All Show

Matthew 21: 18 – 22

All Show, no substance

18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” 21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Now for your personal biblical development regarding the Gospels I want to give you the same situation given in the other Gospels. When we put them together we get a fuller understanding of what went on.

Mark 11, “12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.

20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

Our Lord Jesus referenced Psalm 8 in answering religious leaders, which we just learned about in this chapter, “and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” So, this statement takes on more meat. After attending church one Sunday morning, a little boy knelt at his bedside that night and prayed, “Dear God, we had a good time at church today. I wish you had been there!”

We laugh because we know the truth behind the little boy’s innocence. Ask yourself the following questions:

. what is worship?

. Does what we do at church really make a difference?

. How would my Sundays be different if I did not come to church?

. What are my expectations of worship every week?

. Do I have any expectations?

. What should worship be like?

. Is our worship pleasing to God?

. Is what happening on Sunday all show and no substance?

Churches spend an incredible amount of time, money, and human resources to make one hour a week meaningful. Even our church exhorts a lot of energy for one service. I struggle with that! While corporate worship is extremely important, church is far more then what takes place on Sundays.

This past summer we had a group from a church out of Columbus Ohio come and observe the way we conduct our ministry. After a few days we had a lunch meeting where they expressed their gratitude for our openness but added their confusion as to what they observed. They said that they were amazed that our Lord had added so many people (close to 9,000 adults). They added that we do not do anything special. We only teach through the bible, worshiped our Holy God with contemporary music, prayed and had communion and fellowship. Our answer to them was that we just wanted to follow what the early church did. In the book of Acts chapter two our Precious Holy Spirit said, “40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

In truth God’s people have always struggled with proper worship practices. We learn about this fact from the book of Malachi. Some of his harshest words to God’s people was about their worship of God. In one sentence you could say their worship was all show and no substance.