CHALLENGES To/For PUBLIC WORSHIP-I—John 2:13-25
Attention/Need:
The Church can be tempted toward many directions regarding the manner & message of its Public Worship. There are real Challenges to bringing about Public Worship!...There are dynamics which, if we deny, will keep our church & the public from being able to fully worship in s(S)pirit & truth!
Restoring Propriety/Precedence to Worship
Jesus made it plain that the temple worship had become tainted with improprieties.
Public Worship is to be free from impropriety.
OR
There is to be consonance(agreeability with God) in public worship.
What is consonant with/to public worship?
When is public worship consonant(agreeable/harmonious)?
10 challenges to/dynamics of (consonant)public worship.
1—A challenge to (harmonious)public worship is its...
OCCASION(:13)
Explanation:(:13)
:13—“Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, & Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”
“The Passover” was about to take place. Nisan 14-21(Mar.-Apr.) Passover(14th), including the Feast of Unleavened Bread(15th-20th), & also including First Fruits(16th ). Barley harvest then begins.—‘The Reckoning of Passover’ in ‘Charts of the N.T.’ pp. 81, 79; ‘The Feast of the Lord’, Howard & Rosenthal.
Jesus went to Jerusalem. He went “up” because Jerusalem is located on a higher elevation than Capernaum. He also “went up” (mainly?)because Jerusalem was the location of the temple for the entirety of Israel. Jesus went to celebrate the Passover to fulfill His obligation to the Law.
Some scholars claim that John mis-positioned or strategically positioned this ‘cleansing of the temple’ passage out of time from its ‘true’ position near the end of Jesus’ ministry. Though such supposes that since the other 3 Gospels mention only one later ‘temple cleansing’ justifies that John is chronologically suspect...
*However, John specifically mentions 2 other Passovers—Jn. 6:4, & Jn. 11:55(just prior to His crucifixion).”—D.A. Carson/A.J. Köstenberger/A. Clarke.
There were seven(7) special celebrations/feast days specified for the Jews which were prescribed in the Law(Lev. 23:1-44). These were ‘holy convocations’—gatherings with a holy purpose. A man(minimally) & his household would travel to Jerusalem to fulfill these at the temple. Attendance was required of all Jewish men for three of these—Unleavened Bread, Weeks, & Tabernacles(Ex. 23:14-17).
1)The PASSOVER—14th of Nisan(March/April)—An offering of a lamb & a family meal—recalling God’s passing over the Israelites, while taking the first-born of all others in Egypt—A picture of God’s provision securing our life in Him(by Christ)—Immediately followed by....
2)The ‘holy convocation’(Feast) of UNLEAVENED BREAD(the two together referred to as “the Passover”)—15th of Nisan—A seven(7)-day appointment—A picture of Sanctification--Voluntary separation from sin(by Christ).
3) The ‘holy convocation’(Feast) of FIRST-FRUITS—16th of Nisan—1 day—An offering of the first-fruits of one’s barley harvest. Barley was planted in the winter & was harvested in the spring to early summer.—A picture of God’s promise to bring His people to full fruition(in Christ).
4) The ‘holy convocation’(Feast) of WEEKS or PENTECOST(fiftieth)—seven(7) Sabbaths from First Fruits or 50 days(May/June)—A first-fruits of offering of the summer wheat crop—An offering of “new grain” wheat harvest consisting of bread baked with leaven in two loaves—A picture of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling(leaven) as well as His bringing both Jew & Gentile together(in Christ)—Birth of the Church.
5) The ‘holy convocation’(Feast) of TRUMPETS or ROSH HASHANAH(‘Head of the Year’)—1st of Tishri(October/November)—Marked the beginning of the civil year—A picture of the rapture of the church to heaven(by Christ) & “The Day of the Lord”(damnation) ushered in with a shout & trumpet call(1Thess. 4:15-18).
6) The ‘holy convocation’(Feast) of The DAY Of ATONEMENT—10th of Tishri—A day to recognize agonize over personal sin...To “afflict” or humble “your soul”—To make amends/reparation for guilt—A picture of personal sin met by God’s forgiveness(by Christ).
7) The ‘holy convocation’(Feast) of TABERNACLES/BOOTHS/INGATHERING—15th of Tishri(mid-October)—A seven(7)-day appointment—Recalls the 40-year wilderness wandering of unfaithful Israel prior to their entrance to the Promised Land—A picture of man’s inability to attain heaven apart from God’s leading them(in Christ)...And/or of the vagabond-like nature of those ‘outside’ of the Promised Land(Heaven).
“The Passover” was to commemorate God’s ‘passing over’ those who were faithful to heed Him even while living in a political climate which refused Him(Ex. 12:1-13, 21-23).
Today, there are no specific days prescribed for the Church, though we do make much of Christmas & Easter/Resurrection Sunday, with some focusing upon Advent & Pentecost as well.
Aside from those 'holy convocations', the weekly Jewish Sabbath was initiated & instituted for the purpose of personally, but especially corporately, recognizing the manifold significance of the completion of God’s handiwork of creation. In Jesus' day Jews worshiped weekly in their synagogues, as they still do.
Jesus addressed & preached in synagogues, preaching to those who should have been attuned to God’s means & message.
Paul did the same until the Church came unto its own apart from the Jewish religion.
Having been set free from the Law, the Church immediately took this 'Sabbath' observance to Sunday(the first day of the week) in serving a dual purpose of celebrating the Resurrection of Christ(seeing as He rose on the first day of the week) & its subsequent resurrective new birth for every believer...Further aspects of the manifold work of God’s creative hand.
2Cor. 5:17—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
The Church is expected & exhorted to commit herself to a minimum of corporate worship weekly!
The ‘Church’ is a realm thru which God works, disseminating all aspects of His truth in & to the world.
“While the church is universal in nature, it finds expression in local groups of believers.”—‘The People of God’; Basden, Dockery, eds.
‘Worship’ is thereby relegated to the Church & includes a corporate Christian expression of ‘loosely’ organized... Assembly, prophetic Proclamation(of the authoritative word), Spiritual Preparation, Ordinances, Singing, Prayer, Praise, Censure, Fellowship(joys shared & burdens borne), & Missionary support--1Cor. 12:26.
The Church is bound by a common universal confession of Jesus as God's Christ.
“God did not give us local churches to become country clubs where membership means we have privileges & perks.”—‘I Am A Church Member’, T. S. Rainer
“People flit about in search of what suits their taste at the moment”...“capitulating to consumerism has profound [negative] consequences for the church.”—‘The Body’, Charles Colson from the chapter entitled, ‘Gimme That Hot Tub Religion’
*Church is about giving God’s love rather than receiving(Acts 20:35)...yet in that process of giving, we soon find that we are simultaneously receiving God’s love thru our brothers & sisters in Christ, the very ones to whom we readily give.
Acts 20:34-35—“Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, & for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
“Passover”(See :23)—pasca—1) The paschal sacrifice (which was accustomed to be offered for the people's deliverance of old from Egypt); 2) The paschal lamb, i.e. the lamb the Israelites were accustomed to slay & eat on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan (the first month of their year) in memory of the day on which their fathers, preparing to depart from Egypt, were bidden by God to slay & eat a lamb, & to sprinkle their door posts with its blood, that the destroying angel, seeing the blood, might pass over their dwellings; Christ crucified is likened to the slain paschal lamb; 3) The paschal supper; 4) The paschal feast, the feast of the Passover, extending from the 14th to the 20th day of the month Nisan. Strong—The Passover(the meal, the day, the festival or the special sacrifices connected with it).
“At hand”—egguv—Adverb—1) Near, of place & position—1a) Near, 1b) Those who are near access to God—1b1) Jews, as opposed to those who are alien from God & his blessings, 1b2) The Rabbis used the term "to make nigh" as equivalent to "to make a proselyte”; 2) of time—2a) Of times imminent & soon to come pass. Strong—from a primary verb agcw(to squeeze or throttle; akin to the base of agkalh); Near (literally or figuratively, of place or time).
“Went up”—anabainw—1) Ascend—1a) To go up, 1b) To rise, mount, be borne up, spring up. Strong—To go up (literally or figuratively).
“Jerusalem”—Ierosoluma—=Jerusalem = “Set ye double peace”—1) Denotes either the city itself or the inhabitants; 2) “The Jerusalem that now is”, with its present religious institutions, i.e. the Mosaic system, so designated from its primary external location. Strong—The capitol of Palestine.
Argumentation:
Mat. 15:1-9—“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.’”
Deut. 5:13-15—“Six days you shall labor & do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant & your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, & the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand & by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”
Mk. 2:27-28—“And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, & not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Our ‘Sabbath’ is in Christ Jesus!! & not in keeping a particular day!
Rom. 14:5-9—One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; & he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; & he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, & gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, & no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; & if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died & rose & lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead & the living.
**Heb. 10:19-25—“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new & living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, & having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience & our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love & good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, & so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Illustration:
?Why are you here today?...What is the OCCASION?
?What do you need that you cannot possibly have otherwise/elsewhere?
And...?Why have you found it or not found it?
There are some unusual vehicles parked near the church today—Road Tech RX500 cold planer milling machine, Sweep Pro, John Deere road grader, Caterpillar back hoe-front-end loader, a Caterpillar road roller/A specific reason such uniquely dedicated vehicles are here—Road work is scheduled to begin soon!/OCCASION
You are here today because God wants to get to work in your life.
A marriage ceremony followed by the actual marriage(remainder of your lives together)/The joining of two hearts together for work under God’s auspices in Christ!/OCCASION
Application:
?What Harmony comes thru your/our OCCASION for Public Worship?
?Does your OCCASION present a righteous or an unrighteous challenge to/for Public Worship?
?Our Church a challenge to, or an advocate of, Harmonious Public Worship?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Temptations may undercut (harmonious)public worship.
Action:
Challenges to (harmonious)public worship are its...
1. OCCASION(:13)
Pt. 1 only! presented 09/20/2015am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE(SE Ave A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
