CHALLENGES To/For PUBLIC WORSHIP-V—John 2:12-25
OR
Some Dynamics Of Public Worship
Attention:
During a worship service, the pastor invites the younger children to join him near the altar for a “Children's Sermon.” He tells them about the ingredients required to make up a church, using a chocolate-chip cookie as an example.
He explains to the children that a cookie needs certain ingredients such as sugar & eggs. And that the church also needed certain ingredients to make up the congregation.
Holding a cookie aloft, he asks, “If I took all the chocolate chips out of this cookie, what would I have?”
A shy six-year-old raised her hand. “Six less grams of fat,” she replied.
Public worship can & does present definite challenges!
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(agreeability with God) in public worship.
When is public worship consonant(agreeable/harmonious)?
Some Challenges to (consonant/harmonious)public worship.
Previously we have found a Challenge to (harmonious)public worship is its...
1. OCCASION(:13)
2. INVITATION(:13-14)
3. PROTECTION(:15)
4. RESONATION(:16-17)
5. AUTHORIZATION(:18-19)
6. REPLACEMENT, RESTORATION & FOCUS(:19)
7—A challenge to (harmonious)public worship is its...
IMPLICATIONs(:20)
Explanation:(:20)
:20—“Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, & will You raise it up in three days?”
“The Jews” reminded Jesus that it took much longer to build the structure of the temple. They couldn’t & didn’t believe Jesus’ claim to raise “this temple” “in three days” because they attributed “this temple” to the physical stone “temple,” which consisted of the temple grounds(ieron) including the temple proper(naov) in Jerusalem. Of course they considered Jesus to be demon possessed & a blasphemer(Jn. 10:19-21), & also possibly a lunatic.
“The Jews” were quick to add that it had taken a full “46 yrs.” to build the temple complex in which they were all now standing.
This was Herod the Great’s temple—the sanctuary(naov) of which was begun ~20/19 B.C.(Josephus) & completed 18 mths. later in 18/17 B.C. “46 yrs.” later places these events at 27-28 A.D., or minus the completed sanctuary(naov), to 29/30 A.D. Thus this Passover took place in 30 A.D.—ECNT
The entire complex of the temple was not fully completed until 63 A.D.—long after Herod’s death in ~ 4 B.C., & also after Jesus death, resurrection, & ascension ~33 A.D.
The temple complex was fully completed a mere 7 years before the entire temple’s(ieron) destruction by the Romans in AD 70. The temple(naov & ieron) was begun in the 18th year of Herod’s reign & thus some 16 yrs. prior to Jesus’ birth.—ECNT, D.A. Carson.
“The Jews” were unable to see beyond their physical accomplishments. They could not see God’s hand at all! They could not see God’s Son!
**The Implication is that their current worship was false worship!...
...And that there is more to Jesus than meets the eye!
**Don’t ever limit Jesus to the cradle...to being a Prophet...to being a Teacher...to being a Priest...to being a King...
...because:
He is the God-man,
The very Word of God,
The perfect Teacher, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge,
The High Priest,
The King of all kings & Lord of all lords!
“Years”—etov—1) Year. Etov denotes a year as a division or sectional portion of time, whereas eniautov[ prolongation from a primary enov(a year); a year] denotes a year as viewed as a cycle or period of time. Strong—apparently a primary word; A year.
“Build”—oikodomew—Aorist Passive Indicative—1) To build a house, erect a building; 2) metaph.—2a) To found, establish, 2b) To promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, blessedness, 2c) To grow in wisdom & piety. Strong—To be a house-builder, i.e. Construct or figuratively--Confirm.
“Temple”(See :19)—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 :19, 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”—hmera—
Argumentation:
2Kgs. 6:8-17—“Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; & he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such & such a place.” And the man of God sent to the king of Israel[Joram], saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, & he was watchful there, not just once or twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; & he called his servants & said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” So he said, “Go & see where he is, that I may send & get him.” And it was told him, saying, “Surely he is in Dothan.” Therefore he sent horses & chariots & a great army there, & they came by night & surrounded the city. And when the servant of the man of God arose early & went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses & chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, & said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, & he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses & chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
Jer. 7:1-12—“The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, “Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, & proclaim there this word, & say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!’” Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways & your doings, & I will cause you to dwell in this place. “Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’ “For if you thoroughly amend your ways & your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man & his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, & the widow, & do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever & ever. “Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, & walk after other gods whom you do not know, & then come & stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, & say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? “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. “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, & see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.”
Mat. 9:18-19—“While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came & worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come & lay Your hand on her & she will live.” So Jesus arose & followed him, & so did His disciples.”.....“When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, & saw the flute players & the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. But when the crowd was put outside, He went in & took her by the hand, & the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land.”
Lk. 23:11-12—“Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt & mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, & sent Him back to Pilate. That very day Pilate & Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.”
Mat. 12:1-8—“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, & began to pluck heads of grain & to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!” But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he & those who were with him: how he entered the house of God & ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, & are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy & not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Lk. 11:29-32—“And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He[Jesus] began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, & no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation & condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; & indeed a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation & condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; & indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”
Jn. 4:20-26—“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.”
**Lk. 3:21-22—“When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; & while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, & a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
**Lk. 9:35—[at the time of Jesus’ transfiguration]“And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
**Col. 1:13-20—“He has delivered us from the power of darkness & conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven & that are on earth, visible & invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him & for Him. And He is before all things, & in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, & by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
Illustration:
There is vastly more here now than the things built here or even the very location itself. God has seen fit to place it here & He can see fit to move it &/or remove it! But He will not remove our focus on Jesus!
Tractor-trailer for liquid transport(Gasoline-Milk-Asphalt, etc.)/Most have baffles built into the tank so the liquid will not quickly move from side to side & prevents the rig from turning over/Such a design for transport implies 1)The contents are of prime importance &, 2)The transportation method is potentially dangerous/IMPLICATION
The implication of the Church carrying the Good News of salvation in Christ alone, is that 1)the message is of prime importance & 2)The method of transport is potentially dangerous!
Application:
?What Harmony comes thru your/our IMPLICATIONs for Public Worship?
?Does your IMPLICATION 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:
Absent chips= 6 less grams of fat—Challenges to Public Worship!
Action:
A Challenge to (harmonious)public worship is/are its...
7. IMPLICATIONs(:20)
1. OCCASION(:13)
2. INVITATION(:13-14)
3. PROTECTION(:15)
4. RESONATION(:16-17)
5. AUTHORIZATION(:18-19)
6. REPLACEMENT, RESTORATION & FOCUS(:19)
Pt. 7-only! presented 03/06/2015am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE(SE Ave A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
