The Way to Revival - Haggai 1:14-15

"So the Lord sparked the enthusiasm of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the enthusiasm of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God’s people. They began to work on the house of their God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, on September 21 of the second year of King Darius’s reign." Many of the Jewish exiles returned to Judea in 538 BC after Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, issued a decreed permitting people who had been conquered and deported by the Babylonians to return to their homelands. Upon returning they immediately began work to rebuild the Temple. When they encountered resistance from the local inhabitants, they lost their enthusiasm for the project and the construction was neglected for almost twenty years. So God sent the prophet Haggai to motivate the repatriated Jews to complete the construction of the Temple. Haggai pointed out to them that their priorities had gotten messed up (vs. 9) and so there was no compelling concern for spiritual matters. But God stirred the hearts of the leaders and the people to revival and they responded by reviving the effort to restore the Temple. When Haggai called the people to spiritual renewal they obeyed his message: "Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of God’s people began to obey the message from the Lord their God. When they heard the words of the prophet Haggai, whom the Lord their God had sent, the people feared the Lord" (vs. 12). Once they began to put spiritual matters first and decided to obey God's will, then God was with them (vs. 13) and He evoked their enthusiasm for accomplishing His will to reconstruct the Temple. For spiritual revival to occur among us collectively, first we must individually make God's plans and purposes our main priority and actively respond to His calling. Then He will give us the zeal to accomplish His will! "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you" (Acts 1:8).