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Sermon Notes: notes.cornerstonesj.org
Jesus Cleanses Temples
I'm gonna say good morning. If you're in a hallway, come on in if you're in grab a seat We come together in Fellowship and and just enjoying the presence of God.
I want to open up with a passage out of Psalm 122 122 verse 1
I was glad When they said to me, let us go to the house of the
Lord. I Was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord as I was meditating on this verse this week
A couple of thoughts came to my mind and the first one is that if you really want to find joy if you have a desire to be
Satisfied and to be fulfilled. There's only one place you get that and that's in the presence of God There are a lot of opportunities.
We've had a great summer I'm sure you've had a great summer. We've done a lot of things Our family went on vacation to the western reaches of Maryland to a lake.
It was awesome It really was to be with the kids and the grandkids but I'm here to tell you right now on the authority of Scripture and On the authority of the true
Word of God if you want true joy, and if you want true peace It is only found it is only found with God The second thing
I came across was I was glad when they Said to me let us go now.
One of the things I encourage you when you read Scripture follow the pronouns Follow the pronouns they said to me let us go to the house of the
Lord We are gonna find true joy and true peace in the presence of God and that's even amplified
When we're with brothers and sisters in the Lord to have the opportunity to share with each other
They said to me let us go to the house of the Lord this morning I learned from a good friend of mine no names, but he happens to be standing right on my left hand side
That earlier in the week he had a totally unexpected encounter with a co -worker and found out that she was a believer and Then another co -worker who was a believer came by and they had this ad hoc praise meeting right in the middle of everything
Isn't it amazing when God gives us those opportunities just to share with the
Lord? I was glad when they said to me Let us go to the house of the Lord God gives us the one another and we can really rejoice in the one another's
But the third thing is that this is an intentional choice Let us go to the house of the
Lord You're gonna go home today and there will be things on your agenda or during the week
There are things that are calling for our attention The one place where you are fully fully satisfied is in the presence of the
Lord That's an intentional choice And when we make that we get to really experience his blessings in our life
I got some announcements for you. This is the beginning of September. We've had an awesome week summer
But we're getting ready and things are ramping up real fast But the first thing
I want to put it onto your mind is at six o 'clock Sunday nights Please come back make this an issue make this an important time
We get together for prayer at six o 'clock on Sunday nights. We lift up each other in prayer
We lift up the needs of God's church. It's his church Together, so please come back at six o 'clock.
There are all these activities that happen during the week the men's Apologetics the women's precepts
Care groups if they're already going on if they're restarting after the summer if you are not involved in a small group care group
I really really encourage you to do that. They're on Tuesdays or on Thursdays.
There might be one on Wednesdays They're there in the area contact pastor Jeff myself one of the elders
We can get you hooked up if you're not in a small group. We are continuing on our
Wednesday noon Yeah, noontime Bible study. We just finished the book of Isaiah It took us almost two years to get through the book of Isaiah Then we're going to be starting the book of Ephesians and so if you have not been there and you're available be a great time to come back out and Join us with that women have got a lot of activities going on out in the foyer.
There's a sign up I believe it's this coming Saturday at 630. There's a time of fellowship over ice cream and A movie so it sounds sounds intriguing women come on out time for a fellowship
And your adult Bible fellowship Kimberly's class starts in two weeks. That'll be on the 18th during the during the 1030 service men
We have our our normal breakfast first Monday of the month, but tomorrow's
Labor Day We're not going to do it on Labor Day, so it'll probably be the following Monday We do ours real early at 6 o 'clock, but men come on out for that a great time of fellowship
And there's a men's retreat coming up in November We've been having a retreat for many many years.
We're part of a group called the Bible Thumping wingnut, and if you're intrigued about that ask me
It's a gentleman who has a podcast who speaks the truth about God The world doesn't really always like it when you speak the truth about God, but that's his and it's a it's a men's retreat
It's a builder summit. It's men building up men. It's coming up in November the information is on Jeff's Pastor Graham for that we have a baptism coming up in two weeks if you are
Interested in being baptized have not approached Jeff pastor Jeff myself one of the elders We will get you hooked up for that.
It's going to be down the shore this time in open water So this will be a great time of testimony and a great time of fellowship
And then we're going to have another membership class will be coming up in three weeks For three weeks it will start the end of September if you're interested contact us for that as a church
We have been praying for a young man for most of the year Ryan had a horrific accident earlier in the year and Experienced severe burns over a large portion of his body
He ended up down in Texas for treatments But according to God's design and his providence
Ryan has gone home to the Lord. Well. We're praying for his heart. We will be praying for him tonight pastor
I'm gonna ask again at the end of my prayer if you would come up to pray for Ryan and his family But right now let's turn to the
Lord in Prayer I was glad when they said to me let us go to the house of the
Lord Father God we rejoice in this privilege of coming to you as sinners, but as sinners cleansed by the blood of the
Lamb We rejoice that we could come to your house and actually be in your presence
Adam and Eve experienced this direct fellowship with you until sin came and so it is with us when sin is in our lives
Prior to salvation we were separated but now Lord as your sons those who believe in you are called children of God We get to be in your very presence to come to your very presence
And we thank you for the fellowship the privilege of the fellowship of one Another Lord we pray that our hearts would always be turned to you
Lord that we would be our eyes opened and ready and obedient to share the word of Christ To neighbors friends relatives to a lost world that definitely needs to hear
Lord We do pray for those in our midst who are suffering physically in need of medical help
Emotionally who have lost loved ones we continue to lift them up to you dear Lord Father we pray for those of our children of our youth who have gone off to the mission field called college
We continue to hold them up that they would be Encouraged and not saddened that they would find fellowship and that they would hold true to your word and not to be dissuade by the falsehoods
Lord we do. Thank you so much for our time of fellowship together and now Lord. We're gonna pray for Ryan for his family
Father our hearts are broken for the loss of Ryan But Lord we also hope in the gospel we grieve, but not as those who have no hope
So God we pray for the family right now that you God of all comfort would go surround them
Comfort their hearts as only you can give them peace and Lord we pray that the gospel would go forward
Through this awful Tragedy Lord God, we pray that you would use this this horrible event to bring the gospel to those who don't yet know you because this life is short and no days are promised and Yet there is the promise of eternal life to those who believe in Jesus So we pray that the gospel would run forward and that family and all those who know
Ryan Would come to saving faith and be reunited with him in heaven It's our prayer
Lord in Jesus name. Amen Let's stand and sing
His mercy is more Stronger than darkness
You every more our sins. They are many. His mercy is
Of good remember no wrongs we have done
Omniscient all -knowing he counts not their son thrown into a sea without bottom or shore
Our sins they are many his mercy is more
Patience would wait as we constantly Roam what father so tender is calling us home
He welcomes the weakest the violence the poor
Our sins they are many his mercy is more praise the
Lord His mercy is more
Oh Stronger the darkness
You every more our sins. They are many his mercy is more
She's up kindness he lavished on us his blood was the payment
His life was the cost we stood need the debt we could never
For Since they are many his mercy is more praise the
Lord His mercy is Stronger than darkness
Since they are many his mercy is more
It's a simple verse it's something we've memorized as children John 3 16 is the core of the gospel of John God loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us.
He loved us It's amazing how deep his love for us is we could never ever do anything to repay
Let's sing how deep the father's love How deep the father's love for us?
How that's beyond all measure That he should give his only son
To make a wretch his treasure How great the pain of searing loss the father turns his face away as Which Martha?
chosen one Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon a cross Upon his shoulder
The shame I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held it there
Until it was Accomplished Has brought me
I Will not posted anything
No gifts, no power. No wisdom But I will boast in Jesus Christ his death and Resurrection Why should
I gain from his reward? I This I know with all my heart
And pay my ransom Why should
I gain from his reward? I Cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my Have paid my ransom
After he was accused he was beaten he was mocked they came to the place called the skull
Where they crucified him along with two criminals on a hill of Calvary The light of all the world with the world on his shoulders
The weight of all the shame on him
Holy surrender Skyway The angels
The father looked away The final breath he bowed his head
Then of God was slain By his wounds
I am set free By his blood
I've been redeemed The great divide he crossed for me
Oh Praise the God of Calvary On the hill of Calvary into the father's head a holy
Surrender Borrowed to his mother
There is But the stone was moved he conquered
And rose up From the grave
By his wounds I am set free
By his blood I've been redeemed The great divide he crossed for me
Oh praise the God of Calvary And if I never
Never lose sight of this place. I will never
Never lose sight of your grace your cross is all
All I need to see Oh praise the
God Calvary And if I never
God of Calvary By his wounds
Oh praise the God of Calvary Your cross is all all
I need to see Oh praise the God of Calvary Laid out in front of you in front of me are the elements
Now as we consider where we are we generally end up in first Corinthians 11 and as we read the passage
We are told do this in remembrance of me
This was our Lord and Savior Jesus Words that he gave to his twelve while they were in the upper room do this in remembrance of me and I think it would be appropriate.
In fact, I think it would be significant for us to stop right now Closing our eyes bowing our heads and in your mind remember
Jesus pray to him for a moment, please Lord we come to this table in Remembrance of Jesus our
Lord this Jesus The Son of God the second person of the
Trinity this Jesus the creator and sustainer of all this
Jesus who is our Lord and Savior This Jesus who sat in the upper room with the twelve knowing what was about to transpire
And you can open your eyes now as we consider this as he sat around the table with his twelve
Enjoying this feast knowing that in a very short time What was to come?
He was God he knew he knew the garden and the prayer
Sweating drops of blood if there's any way father if there's any way yet not my will but thine be done he knew that he would come back and find his followers asleep and Then he knew he would come back again and there would be the
Roman soldiers and Judas putting a kiss on the side of his face He knew that he was going to be carried off to a mock trial
That he would be beaten and scourged crown of thorns on his head the cat of nine tails
Ripping the flesh off his back. He knew that that cross would be laid on his shoulders
And then he would carry it up the Rhea de la Rosa an innocent man yet going there because of my sin for God So loved the world
He gave his only begotten son and he knew that those nails would go into his arms and knew his feet and that he would be hung on that cross and He would be mocked and he knew for that one instant in time
Every sin that I have ever committed ever I ever will commit and same with you would be on him for that one instant of eternity the father who was a holy
God would have to turn and Jesus would say my god my god
Why have thou forsaken me? but it had to be done because of the depth of sin and because of the majesty of his love and And then he would say to tell us die it is finished all of this he knew as he shared these elements
And we are told to do this in remembrance of him And so as we come to this table, we're not coming because it's the first Sunday of the month and this is
This is our habit. We're coming in remembrance of Him now
Paul encourages us in this letter took to Corinth and he says So then whoever eats this bread
And drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the
Lord Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink of the cup
For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment
On themselves and so I'm going to ask you to pray one more time this time preparing your heart to be pure as we come to the elements
Lord the psalmist says open your eyes and know me and it's a scary thought because who
I am is a sinner But yet I know Lord that you knew every time this week where I said a harsh word to Sandy You Knew every time when
I was on the road in the car and got irritated at a driver you knew those things But you took them to the cross your blood shed
So that I could be as white as snow and you stand you sit at the right hand of the father
With the accuser saying that man John is a scoundrel and Lord you say no.
No, I got that one on the cross So we come Lord this morning in Remembrance of him come
Lord confessing our sins because we can only come to you We can only come to you.
We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen I'm going to ask the men to come forward as they sat around the table
Not an uncommon feast But as they sat around the table, we're told that Jesus took the bread
And he broke it he said this is my body broken for you
When Jesus hung on that crossed Those bones were not broken His blood was shed and his life was spilled for you and for me as this bread is broken for us
So Christ goes to the cross for us And he encourages us
Take in remembrance of him take he didn't remembrance of him
Then Jesus held up a chalice Now we do not believe that this is actually the blood of Christ.
We believe that this is an emblem This is a remembrance of the blood of Christ But that's what's important is that we remember and we never become dull and we never become commonplace or used to The cup that we're about to share
But When Jesus hung on that cross the very lifeblood Coming out of him and then the
Roman soldier takes the spear and puts it in his side And the water followed by the blood followed by water comes out and then
Jesus says To your hands I commit my spirit Our salvation was won
Paul also said I deliver unto you for first importance that which I also received
That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures that he was buried Then he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures.
This is our Jesus In the same way after supper.
He took the cup saying this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood Which is shed for you
Whenever you drink this do it in remembrance of me for whoever Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the
Lord's death Until he comes the blood of Christ that washes us cleanses us from sin take drink
Let's pray father your word in the book of Proverbs says
My child give me your heart Lord this morning we pray that you would take hold of our hearts
Lord that we would not offer just an outward religion going through the motions
But Lord that our hearts would be given to you Help us Lord to worship you in spirit and in truth
We pray Lord that you would stir up a holy zeal in your people zeal for your name zeal for your glory
That we would care about the glory of God more than any earthly thing more than anything
We pray that the name of Jesus would be exalted this morning through the preaching of the word in his name we pray amen
Anybody here familiar with the Huguenots Huguenots heard of them.
These were the French believers the French evangelical Christians at a time when a majority of the country was
Roman Catholic, of course Martin Luther Nailed the 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517
But those ideas came to France in those following years Through tracks and through preachers that came to Paris and throughout
France. They began to preach sola scriptura You know what that means, right?
Scripture alone they were rejecting the authority of traditions and the authority of the
Pope in favor of the Word of God as the sole rule of faith
They also rejected such things as the intercession of Saints That means you can't pray to a dead
Christian to intercede for you Pray directly to God through Jesus Christ and by the
Holy Spirit. Don't go to a saint even Mary They rejected the idea of purgatory, which is where people would go to pay off their own sins
They rejected the idea of the mass Now the mass was a view of the
Eucharist as we just took communion we felt the presence of the Spirit of God and we could see the passion that Pastor John had and Has for the
Lord Jesus Christ, but the mass was more of a ritual thing that operated in and of itself
The idea was that the priest Being an altar Christos another
Christ could stand and make propitiation on the altar Now, of course, we know that propitiation was made once and for all when
Christ died on the cross a Priest cannot make propitiation on the altar and transubstantiate the bread and the wine
Into the real body and blood of Christ and so the Protestants rejected that doctrine
They also rejected the use of relics where people would bring a piece of some holy person's body or Clothing or they say maybe a piece of the cross
Itself some would regard and think that those relics had some power to bring them to God The Prada Protestants said this is just man -made tradition and it has no power
It is in fact unbiblical All of these things like the selling of indulgences were man -made traditions that came into the church, but were not ordained by God and Protestants Rejected these things they would go about preaching the true gospel and often they would use tracts in 1533 in one night what was called the affair of the placards the placards they went around town and they put placards on all the light posts and On doors of buildings and the placard was a strong polemic against the mass
Against what the priests were doing in Presupposing themselves to stand in the place of Christ and make propitiation on a so -called altar and it presented the gospel
It was a strong tract, but the result was persecution so in 1533
Many of the Protestants were on the run and one of those people who ran for his life was named
John Calvin He was heading to Stroudsburg, but because of a war he ended up in Geneva where Farrell told him if you don't stay and teach the
Word of God a Curse be upon you. He was so terrified by that that he decided to stay in Geneva and for three years
He began to preach book by book chapter by chapter verse by verse
Through the Bible many people don't know What John Calvin was actually all about because so many people are concerned about doctrines that they might not agree with But the truth was
John Calvin was an expositor of the Word of God. He preached through every book of the
Bible Genesis more than a hundred sermons verse by verse through the book as He did through the entire
Bible on Sunday mornings He would preach from the New Testament and then the people would gather again in the afternoon for another
New Testament sermon So, what do you think they did Monday through Friday?
They gathered at 6 a .m. To hear the expository preaching of the
Old Testament Pastor John and I just finished preaching through the book of Isaiah and it took us 84 sermons to make it through John Calvin preached 353 sermons through the book of Isaiah you see the preaching of the word was the power of the
Reformation and each year Geneva sent out between 80 and 120 missionaries back to the places
Where they came from to seek refuge Now listen
The Reformation was empowered by the preaching of the word This is where the power came from When when
Calvin taught he was evangelistic. He called people to repentance and faith. He was apologetic that means he attacked the false ideas that the devil had brought into the churches and He was doxological
Meaning he always gave glory to God The glory of God was the highest priority in his preaching.
In fact, every sermon ended this way Let us fall before the majesty of our great
God. Let us fall before the majesty of our great God He preached for the glory of God in the year 1555
There were but five reformed churches in France Where the French Protestants were five churches
But through the training of Geneva's Academy sending out these missionaries four years later in 1559
There were a hundred churches Did you know that God can multiply the kingdom that quickly and by the year 1562 there were 2100 and 50
Ministers that were trained in Geneva that came back to France to train other ministers now The gospel was spreading like wildfire in fact by the year 1564 the year that Calvin died the
Protestants numbered over three million people Now we know history.
So we know that England and Scotland and Ireland and the Netherlands many countries would become
Protestant But others would remain Catholic like Italy Spain and France So, how did this gospel movement come grinding to a halt?
The year 1572 Was a major downturn What happened was in?
Paris there was a great wedding between Caligny a Protestant and a noble woman
In fact, this would have put the Protestant in a position where he might possibly become
King one day and this was intolerable to the Roman Catholics of Paris and so Caligny under the orders of the
Queen was murdered and With the murder of Caligny came a massacre of Protestants the st.
Bartholomew's Day Massacre which killed 25 ,000 evangelical Protestants on the streets of Paris August 22nd 1572 and Orders were given to the surrounding towns the major towns across France to do the same thing to slaughter the
Huguenots the French Protestants one governor received the order and Wrote this way in response
Sire I have received an order under your majesty's seal To put to death all the
Protestants in my province. I Have too much respect for your majesty not to believe the letter of forgery
But if which God forbid the order should be genuine. I have too much respect for your majesty to obey it and And So this governor protected the
Protestants in that town but there were at least 12 towns that slaughtered all of the evangelicals of the town in association with this massacre
When the Pope received word Gregory the eighth He minted a coin in celebration of the slaughter he proclaimed
September 11th 1572 a holy day of remembrance for the slaughter and He pronounced a hymn of praise to God a te
Deum at Rome in honor of the massacre Why would
I share such horrifying details? because it's possible for an entire country to name the name of Christ and claim to be a representative of Christ on earth in fact the
Pope claiming to be the Papa the Holy Father over the Roman Catholic Church and yet Dominated by an evil spirit a murderous villainous spirit as Many popes were it is possible
To have an outward show of Christianity Without the power of God.
It's possible to be raised in a Methodist Church or an Episcopal Church or a Baptist Church and go through the motions of taking communion, maybe be baptized and Still be without the power of God.
It is very possible to put on a show of religion To claim
Christianity and go through the motions of outward religion without knowing the
Christ Himself It's possible for any of us to fall into a rut of outward obedience
To trust in the good things the religious things that we do prescribed by God, but to not know him
To say Lord Lord Did we not do all of these wonderful things and then finally one day to hear the most dreadful terrifying words?
written in Scripture Away from me you worker of iniquity. I never knew you.
It's a solemn warning And as we turn now to John chapter 2 I want you to feel the weight of this because we come to a story that we might be familiar with from Sunday school
Jesus makes a whip and drives Religious people out of the temple but consider what that is
Consider the zeal and the passion ultimately the love of Jesus that he would not allow them to go on faking a
Relationship with God instead he zealously drives them out of the temple. Let's read it the point this morning is to consider the difference between outward religion and the genuine conversion of heart the problem of a
Family heritage a Tradition passed on from generation to generation that makes people feel comfortable
There are many false doctrines that I've mentioned regarding the Roman Catholic Church From the mass to the elevation of a mere man
Pope to a place That he doesn't belong The selling of indulgences which still happens in the
Catholic Church a papal indulgence was offered just years ago All of these things are dangers that lead people astray but I think the greatest danger in the
Roman Catholic Church as it is in Protestant churches is The false sense of security that comes from being religious how many people?
will attend church this Sunday morning and do the sacraments maybe go to confession and Leave feeling justified
Because of that outward Religion that's been passed on from generation to generation and how many of those
Have never been born again That is the great danger and Jesus in his love is passionate and zealous To keep people from that fate
So read it John chapter 2 verses 12 and following After this he went down to Capernaum With his mother and his brothers and his disciples and They stayed there for a few days
The Passover of the Jews was at hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem in the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons and the money changers sitting there and Making a whip of cords
He drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and oxen and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables
And he told those who sold the pigeons take these things away. Do not make my father's house a house of trade
His disciples remembered that it was written Zeal for your house will consume me
So the Jews said to him what sign do you show us for doing these things? Jesus answered them
Destroy this temple and in three days, I will raise it up The Jews then said it has taken 46 years to build this temple and will you raise it up in three days?
But he was speaking about the temple of his body When therefore he was raised from the dead his disciples remembered that he had said this and they believed the scripture and The word that Jesus had spoken now when he was in Jerusalem at the
Passover feast many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing but Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them because he knew all people and Needed no one to bear witness about man for he himself knew what was in man
All right. So let's consider this first point in verses 12 to 14
We kind of see the problem Family heritage and Tradition are not enough to preserve holiness.
It's not enough Look at verse 12 After he went down to Capernaum who was with him
He had just performed this miracle at Cana watered a wine His mother had been there.
His brothers had been there and his disciples in verse 12
They're all traveling together, but notice There's a distinction in the verse made between his brothers and his disciples
This is an early clue that John is giving us that his brothers his own family did not truly believe in him
To make the point explicit jump over to chapter 7 verse 5 and 6 His brothers are essentially castigating him saying look if you are who you're claiming to be then why don't you go show yourself to the world and Jesus answers harshly in verse 5 and 6.
What does he say? Well for not even his brothers believed in him. There's the clue The brothers are different than the disciples.
They aren't the disciples They're physical brothers, but that's not enough to save them and in verse 6
Jesus said my time has not yet come But your time is always
Here, it's a strong rebuke They're of the world their time is now but he has a different mission and He is separating himself from them in this comment
Verse 5 telling us the reason it is because they did not believe
Church, listen It is very possible to be raised in an evangelical free church that preaches the gospel and always has and Your parents have brought you to hear this word, but that is not enough to save you
To be a descendant of a believer is not the same thing as to believe
Every individual must come and stand before the Lord Christianity is the most individualistic faith in the world for this reason for every man must stand before the
Father and You will not stand there with your mother or your father with your grandparents with your brothers
You will stand before the Lord God Alone, you will stand alone in judgment or you will stand with an advocate by your side that Jesus having purchased your redemption will speak for you and Under his blood you will be accepted of the
Father But listen, the point is the brothers of Jesus themselves Did not believe it's a warning to all of us, but continue on in verse 13
Not only is family inheritance family heritage not enough but religious duties
Performed are not enough in verse 13 the Passover of the
Jews was at hand Now stop and think is that of God Absolutely.
It was Jesus had not yet died as the Passover lamp And so from the time of the Passover until this point in the text
The Passover has been celebrated every single year now the danger with religious traditions that are passed on year after year after year is
That familiarity can breed contempt How many young people have sat in church and thought to themselves?
We do the same thing Sunday after Sunday after Sunday after Sunday and how many times have people come to the table of Communion and thought to themselves how many times have
I done this and it's always the same Familiarity can breed contempt
But listen The rituals that God prescribed are themselves good
The problem is in us In fact when you read the book of Isaiah, which
I mentioned that John and I preached 84 sermons through it in the first chapter And the last chapter
Isaiah mentions the big problem Chapter 1 verses 11 to 15
He talks about their assemblies and their sacrifices and their new moons and their
Sabbaths and he says of those things I hate them not them selves, but the way you do them
You do it as if it's a ritual That you're obliged to perform
You do them with the heart that's far in Chapter 66 of Isaiah the second verse.
He tells us what he really wants a contrite heart a humble heart
That trembles at his word, but in the third verse he says but your sacrifices when you bring an oxen and You kill an oxen.
It's like killing a man When you bring a lamb and offer lamb blood
It's like killing a pig and offering pig blood Harsh words, what does he mean by them?
He is saying that their outward show of religion is not pleasing to him
Although they're doing it, right? They're offering an ox. They're offering a lamb. He's not accepting their sacrifice.
Why would that be? Isaiah tells us in chapter 29 verses 13 and 14 and the
Lord said listen because this people draw near with their mouth and Honor me with their lips
While their hearts are far from me and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men
Therefore behold I will again do wonderful things with this people this people with wonder upon wonder and the wisdom of their wise
Men shall perish and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden he says that Because they come to do a commandment that are just taught by men their fear is not a heartfelt fear of God It's simply something that they repeat with their lips
Because this people draw near with their lips and their mouth and they honor me only with their speech
But their hearts are far from me He says I will do wonder upon wonder and of course we know that that is judgment
He will say he first of all sent to Syria, then he'll send Babylon and send them into exile He will judge them
Not because they weren't doing the sacrificial system, but because their hearts weren't in it.
This is the great problem that all of us face That we could come and do the same thing week after week and still be here in the body and Still sing the songs with the worship leader with our lips, but our hearts are wandering far away
Someone's already thinking about the Eagles game next week. Someone else is looking forward to a different sport season
Your heart is tied up in some other place and when you come on Sunday morning
It is not to honor him from the heart and to fear the Lord It is to check a box
To make sure the religious box is checked This is the problem of outward religion
Familiarity being over familiar Familiar coming to God as if he's a man
That's the problem you want to see how Jesus deals with it, oh boy look at verse 15 and making a whip of cords
He drove them all out of the temple With the sheep and the oxen and he poured out the coins
Picture this with your mind's eye This is a dramatic scene. This is
Zealous it is passionate. It is not Nice It is not gentle He literally made a whip.
I'm not sure that he actually whipped any people He probably was just driving the animals the oxen and the sheep to get him moving
But imagine the scene guys bring up the slide. I want to paint the picture for you of what this would look like This is a picture of the temple
Herod's temple which was very grand Herod had Built it up to be even bigger and more grandiose than Solomon's temple, but it had different courts surrounding these giant walls
There were gates that allowed you to come in the Eastern Gate over here
This these courts were called the court of the Gentiles Gentiles were allowed to come in this far the court of the
Gentiles But they could not go farther in to the holy place or here.
This is the Holy of Holies. Remember this Only the priest could go into the
Holy of Holies the women's court out here That's as far as the women were allowed to go But only
Jewish people could go in here out here were the Gentiles The court of the
Gentiles Now imagine this is as close as the Gentiles can come to worshiping God and God had said of his temple what it will be a house of prayer for all nations
But what did they make it here in the outer courts?
They had set up a trade Instead of bringing your sheep from far away
That's kind of hard to do just bring money and buy a sheep here in the court and they'll exchange your money no matter where you're from for a small fee and So when the
Gentile comes through the North Gate or through the Golden Eastern Gate where Jesus will enter When they come instead of seeing a place of prayer
People kneeling and worshiping God and calling out from the heart. All they could hear was the lowing of cattle the chirping of birds
The clanging of money the yelling and arguing the bartering the trading in the house of God You see the reason for his zeal
His house was to be a house of prayer. And so he made a whip of cords and he dealt with it
Zealously, he does not tolerate false religion. He Passionately zealously drives out the money changers next slide
This is what it looks like today because in 70 AD The temple was thrown down from the temple mount and this is the
Eastern Gate Where Ezekiel tells us that the Shekinah glory the Lord himself will enter the temple
Jesus when he returns at his second coming will come through the Eastern Gate. The trouble is
Muslims conquered Jerusalem and they Blocked it up With stone so that the
Messiah cannot come into his temple and worse than that. They Buried their dead and made a cemetery of Muslims at the base
Because they know that a Jew cannot walk on a cemetery of Gentiles when the
Romans took Jesus's body and Rolled it put it in a tomb and rolled a stone in front of it an angel of the
Lord Came and rolled that stone away how much more when our
Lord Jesus lands on the Mount of Olives splitting the entire mountain with his foot and Enters his temple how much easier will that stone be thrown away?
with a word that brick will shatter and Make way for the king and even the dead bodies in the cemetery will rise and make way for the king
There is no force on earth. No power of hell that can keep the king from entering his temple now listen
The problem music was just at the right time by the way, there's dramatic background music
The problem is this outward religion this family heritage and the fate going through the motions
Jesus's solution is to drive that out. So then what's the the answer? How do you come and have a genuine relationship?
How can you be a disciple in the truth? Well, that's the third and final major point if you'll look in the text verse 17 says his disciples
Remembered that it was written disciples
Look to the truth of God's Word and Here in the scripture
Is the key to authenticity? Genuine relationship when you with trembling hands
Isaiah 66 to tremble before his word Open his word and say speak Lord. Your servant is listening
You begin to meet with him do that now in Malachi chapter 3
Malachi chapter 3 It's the last book of the Old Testament.
So it's easy to find. I Already mentioned Malachi 3 a couple weeks ago Because it foretells
John the Baptist the forerunner who will prepare the way for Messiah Malachi also mentions it in chapter 4 verses 5 and 6
Elijah the prophet who will turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and the hearts of the father to the children
John the Baptist himself was prophesied as the forerunner but read on in Malachi chapter 3
Remember the purpose of John These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ The Son of God that believing you may have life in his name. How do you know?
That Jesus is the Christ if it's not gonna come from your parents religion It's not gonna come from the tradition of a church or a
Pope or any authority on earth How can you know that he is the Christ? By the written prophetic word.
Let's read it Malachi 3 Verse 1 behold. I send my messenger.
What's his name? John the Baptist and He will prepare the way before me because this is
Yahweh coming now read on and The Lord whom you seek
Will suddenly come to his temple That's what just happened in John chapter 2 when he begins his earthly ministry
He turns water to wine a couple days down to Capernaum And then he goes to Jerusalem and walks right into the temple to do what read on?
And the messenger of the covenant that's Jesus in whom you delight behold. He is coming
Says the Lord of hosts But how does he come does he come gently riding on a donkey
Not in this instant how instance how does he come? Look at verse 2 who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiners fire and like Fuller's soap
He comes with fire in his eyes He comes with passion in his heart with zeal to the point where he makes a whip and drives out the money changers
Why because he's like Fuller's soap He's cleansing
What we have in John 2 is the cleansing of the temple which identifies the
Messiah the prophet Malachi hundreds of years ahead of time said when
Messiah comes he's announced by John the Baptist and he comes into the temple and Cleanses it
This is how you know that Jesus is the Christ that authority
I Mean just think of the miracle of it We saw a picture of what the temple looked like well just on the side of it there was a fortress
I think it was the Antonine fortress How do you say it? Yeah, you got it.
I knew you would know Rob and There were the Roman soldiers and if there was any disturbance in the temple area because this is a mass
Gathering of people the Romans are standing guard they even had a direct tunnel to pop out right into the the court of the
Gentiles to put down any problem and yet Jesus walked right in there and Drove out all the money changers and nobody no
Roman soldier. No Jew could stop him You would think one big burly six -foot -five guy like yo, buddy and grab him by the arms and walk him out
But nobody dared Because it was a miracle of his authority He came to his temple.
It was his house and he represented his father the Son of God the
Messiah walked straight in and nobody said a word and that's what
Malachi was foretelling we're back in Malachi 3 verse 3 he will sit as a refiner and Purifier of silver and he will purify the sons of Levi He purifies the temple, but this only foretells
The purification of the Gentiles and the Jews all who would be made pure Will be made pure by the refiners blood
He cannot wash you with soap He can cleanse the temple of all the outlandish things going on in there, but the heart of man
We'll look at this at the end of the chapter is Desperately wicked and who knows it
The Lord himself can cleanse your heart He himself can wash you clean and he does that by dying on the cross
His blood can wash you whiter than snow his blood can cleanse you of all iniquity and He alone the
Messiah is able to do this It's what he's saying in Malachi 3 3 he will purify the sons of Levi and Refine them like gold and silver and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the
Lord You can bring an offering to the Lord It's not the outward ritual of religion.
It's The humble and contrite heart the one who worships in spirit and truth the widow
Who brings nothing but a might? But gives it to her God the genuine heart
That's what he's after my son. Give me your heart Read on we go back to John Chapter 2.
How do you know the true God, you know him by the word?
Malachi 3 1 2 4 as we just studied Which verse do the disciples recognize?
Psalm 69 verse 9 zeal for your house will consume me
It was prophesied That this consuming zeal would come over the
Messiah and he would cleanse the temple in that same chapter in the 8th verse We're told that his own brothers would reject him as we just saw it happened just that way and In the 21st verse of Psalm 69.
We're told that they would offer him poison to drink and sour wine vinegar
Which on the cross came to pass Psalm 69 21 when he was lifted up hanging on the cross to dull his pain
They offered him sour wine, but he refused to drink it Why?
It was his desire to drink the cup of God's wrath against our sin in full and to bear the full weight of that suffering and So they put that vinegar to his mouth and dabbed it to his lips, but he refused to suck
From the sponge of the soldier's spear psalm 69
Maybe you've been coming to church your whole life and you've you've only come because your parents bring you. How do you know that?
Jesus is the Christ Because the very details of his suffering even being offered sour wine on the cross is written in psalm 69 verse 21 and The coming into the temple zeal consuming him when he clears the temple was foretold by the prophet in psalm 69 verse 9
All of these things are written and that's the point look back at John 2 You have the unbelievers
The Pharisees the religious leaders and they asked for a sign Jews seek a sign first Corinthians 2
And they say what sign do you show us? Jesus answered them Destroy this temple and in three days,
I will Raise it up. Here is a new covenant prophecy
Jesus giving as a covenant giver in the New Testament new revelation
When he said destroy this temple and I will build it up. He was not talking about Herod's temple
That would be destroyed and he kind of foretold that prophetically destroy this temple, but he was referring to his body
Saying prophetically destroy this temple of God for he himself is the presence of God Tabernacling among us
John 1 14 destroy this temple and on the third day. I raise it up He takes his life back up from the grave
He prophesied that but now look at verse 22 therefore when he was raised from the dead
His disciples remembered he said this So, why do the disciples believe because they heard the word and they saw it fulfilled
They believe by faith in what God spoke but look on it says also in verse 22
They believe the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken
Genuine authentic faith comes by hearing the word of God everything that the scriptures have given us
From Genesis to Malachi and then in the New Testament what Jesus has spoken Relayed and confirmed by the
Apostles the new revelation of the 27 books of the New Testament Genuine faith comes by the word of God not religious tradition
Jesus is harsh against that it comes by hearing lastly. He knows us and look what direction trust must go
We're not trustworthy We're prone to build idols in our lives in our churches
To veer off the course like the Roman Catholic Church has done in all the ways we've described
And all Christians are prone To idolatry Calvin said the heart is an idol factory.
We just make idols all the time Jesus comes with the whip to draw those out trust
Moves in one direction man to God not God to man The old saying believe in yourself
God trusts you He knows better than to do that Look what it says now when he was in Jerusalem at the
Passover Feast Many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing but Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them because he knew all people and Needed no one to bear witness about man for he himself knew what was in man
That should be at one point Terrifying on the one hand terrifying
He knows our secret thoughts fantasies Jealousies Pride But on the other hand
It's comforting he's known from beginning from the beginning what
Adam was like and what Eve was like and what all the children of Adam Eve are like and Knowing that he came and died the death that we deserve
He knows you so why try to hide? Where will you flee from his presence psalm 139 if you go to the highest heights or the depths of the sea?
He's there if you go to Sheol, he's there. He knows your thoughts he's everywhere and What he seeks is genuine authentic worship not going through the motions
So include in closing when we read about the zeal of the Lord It is a holy zeal for the purity of the church when the prosperity preacher on TBN tries to sell some cloth or some holy water or Asked you to sow a seed into his ministry so that you can get rich it's invisible to us, but the whip is firing in heaven and Jesus will drive that nonsense into the pit of hell.
Sometimes his judgment is delayed, but the judgment is coming when churches go astray from the word and Bring drag
Queens right down the center aisle in the Church of the Holy God or fly rainbow flags and Bring in all things that are contrary to the
Word of God Jesus bears a whip and when he each of us wander into sin and Wander into church with the heart that's far
He bears the whip of discipline Correction, that is the loving father of Hebrews 12
He won't let us go that way. He desires our hearts So we're gonna close in prayer.
I just want you to think about This John 2 message and what it says about the authority of the king it reveals.
He is the Christ which is terrifying until Good and relieving because this
King who bears the whip Bore the cross for each of us who believe in him
Let's thank him So father we thank you for your word this morning Lord help us to tremble at your word
Help us to be humble and contrite in heart Lord as you hear your people praying right now
We ask Lord that you would forgive And cleanse the temple cleanse the church
We are the temple the Holy Spirit lives in us cleanse us
Lord and Lord, I pray that you would ignite in us a holy zeal for your word that you would raise up preachers
Even as they were sent from Geneva to Brazil to Hungary to Poland Taking over Scotland and England You did this in the 16th century
Lord, I pray you would do it now That from this building we would raise up young men to go be preachers
Lord that you would raise up every man woman and child to speak the truth of your word
That the children would have zeal in their hearts to share the gospel with their friends
That we would go to our workplaces preaching Christ make us zealous for your word
God the world will see us as extremists and They will mock, but if they rejected you what else would we expect
Lord? Give us zeal for your word and we pray a reformation begin right here and right now in Jesus name
Lord that we would plant other churches like the rock We pray for for blessing upon the rock that that pulpit would be a blaze for the glory of Christ We pray as we build the new building in Hainesport That it would be a lighthouse for the gospel, but that you would plant another lighthouse right back in this building
Lord, we pray that other churches would be a blaze for the glory of Christ Lord give us the same kind of zeal that we see burning in the eyes of the
Son of God His eyes were a flame of fire. Give us zeal
Lord your word says in Romans never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor
That is our prayer Lord Give us zeal for the gospel for the name that is above every name the name of Jesus in whose name we pray.
Amen Stroll Was not your home
Thoughts to mock your name Forgiveness fell upon your face
Like this On the altar of our praise let there be no higher name
Jesus Son of God You lay down your perfect life you are the sacrifice
Jesus Son of God You are
Jesus Son of God You bore our shame
You rose to life You defeated the grave
Like this The world Cause you took our sin you bore our shame
Love like this The world has never known
Oh Are the altar of our praise let there be no higher name
Jesus Son of God You perfect life
You are the sacrifice Jesus Son of God You are
Jesus Son of God Be lifted higher
Than all you've overcome Your name be louder
Than any other song there is no power
That can come against your love The cross was enough
The cross was enough The cross was enough
The cross was enough On the altar of our praise let there be no higher name
Jesus Son of God You know when
I come up here to do the benediction I'm always tempted to preach again I Won't do that, but there was something
I forgot to say That it's kind of like you're watching a movie and they roll the credits and then there's an extra little scene at the end
So I am gonna say this one thing because it's amazing The Huguenots were driven out of France and the
Wicked King. He was Protestant that Kind of sold out.
He said Paris is worth at least a mass And so he sold out and it became a
Catholic country all over again, right? What happened to all those Huguenots? that fled many of them went around Europe, but then they immigrated to this little place called the
United States of America and Here are the names of a few people that are
Huguenot descendants Protestant Evangelicals that fled under that persecution.
Maybe you've heard of a few of them Paul Revere Alexander Hamilton John Jay George Washington John Adams John Quincy Adams William Henry Harrison John Tyler Millard Fillmore Franklin Pierce Ulysses S Grant James Garfield Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison Teddy Roosevelt Ever heard of him my personal favorite favorite
Calvin Coolidge listen we received the inheritance of faithful men who came to this country with the light of the gospel and This country has been squandering it, but it's not too late to relight that lamp
We need another Reformation Worthy and we we receive that. Amen We received that reformation in an inheritance of this country where the gospel is in every state churches everywhere
But we need a new Reformation men and women not just going through the motions But who loved the
Lord who love his word, let's read it in benediction Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ According to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages
But has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations according to the command of the