CHALLENGES To/For PUBLIC WORSHIP-IV—John 2:12-25
Attention:
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!
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(harmony/agreeability with God) in public worship.
When is public worship consonant(harmonious/agreeable)?
Some Challenges to (harmonious)public worship.
Previously we have found some Challenges to (harmonious)public worship are its...
1. OCCASION(:13)
2. INVITATION(:13-14)
3. PROTECTION(:15)
4. RESONATION(:16-17)
5—A challenge to (harmonious)public worship is its...
AUTHORIZATION(:18-19)
Explanation:(:18-19)
:18—“So the Jews answered & said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”
“The Jews” were in opposition to Jesus. Thus they had become a ‘religious entity’ to themselves, birthed thru their willing deafness toward the very God who wrought them. They effectively held to their own set of rules & held to their own version of ‘God’ making Him not God but ‘a god.’
“The Jews”—Used negatively or in an uncomplimentary fashion!—John’s description of those who follow a religion of their own founded upon God’s truth yet the outworkings of which deny God’s truth(Jn. 7:13). Paul calls them “the Circumcision.” cf.—Rom. 3:29-30; Rom. 4:1-13; Rom. 15:7-9; Tit. 1:7-11; Col. 4:10-11
Jesus openly messed with their religious establishment as the maintainers of truth, & to them, the only one allowed to do such would be someone able to prove their credentials, by means of a “sign.” Were they expecting “signs” to be performed by the one who was prophesied as coming like Moses?(Deut. 18:13-22)
Deut. 18:13-22—“You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers & diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you. The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’ “And the LORD said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. ‘I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, & will put My words in His mouth, & He shall speak to them all that I command Him. ‘And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ “And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’--when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”
These “Jews” answered Jesus’ statement(:16) with a question as to where He had received the authority to drive the people & animals out of the temple(“do these things”). The Jews rightly based the authority to drive them out, as only being derived from God. They therefore, demanded proof of His direction from God, which they would/could not accept, given that Jesus openly & implied His Divinity.
The very sad thing about this situation is that the Jews had to have known their own actions were an affront to God. Thus they were obviously driven by empty tradition, money, & political give & take. Had the operations in the temple been legitimately ordained of God, i.e., if Jesus sought to overturn the pure & actual work of God in reality, He would have been arrested on the spot for being a blasphemer.
“Sign”—shmeion—1) A sign, mark, token—1a) That by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others & is known, 1b) A sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. An unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature—1b1) Of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen, 1b2) Of miracles & wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God’s.” Strong—An indication, especially ceremonially or supernaturally.
“Show”—deiknuw—1) To show, expose to the eyes; 2) metaph.—2a) To give evidence or proof of a thing, 2b) To show by words or teach. Strong—To show(literally or figuratively).
“Since/Seeing”—Lit.--‘That these things You do’—Added—
“Do”—poiew—
“Things”—tauta—
:19—“Jesus answered & said to them, “Destroy this temple, & in three days I will raise it up.”
Jesus’ gave them a conditional proof which could only be proven if they were to “destroy this temple.” He spoke of His own body(“this temple”, :21), though He did not state it outright as such, in order to fulfill the Scripture regarding parables(Isa. 6:9-10). That they were spiritually oblivious becomes apparent from “the Jew’s” response in verse :20.
Mat. 13:10-17[of Isa. 6:9-10]—“And the disciples came & said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered & said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, & he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, & hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear & shall not understand, And seeing you will see & not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes & hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts & turn, So that I should heal them.’ “But blessed are your eyes for they see, & your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets & righteous men desired to see what you see, & did not see it, & to hear what you hear, & did not hear it.”
The Jews twisted Jesus prophetic words wrongly putting in His mouth the saying that He Himself would “destroy the temple.” Whereas in directing His prophecy to “the Jews,” who had demanded a sign from Him(:18), Jesus actually declared that they themselves would “destroy this temple”—which the Jews would in fact do, “destroying”(kill) His very body(“this temple”) in the Cross.
Jesus’ words Misconstrued:
Mat. 26:59-61[Mk. 14:57-59]—“Now the chief priests, the elders, & all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward & said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God & to build it in three days.’”
Mat. 27:39-40—“And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads & saying, “You who destroy the temple & build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
Acts 3:14-15—“But you[the Jews] denied the Holy One & the Just, & asked for a murderer to be granted to you, & killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.”
Jesus actually did claim what would become the latter part of their ‘proof of blasphemy.’ After His body’s destruction, Jesus indeed is the One who will “raise” His own body from the dead as His Father had revealed to Him(Jn. 10:17-18). He will do it within a specific time limit of “three days.” This would become the only undeniable sign(:18) which would be provided for the Jews as proof of His being their divine Messiah(Mat. 12:38-40).
This was the only confirmed evidence ‘against’ Jesus presented at His trial before the Sanhedrin(Mat. 26:59-61; Mk. 14:56-59) & even this was inconsistent for Jesus claimed that they would destroy it, while His accusers claimed Jesus Himself would destroy it.... This ‘evidence’ was also levied against Jesus while He was on the cross(Mat. 27:39-40).
Mat. 12:38-40—“Then some of the scribes & Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered & said to them, “An evil & adulterous generation seeks after a sign, & no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. “For as Jonah was three days & three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days & three nights in the heart of the earth.”
The only way that both Jesus & His Father can both be said to “raise up” Jesus’ temple(body) is if both Jesus & His Father are divine!:...
Jesus Raised From the Dead—per both Himself, & His Father:
*Jn. 10:17-18—“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, & I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
Acts 2:22-24—[Peter stated/preached]“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, & signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know--Him, being delivered by the determined purpose & foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, & put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”
Acts 13:29-30; 17:31—[Paul stated]“Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree & laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead.”.....““because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Rom. 4:23-25—“Now it[righteousness] was not written for his[Abraham’s] sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, & was raised because of our justification.”
Rom. 6:4—“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Rom. 8:11—“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
2Cor. 4:14—“knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, & will present us with you.”
Heb. 13:20—“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,”
1Pet. 1:21—“who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead & gave Him glory, so that your faith & hope are in God.”
“Destroy”—luw—Aorist Active Imperative—1) To loose any person(or thing) tied or fastened; 2) To loose one bound, i.e. To unbind, release from bonds, set free; 3) To loosen, undo, dissolve, anything bound, tied, or compacted together. Strong—a primary verb; To "loosen" (literally or figuratively).
*There are 15 Biblical words translated by the NKJV as “destroy/destruction/destroyer”:
luw—Used 43X; apollumi[from apo & the base of oleyrov]—Used 92X; katargew[from kata & argew]—Used 27X.
“Temple”(See :20—)—naov—1) used of the temple at Jerusalem, but only of the sacred edifice(or sanctuary) itself, consisting of the Holy place & the Holy of Holies(in classical Greek it is used of the sanctuary or cell of the temple, where the image of gold was placed which is distinguished from the whole enclosure); 2) Any heathen temple or shrine; 3) metaph.--The spiritual temple consisting of the saints of all ages joined together by & in Christ. Strong—from a primary naiw(to dwell); A fane, shrine, temple.
“Raise...up”(See :20, 22)—egeirw—1) To arouse, cause to rise. Strong—probably akin to the base of agora[properly--The town-square(as a place of public resort); by implication--A market or thoroughfare](through the idea of collecting one's faculties); To waken(transitively or intransitively), i.e. Rouse (literally, from sleep, from sitting or lying, from disease, from death; or figuratively, from obscurity, inactivity, ruins, nonexistence).
“Days”(See :20)—hmera—1) The day, used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise & sunset, as distinguished from & contrasted with the night; 2) The space of twenty four hours(thus including the night)—2a) Eastern usage of this term differs from our western usage. Any part of a day is counted as a whole day, hence the expression "three days & three nights" does not mean literally three whole days, but at least one whole day plus part of two other days.; 4) used Of time in general, i.e. The days of his life. Strong—feminine(with wra implied) of a derivative of hmai(to sit; akin to the base of edraiov[sedentary/immovable]) meaning ‘tame,’ i.e. Gentle; day, i.e. literally--The time space between dawn & dark, or the whole 24 hours; figuratively--A period(always defined more or less clearly by the context).
Argumentation:
Rom. 1:16-32—“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first & also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness & unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power & Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, & their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, & changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--& birds & four-footed animals & creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, & worshiped & served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, & receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”
Our society(lost) does this continually—battles of Legislation as our representatives, Judicial battles in courtrooms, Executive decisions by the president & his cabinet
Worship, church, comes Not by your own desires...Not by your own preferences...Not by your own wants...Not by this preacher or that preacher,...But by the power of God Almighty in Christ Jesus!
Illustration:
Something Based on truth rather than a lie.
Suppose there is a highly respected team of scientist who believe that the Moon is made of cheese/These scientists write papers & receive funding for moon exploration programs concentrating on determining the quality of & extracting the cheese for returning it to earth to feed people/Would NASA be able to receive funding for such an endeavor?/AUTHORIZATION
When we lived in Cordele, GA, Sam was ~8yrs. old/He had a slightly older(& much larger) ‘friend’ who lived across the dirt road & railroad track which paralleled each other on one side of the pastorium/One hot summer day, I come home to discover that Sam & his friend had been playing in the friend’s small plastic pool(the kind you fill up with a garden hose)/Sam related that his ‘friend’ had gotten mad, pushed Sam into the pool & held his face down under the water, trying to drown him!/If I had seen the incident, I would surely have stopped it...even though the kid was not mine & he was on his property & it was not my pool to mess with/AUTHORIZATION
Suppose you are on your daily exercise run/You pass thru the usual neighborhoods, by the ocean & thru the swamp, etc./You see someone being threatened with a baseball bat behind the fence enclosing their property which has plainly posted warnings of ‘Private Property-Keep Out’--‘Violators will be Prosecuted to the fullest Extent of the Law’/You yell out, ‘Are you okay ma’am?’/She responds “No, please help me!”/Her violator screams at you not to approach he & orders you to leave/I call the police but her life is still in danger/So I cross the line onto their property & remove the threat to the woman!/AUTHORIZATION
?Where do you get the Authorization to worship the way you do?
What authority do you call upon—to habitually, willingly-wantonly ‘do what you want’...then come in to ‘worship God’ corporately on Sunday,...& then return to your habitual, willing wanton ‘doing what you want’ the rest of the week?!!/AUTHORIZATION
The Church has a great deal of stylistic freedom in their worship/But there is absolutely no freedom in deviating from the One we worship...The Almighty, ever-existing God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit/And that ‘freedom’ is never to be an indulgence of the flesh!/AUTHORIZATION
Application:
?What Harmony comes thru your/our AUTHORIZATION for Public Worship?
?Does your AUTHORIZATION present a righteous or an unrighteous challenge to/for Public Worship?
?Our Church a challenge to, or an advocate of, Harmonious Public Worship?
6—A challenge to (harmonious)public worship is its...
REPLACEMENT, RESTORATION & FOCUS(:19)
Explanation:(:19)Replacement/Focus
:19—“Jesus answered & said to them, “Destroy this temple, & in three days I will raise it up.”
Jesus responded to their desire for a sign confirming His words.
He told them plainly that upon their destruction of “this temple”, that in “three days” He Himself will “raise it up.” Thus the temple’s destruction would result in another temple being “raised up” or built. The temple would not necessarily be of the same type as the one destroyed but it would definitely serve as a temple either in some lesser or greater differing capacity/sense.
REPLACE—Incomplete Religion with Worship surrounding Jesus!
RESTORE—Dead Religion to Relationship with Jesus!
FOCUS—Attention upon the correct Subject—Jesus!
*Jn. 1:10-13—“He was in the world, & the world was made through Him, & the world did not know Him. He came to His own, & His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
1Jn. 5:10-13—“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, & this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, & that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
Many passionately rally around being ‘Americans.’ But...Simply because ‘Uncle Sam’ puts his ‘seal of approval’ upon certain actions does NOT make them approved of God! Believe it or not...God does not check with either the president or representatives of the United States before he blesses someone or some thing...In fact he doesn’t with any other Americans nor does He check with either of you or your pastor before He blesses...BUT He does know your heart when He blesses!!
Argumentation:
Replacement/Restoration/Focus to Pagans:
1Kgs. 18:17-40—[Elijah on Mount Carmel]—Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you & your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD & have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send & gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred & fifty prophets of Baal, & the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, & gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people, & said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred & fifty men. Therefore let them give us two bulls; & let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, & lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; & I will prepare the other bull, & lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then you call on the name of your gods, & I will call on the name of the LORD; & the God who answers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered & said, “It is well spoken.” Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves & prepare it first, for you are many; & call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” So they took the bull which was given them, & they prepared it, & called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them & said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping & must be awakened.” So they cried aloud, & cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives & lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; & he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, & laid it on the wood, & said, “Fill four waterpots with water, & pour it on the burnt sacrifice & on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time,” & they did it a second time; & he said, “Do it a third time,” & they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar; & he also filled the trench with water. And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near & said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, & Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel & I am Your servant, & that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, & that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” Then the fire of the LORD fell & consumed the burnt sacrifice, & the wood & the stones & the dust, & it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; & they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; & Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon & executed them there.”
*Acts 17:16-34—[Paul at Mars Hill]“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews & with the Gentile worshipers, & in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. Then certain Epicurean & Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus & the resurrection. And they took him & brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” For all the Athenians & the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus & said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through & considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world & everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven & earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, & all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, & has determined their preappointed times & the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him & find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; “for in Him we live & move & have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art & man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him & believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, & others with them.”
Replacement/Restoration/Focus to God’s People:
*Jn. 4:5-26—“So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered & said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, & who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, & He would have given you living water.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, & the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? “Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, & drank from it himself, as well as his sons & his livestock?” Jesus answered & said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, & come here.” The woman answered & said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ “for you have had five husbands, & the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, & you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 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.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming”(who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
Thereby Jesus must NOT be ignored, & furthermore, He must be heeded!
Mat. 23:16-22—“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ “Fools & blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ “Fools & blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it & by all things on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it & by Him who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God & by Him who sits on it.”
1Tim. 2:5-7—“For there is one God & one Mediator between God & men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher & an apostle--I am speaking the truth in Christ & not lying--a teacher of the Gentiles in faith & truth.”
Jn. 14:6—“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, & the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
**1Pet. 2:4-5, 9—“Coming to Him[Jesus] as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God & precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”.....“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
**Mat. 28:18-20—“And Jesus came & spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven & on earth. Go therefore & make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father & of the Son & of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; & lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”
Acts 13:29-39—“Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him[Jesus], they took Him down from the tree & laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. And we declare to you glad tidings--that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’ “And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’ “Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’ “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, & saw corruption; but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; & by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
**Mat. 9:14-17—“Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we & the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, & then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, & the tear is made worse. Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, & the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, & both are preserved.”
Context of your worship is important!
1Pet. 4:14-18—“If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory & of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; & if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly & the sinner appear?”
**Php. 3:2-3—“Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, & have no confidence in the flesh,”
Illustration:
A farmer who switches from mule to tractor/His attentions go from raising & caring for mules to ‘raising’ & caring for his tractor(s)/
1)He does NOT go back to mule-ing but Replaces the mule entirely.
2)He places his investment in the tractor—His work is Restored to what it always was meant to be.
3)His mission is expanded—His Focus is expanded & encompasses vastly more.
Have you replaced fleshly worship with true worship...OR vice-versa?
You can violate every aspect of what worship is all about if you stay home from God’s people in corporate worship!
Application:
?What Harmony comes thru your/our REPLACEMENT, RESTORATION & FOCUS for Public Worship?
?Does your REPLACEMENT, RESTORATION & FOCUS present a righteous or an unrighteous challenge to/for Public Worship?
?Our Church a challenge to, or an advocate of, Harmonious Public Worship?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
Challenges to (harmonious)public worship are its...
5. AUTHORIZATION(:18-19)
6. REPLACEMENT, RESTORATION & FOCUS(:19)
1. OCCASION(:13)
2. INVITATION(:13-14)
3. PROTECTION(:15)
4. RESONATION(:16-17)
Pts. 5-6 presented 11/15/2015pm to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE(SE Ave A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
