Mark 11:12-19 The Cleansing of the Temple - November 17, 2024

[Music] e [Music] e [Music] e [Music] e [Music] for e [Music] e on for [Music] in [Music] my name isia I live in I went to the church and they was giving me a gift box the moment I open it my mom do wow beautiful things in this box notebook color my favorite was The Notebook because my mom don't have money to go and buy the not exam for me so I will saying quote thank you for what you have done for me because of the great class we learn how to know God now accept God as my personal Savior I learn to share the Gospel with others now my sisters my friends my cousins my dad my mom you all attend church on me God bless everyone who participates in the [Music] gifts and God bless you if you participate in Operation Christmas Child as well there is plenty of stuff out there in order for you to sponsor boxes we do have quite a collection and it's a growing collection perhaps if you're here and you're just like I wasn't planning on doing that today the last day to do it is tomorrow okay because we load everything up on Tuesday and ship it out to the collection

Centers and so the church office is open tomorrow from 8:30 in the morning till 4:30 in the afternoon we'd love for you to just be a blessing to empower Samaritans purse with tools to share the Gospel all around the world we do have a whole bunch of things that are going on as you can tell I'm I'm not PJ is traveling this week and so he's he's down in Texas where I'll be coming up very soon for Thanksgiving but he's down there for a wedding and so praise the Lord for that a couple of things that are going on this week we have a weekare Thanksgiving dinner and that's always a great opportunity for us as a church to connect with members in our community and so if you don't have plans on Tuesday night this is a great way for you to just have conversations with folks many of whom are not engaged in a church and so plan to be here on Tuesday night that starts at 6:00 p.m. Thomas is going to be speaking that night giving a devotional to those families and so that'll be a really great thing also we have our Deacon annual food basket that's going out there's going to be request forms down in the office and so if you know of a needy family perhaps it's a relative of yours or a neighbor that you have and you want to say you know I want my church to be a blessing to them please fill out one of those forms and those need to be in by what date Spencer where are you at week from tomorrow a week from tomorrow okay so get it done okay so right after this don't forget that we have a business meeting this afternoon at around one o'clock it kind of depends on when we finish up lunch and things like that's going to be the earliest that gets started down here after service okay we're going to have potluck and everything like that and so while you're going down there to do all of that be sure to stop by the church office and

Fill out one of those forms there's tons of other information that's in this bulletin as well and so grab one of those and be sure to make notes on the things that you want to participate in as you guys know for many of you my name is Cody I'm the pastor here I'm I'm glad to be your pastor perhaps you're here and it's one of your first times or maybe you're new and you have not filled out a connection card in the seat in front of you there should be one of these half sheet kind of it says connection card at the top just take that fill that out drop it in the offering plate as it goes by that'd be huge in us being able to connect with you introduce ourselves to you and just get to know each other better also if you have prayer requests please fill those out and drop those in the offering plates as well because that's one of our Ministries as a church is to pray for the church family amen yeah amen it's a good thing right some of you are like maybe there's some people I'll pray for but be sure to use utilize that tool because that's huge in us being able to connect with you and minister to you in prayer and so anyways I think that's just about all I have one of the things that we do is we prepare our hearts in worship by practicing some silence because many of us we got kids up and we threw them in the van and we're running around and maybe things were stressful this morning why don't you just take a moment and bow your head and close your eyes and just f focus on the Lord and pray in the quietness of your hearts for him to minister to your heart this morning [Music] oh Lord You Are Holy and you are the only one worthy of Our Praise You Who are creator of all the one who formed us who knows us

Fully who has numbered our days you oh Lord are who we are seeking to worship now would you cleanse our hearts and make us holy yours and may you be glorified now as we sing to you amen would you stand and worship with us this morning the word of God the word of God says oh God you are my God earnestly I Seek You My Soul thirst for you my flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water so I have looked upon you in the sanctuary beholding your power and Glory because your steadfast love is better than life my lips will praise you so I will bless you as long as I live in your name I will lift up my hands my soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips when I remember you upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night for you have been my help and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for Joy my soul clings to you your right hand upholds me let's all worship [Music] together Praises now the da we'll GRE your mercy with us all your people stand and sing for all your Ling kindness you carried us upon the path of rightous our gracious King you ground us with your Ling kindness how great is your loveing kindness oh God of goodness our joy forever to sing [Applause] theadra of Grace that saved us of sweet forgiveness oh how great is your Ling [Music] kindness you LIF us up the father's hand you shelter us with your commands what heart could fully comprehend and your [Music]

Mercyless you lead us through the Shadows deep where se but as the darkness breaks we'll see the morning promise how great is your loveing kindness oh God of goodness our joyful forever to sing the Glad [Music] refra of Grace that sa us of sweet forgiveness oh how great is your loving [Applause] [Music] kindness a life laid down to resue us with our out stretched upon the cross the greatest gift was theing kindness a life laid down to resue us with arms outstretched to fall on the cross the greatest gift there ever was theing kindness your loving kindness how great is your loveing kindness oh God of goodness our joy forever to sing the Glad refrain of Grace and sa us of sweet forgiveness oh how great is your loving kind of great is your loveing kindness oh God of goodness our joy forever to sing the [Applause] pra of GRA the sa of sweet forgiveness oh how great is your loving kindness [Music] your loving [Music] kindness your loving kindness [Music] Before the Throne of God above I have a strong hand perfect a great high priest who name is

Love whoever lives ands for me my name is graen on his hand my name is written on his heart I Know that heaven he stand no T can meart no Tong can bid meart when Satan temps me topair and tells the of the guilt with upward I love and see him there who made an end to all my sin because the sinless Savior died my sinful Soul counted free for God the Justice Saied to look on him and Harden me to look on him and me Behold Him there the ren lamb my perfect spotless rightous the great [Music] change I am the king of glory and of Grace one with himself I cannot die my soul is purchased his my life is with Christ on high with Christ my Savior and my God with Christ God I bow before the Cross of Christ and Marvel at his love divine God's perfect son was sacrifice [Music] toiv cannot know but I can glory in it the Lord High has B down L and poured on me his glorious love and poured on me his [Music] love I [Music] surve the wonderous CR on which love gra of Glory Die My wies came I count but

[Applause] lost and for on all my [Music] see from his head his head his feet sorrow and love flow mle down did such love and [Music] sorrow me or Thorns come so rich a crown oh the wonderful cross oh the wonderful cross F we come and die and find that I may truly live oh the wonderful cross oh the wonderful cross all who together here by Grace dra here and bless your name were the whole of nature [Applause] my that and all BR part to small love so amaz so de my soul my life my oh the wonderful cross oh the wonderful crosss me come and die and find that I may truly

Live oh the wonderful cross oh the wonderful cross all who G here by Grace draw near and bless your name love so amazing so de my soul [Music] my good morning church morning I was just thinking when I was thinking about coming up here Church to me sometimes is like exercise I really don't sometimes don't want to exercise but once some and it I want to keep it going CU it feels good some sometimes maybe you feel like man I really don't feel like going to church today but you came anyways and you get here and just how we were fellowshipping before just around God's word just saying hi to one another it just like wow okay this is where I need to be this is where I need to be with my other brothers and sisters in Christ and then worshiping together so as we worship together let's continue worshiping through our giving Father in heaven we thank you Lord because Lord there's there's nothing that we have that's not from you whether's the shoes on our feet the hair on our head the glasses that we're wearing that we need to see and read the money that's in our wallets and our checkbooks God we just it's all from you and Lord as a part of worship we come now and whatever that you've laid on our hearts father we put before you God asking that you would use it Lord to strengthen your body in the ministry of the Saints father that you would use it for your glory and your honor and your praise in Jesus name we thank you amen as has been our habit over the last several weeks we've just been doing

Catechism questions a catechism is just a question and answer a tool for us to get answers to questions about the faith and we've been talking about the word of God and one of the questions that we're talking about today is can all men make use of the Holy Scriptures and the answer is a resounding yes here's what the Scriptures say and you can read along with me in Acts 8:30 so philli ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked do you understand what you are reading Isaiah 34: ver 16 and 17 says seek and read from the book of the Lord not one of these shall be missing None Shall be without her mate for the mouth of the Lord has commanded and a spirit has gathered them he has cast the lot for them his hand has portioned it out to them with the line they shall possess it forever from generation to generation they shall dwell in it Revelation 3 veres 19 and 20 says Those whom I love I reprove and discipline so be zealous and repent behold I stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into him and eat with him and he with me Luke 11:28 says but he said blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it [Music] thousand Generations Falling Down In Worship to sing the song of Angel to the lamb and all who gone before us and all who will believe or sing the song of Ages to the L your name is the highest your name is the greatest your name stands above them all Thrones and dominions all power and position your name stands above them all and the angels cry holy all creation cist holy you are lifted [Music]

High holy forever [Music] if you've been forgiv and if you've been redeemed sing the song for to the lamb and if you walk in Freedom and if you bear his name sing the song forever to the lamb sing the song forever and amen and the angels cry holy all creation Christ holy you are lifted High [Music] holy forever your people sing Holy to the King of Kings holy you will always [Applause] [Music] be holy [Music] forever your name is the highest your is the greatest your name stands above them all thres andion all and positions your name stand above them all Jesus your name is the highest your name is the greatest your name stands above of them all thr and dominions of heart and posss your name stand above them all and the angels cry holy of creation Christ holy you are lifted High holy forever your people sing Holy to the King of Kings holy you will always be

Holy forever you will always [Music] be holy forever Lord you will always be holy forever we thank you so much for being with us every second of every day today dear Lord help us to be more holy as we walk through each day dear Lord no matter where we are who we're with who's around us let us shine and show you for everything that we do through our facial expressions through our body through the words that we say dear Lord thank you so much for words of worship and praise that we're able to gift to you at any time thank you for your love dear Lord be with us as Pastor Cody speaks from your word dear Lord anoint him give him the words to say that we need to take to heart that will'll follow each day this week dear Lord we praise you we love you and we thank you dear Lord for who you are and what you've done for us amen well if you if you have your Bible and I hope that you do please turn with me to the Book of Mark chapter 11 Mark chap 11 and we're going to be in verses 12 through 19 today going to look at a seemingly uncharacteristic B bit of anger today on the part of Christ in CS Lewis's book The Voyage of the Dawn Tre Trader any CS Lewis fans out there anybody like reading them okay all right few of you awesome for those of you who have read that book you might remember a part towards the end where Edmond and Lucy they're looking out over this field and they're looking for a way to get to asen's Country and they see this big green field it's just green with a bright blue sky under it and they see this little dot of white in the field and they thought well maybe that's a marker or something that can point us in the direction of asen's

Country and so they make their way to it and as they get closer they begin to realize that it's actually a lamb in the middle of the field and so the lamb greets them and welcomes them and says hey come and have some breakfast with me and they looked and they didn't notice a fire before but there was a fire and some fish being cooked on it and they asked well how can we get to asen's country from here and they said well you can actually enter through your own world and they were shocked they said how can we get to asen's country from our world and then the lamb began to transform began to grow and become golden until it fully transformed into a lion and it was Asen before their eyes and I think that's a truth it's it's obviously a that story that CS Lewis tells is a myth but it points to what is true in that Jesus is simultaneously The Lion and the lamb he is both and he is simultaneously gentle and fierce he is kind and zealous he is just and gracious and we're going to be learning about the very definition of meekness and we're going to be learning about Christ's meekness as well as true worship as we study the word today if you would stand with me in honor of God's word as we read Mark 11: 12 through 19 God's word it says this on the following day when they came from Bethany he was hungry and seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf he went to see if he could find anything on it when he came to it he found nothing but leaves for it was not the season for figs and he said to it may no one ever eat fruit from you again and his disciples heard it and they came to Jerusalem and he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple and he

Was teaching them and saying to them is it not written my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations but you have made it a den of robbers and the chief priests and scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him for they feared him because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching and when evening came they went out of the city so Lord we do thank you for the word that we get to study this morning we pray that our hearts would be in line with what you have to say through this passage Lord there's tons of ways to apply it but I just pray that you would give us greater understanding of it that we would rightly apply it to our lives father anoint me speak through me let me be very clear while also pointing to the beauty of the Gospel Even In this passage God in Jesus name amen y'all can have a seat three times in this chapter Jesus is going to be going to Jerusalem from Bethany last week we saw about the triumphal entry Jesus going to Jerusalem from that town that he had healed Lazarus at say healed he raised him from the dead that's quite the healing and I like to think that Jesus he went into when he left the house I like to think of them leaving like around breakfast time remember that's a not a culture where you can just run out to gerbs and go grab some groceries and you know get some bacon and eggs and things like that right for breakfast this is a feast or starvation culture there there's not a lot of wiggle room in that and so they just didn't have food right readily available but foraging was actually very common that's why God addresses it several times in the Old Testament about allowing for people to forage along the edge of crops and in the distance what does Jesus see

He sees this beautiful green fig tree now fig trees they are extremely common in the land of Israel you can go there you can see plenty of them everywhere they're literally everywhere when talking about figs they often function as a symbol for Israel back in the Old Testament in the book of Hosea it says this when I found Israel it was like finding grapes in the desert when I saw your ancestors who was like seeing the early fruit of the fig trees he's likening them to the excitement and the joy of finding finding them in Jeremiah chapter 24 In this passage he talks about the Exiles and how those who are exiled are like the good figs while those who are remain to be destroyed are like the bad figs and this is what he says in Jeremiah 24: 5 and8 thus says the Lord the God of Israel like these good figs so I will regard as good the Exiles from Judah whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the calans yall remember us going through the Book of Daniel of I don't know a year ago or so maybe it was two years ago I get my years mixed up but thus says the Lord like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot not be eaten so I will treat zedekiah the king of Judah his officials the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and those who dwell in the land of Egypt it's not coincidence that Christ chose to use a fruitless fig tree just before he clashes with Israel's religious leaders the Fig Tree is functioning as a teaching opportunity and what I noticed is in my studies and then a lot of commentaries they tried to paint Jesus as though he's like super emotional at this point almost unreasonable barlay does it Stuart does it's very strange we look at this story even some at atheists like beram Russell and U Christopher Hitchens and others like him they look at this

Story and they say well you know look at this uncharacteristic anger of Jesus surely that is a sign against the deity of Christ Mark he says that not the season for figs couple of things that we have to notice here Mark is not wrong it is not the season for figs right but there is such a thing as an early crop you see Christ he was crucified on April 3rd of 33 ad now in Israel there are dozens of different kinds of fig trees some come earlier some come later but when you get in very early crop they have a name for it's called a BBA crop a BBA crop actually comes in mid-march to early April somewhere around that time so Jesus is not being moody or uncharacteristically severe in his expectations the tree looked healthy looked very green it looked very fruitful and beautiful it looked like it would have a Brio crop but upon closer inspection it was F found to be fruitless and this cursing of the Fig Tree is going to be used as a prophetic illustration you know it's interesting this is one of Jesus's last Miracles that he performs in his life and it's also the first one that is a curse or a destructive miracle and yet this is also one of the most useful trees in all of history it's from this lesson of the fig tree that many have returned to the Lord in faith and they've examined their personal faithlessness their fruitlessness and they've said I need to get things right with God this miracle it wasn't done in vain or in anger but for our instruction because you see the Fig Tree is a symbol of fruitlessness Jesus he's going to drive this home this point home as he drives the money changers out of the temple but the tree looked vibrant it was in leaf it looked fully capable of having fruit and how true that is of so many churches from a distance there looks to

Be Health a lot of excitement a lot of people but upon inspection there's no fruit whatsoever what kind of fruit is Christ looking for here obviously the immediate context is a fig right but I don't think that Jesus is trying to drive home the point of a fig I think that he is and we see this proven by what he's going to do in the temple in just a few moments that the fruit that he's looking at is the right worship of God you see in Israel worship Passover the temple it had become TR religiosity the people came they did their Duty they gave their alms they said their prayers they made their sacrifices but there was also a lot of trading in the temple they were carrying items all the way through it just cutting through it's a shortcut using the temple for their own gain does that does that maybe describe your worship sometimes your worship is routine and heartless is your worship void of a genuine deep love for God is your worship outwardly active but spiritually fruitless I'm not talking about silent reverence that's how we have to be I'm not talking about the look or the feel of a service I'm talking about the heart that you have towards God are you full of leaves but lacking in any real fruit in your life you see religious professions and rituals they're just an affront to God hates those things did you know that people that pray to God but their lives are full of Disobedience and a lack of love God hates it that don't take my word for it look at what God says I hate I despise your feasts and I take no Delight in your solemn assemblies even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings even though they're doing all this I will not

Accept them and the peace offerings of your fattened animals I will not look upon them take away from me the noise of your songs to The Melody of your Harps I will not listen but let Justice roll down like Waters and righteousness like an Ever flowing stream didn't matter what the people sang didn't matter what the process was for worship didn't matter the instrumentation or the reverent feel of the service what matters is that they were neglecting things like loving the Lord with all your heart loving your neighbor as yourself they were neglecting obedience and Conformity to the word of God because they were just trusting in well we have the temple we have the ark we have all these different we have the promises we have we have the sign of the Covenant we have all these different things it didn't matter look at what Isaiah 1 says when you C come to appear before me who has required of you this trampling of my courts bring bring no more vain offerings incense is an Abomination to me new moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates they have become a burden to me I'm weary of bearing them when you spread out your hands I will hide my eyes from you even though you make many prayers I will not listen your hands are full of blood wash yourselves make yourselves clean remove remove the evil of your Deeds from before my eyes cease to do evil learn to do good seek Justice correct oppression bring Justice to the fatherless and plead the Widow's cause it is true what the psalmist says in Psalm 23 who shall Ascend the hill of the Lord and who shall stand in his holy place he who has Clean Hands and a pure heart who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully he will receive blessing from the Lord and

Righteousness from the God of his salvation and I can continue on I could continue on and on and on but I think that you get the point that God does not enjoy or accept our worship our prayer our service if our hearts are not loving toward him if they're instead full of Disobedience he rejects it he hates it is the pure in heart it to see the kingdom of God and the consequence for this Fig's fruitlessness is a curse it would never bear fruit again it's the first curse that the disciples heard from Christ and this is a warning especially to those of you that profess Christ but do not bear fruit that judgment will come and it will come quickly it will come severely and it will be a shame and so turn away from the path that you are on repent and Trust in Christ and renew your love for him today don't wait don't even stop and think about it run to Christ now Christ he continues on his mission and he returns to Jerusalem and he enters the temple remember the previous day it was the triumphal entry after the big procession he goes up to the temple and because it was late in the day he looked around at everything that he saw and he went back to Bethany well there's a reason why it's because it was a lot of work to do he had to straighten up his father's house now herod's Temple was a huge complex that little square down there H that's the pain of being short plant can block me but that's a football field okay an American football field okay this is 36 Acres a complex right here of herod's Temple 36 acers utterly massive and this right here this large area is the court of Gentiles okay this is where people they were carrying things through going from one end of the city to the other instead of walking all the way around and you see this is this is the area all this open space where they were trading and buying

And selling and doing all those different places doing all those different things now the temple is split up into five different parts you got the court of the Gentiles right you got the court of women right here you got the gate that you would enter in through right here is the nikor gate right through here there was a platform there were steps in a platform that got to the court of Israel and that's where the men could go and then right in this area is the Court of priests that's where they would make sacrifices and things like that and then you get to the actual Temple right there and so all the priests they are they're gathered in this area that's where you would have the majority of your priests your scribes your Pharisees they would be here in the court of Israel they didn't want to be in the court of women they definitely didn't want to be with those filthy Gentiles right they hated those people now the design of this Temple it was it was made in such a way because God had made a promise to Abraham that it is through his seed that he would be a blessing to the entire nation to all the nations and the court of Gentiles it was on that outer edges of the temple but think about what that communicates is that even those who are not a part of the Covenant of people of Israel are allowed to come to God and he invites people to trust in him a lot of people they thought when the Messiah would come maybe he would get rid of all those people that are out there in the Gentile Courtyards you know let it just be for the Jews and because of this Caiaphas he had basically turned the court of the Gentiles into a Stockyard for commercial purposes or the sale of pigeons and lambs and cattle for sacrifice and it had become a tremendous source of revenue for the high priest and his

Associates you know the celebration of Passover was coming and the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles they streamed into Jerusalem from all the corners of the Roman world but it's not like they could travel with a bunch of lambs you know all the way from Spain or Italy or anything like that so they had to bring money and that money had often times false gods printed on it so they had to go and exchange it for different coinage that could be used to pay the temple tax of course they would charge exorbitant fees for that exchange rate and you might not only be able to do that but you would have to pay top dollar for any animal that you wanted to sacrifice and of course the high priest and the Sadducees and the Pharisees all got their share as well the Jewish historian J Josephus he recorded that in ad. 66 there were 255,000 Lambs that were slaughtered and there were about 10 people's sins on each lamb that gives you any idea roughly the amount of people two and a half million people came into Jerusalem and it's no wonder that Christ was so upset the place of worship the temple complex had become a place of profit for the leaders this isn't the first time that this has happened either if we look back at Jes the beginning of Jesus's Ministry this is John Chapter 2 this is early on the Passover the Jews was at hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem in the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons and the money changers sitting there and making a whip of cords he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and oxen and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables and he told those who sold the pigeons take these things away do not make my father's house a house of trade his disciples remembered that it was written Zeal for

Your house will con consume me you know that phrase consume in the Greek it has the idea of eating up in the Hebrew it has the idea of burning up either way we understand that Jesus's desire to please the father was his allc consuming passion and the Jewish leaders they wanted it to be a market for all the people but Jesus's desire was it was for it to be a place of prayer for all the people you know the Jewish leaders I wonder how they got to that point I imagine that they probably use the same demographics that a lot of places use you know they measure with the 3bs you guys have heard it the butts the buildings and the budget right as Baptists we had baptism into that too God he has a much different view of success amen the point is that Jesus he is corrupting he is confronting corruption in worship he is confronting corruption and worship what good is it if God's people are corrupt in their Worship in fact the crowds they were crying out the day before Hosanna Hosanna to the son of David the day before all of this save us save us from the Roman oppressors save us from the Gentile dogs get them out of here and then what does Jesus do the next day he attacks the Jewish leaders and the people's expectations of the Messiah are dashed and Jesus is UN Unapologetic about it Christ is being divinely intolerant of the religious activities by purging the Temple of all the trading and all the money changing and this is a Biblical picture of meekness weekness is not Frailty weekness is not weakness weekness is power under control that word it's really in reference of a war horse that has been saddled with a bit in its mouth and Christ he displays this power

By overturning the tables and driving people out of the temple and it's not just the ones that are selling it's also buying that are participating in it in Jeremiah chapter 7 God speaks and he accuses Israel of trusting in their traditions in their place as the people of God they were saying we have the temple right we have the temple they repeat that over and over in that chapter meanwhile there is an there is Injustice there is neglecting widows and orphans there is the shedding of innocent blood and here's what God says he says behold you trust in deceptive words to no avail will you steal murder commit adultery swear falsely make offerings to bail and go after other gods that you have not known and then come and stand before me in this house which is called called by my name and say we are delivered only to go on doing all these Abominations has this house which is called by my name become a den of robbers before your eyes this is the passage that Christ is quoting behold I myself have seen it declares the Lord Christ he is comparing the self-righteousness of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the high priest to all the same kinds of sins that Israel was guilty of committing 600 years before but the temple is supposed to be for all people to come and to worship the one true God in Isaiah 56 it says this and the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to minister to him to love the name of the Lord and to be his servants everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it and holds fast my Covenant these I will bring to my Holy Mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my Altar for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples are there areas that Christ needs to confront in your

Worship is there hidden sin in your heart perhaps a lack of love for the Lord or a lack of love for others or perhaps it's only motives that you know about is church a checklist or a priority at all for you guys this Market that we're looking at it was known as the bizaar of Annis Annis he was the high priest before Caiaphas and Caiaphas was anas's son-in-law so I think there was some nepotism going on there but let's just say this clearly the leaders they were terrible ungodly men that wanted money and so Jesus he drove the buyers and the sellers from the temple he turned over their tables he kicked out the seats he made those that were carrying items through the temple drop everything and just go and that's not very well received by the chief priests Christ's actions are prophetic the message is Messianic the heart is Royal remember that was the Kings of Israel that determined the direction of the Kingdom King jehoash and King Josiah They removed the idols and they restored the temple and the law it was King juu who killed the wicked Jezebel and restored Worship in the temple remember Jesus Christ he's being hailed as the king of Israel and he desires for our worship to be true and holy not to be compromised by our selfish motives and our desires and the thing is that it's so easy to deceive people the Fig Tree it looked fine but it was empty of fruit the temple looked exciting and there were a ton of people there it looked like it was God-honoring but instead it was full of hypocrisy and avarice and vanity you see the Heart of Worship stems from a true desire for God Alone not God and God period and it's between you and the Lord to know that and even your very own heart is so

Untrustworthy we can't say well God knows my heart while we're living in sin here's what the Scripture says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick who can understand it I the Lord search the heart and test the mind to give every man according to his ways according to the fruit of his deeds you see the condition of your heart and the fruit that you produce are inextricably linked if you want to know the condition of your heart then examine the fruit that you're producing examine it in light of the text look at Galatians chapter 5 in that chapter it says but I say walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do but if you are led by the spirit you are not under the law now the works of the flesh are evident sexual immorality impurity sensuality idolatry sorcery enmity Strife jealousy fits of anger rivalries dissensions divisions Envy drunkenness orgies and things like these I warn you as I warned you before that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God but the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control against such things there is no law and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires if we live by the spirit let us also keep in step with the spirit let us not become conceited provoking one another envying one another and so compare your life your walk with what the passage says the chief priests and the scribes they hear about what's happening remember that they probably would have been in the court of the Jews watching and observing all of the

Sacrifices and what happens they're filled with rage and so they seek to destroy Jesus that word destroy I mean that's that's they would just want to completely annihilate the guy they're filled with rage they want to end him but the crowds the crowds are loving it the Crowds Are astonished Matthew it records some of the beautiful things that occur it says that the Blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he healed them but when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did and the children crying out in the temple hosana to the son of David they were indignant and they said to him do you hear what these are saying and Jesus said to them yeah have you never read out of the mouth of in nursing babies you have prepared praise and still in light of seeing all of this even the healings in the face of the Zeal of the Lord they plotted to kill Jesus even in the midst of Prophecy being fulfilled right in front of their eyes remember that the Pharisees the herodians the priests the scribes they're all plotting and it's together with the Elders of Israel it's the whole Jewish High Council that wants to do away with Jesus Christ and Jesus he had clashed with the religious leaders but that was in Galilee and now Jesus he was acting directly against the temple and her leaders directly Jesus is challenging the priests at the very center of authority Luke he records that Jesus he was in the daily Temple he was teaching daily in the temple the chief priests and scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him but they did not find anything they could do for all the people were hanging on his words and then Jesus leaves the city it wasn't a safe place for him to stay so he returned to Bethany likely to Lazarus's home but the conflicts they

Will continue in fact we're going to see after holidays just how much they are indeed ramping up and so what does all this mean well remember that Jesus he drove out the corruption in the temple not out of anger yes that was a characteristic of it but that wasn't the motive the motive was love for the father A Love For the Glory of his father in Heaven and also a love for people who were being led astray you see Jesus he calls us to be pure in our worship to love him with all of our hearts to bear fruit in his kingdom just as the Fig Tree withered for its fruitlessness and the temple was cleansed for its corruption we are called to worship God with pure hearts and fruitful lives so true worship it's not found in appearances but in love and obedience but you know what the beauty of the Gospel is the beauty of the Gospel is not just that Jesus confronts us in our sin it's that he invites us into his grace he cleanses the Temple of our hearts he makes our hearts places of prayer where the Holy Spirit itself resides and where we can go to God In His glory and you do that by turning away from your sins and trusting in the only one that can save you and his name is Jesus so let us respond to his call with renewed love with pure faith and pure hearts to wrap it all up head heart hand head God he wants you to know that worship must be grounded in reverence and true Devotion to God okay we could say reverence and true devotion as one word love we cannot settle for hollow rituals but we must understand that worship is a loving heartfelt response to God and what he has done so has God done something in your life to give him praise for then sing it out when it

You know you get that opportunity tell someone about it declare the good works that he has done in your life and for those of you that may have gotten some things wrong okay and maybe you are starting to understand maybe maybe there is a little bit of corruption that I wasn't really attuned to before I walked in here I wasn't expecting this to be honest maybe maybe it's time for you to say God I have kind of missed the Mark and I just need to rededicate that time to you I need to renew my heart my life and God renew that passion go back to that time when you were so passionate about the Lord and do those things renew those things and return to him heart God he wants you to believe that love for him is the only true motivation for worship so come before God sincerely seeking to glorify him alone and reject any attitude that could could be seeking personal gain over God's glory then hand God he wants you to live as a genuine loving worshipper every day so approach worship prepared not just in our congregational time this is kind of you know just the time when we get together as a as a church family to declare God's Praises but worship is supposed to be an everyday activity in the life of a believer supposed to be about prayer and praise and study and abiding in the presence of God so approach God this week spend time singing privately to him don't be like that fruitless big or that corrupt Temple if you would bow your heads and close your eyes this week pray and then we're going to sing a song it's a prayer of renewing our hearts to the Lord and so God we do thank you so much for this time that we get to have where you deal with us in our hearts God we thank you for the preaching of your word we ask that you would help us to adjust our lives in light of it

Help us to conform Our Lives to you seeking you out of a true faithful heart God if there's people that are here that maybe they just need to go back to the basics God I pray that would happen just right where they're at that you would renew their hearts Holy Spirit move in them and I just ask for you to continue to work in our lives we love you we thank you for your grace and your faithfulness we just ask that you would bless us as we respond and worship in Jesus name amen let's all stand and let's worship together [Music] I'd ra have Jesus than silver or gold I'd rather be his than have riches unold I'd rather have Jesus than land I'd ra be by his pierced hand then to be the king of the and beheld in his dress I'd ra have Jus than this world of to I'd Rather Have Jesus the men of us I'd rather be faithful to his dear God I'd ra have Jesus and worldwide I'd rather be true to His holy name than to be the king of a [Music] V and beheld in [Music] Dr I'd rather have Jesus than this world of

Today he's Fair than will aest BL he's sweeter than honey from out of the he's all that my hungry spir needs I' ra have Jesus and let him lead and to be the king of the last and beheld [Music] dreess I' ra have Jesus than this world of today and so God that is true we'd rather have you more than anything else God and I pray that would be true of each and every single person in here help us to go from here prepared and ready to just worship you in spirit and in truth God help us to do it by your spirit in Jesus name amen go in peace