I Know Why I'm Here

Haggai 2:1-9 February 1, 2026 Pastor Ricky Alcantar

Thesis Out of all time and all places, God has sent you here with purpose, and you must be strong, work at what He has called you to, and know that He is with you in it.

Series

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Type

Expository

Tone

pastoraldidacticprophetic

Method

grammatical-historicalapplicatoryredemptive-historical

What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

47 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #43

"The pastor issues a concrete application involving writing down the sermon's core conviction. The humor about running out of cards creates congregational connection while setting up the specific action step that follows."

Doctrinal loci· 12 surfaced

Sanctification · 18 Providence / Sovereignty · 12 Ecclesiology · 9 Theology Proper · 6 Bibliology · 5 Soteriology · 3 Christology · 2 Covenant Theology · 2 Ethics / Moral Theology · 2 Hamartiology · 2 Eschatology · 1 Pneumatology · 1

Bible citations· 11

Illustrations· 8

cultural reference · unit #3 — The pastor establishes the cultural norm for coach introductions—generic, unmemorable, full of clichés—to create contrast with what follows. He invites the congregation into shared recognition of this pattern, building anticipation for the deviation.
cultural reference · unit #4 — The pastor delivers the payoff of the illustration—a coach who breaks every convention with radical conviction and clarity of purpose. The dramatic tension is in the contrast between expected and actual, highlighting the power of knowing you've been sent by God.
hypothetical · unit #15 — The pastor illustrates the everyday need for courage through marital conflict and reconciliation. The illustration highlights the paradox that physical strength (heavy lifting at 5am) does not equate to relational courage, making the abstract call to "be strong" concrete and personally challenging.
hypothetical · unit #16 — The pastor extends the illustration to multiple scenarios—reconciliation, forgiveness, confronting sin in others. Each example demonstrates a different arena where the abstract command "be strong" must become concrete action, accumulating weight through repetition.
personal story · unit #21 — The pastor introduces a personal story about struggling to wake up, establishing the scenario and his natural inclination as a non-morning person. This sets up the tension between desire and action that the illustration will resolve.
personal story · unit #22 — The pastor details the conflict between conviction (need to study the Bible with his sons) and obstacle (medication-induced difficulty waking), then narrates his failed attempts at solutions. The accumulation of failed strategies builds tension toward the resolution.
personal story · unit #23 — The pastor delivers the resolution of the illustration—the only solution was to stop looking for solutions and simply act. The simplicity of the answer contrasts with the complexity of the attempted solutions, making the point memorable and slightly humorous.
cultural reference · unit #28 — The pastor uses a cultural reference from spy movies to illustrate the false promise of distant support—the earpiece and the phrase "we'll be with you every step of the way" always fail. The illustration builds up the contrast with God's actual presence through humor and cultural familiarity.

Theological claims· 15

Haggai 1-2 should produce in God's people the same kind of settled conviction that made the coach's speech powerful—the conviction that we know why we're here and that God has sent us. unit #5
God has sovereignly placed you in El Paso in 2026 with the same kind of divine purpose that He placed the Israelites in Jerusalem, and you must remember you have been sent here for the mission of making disciples and building God's living temple. unit #7
"Be strong" is not a command to feel a certain way but to adopt a settled mindset and direction—it is a call to action, not a mood. unit #13
Every aspect of the Christian life requires obedience to the command to be strong—not just exceptional moments but every step toward Christ. unit #14
At some point, obedience requires ending the cycle of thinking, talking, and wondering and instead moving to action. unit #20
The comfort of God's command to work is that He does not send us alone—He goes with us in the work He calls us to do. unit #27
God's promise "I am with you" is grounded in His covenant faithfulness demonstrated in the Exodus—He does not promise distant support but actual presence in the midst of His people. unit #29
God's character is defined by His accompaniment of His people in the tasks He assigns—He is not distant but present with us wherever He sends us. unit #31
The first obstacle to apprehending God's purposes is the human desire to maintain control over our own plans rather than submitting to God's plan for our lives. unit #34
We often bring our own plans to God asking for blessing rather than seeking God's plan, and then wonder why our plans are not working when God has not called us to them. unit #35
The second obstacle is believing that God's purposes for you are too small, a perception shaped by comparing your actual calling to the highlight reels of social media. unit #38
The problem is not that our lives are too small but that we measure significance by worldly standards rather than eternal ones—what seems small now (marriage, parenting, service) has eternal glory while what seems big now will be dust. unit #39
The third obstacle is believing that God's purposes for you are too big, leading to paralysis through comparison with others who seem more gifted or faithful. unit #40
God has sovereignly and purposefully brought you into His mission—if you are His child, you are a living stone He intends to build with, and He does nothing by accident. unit #41
Though the mission is big, the fact that the Lord invites you into it means it is not too big for you. unit #42

Quotations· 3

"I know why I'm here. God sent me." — Colorado tight ends coach (unit #5)

"God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" — Common church saying (unit #34)

"God loves me and I have a wonderful plan for my life" — Human heart's distortion (unit #34)

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Full transcript

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0 · The pastor frames the sermon as a "family meeting" for church members while welcoming outsiders

Good morning, friends. It is so good to see name tags on people and reason we're doing. This is this is sort of a family meeting Sunday. This is if you've ever grown up, if your dad ever called a family meeting around the dinner table, that's a little bit what the feel of this Sunday is. So if you are part of the church, do you consider this your church home? This is for you. If you're not part of our church, we, we, we are not trying to steal you from wherever you're currently worshiping, even if you find yourself here today. But we do have a desire for every single Christian in El Paso that you would be a vital, connected part of a local church. And so this is if you're, you've been a little bit on the outside, or maybe you're not even a Christian, you're just exploring what it means to follow Jesus. You kind of get welcomed into the family room today. And what we're going to do is we're going to look at a passage that will give us a charge in how go Chapter two. And then we'll pause, worship, allow the Lord to seal that in our hearts, and then I'm going to give a bunch of family updates for the church that I think will be very encouraging. So we're in the book of Haggai this morning, Haggai, chapter two.

1 · The pastor reads Haggai 2:1-9 in full, providing the biblical text that will serve as the foundation for the sermon

Feel free to consult the front of your Bible to find that book. It's easy to miss only two pages in most Bibles, but profoundly significant and encouraging for us. So Haggai chapter two, we're going to begin reading in verse one. And this is God's word in the seventh month. On the 21st day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet. Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Sheltiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people. And say, who is left among you? Who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes yet? Now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Where work for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts. According to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt, my spirit remains in your midst. Fear not, this is God's Word and Lord, we pray for your blessing over the preaching and the hearing of your word in Christ's name, Amen.

2 · The pastor introduces a contemporary illustration from college football that will serve as the sermon's controlling image

Recently I saw that on sports, social media. A 30 second clip of a coach went viral for a very unusual reason. Maybe you've seen this clip. If you're, if you're tied into college football, you've probably seen this clip. It was a clip from a meeting at the University of Colorado, and one of the position coaches, the tight end coach, was asked to introduce himself to the team.

3 · The pastor establishes the cultural norm for coach introductions—generic, unmemorable, full of clichés—to create contrast with what follows

Now look, if you follow sports, you've seen introductions like this a million times. It's like, hey, this is quarterbacks coach is the tight ends coach. And they walk up and they're like, all right, boys, thanks so much for the privilege. It's a great thing to be here at the University of Colorado. I'm so excited to be able to work with you guys and, and hopefully put some, some wins on the board for us this year. Thank you so much. Right? They do something like that. All right, that's like, who's heard that speech? Everybody's heard that speech, right? Introduction, classic sports.

4 · The pastor delivers the payoff of the illustration—a coach who breaks every convention with radical conviction and clarity of purpose

This dude did something totally different. This guy walks up to the. You gotta remember, this is not the head coach. This is the tight EDS coach, okay? He walks up to the front of the team and he stares at everyone and says, I know why I'm here. God sent me. I know that. That was the beginning of his introduction. And you could feel the room go like, whoa, okay, this guy's gonna make something happen here. And then he gave a little bit of his coaching philosophy. They kind of dropped the mic and walked back out.

5 · The pastor interprets the illustration, naming the quality that made it powerful—conviction—and explicitly connects it to the intended effect of Haggai 1-2 on believers

Now, it went viral because it resonated with people. It wasn't wishy washy, it wasn't hype. He wasn't screaming or yelling. It was just, if I could say it this way, it was conviction. Like, you see on his face, he really believed that he knows why he's in that room and he believes that God has sent him to be there. And all of a sudden, everybody on social media, we're going to listen to this guy, right? That should be the effect of agai chapters one and two to God's people.

6 · The pastor unpacks the historical situation behind Haggai's prophecy

Because here's the challenge. God's people had been sent back to their homeland 16 years earlier. They were sent back to rebuild the, the temple and the walls. And yet they had given up. And they had forgotten why they were there. They had forgotten that God had sent them there. And so God sends the prophet Haggai and the prophet Zechariah to essentially tell the people, you should know why you're here. God's sent you.

7 · The pastor makes the hermeneutical move from ancient text to contemporary application, asserting that God's sovereignty over time and place means every believer has been specifically sent to their current location with divine purpose

Now, that's not just a word for them. And then it is a word for us today, here and now. God, friend. God has sent you here. Out of all the centuries of God's people, God has sent you. Insert your name here to the year of our Lord 2026. Right? Wasn't any. You know, sometimes we joke like, oh, I wish I'd been born in the olden times. I should have been a colonial. I should have been, you know, I'd rather live in the future when we figured out cancer or whatever else. And yet God, listen, God saw all of history before him and, and saw you and sent you here. And he sent you here to the city of El Paso right now to where you're sitting out of all the world. You might think, oh, I wish I'd live over here. I wish I'd live over there. Nope, that's not where God sent you. God sent you here today. And, and here is the challenge. We, like God's people, need to remember that God has sent us here. And Haggai 1 and 2 are meant to do that. We, just as clearly as Haggai's people, had a goal in mind and a mission in mind. We have a goal and a mission. God, the Lord commands us in Matthew 28 to go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations. And in First Peter 2, God calls His people into this great building project to be a living temple to declare the glory of God to the world around us. And the purposes of God to make disciples. And the purposes of God to reach the world are wrapped up, as we've seen, in the local church. So, friend, out of all time, out of all places, you have been sent here.

8 · The pastor signals the sermon's three-point structure, preparing the congregation for the main body of exposition and application that follows

Now, three things God's going to tell us this morning to stir his people up.

9 · The pastor introduces the first command from Haggai 2:4, highlighting the repetition of "be strong" and identifying the recipients—governor, high priest, and all the people

The first one is this. Be strong. Notice how often this phrase occurs in verse four. Yet now be strong. Oh, Zerubbabel, that's the governor, declares the Lord, be strong. O Joshua. This is the religious leader, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land declares the Lord.

10 · The pastor links "be strong" with "fear not" from verse 5, establishing that this is not merely about physical strength but about a mindset of courage

Now the word, that phrase, be strong is. Is paired with. In verse five, fear not, right? So the effect is, is one of a mindset of courage and to. Of strength.

11 · The pastor establishes a biblical pattern by connecting Haggai's command to the parallel command in Joshua 1

And this is a commons call whenever God's people have a task set in front of them. You see this in Joshua 1, where they enter the promised land. God tells his people, be strong and courageous. Be strong and courageous. This is a constant call

12 · The pastor anticipates and answers an objection that this command might only apply to Old Testament situations

and you might think, okay, well, sure, I've read the Old Testament. You definitely need to be strong and courageous. There's giants out there. There's crazy stuff going on. But we live in the New Testament. Well, just the same, God charges his people in First Corinthians 16:13, which says, Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men, be strong. I've never seen that on like a. A little coffee cup with a flower, but it's in the Bible. Be strong.

13 · The pastor defines what "be strong" means and does not mean

Notice that this is not a mere emotion. This is not a feeling strong and courageous. It is an. Is a call of action to be strong and courageous. Courageous. It is not a mood. It is a mindset. It is a settled direction and conviction.

14 · The pastor universalizes the application of the command, asserting that strength is not needed for some moments but for every moment of obedience

And friends, everything in the Christian life requires us to obey this command, to be strong. Every step toward Christ in our lives requires strong courage.

15 · The pastor illustrates the everyday need for courage through marital conflict and reconciliation

Think about it this way. The decision when a husband and wife have been fighting and they're at opposite ends of the house, for one of them to walk over to the other and repent and ask forgiveness and ask to pray, that takes courage. Right? Right. There's some. Some folks that lift super heavy. Right? Right. At 5:00am in the morning, but it's too far for them to go to get across the house to their wife. Right? It takes courage, doesn't it?

16 · The pastor extends the illustration to multiple scenarios—reconciliation, forgiveness, confronting sin in others

Similarly, maybe it's not. Maybe it's not that for you. Maybe it's the courage to reconcile. The courage to have a meeting, to sit down, share your heart, and to forgive somebody. Man, that takes courage. The decision to see a brother or sister in sin and lovingly walk over and say, can I help? This is. This is wrong. You've got to turn from this. That takes courage.

17 · The pastor issues direct application through rhetorical questions, pressing each listener to identify where they specifically need to obey the command to be strong

Courage. Everything in the Christian life takes courage. So, friend, where do you need that today? Where do you need that courage today? Where might the Lord be calling you to be strong? Not waiting for some feeling of fuzzy strength to come upon you, but a settled conviction.

18 · The pastor transitions to the second command, introducing the work theme while maintaining connection to the first command through the conjunction "and

Second thing, God says to stir us up. Work. Be strong and work.

19 · The pastor exposes the rhetorical structure of the passage, showing how everything in Haggai 2 aims toward the command to work

Notice the charge. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of Hosts. Now it's interesting. This passage is structured like an arrow. There's a bunch going on in the passage, but. But God in the beginning diagnoses their discouragement. At the end, he gives a glimpse into their glorious future. He shapes their convictions. He encourages their hearts. He says, be strong. He's going to say he's with them. But all of it is pointed like an arrow to this one word. Work. Work.

20 · The pastor makes the theological claim that the Christian life requires movement from contemplation to action

You must at some point in the Christian Life. Stop thinking about it, stop talking about it, stop wondering about it and just go to now.

21 · The pastor introduces a personal story about struggling to wake up, establishing the scenario and his natural inclination as a non-morning person

A few years ago, I ran into a problem. I started taking a medication that made it really hard to wake up in the morning and it'd be on it for a period of time. And listen, I'm already not a morning person. Some of you guys are. Yeah, I know there's a home group that the guys are meeting at like 5:30 to work out and fellowship and like talk about the Lord and like God bless you. But there's nothing in my heart that desires that, you know, God bless you guys.

22 · The pastor details the conflict between conviction (need to study the Bible with his sons) and obstacle (medication-induced difficulty waking), then narrates his failed attempts at solutions

And yet at the same time I started taking this medication, I started to have this conviction and desire that I need to, I need to spend time in the Bible with my sons before they go off into their day. And I knew those things were in conflict, right? It's really hard for me to wake up and I gotta get up. So, so I tried everything I looked up online. What are the tips and trip tricks to wake up early? So I tried different things with my alarm. I tried playing music, I tried, you know, playing something immediately to wake my brain up. I drinking a glass of water as soon as I was conscious. I tried, you know, these, these nighttime wind down routines and then these morning, put your, you know, put your clothes next to you by the bed so you, your body, open the windows. All this stuff, none of it worked.

23 · The pastor delivers the resolution of the illustration—the only solution was to stop looking for solutions and simply act

Except for one thing. You know what worked in the end? The one thing that actually did work is when the alarm went off. I got up, right? And I just thought, okay, there's gotta be some, some kind of thing, some kind of tip or trick. No, in the end you just have to get up, right?

24 · The pastor applies the illustration to multiple areas of Christian obedience, showing how the principle (stop strategizing and start acting) applies universally

And, and similarly, sometimes in the Christian life we spend times like, oh, I need to change in this area. I'm gonna read a book about that. I'm gonna listen to two sermons about that. I'm gonna talk to a friend about that. But then at the end of the day, you gotta go to work. You gotta get up and be about the call in front of you from the Lord. You gotta work at it. Look, this, this applies to everything in the Christian life. Christian life takes work. There are many times I wish the Christian life was sort of a conveyor belt, you know. Have you ever been to the airport in Phoenix? They've got those weird escalators that you just get on and it walks for you. And you're like, wow, this is, I'm not even walking, I'm just standing here. That's not The Christian life, friends, the Christian life is work. It's getting up, the alarm goes off. You get up and go to work. Work hard at persevering in suffering. Work hard at a job that you do not boss in. Work hard at reconciliation. Work hard at marriage. Work hard at parenting. Work hard at leading a church team. Work hard at extending that invite to Alpha tomorrow. Right? That takes work.

25 · The pastor presses the congregation to identify where they are stuck in contemplation rather than action, exposing a common pattern of using prayer as delay rather than accompaniment to obedience

And so the question is, maybe for you, where do you need to. To just get up and go to work rather than thinking about it? Sometimes people are like, well, I think the Lord's calling me to this, but I want to pray about it more. Or you could just go. You just do it, right? I'd rather pray about it also. Not do it yet, and certainly pray about it as you go, but we gotta go to work. It's the second thing.

26 · The pastor transitions to the third point while explicitly naming its function as comfort, distinguishing it from the demanding nature of the first two commands

Third thing. Third thing. The call is strong, but this third thing comforts us. Work. For I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts.

27 · The pastor articulates the theological comfort embedded in the command structure—God does not send alone but accompanies

Oh, friends, what a comfort. God calls us to be strong. He calls us to go to work, but then he meets us with the comfort that he is with us in the work that God himself does not say, you go over there and let me know how it goes. He says, you go over there and I go with you.

28 · The pastor uses a cultural reference from spy movies to illustrate the false promise of distant support—the earpiece and the phrase "we'll be with you every step of the way" always fail

Now, I got a pet peeve. I like action and spy movies, but there is a pet peeve that. That I have about these films that always at some point in the movie, there is an unsuspecting, you know, civilian person that they. they meet with, and they say, listen, this is gonna be real dangerous, but you're gonna have to go into the bad guys where they are, and we're gonna give you an earpiece. And they always say something like this, and don't worry, we're gonna be with you every step of the way. And the person's like, okay. And they have the earpiece and they get sent in, and at some point they're like, wait, we lost contact. What happened? What happened? They died. They always die, right? You never want to be the guy giving the earpiece and them tell you, don't worry, we'll be with you every step of the way. They won't. You know where they are? They're in the van. They're back in the van, or they're back at some headquarters somewhere going, I just can't find you on the. You know, and if I were in the film, I would demand, no, we're not doing that. You're coming with me. If you guys are so confident about this, we're all gonna go together. All right, Everybody in the van. Get out of the van. We're all going together, right?

29 · The pastor makes explicit the contrast between the spy movie trope and God's actual promise, then grounds that promise in the text's own language about covenant and presence

That. Friends, that is what the Lord is telling his people. He is not saying, you go, you do this difficult, dangerous thing and. And I'll be back here in the van. No, friends, notice the phrase for I am with you. Look. Look at the. Look at the language here. According to the covenant I made with you when you came out of Egypt, my spirit remains in your midst.

30 · The pastor unpacks the Exodus language from Haggai 2:5, tracing the pattern of God's presence through Israel's history—pillar of fire and cloud, tabernacle arrangement, temple presence

The Lord is not just distant from us. He's not watching us from afar. He is in our midst. This language of coming out of Egypt and God being in the midst of his people, it is covenantal language, language. It is, when God brings his people out of Egypt, he looks at them and he promises them, you will be my people and I will be your God. He brings them in redemption and rescue out of Egypt, and then he does not stay distant from them. He is with them as a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day. He is with them. The whole nation is as they march through the desert arranged around the tabernacle. The whole nation in the promised land is arranged around his presence in the temple.

31 · The pastor synthesizes the exposition and illustration into a clear doctrinal assertion about God's character, then appeals directly to the congregation for emotional affirmation

God is not a God who is distant and says, you go over there and let me know how it goes. God is a God who goes with us. What he calls us to go. And that is, friends, that is so profoundly encouraging and so profoundly strengthening, isn't it?

32 · The pastor applies the truth of God's presence through direct questions and then shows how this truth transforms the entire mindset from defeat to conviction

So where do you need to take hold of this truth that. That God is with you as you go? He's not saying you go over there. He's saying, you go and I go with you. You see how that mindset absolutely changes from. From, okay, we're going to. We're to going. We're going to forget what God's called us to do and why he's called us to do it to. All of a sudden, yes, I'm called to be strong. I'm called to work. I know God's with me all of a sudden. That creates that mindset of, I know why I'm here, God sent me, and then you go to work.

33 · The pastor signals a structural shift to address obstacles, preparing the congregation for diagnostic work that will help them identify what prevents them from living in light of the sermon's truth

Now, three obstacles I want to briefly point out to this that keep us from grabbing hold of this mindset.

34 · The pastor names the first obstacle—rebellion against God's plan—and exposes it through a humorous deconstruction of a familiar Christian phrase

The first obstacle is this. Sometimes you're still fighting against God's purposes for your life. Often in church, we say something like, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. And that's true. Amen. But often what we want to say is, amen, God loves me and I have a wonderful plan for my life. And you're like, no, I don't think that was. That's not what we said. And yet that's what my heart goes to so often, isn't it? I want to decide with my life where I go. I want to decide what to do. I want to decide what my work is.

35 · The pastor describes the pattern of bringing our own plans to God for blessing rather than seeking God's plans, showing how this leads to frustration when God does not bless what He has not called us to

But this. Look, taking hold of this truth means saying, no, Lord, you're my savior, you're my king, and I follow your plan for my life. And so often we bring our plan to the Lord and go, hey, Lord, can you bless this? Can you be with me in this? And sometimes the Lord says, no, that's not what I've called you to do. And then we go, why isn't it working? It should be working better. Why isn't the Lord blessing it? And the Lord is saying, daughter, son, that's not what I have for you.

36 · The pastor addresses non-Christians directly, using the obstacle discussion as a gospel opportunity

Look, friend, if you're here and you're not a Christian, this is the core of what it means to be a Christian. It means to say, to claim Jesus as your Savior. And as your Lord is saying, look, you can't. Your plan for your life, just like my plan for my life always ends in loss and sorrow. That's the truth of the human condition. Generation after generation, it's been the same. And yet the Lord sends Jesus Christ to save us and redeem us, to pay for our sins, renew us, and give us a new plan. His plan for our lives, rather to return us to his plan.

37 · The pastor applies the gospel presentation to believers as well, showing that the solution to the first obstacle is to ask God what His plan is rather than seeking external changes

And so today, listen, what you need most in life isn't a new job, it isn't a new spouse, it isn't a new, you know, city. It isn't whatever it is to say, lord, what is your plan for my life? And apprehend that that's the first mindset that may be holding you back.

38 · The pastor names the second obstacle—viewing one's calling as too small—and describes the symptoms with concrete details that make the diagnosis recognizable

The second is this. Maybe you think God's purpose says, for you are too small, meaning you have a job, you don't love, you don't have as many friends as you hope to. You serve on a church team, but it doesn't seem to do a whole lot. You try to point your unbelieving family to Jesus, but it doesn't seem like people get saved every Thanksgiving. And it just seems small. At the end of the day, you go, I thought I was going to live a bigger life like the ones in social media.

39 · The pastor reframes the problem by contrasting worldly measures of significance with eternal measures, showing that what appears small now has eternal weight while what appears big now will be ash

And here's what we got to understand. God's view of what matters eternally is so much clearer than ours because so much of the stuff that we think is the big life in the world around us is going to be dust and ash by the end of our lives, much less in eternity. And the small, quote unquote, things of life like marriage, parenting, service, instructing kids about Jesus, all that stuff ripples out in eternity and glory and will be beautiful forever. The problem isn't that our lives are too small. It's that we see them as small through the eyes of the world.

40 · The pastor names the third obstacle—viewing God's purposes as too big for one's abilities—and voices the internal monologue of inadequacy through comparison with others in the church

The third obstacle is this. You think God's purposes for you are too big. You just think, man, I'm just a normal person. I. I don't do the big stuff. I don't get up and teach the Bible. I don't, you know, I'm not, you know, powerfully evangelizing people like some of the teachers at Alpha. I'm not doing this. I'm not a prayer warrior like this person. I just. I'm just trying to live.

41 · The pastor counters the third obstacle with the doctrine of divine sovereignty and the corporate imagery of the church as God's building project

Friends, out of all people and all places, God has. Has sought you out and brought you into his mission, and he doesn't ever do that by accident. If you are a son or daughter of God, you are a living stone. That he has beautiful purposes for that he desires to build with.

42 · The pastor concedes the bigness of the mission while affirming that God's invitation means it is not too big for those He calls

It is a big mission, but the Lord invites you into it.

43 · The pastor issues a concrete application involving writing down the sermon's core conviction

All right, let me. Let me close this sort of mini message with this. I was reflecting on that 30 second speech and the power of a guy who walks into a room and says, I know why I'm here. God sent me. And so if you would, I. I've given everybody a little card, or a bunch of you, at least a little card. Actually, I don't even know how many of you have this little card because we gave away too many in the first service. So the second service, people, you're just gonna have to write your own note. I tried to help you. And does anybody actually have this card or are we totally out? We got a few people. We got one guy. You've got. We have one card. You got two cards. Okay. Cinnamon rolls for them in the back. Yeah, we do have cinnamon rolls for you, but not a card. So here's what you're gonna have to do this week. We'll have some next week as well, but you're gonna have to take a piece of paper out, and I would love for you to write those two sentences down. I know why I'm here, and God sent me.

44 · The pastor testifies to the effectiveness of the practice he's recommending, then casts vision for what it would mean if the whole church lived with this conviction

Look, just writing that this week I did this. Just writing that in the top of my planner changed my week. Because imagine the effect it has that on Sunday morning we Gather, we're equipped. Imagine the effect on the city of El Paso around us if we all go in to whatever God has called us to tomorrow, whether it's work or school or caring for kids or caring for aging parents or. Or leaving on a business trip. We go into that with the mindset. We know why we're there. God has sent us there. And in that moment, allowing the Lord to say, friend, that's you. Be strong, work hard, and know that I'm with you. And so this week, I want to challenge you to do that and begin to live in the good of that

45 · The pastor transitions from the sermon proper to worship and prayer, inviting the congregation to stand and positioning the coming song as a means for God to seal the sermon's truth in their hearts

and do this. Let's stand. We're gonna sing a song that hopefully will allow the Lord to work in our hearts before we jump into all the updates, but let's just take a moment here and say, lord, help us. So would you pray with me?

46 · The pastor's closing prayer recapitulates the sermon's main themes—God's sovereignty over time and place, His purposes for each person, His presence with His people—and asks God to do the work of encouragement and conviction that the sermon has aimed for

Oh, heavenly Father, it is an incredible, incredible thing that none of us are here in this room by accident. None of us are here by accident, Lord, the maker of the stars and the Grand Canyon in the centuries of history behind us, that eternal, magnificent planner, the one who planned the cross of Jesus Christ and the resurrection, the one who's preparing for us an eternal home, that designer of all those great things is also the designer and shaper of our individual lives. And Lord, you have a purpose and a plan for every single blood bought son and daughter in this room. So that I pray for those that need to be encouraged today, that they would be stirred up and encouraged today, that they feel like they don't have a purpose. Lord, you've given them a purpose. Help them to see it. And for those of us that see our purpose, but it feels too big and too powerful and too impossible. Lord, help us to see that you're with us in the middle of it. And I pray that you do that work, do that work that only you could do in our hearts as we sing Amen.

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Jan 12, 2026

How to Grow For Sure in the New Year

Lasting Christian growth flows not from better resolutions but from a gospel-shaped identity that flips us right-side-up by God's mercy and binds us to other believers in Word-centered community.

Romans 12

Jan 18, 2026

Flight

When God calls His people to obedience, He accompanies that command with His presence and power, so that what appears to be a leap into a void is actually a step into His sustaining strength.

Haggai 1:12-15

Jan 25, 2026

You Build More Than You See

You build more than you see — ordinary faithfulness in the mundane work God has given you is building something far more glorious and eternal than you can comprehend.

Haggai 2:1-9

February 1 · This sermon

I Know Why I'm Here

Out of all time and all places, God has sent you here with purpose, and you must be strong, work at what He has called you to, and know that He is with you in it.

Haggai 2:1-9

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

In Haggai 2:1-9, God calls His people to remember that He has placed them in Jerusalem for a purpose. What specific purpose does God have fo…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

This week, we walk through five claims about God's sovereignty and our calling: why He has sent you here, what it means to be strong, how obedience requires action, that He is present with us in the work, and how to overcome the obstacles that keep us from apprehending His purpose.

Prayer

Prayer for Purpose and Presence

Father, we gather before You knowing that You are the God who sees, who sends, and who stays. You have not scattered us by accident into thi…

Family table

Why You're Here

This prompt invites your family to think about the difference between doing something just because you have to versus doing something becaus…

Couples

Sent Together on Purpose

What part of the sermon stirred your heart most—the call to be strong, the command to work, or the promise that God goes with us? Where do y…

Memorize

Haggai 2:4

This verse contains the three non-negotiable commands that structure the entire sermon: be strong, work, and know God's presence. It is the theological core of why you are in El Paso in 2026—God has sent you here with purpose, and He commands you to move from contemplation to action while assured of His actual presence in the work He calls you to do.

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

In Haggai 2:1-9, God calls His people to remember that He has placed them in Jerusalem for a purpose. What specific purpose does God have for His people in that moment, and how does the preacher connect that ancient calling to your own life in El Paso in 2026?

Haggai 2:4-5

→ What would change in your daily decisions this week if you truly believed God had sovereignly sent you here with purpose?
The sermon identifies three commands God gives His people: be strong, work, and remember His presence. Which of these three commands feels most distant or hardest to believe in your own life right now, and why?

Haggai 2:4
The preacher says that 'be strong' is not about feeling courageous but about adopting a settled mindset and direction. Can you think of a time when you moved forward in obedience even though you didn't feel strong, and what that taught you about what strength actually means?

1 Corinthians 16:13

→ How does understanding strength this way change how you approach a task God is calling you to do right now?
The sermon teaches that God's promise 'I am with you' is not distant support but His actual presence in the midst of His people—grounded in His covenant faithfulness shown in the Exodus. When have you experienced God's presence, not as a feeling, but as His actual accompaniment in a task He called you to?

Haggai 2:5
The preacher identifies three obstacles that keep believers from apprehending God's purposes: trying to maintain control over our own plans, thinking God's purposes for us are too small, or thinking they're too big. Which obstacle most accurately describes where you are right now, and what would it look like to move past it?

→ What would help you believe that God's purposes for you—even if they look ordinary to the world—are eternally significant?
At the end of the sermon, the preacher says that the fact that the Lord invites you into His mission means it is not too big for you. What is one concrete step you could take this week to move from thinking and wondering about your calling to actually working at what God has called you to do?

1 Peter 2:5

Draft · pending review

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

Monday Joshua 1:1-9

Joshua faced a mission that seemed impossibly big—occupy the land God had promised. But notice God's opening word: 'I have given it to you.' The land was not Joshua's to conquer by his own strength; it was God's gift, already decided. You are in El Paso in 2026 the same way. God did not place you here by accident. He has sent you to build His church and make disciples, and that calling is as certain as His word to Joshua.

Tuesday 1 Corinthians 16:13

Paul's command to 'be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong' is not a pep talk. It is a summons to posture—to take a stance of resolve and move toward Christ with intention. Being strong means you stop wavering between God's plan and your own. You stop wondering if you should be here. You settle your conviction and step into the work God has called you to do, right where you are.

Wednesday Matthew 28:19-20

Jesus did not say, 'Contemplate all nations.' He said, 'Go and make disciples.' The Great Commission is a command to *move*, to *do*, to *baptize*, to *teach*. Thinking about the mission is not the same as engaging in it. Prayer is essential, but prayer without the step forward is stalled obedience. This week, where is God calling you to stop planning and start acting? What conversation, what service, what step have you been considering? Take it.

Thursday 1 Peter 2:4-5

Peter calls us 'living stones being built into a spiritual house.' Notice: we are not alone in this building. We are part of a structure Christ Himself is constructing. The Father does not send us to build and then watch from heaven. He goes with us. He is present in the work. When you feel small, overwhelmed, or uncertain in your calling, remember: the One who called you is in the midst of the work with you. His presence is not theoretical; it is real and active.

Friday 1 Peter 2:9-10

You are 'a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.' That is not accidental language. God chose you. He positioned you. He made you His possession for a purpose: 'to proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.' Whatever obstacle whispers that your life is too small or too big to matter—silence it. You are built into God's eternal purpose. Act like it this week.

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

Prayer for Purpose and Presence

Father, we gather before You knowing that You are the God who sees, who sends, and who stays. You have not scattered us by accident into this city, this year, this season. You have placed us here with intention, and we ask that You would settle our hearts in the conviction that we know why we're here. We confess that we often lose sight of this truth. We get caught in the fog of our own ambitions, or we shrink back from the work You've called us to because it feels too small or impossibly too large. We second-guess Your purposes. We bring You our plans instead of seeking Your plan. We measure the significance of our callings by the world's standards instead of by eternity's measure. Forgive us, Father.

And here's the good news: You do not send us alone (Haggai 2:5). Your presence with us is not distant encouragement but actual, covenant faithfulness—the same presence that brought Your people through the wilderness, the same presence that walks with us now in El Paso, in our families, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods. Christ has made us living stones in His temple (1 Peter 2), and nothing about His assignment is accidental. You are building something eternal through our obedience, through our willingness to be strong and to work at what You have called us to do.

So we ask, Father: Give us the courage to stop the endless cycle of thinking and talking and wondering, and instead move us to action. Settle our minds. Strengthen our resolve. Help us see that the small, faithful things—the marriage we're tending, the children we're raising, the neighbor we're serving, the church we're building—these are not consolation prizes. They are the very work of Your kingdom. And as we move forward in obedience, remind us again and again: You are with us. You have not left us as orphans. You go with us into the work You assign. We commit ourselves to this calling, to this city, to this mission, knowing that our sufficiency is in You alone. In Christ's name, amen.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

Why You're Here

For the parent

This prompt invites your family to think about the difference between doing something just because you have to versus doing something because you know why you're doing it. The sermon centered on God sending us to El Paso with purpose—and this prompt helps kids begin to grasp that conviction shapes how we work.

Ricky talked about a football coach giving a speech that made the players understand why they were playing, not just that they had to play. Can you think of a time you had to do something hard—like practicing an instrument, or helping with chores, or being brave at school—and knowing *why* you were doing it made it easier? What was that like?

works for ages 7+

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

Sent Together on Purpose

What part of the sermon stirred your heart most—the call to be strong, the command to work, or the promise that God goes with us? Where do you feel that truth most needed in your own life right now?
In our marriage, where are we tempted to either fight against God's purposes for us, view them as too small, or feel paralyzed because they seem too big? How can we strengthen each other's conviction that we've been sent here together for His mission?
What is one specific area of our shared calling—as parents, neighbors, disciples, or builders of His church—where you need to hear and believe that the Lord goes with us? Let's pray for one another in that.

Draft · pending review

Memory verse this week

Haggai 2:4

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts.

Why this verse: This verse contains the three non-negotiable commands that structure the entire sermon: be strong, work, and know God's presence. It is the theological core of why you are in El Paso in 2026—God has sent you here with purpose, and He commands you to move from contemplation to action while assured of His actual presence in the work He calls you to do.

Draft · pending review

Where this was preached

About the church

Cross of Grace Church

About us · What we believe

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# Cross of Grace Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [How to Grow For Sure in the New Year (Romans 12, 2026-01-12)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2026/01/how-to-grow-for-sure-in-the-new-year)
- [Flight (Haggai 1:12-15, 2026-01-18)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2026/01/flight)
- [You Build More Than You See (Haggai 2:1-9, 2026-01-25)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2026/01/you-build-more-than-you-see)
- [I Know Why I'm Here (Haggai 2:1-9, 2026-02-01)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2026/02/i-know-why-i-m-here)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

The page itself ships with Schema.org Article + Church markup, Open Graph + Twitter cards for share previews, and a canonical URL. Transcripts are server-rendered HTML — no JS dependency for the readable body.