RESTORING TRUE CORPORATE WORSHIP-II—Mark 11:15-19
Attention:
Need:
The need for current (temple) worship to be cleansed/readied/restored/renovated
Recovery/restoration of worship assumes that there was a time when worship was truly worship. A need for ‘Revival’ is a statement that true worship has been lost.
*Jn..4:23-24—““But the hour is coming, & now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit & truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, & those who worship Him must worship in spirit & truth.””
Jesus showed us the importance of recovering true corporate worship.
*Jesus took it upon Himself to remove the hindrances to true corporate worship.
True corporate worship can be restored/recovered.
How is true corporate worship to be restored/recovered?
6 landmarks toward recovering true corporate worship.
Jesus’ ‘Triumphal Entry’ into Jerusalem had taken place the day before(11:1-11) which was a Monday(MacArthur Matthew 16-23 pg. 265-266). He & the 12 had then retreated to Bethany for the night(:11). The temple cleansing takes place “the next day”(:12) on a Tuesday. The Passover/Lord’s Supper would be celebrated on Thursday evening (or early Friday by Jewish reckoning).
True corporate worship is Restored/Recovered thru...
1. PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION(:15a)
2. REMOVAL Of AVARICE(:15b)
3. ESTABLISHING TRAFFIC PATTERNS(:16)
4—True corporate worship is Restored/Recovered thru...
ESTABLISHED ORIENTATION(:17)
Explanation:(:17)Word of God/Avail closeness with God
:17—“Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’””
Jesus actions came with explanation. He quickly “taught” those present the rationale behind His actions. He was concerned to teach others something about the sacredness of this Temple which had been erected to their God.
Jesus reiterated a description gleaned from the Scriptures relating/regarding the sacredness of the Temple’s purpose.
A major objective of the Temple is to carry a strong sense of intercession regarding its purpose, thus speaking to God’s purpose among mankind.
Jesus quoted from Isa. 56:4-7—
“For thus says the LORD, “To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, To them I will give in My house & within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons & daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, & to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And holds fast My covenant; Even those I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings & their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.””
Jesus asked those listening to reckon with the truth of Isaiah’s(actually God’s) statement that God’s house is to be called/considered/respected as a house of intercession/communion with God. And this is for all the nations.
“Prayer”—proseuch—1)Prayer addressed to God; 2) A place set apart or suited for the offering of prayer. It is a word of sacred character, being limited to prayer to God. It gives prominence to the element of devotion.
In Isa. 56:7—hlpt tef-il-law'—Strong—Intercession, supplication; by implication--A hymn. From llp paw-lal'—Meaning to to intervene, interpose, pray, mediate, judge, intercede.
The fact that the Temple had been allowed to degrade into a marketplace—particularly in regard to the Specially ordained Passover, Feasts of Unleavened Bread & Firstfruits—had shown that it was viewed not as God had intended but rather as a “robber’s den.”
Jesus quoted from Jer. 7:(1-11)11—““Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the LORD.”
What picture is intended for us in a thieve’s den?
A “den” is a naturally occurring place of shelter for animals, or a temporary place for people. It is essentially dark, damp & missing the common ‘creature comforts‘ of god-civilized humanity.
A “thieve’s/robber’s” den is a place where thieves/robber’s hide the goods which they have personally stolen. To keep their goods in the public eye would open them up to unwanted legalities & responsibilities.
A den of thieves is a ‘safe haven’ where perversions are condoned.
The Temple precinct had become a place of refuge for the irreverent & unjust.
*The business of the Temple had come to turn upon mercantile exchanges & monetary profits rather than upon worship.
*The intended spiritually celebrative atmosphere of the Temple had ironically become the means to very greedy & materialistic ends.
“Den”—sphlaion—1) A cave, den. Strong—A cavern; by implication--A hiding-place or resort.
“Thieves/Robber’s”—lhsthv—(Used here) denotes one who steals openly. One who is openly flaunts their thieveries as a profession. Klepthv—denotes one who steals by stealth.
Argumentation:
Prov. 3:6—“In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
Isa. 40:1-8—““Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, & cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’S hand Double for all her sins.” The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain & hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.””
This is what John the Baptist did(Mat. 3:3), & what Jesus carried out in Divine power.
Micah 7:2-7—“The faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net. That they may successfully do evil with both hands-- The prince asks for gifts, The judge seeks a bribe, And the great man utters his evil desire; So they scheme together. The best of them is like a brier; The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; The day of your watchman & your punishment comes; Now shall be their perplexity. Do not trust in a friend; Do not put your confidence in a companion; Guard the doors of your mouth From her who lies in your bosom. For son dishonors father, Daughter rises against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man’s enemies are the men of his own household. Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.”
*Jos. 24:13-15—“‘I[YaHWeH] have given you a land for which you did not labor, & cities which you did not build, & you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards & olive groves which you did not plant.’ “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity & in truth, & put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River & in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me & my house, we will serve the LORD.””
*Mk. 9:43-47—““If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-- where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ “And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-- “where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire--”
*Acts 4:1-3, 14-20—“Now as they[Peter & John] spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, & the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people & preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, & put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.”..... “And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, & we cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” And they called them & commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter & John answered & said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen & heard.””
Illustration:
We have a sun-room with windows facing East & South/We have some plants which are on a TV table/I move these every day from the east facing window to the south-facing one so they will get sun all day/The plants require full sun so they must be placed in the sun/ESTABLISHED ORIENTATION
When we go to the beach, we always get a beach-front room because we love to sit on the porch & look at the ever-changing ocean & sky/We will not accept it unless its ocean-front/ESTABLISHED ORIENTATION
Our sanctuary is not for civic meetings but for drawing close to the God who has revealed Himself/ESTABLISHED ORIENTATION
Application:
?Your Corporate worship Restored thru ESTABLISHED DIRECTION?
?Your Corporate Worship what it is meant to be?
5—True corporate worship is Restored/Recovered thru...
ESTABLISHED OFFENSE(:18)
Explanation: (:18)
:18—“And the scribes & chief priests heard it & sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.”
The “chief priests” & the “scribes” heard Jesus’ statement(as well as witnessed His zeal). These were the major religious movers & shakers responsible for maintaining the Temple’s holy character before the people. The holy character had been undermined by a robber’s den.
These religious heads immediately began examining the means by which they could “destroy Him”.
They sought to destroy Jesus because they were “afraid” of Him. Their fear was lodged in the response to Jesus by the “multitude.” Their theology couldn’t bear His coming in power.
The multitude was “astonished” at Jesus’ teaching(particularly regarding that of the temple). The general populace recognized that God was at work to the absolute disdain of those who would not accept Jesus as Messiah.
Trust in Christ will bring you many enemies...including those of your own household!
“Destroy”—apollumi—Ruin, Render useless, Kill, Put out of the way.
“Afraid”—fobew—To strike with fear.
“Multitude”—oclov—‘a unorganized & casual collection of people; a multitude of men who have flocked together in some place.
“Astonished”—ekplhssw—Striken by a blow, with terror or alarm.
“Teaching”—didach—Doctrine, Instruction, What is taught.
Argumentation:
*Mat. 11:1-6—“Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach & to preach in their cities. And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples & said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus answered & said to them, “Go & tell John the things which you hear & see: “The blind see & the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed & the deaf hear; the dead are raised up & the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.””
Mat. 13:24-30—“Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came & sowed tares among the wheat & went his way. But when the grain had sprouted & produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came & said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go & gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. ‘Let both grow together until the harvest, & at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares & bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’””.....“Then Jesus sent the multitude away & went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” He answered & said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, & the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered & burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, & they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, & those who practice lawlessness, & will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing & gnashing of teeth.”
Mat. 15:1-14—“Then the scribes & Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” He answered & said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? “For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father & your mother’; &, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”-- ‘then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear & understand: “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Then His disciples came & said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” But He answered & said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.””
*Jn. 15:18-23—““If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come & spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also.”
Illustration:
Political upheavals/There are groups—Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians— who vehemently disagree with the Christian stance on certain issues/In some instances behaviors may intersect politically but never belief!/ESTABLISHED OFFENSE
Application:
?Your Corporate worship Restored thru ESTABLISHED OFFENSE?
?Your Corporate Worship what it is meant to be?
6—True corporate worship is Restored/Recovered thru...
ESTABLISHED SATISFACTION(:19)
Explanation:(:19)
:19—“When evening had come, He went out of the city.”
When we have fulfilled our task(s) in God’s power, we can lay our heads upon our pillows in peace...knowing that we have given glory to God with our hearts, heads, hands & feet.
“Evening”—oqe—1) After a long time, long after, late—1a) Late in the day, i.e. at evening, 1b) the sabbath having just passed, After the sabbath—1b1) At the early dawn of the first day of the week. Strong—(through the idea of backwardness); (adverbially--Late in the day; by extension--After the close of the day.
Argumentation:
Prov. 3:19-26 “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens; By His knowledge the depths were broken up, And clouds drop down the dew. My son, let them not depart from your eyes-- Keep sound wisdom & discretion; So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down & your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.”
*Ps. 4:1-8 “<
Ps. 65:4—“Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple.”
P.s 90:14-17—“Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice & be glad all our days! Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, The years in which we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.”
Ps. 107:8-9—“Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”
Prov. 14:14—“The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.”
Prov. 19:23—“The fear of the LORD leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.”
Mat. 5:6—“Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.”
Mat. 5:8—“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.”
Mat. 5:9—“Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.”
Why this one preacher? What about forcibly removing the merchants? Because to maintain peace with God we must wrest our worship from flesh & the devil!
2Cor. 12:9-10—“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Heb 13:5-6—“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?””
Isa 26:3-4 “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.”
Eccl. 2:24—“Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat & drink, & that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.”
Illustration:
I worked on this sermon from dawn till dusk in front of the computer with very few breaks/Neglected the family/I could not leave it alone until it was completed/ESTABLISHED SATISFACTION
Matthew home from a job with an electrician/Satisfied with a good days work!/ESTABLISHED SATISFACTION
Application:
?Your Corporate worship Restored thru ESTABLISHED SATISFACTION?
?Your Corporate Worship what it is meant to be?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Action:
True corporate worship is Restored/Recovered thru...
4. ESTABLISHED ORIENTATION(:17)
5. ESTABLISHED OFFENSE(:18)
6. ESTABLISHED SATISFACTION(:19)
1. PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION(:15a)
2. REMOVAL Of AVARICE(:15b)
3. ESTABLISHING TRAFFIC PATTERNS(:16)
Presented 04/01/2012pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
