not playing tricks, right? It’s a real book of the Bible. Some of you found that out. Haggai is written over 2500 years ago and it still applies to us today. It’s incredible the timelessness of God’s truth for us. And here we are looking in a book, uh, older than Jesus written for us, still finding application for us today as it was recorded for the people of Israel so long ago. Just a little backdrop. We’ll kind of set the note as to why we’re getting into this book and and what it’s about and helps create a picture for, for us and our mind as to where we’re going in the days ahead. The the history of Israel works out like this. Uh, King Saul led Israel. King David took over. King Solomon followed after Solomon. Two kings come up Rehoboam and Jeroboam. It divides the nation. Ten tribes to the north, two tribes to the south. Israel has a civil war after Solomon, separating them as a people. They never join back together. The North has their own king. The South has their own king. In. In 722 BC, the northern tribes of Israel never had a godly king. God allows them to go into captivity under the Assyrians, never to return.
The southern tribes of Israel have some godly kings, some ungodly kings, God told them long ago. Deuteronomy chapter 28 if you follow me, you will prosper. If if you disobey me, I will send you into captivity. You will. You will find suffering in that. And so as the nation of Israel follow God, they saw prosperity. When the nation of Israel turned from God, they saw things in difficult circumstances for them. Eventually God sends them into captivity under under the Babylonians. In 606 BC, the the siege against Jerusalem and the southern tribes of Israel begins. By 586, the nation of Israel is deported off into Babylon. If you want to know where the Samaritans come into this picture, if you read in the New Testament, you see in John chapter four, there’s a story of the people in Samaria, the Samaritans were despised by the the Jews because they were considered what the Jews would call half breeds. They weren’t fully Jewish people. And some of the tension that they experienced, the Jews experienced in their relationship with the Samaritans happens through the book of Haggai, which we’ll get into in just a minute. But what happens is when the nation comes in, they conquer the land of Israel. The those nations would send in their own people into that land, to inhabit that land, to destroy what was virtually the what the civilization stood for. And so as new people came into the land, they would bring in the new customs and culture.
And the Jews that remained after the land was devastated, began to mingle with these new cultures that were stepping in. And they became what the Jews would call Half-Breed. They were not fully Jewish people. They had lost their identity as being Jewish. And so the nation of Israel wouldn’t embrace them. They they developed a frustration towards them. And that frustration continued to build through the story of of Haggai. Israel eventually is allowed to return on their taken from captivity. They’re deported, and they travel over 900 miles into the land of of Babylon. Eventually, the Babylonians are conquered by the Persians and under the rule of Cyrus, wanting to to please the people that were under the Babylonian rules, he allows the Jews to return to their land after 70 years of exile. 50,000 Jews return and make the trek back to Jerusalem. Roughly a city the size of Lehigh. They go back, and your Old Testament records the return of the people through a few different books. The book of of Nehemiah deals with the rebuilding of the city. The Book of Ezra deals with the rebuilding of the people. From the Book of Haggai and Zechariah deal with the rebuilding of the temple. In 536 BC. Construction begins on the rebuilding of the temple in the city of Jerusalem. As soon as Israel steps into the land with the excitement of having left Babylon.
To go back to their homeland. And to re-establish what was lost. They eventually get sidetracked or very quickly. Get sidetracked. They began to develop this idea of thinking that God had set them free from Babylon again, to restore the land that God had promised to them, to establish what God had called them to, and immediately begin to face adversity. In the couple verses the book of Ezra, Zechariah, Haggai allows us to get a little bit of a a backdrop as to why they they begin to experience this, this adversity, but really where it starts to, to root itself as, as soon as Israel gets into the land, the Samaritans, the people that remain, began to persecute them. And in the book of Ezra in chapter four and verse four, it says, as the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah. And frightened them from building and and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel. All the days of Cyrus, King of Persia. Even until the reign of Darius, the king of Persia. Israel saw their adversity. There’s a reason to hesitate what God had called them to do. In fact, in Zechariah chapter four and verse ten, this is where they summarize their thinking. It says, do not despise these small things. This is God saying to them, do not despise these small things. For the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.
So they get to the land. They think God set us free. And now we get to go. We get to rebuild. And they’re thinking of all the promises. 50,000 people so excited about what God can do. And they get to the land and they have these, these dreams and this, this vision of seeing Israel back to the way it was and the city of Jerusalem gathering to worship. And they meet adversity and they just begin to think themselves, you know what? We’ve hit a hard time. Maybe this isn’t, uh, isn’t what God wants, because obviously, obviously everything God wants me to do should be easy. In verse ten, they begin to justify it within their mind. And in the book of Zechariah they just say, you know what? If we were to even rebuild this, we couldn’t even do it to the glory in which we saw Solomon’s temple. Why start at all if we can’t make it exactly the way that we want it? Adversity. Through Israel we learn. Adversity has the tendency either to kill your passion. Or it will refine your vision. Adversity isn’t always a bad thing. You think there’s some times in life where you’ve done things that were really foolish? And there were consequences on the back end that maybe we should call it adversity. And those consequences. The challenge to that in life got us to stop and think, hey, maybe.
Maybe this isn’t a good idea. And in a good way. It kills your passion. But there’s other times in adversity where God is, he’s really glorified, and I think he’s even glorified in the example I just gave you. But when adversity comes and we’re trying to honor the Lord, it it will either. It will either kill your passion or refine your vision. But when when adversity comes, it really gives us the opportunity to focus on what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. Does does it really matter? And when you face hardships as a family, there comes times when in your relationships you just want to circle the wagon and you get around each other and you begin to realize, you know what? We’ve been we’ve been focusing on all these peripheral things. But all of a sudden, as we’re gathered together in this as a family and this, this hardship, our our minds are crystal clear. And some of the things that are really important in how I need to reestablish myself, adversity, in that sense, refines your vision. Here’s the beauty of adversity in Christ. When you face difficulty in your faith. That difficulty. Gives you the opportunity in Christ to demonstrate what truly matters. It’s well, when you’re willing to face hardships for your faith. That you demonstrate really what your faith is worth. Adversity gives us the opportunity to refine our passion and our vision in Christ.
The people of Israel. Giving their excuses. Beginning to ask the question, is it worth it in this adversity? And God uses Haggai to step in, in this moment to show them how to refine their passion. And how to refine their vision. The book of Haggai starts with the people of Israel. Just continuing the backdrop of their thinking that we saw. It says this in the second year of Darius the King. And so the people leave under the reign of Cyrus. 16 years passed. Now Darius comes as king, and Darius is the one that gives them the okay to continue in the building. But it says this on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, or whatever that is governor of Judah, says Rabbah was considered the leader. And to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, thus saith the Lord of hosts. This people says, the time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to to be rebuilt. Some translations will say, these people say. God is saying this. I love the way that it phrases that God says this, these people. The reason I love it so much is because I know you do it as parents. I know your parents have probably done it at some point. You know, I can say when my wife comes home, my kids do something crazy.
I’m like, you know what your kids did? You’re right. Hey, that’s your mom right there. That’s not your dad. I. Come on, guess what your kids did today. They’re not mine. My kids do not do that. And that’s what God’s doing here. These people. Yeah, they’re supposed to be my people. But I know what I’ve instructed them to do. And so the way they’re living their lives right now, those aren’t my people. Because my people don’t live like that. And so God says, look, I just want you to recognize what these people are doing right now because they’re not walking in unity with me, because that certainly isn’t what I would call them to do, because they’re not living as my people would, would live according to the way that I called them in this world. And the people of Israel. They’re saying in verse two. It’s obviously because it’s not easy. As easy as we pictured. It’s obviously not the time that God has called us to do this. And then Haggai steps in. The name Haggai means festival or festival. He comes in with this thought of celebration. And Haggai is so unique out of all the prophetic books in the Old Testament, because Haggai has has one key reason in which God calls him to to to come before Judah and refocusing them on building the temple and, and the people of Judah.
Listen, I mean, typically when you read a prophet, it’s it’s this it’s it’s these statements of judgment on the people of Israel. They don’t listen. Then there is judgment that follows. And and God gets them back on the track through, through his discipline. But in the book of Haggai, it’s sort of counterintuitive to the way that you read most prophets. Haggai shares his message to the people of Judah listen, there is no judgment, and they follow after God. And here’s the cool thing about it. When Haggai gives his message. The Haggai chapter one and verse one. He gives us the specific time in which he’s recording this message. And so Haggai shares four messages in the book of Haggai, chapter one all his first message, chapter two, verse one, verse ten, and verse 20. Those are three other messages. And he dates every one of them. So we can go back in history and see what point Haggai is delivering this message to the people of Israel. And so if you’re if you like to just have a calendar date on your map. August 29th, 520 BC, Haggai shares Haggai chapter one with the people of Israel. He declares to them the reason that God has called them to rebuild the temple. Now, let me just say, it would be heretical for me to take this book this morning and tell you, and therefore we’re going to rebuild a temple.
Okay. The application directly to the nation of Israel was rebuilding of the temple. But when Jesus came in the New Testament, he tore the temple bell, destroying the separation between us and God, and now calls us the temple of God before him. We are his temple. But when we look at this story. What we want to examine for us as people is that when God calls us, he he’s calling his people to do the same thing since since the beginning that he’s created us. And that is when Adam and Eve sinned. In the beginning of garden, God brought his plan of redemption, and he called us to relationship in him and to proclaim that message of freedom in him, so that all people, all nations, can know him. God’s desire is for the nations. God’s desire. It’s for us to glorify his name by encouraging one another to him. In fact, if you did a study of just the word nations throughout Scripture, you’ll find that that the word is mentioned almost 500 times within the Bible. Some of the more famous words and what God desires in Genesis 22in the life of Abraham. In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Isaiah 49 Israel I will also make you a light of of the nations, so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 66. The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues.
In Matthew 28, calling the church, make disciples of all nations, and Mark 11 my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations and revelation. He’s talking to the church you were slain and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue, and people and nations. God’s pursuit has always been to honor his name before the nations, that people may come and worship. And so we’re not reading this today to figure out how to build a temple, but reading this today to see how when we we face adversity, to be refined in Christ and to pursue what God desires for us as individuals, that we may proclaim his name before the nations. God still calls us to this today, as he is called Israel. In the Old Testament. And God works within the hearts of the people during this time to to rebuild what was destroyed. I would say God miraculously works in the lives of the people. The things that God did in the Old Testament, and the way that he miraculously worked to see his will moved, and for Christ to come and salvation to be delivered for us as people. I believe he’s still the same God today. And when you read in the New Testament and the things that God did to move within his people, to see his name glorified, and the way that he worked and the miracles that were done in order to get his name out there and and to reach people.
I think he’s still the same God today. I don’t think God’s changed. In fact, the Bible tells us that change not. The point is this for us when when we look within Scripture and you read the stories of the Old Testament, you read the stories of the New Testament. God doesn’t just he doesn’t just wake up and say, you know what? Oh, man, I’ve got to do a miracle today. Where am I going to do it? You know? Oh yeah. And just touches the world. God’s systematic and thoughtful in the way that he’s doing this. When you read the Old Testament and the things that God’s doing. The reason that God is working the miracles that he’s he’s working is for the sake of his name that people could come to know and enjoy him for eternity. The miracles that God works has has an ultimate purpose and intention. When God’s moving in the Old Testament, it’s the story of his salvation and redemption of mankind from Adam until the end of the book. God is always moving for his name that that people may come to know and enjoy him for eternity. He’s always been about the nations. And I think God works within his people that way today to. God miraculously intervenes in our lives for the sake of his name.
And just as he called the people of the Old Testament to something for the glory of his name, so too he calls his church today to something for the glory of his name. It’s always about his glory. His miraculous hand is done with purpose. God intervening throughout the Bible, and especially in these moments in, in, in the book of Haggai. And I want us to get our mind around the people and the way that we’re perceiving God and His call in their lives so we can understand how God could work in our lives. Everyone. Everyone faces a challenge at some point. And rather than use it to define you, you use it to refine you. To live for what matters. So this is what Haggai says. Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying. Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate? Now that’s weird. Say what? Like, is it time for you to live in your panel? And panel paneling is out? I don’t know if that’s true, but but but when? When God comes to Israel and he in verse four, he says, is it time for you to live in your paneled houses while while the house of God lies desolate, God is saying something specific that would catch the nation of Israel off guard. If you’ve ever seen pictures of Israel, this is.
This is no joke. I had friends that lived in Israel when I first moved to Utah and and they took pictures. I was out in Eagle Mountain and they took pictures of the land where they lived. They lived on a kibbutz and they worked a banana field when they lived in Israel. And they were going to college out there and learning Hebrew and, and they took pictures and sent it back to me. I was like, man, I want to see some pictures where you guys are sending to me. And it looked like they stepped out. The backyard of where I was in Eagle Mountain. Just snapped a shot of the mountain. I’m like, what? What? Is this a joke or are you guys actually visiting me? And you’re just not telling me what’s going on here? And so the landscape of Israel and a lot of it looks a lot like Utah. And, and when people built houses during this time, they, they would use rock and stone. Right. You know what that’s like? Because your yard has a lot of rock and stone. You mow the yard and be like, where did that come from? Yesterday’s not here. Just like comes out of the earth, these rocks and stones. Israel to get the paneling for their homes, they’d have to drive a great distance. It’s a lot of difficulty to do this just to come back and decorate their home in a nice way.
God’s not saying to you in this verse, listen, if you really want to follow Jesus, you need to live in a hut and eat bugs, okay? It’s not what it’s for saying, I think God wants you to have a house. God wants you to enjoy what he provides for you. I don’t think that the problem with Israel is that they’re, they’re they’re even maybe considered wealthy at the time. I don’t think that wealth is the issue. I think the problem isn’t the, the, the the laziness. The problem isn’t the wealth. The problem really, for Israel is the priority and purpose for which they’re living. They’re displaying through their actions where their heart is really focused. And they’ve given these excuses up front and they’re saying, you know, it’s it’s difficult and it’s hard. And and then on the back end of that, they’re going and doing something difficult and hard just to make their lives a little more luxurious. And it’s not even a necessity for them. And so God’s just juxtaposing their own argument to them. He’s saying, listen, you said that you’re not interested in building my house because it’s not it’s it’s hard and it’s not easy. But look, you’re doing something that’s hard and not easy just for your own glory. I mean, what’s that about? I don’t think God wants us to live poor. And I think God, if if you as a believer in Christ can can make money, make money.
This is. Recognize. But God is the giver of all good things. And you’re a steward of everything that he allows to go through your hands. You’re accountable for it. And God’s just pointing out to Israel. Guess you just use it for my glory. I mean, you can use your house for his glory. This church for his glory. We’ve got a choice. You could use it for your your glory or his glory. And God’s pointing to Israel. Listen, just because you’re saying it’s hard really isn’t an excuse. Because when you you walk out, you’re doing something just as difficult. But rather than for my glory, which lasts for eternity, you’re doing it for your glory. Verse five and six follow the same line of thinking, verse seven, eight and nine. So if you read verse five and six, you’ll see the same thoughts expressed in seven, eight, and nine. So Haggai goes on a little further, and he says, as thus saith the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Like if we’re going to talk about adversity for a minute, let’s let’s ask the important question. Let’s stop in the adversity and just say why. Why are you doing what you’re doing? I think that is the crucial key question for any believer facing hardships in life. Any hardship in general. Why? Because that question gives us the the ultimate purpose and defining why we’re choosing to live the way we’re living.
Is the adversity worth it? Because the ultimate goal is far greater than what the adversity expresses? Or would you become a person that just takes the road that’s least challenged? Why? And God. After he, he puts the the two positions between the nation of Israel says, let’s just let’s just stop and think about this, guys. Why? And so he says in verse eight, go up to the mountains, bring wood, and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified, says the Lord. You look for much, but behold, it becomes too little. Let me just stop there. Because after you ask the question why, the Lord is saying to the nation of Israel. Look when you recognize the importance of what this moment stands for. Here’s what I want you to do. And he says it in verse eight. Can I tell you? 50,000 people. Went to the back to Jerusalem. Whole civilization wiped out. Removed into captivity 50,000 return. God just recognizing for them the unique opportunity they have. Look, guys, you are the 50,000. Lucky you have a purpose. Look at the opportunity in front of you. I think, as I reflect it to our city. You’re not 50,000. But look what God’s done here. Six years ago, meeting in the living room with just a couple of people. Not even a penny to our name.
We’ve moved six times in six years. And finally into this place. What an opportunity. I know people have been praying for the city for years. What an opportunity. Why? You know, I said, God works miracles still today. In verse seven, God answers the question or asks the question why? For the people of Israel, consider your ways in verse eight. He then tells them what to do. And I think between verse seven, verse eight, when they start to follow what verse eight says, that is where the miracle takes place. But God just didn’t show up in their complaint and go, you know what? I’m going to I’m going to make it super easy. You keep you keep the pedal home. I’m you just play the lottery and you got this, all right? That’s not what God does. The real miracle that God works is in the heart of his people. And so in verse eight, this is what he says to them, the same thing that you were doing and the same ability that you already have, I just want you to keep using it. I’m not going to do anything different. I just want to repurpose what we’re doing while we’re doing it. And God. God, when he holds us accountable, he’s not. Sometimes we get all tense and thinking about man. What does God want me to do? And I can’t do enough to make him happy. All God wants you to do is just be faithful with what you have.
It’s not expecting Superman. Just as wants people to love them. Take what he’s given you. And just think long terme. Answer the question. Why? I love this. This happened within our church. I went to somebody and I just said, um. Why? Why are you part of ABC and why would you want to be here? And why do you why do you like the church? And and this is what they said. They just said, you know, I know sometimes for us it’s not easy. This is we’re the first generation of this church, and we’ve got a lot of things to build and look forward to for the future. But he said this, I love doing this here. Because the next generation. And the next generation is going to have it in their hands to run with it in Christ. And so, yeah, I’m fighting those battles and we’re we’re building this place because we want to see what God’s got in store. Not not just for me. It’s not it’s not just about me. It’s about all of us around each other. It’s about what God’s going to do in the future. That. That’s why. And so we could we could go back and appreciate what our church has done just over the years and all the effort that we’ve put forth. And we could go back at any time and say, you know what, it’s hard.
And so I’m just going to focus on my paneled home. And Jesus just stops in his moments and he just says, why? I mean, if what I am matters. Why? Why not just think about all the possibilities beyond just your paneled home? The paneled home will fall apart. But. But just think why beyond us and the generations and what you’re doing, Israel. If you could just think beyond just this moment of distress and you think tens of hundreds of years, you’re not just affecting you, you’re affecting your kids and your grandkids. That’s why. Verse nine. You look for much, but behold, it comes to little. When you bring it to home, I blow it away. Why? Declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house which lies desolate, which each of you runs to his own home. I know Israel had special promises before God where God said, if you follow me, you’ll be blessed, and if you don’t, then you’ll suffer. And I think that’s true for us spiritually. I’m not going to tell you, if you follow God, he’s he’s going to make your bank account look a certain way. But I will tell you, if you follow God. The promises. He fills you with joy. He fills you with peace and he fills you with long suffering. He fills it with the fruit of his spirit. On the back end of that, I would I would be careful in reading a verse like this to ever suggest that if anything bad happens to us, it’s God punishing us.
Okay. That’s not true. We live in a sin cursed world. And the effects of sin. They just linger there, there until Jesus redeems it. But here’s here’s the way that we can use challenge to our adversity. The Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned, the curse of sin falls. God tells the woman you’ll experience pain in child labor, and God tells the man you’ll experience pain from the soil. The thorns will grow from the sweat of your brow. Well, the reason I think God is identifying that for Adam and Eve. Is in those moments of that adversity, we begin to recognize we’re created for more than this, right? And the challenge of that drives us closer to the Lord, who will redeem all things as King of kings and Lord of Lords. The adversity that we face if we’re being honest. So really, it’s not until I face hardships that I’m really seeking God the way that I was created to seek God. In verse nine. I think that’s what God’s identifying. Like you find yourself hungering and thirsting for things of this world that do not satisfy. But let the unsatisfaction of that drive you to the one who does. We’ll skip ahead verse 12 to 14. This is the change that happens in the people of Israel.
It’s recorded in these verses. All the remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord, their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet. As the Lord their God has sent them. And the people showed reverence for the Lord. Then Haggai the messenger of the Lord spoke, I am with you, declares the Lord. So the Lord stirred up the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God. Let’s remember I said, God’s not expecting you to be Superman. Just faithful. Just looking to him. Verse 12, the people’s responsibility. You see what the people did. Verse 13 and 14 is everything God did after that. Verse 12, this is all it says. Look at this. At the very last sentence, the people showed reverence for the Lord. This is also defined sometimes as as fear of the Lord. Fear is not to be afraid. It’s to Revere the position that he has over us as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In fact, when you read the book of Haggai, you’ll see the. The word Lord of hosts is used 14 out of 38 verses 14 times and 38 verses. There is definitely a thought Haggai wants to create in our mind about our God, Lord of hosts. In the Old Testament, the word Lord of hosts was was a king surrounded by his army, dressed for battle.
He is the one to be revered. He is the one who has authority. And so when we come in to worship God, there’s a beautiful picture God creates for us as a father intimate, close relationship. And at the same time he is still Lord to be honored and revered. When I open up God’s word to teach you guys. In my heart, I would like to say I always do this. I don’t know that there could be a time that I forget to do this, but. But I just think about the accountability God has for me and opening His word. To ever think about misleading someone. To displaying God in a false way. To communicating something that isn’t true. Before God I Revere. Well, this is sacred. Anytime we open God’s Word, it is sacred and we’re in holy ground. It’s not. It’s something that we can come and enjoy, but something at the same time where we’re enjoying God, who is such a good God to be enjoyed. We Revere him. And in verse 13, God tells them just two things. Listen, I’m with you. And now I’ll just stir your hearts. Refocus and refine your vision in the midst of adversity. Adversity has the opportunity to kill your passion or refine your focus. And so what does all this mean for us as a church? Well, God’s not doing miracles in the Old Testament to tell us about who he he was, but I think he’s sharing stories like this to remind us of of who he is.
And I believe as a as a church family, God has been displaying himself for us by providing for us, by growing what he’s doing here, both numerically and spiritually with within our hearts. And to be honest, we recently we’ve come into this building. We’ve we’ve remodeled it and whatnot. God doesn’t call every, every local expression of him to build buildings. As a matter of fact, if you’re in a country that’s persecuted, that would be a a wonderful way to go ahead and put an extra target on your back. So it’s not recommended in something like that. But when the early church, when the early church experienced persecution, as soon as Christianity was legalized, you know, the first thing they started doing. Building churches, buildings for the church, I should say. They started building places to gather to worship. Why? Because it was a recognition to the people of the city and the places where they gathered together. If you if you want to know about this Christ, this place stands as as a pillar just to honor who he is. Revere him that you may come to know him and enjoy him. And six years ago. We just started our seventh year at the in this month. But for six years as a church, we started with a nickel to our name.
In six different places. To end up here. For the last six years, our church has grown by an average of 30%. Now if you do the math. In the beginning of 2017. That means our average attendance on Sunday will hit over 300. We bought this building. That’s what we planned to max out at. Haha. Paneled homes, which means what God desires for us to do in the future. We got to keep dreaming if we keep growing the way that we’re growing. To date, we’re still working on our facility. In. Last fall, we started a campaign to raise $100,000 to improve the scary part on the outside, right? We focus on the insights we get to gather and we could worship here. We met with the city of Lehi. We told them we’re going to buy this building and we’re going to fix it all up. So it looks nice in the city. And the city said, okay, you can buy the building, you can meet there. And to this point, we still haven’t fixed up the outside. We’ve been working with the city of Lehi since then. We started a campaign to raise over $100,000, and we got to 60,000, and we kind of sputtered out, right? I know 100,000 is a lot. We got the 60,000, and that’s just where we kind of hit our, our our mark. And and so I’m trying to make 60,000 be 100,000 to do what we want to do is a little bit difficult.
So it’s taken us a little longer to to work with the city and find out where we can kind of allocate some funds and, and how to design it. And we’re about to start the construction process again. But let me just let me give you an idea of, of what we, what we want to do for $65,000. This is what we can get based on our bids. We have a sidewalk that’s going to go around our parking lot. We have a new parking lot that’s going to be poured and relandscaped to have better drainage. We’re going to have a sprinkler system and landscaping or have a better drain system outside. We’re going to have a dumpster enclosure, put it on the facility at that stump in the corner that you’re always driving up to. You’re like, why is there just some random stump right here? But we’ll have a dumpster enclosure put in there and a light fixture in our parking lot. So when you come here in the winter time for a night study, you don’t feel like you’re going to get mugged when you walk in, right? $65,000 gets us that just recently for $5,000, a little over $5,000, we just added a new air conditioner into our facility that we needed, and with additional $40,000, it’ll be a little bit of a stretch.
But if we were to ever hit our $100,000 mark, which we’re trying to do, we have a plan to paint the building if we don’t do this. But we’re looking at stuccoing our facility and and upgrading it that way. We’re going to take down the scary building in the back where the pigeons live, take down the tree to add more parking. We won’t be able to add parking yet, but and we want to get an architect to give us some future plans of expansion for us as a church. And then we want to pull in some additional school buildings outside that you see, like in a high school or a class, a school needs to expand. They add the additional classroom buildings. We want to pull one in the in the facility outside where the house currently stands, to give us more classroom space for growth if we can get to that point. And why is all this important? I told you, God doesn’t call every local expression of him. Every church to local church to build buildings. But I think he calls some. And culturally. I think for us it’s especially important because buildings have a significance here. A building for us in the city. This is the only freestanding church building in our city. This is an expression of what God has done over the last six years. And not only even that, the people have been praying for a church like this.
Not only is an expression of honoring our God for what he’s done. But it’s also an expression to honor God for what he is doing and what he will continue to do. God is still a God who desires the nations. So we have a place for fellowship here. To honor our God and each other. And this is as a church family. This is what we say. Our purpose on Sunday morning is to encourage everyone closer to the Lord and closer to each other. When we walk out on Sunday morning. If we’ve done that, we feel like we’ve we’ve won. Wee wee wee. Tell even people if you serve, if you ever serve in on a Sunday morning in a ministry, if you come to the the class, we do a special class twice a year for people who serve to to just say, this is what we’re about. We say you have a ministry in the church, but your ministry isn’t designed to accomplish a task. The reason we create ministries in our church, and the reason we have what we have on Sunday morning is not to accomplish a task, but to reach hearts. Everything that we have is about reaching hearts. Let me just throw this thought in. I need to hurry up and close. In the Bible, you’ll see that fellowship is important. And so is hospitality. Fellowship and hospitality are, um, have significant distinguishing between their two words.
Okay. Fellowship is what the body of Christ does. The church exists to make disciples follower of Jesus, but the church is also a church of hospitality. When you read the word hospitality in the Bible, you’ll see in the New Testament that word, when it’s used, is used towards people who aren’t a part of the body of Christ. And yet when you look in the New Testament to read about the hospitality, it’s what God uses to describe godly people. In fact, in first Timothy three, which is the qualification for an elder, which is the leadership of the church in Titus chapter one. Same thing in verse eight. Qualification of elder and leader in the church. The the same word appears hospitable for both of them. It literally means being cordial or treating strangers with honor and respect, serving them. And so we like to use a vocabulary. When someone comes into our church on Sunday, you’re not just a visitor to us, but because we understand that God calls us to be hospitable. You’re really a guest in our house. That’s what hospitable hospitality means. You are a guest that we honor. First Timothy chapter five, talking about a godly woman. Same words expressed their hospitality in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse two. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers. And this is the point. God’s called you to be a light. Paneled homes, I guess are great, but Jesus is greater.
God’s called his people to be people of hospitality. When anyone walks through our doors to see it as a gift to say, man, we are so glad you chose to spend some time with us today. Not believe the way that we treat people is important, and the way that we display our God is important. Here’s what the outside of the facility means. We care about you. That’s what it should communicate. We want to serve you. We want you to feel comfortable here. And here’s here’s here’s what we knew about our area. It’s not hard or it’s not easy. Excuse me? It’s not easy in Utah to wake up and say, you know what? I’m going to go to Alpine Bible Church. I mean, more than just because it’s scary on the outside, right? But just because of what it can mean relationally for them in their lives and how it can affect them. It’s not easy to make the decision to come here. Matter of fact, as long as we’ve existed as a church family, I’ve heard person after person say how? How the first time they came through her doors, just the fear that struck their heart. But when they got here, how blessed they were by the congregation. Look, we want to do what we can. You don’t have to be Superman, but we want to do what we can. Just to say to our community how great our God is.
And we want to serve you as a guest to come here about what God’s doing. Here’s our encouragement in a week. If everything goes the way it’s lined out right now, we should be able to break ground on our facility to start construction on our sidewalk and parking lot and all that. We’ve had these plans for like three years now, and and I’m excited about that. And while I’m excited to look for the change, I’m still looking just to be able to complete what we bought and think, man, how can we just get to that last hurdle? So here’s my encouragement for you. If you just want to use what God’s given you to do that. Um, outside when you leave below the poster for our building campaign in the hallway. We still have those envelopes there. We’ve never stopped raising our funds. We just stopped at 60,000. At 65,000, is what we need to finish up our first project, and another 40,000 to continue to beautify the outside of our building. Just just to say to this world how great our God is. Utah’s got a lot of pretty homes, and I’d like to set a place here for the future. To say to our society, if you ever want to come and know this Jesus. Look to ABC. Let God use the adversity to refine your focus and put some paneling on his building.