Passionate Change

Matthew 21:12 – 17

PASSIONATE CHANGE

Mat 21:12  And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.

Mat 21:13  He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers."

Mat 21:14  And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.

Mat 21:15  But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant,

Mat 21:16  and they said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, "'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise'?"

     

Mat 21:17  And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

I.          Jesus’ Authority

            A.         What is happening?

           

                        1.          Jesus drives out those who bought and sold AND money-changers.

                        2.         Two doves might have cost 5 cents…. In the temple as much as $4.

                        3.         Functional: travelers could not bring their own animals to sacrifice.

                        4.         Purity: The court of the Gentiles… unclean… buffer to the holy.

              5.       The court of the Gentiles (and those who were physically imperfect) was full… people had difficult time entering the Temple…

(Imagine entering the Temple: It’s crowded, it’s loud, it smells bad, you have to watch where you step, and it’s a swirl of everything except praise and prayer….)

B.         What is Jesus doing?

                                1.            Jesus is clearing space for people to enter the Temple.

                                                a.            The religious leaders where “gatekeeping” (deciding who could enter                                                                    and who could not.)

                                                b.            The religious leaders where distracting from the worship of God.

                                                c.             The people were being taken advantage of…

                                2.            Jesus is claiming ownership: “My house.” [John 2:16]

                                                a.            When Jesus was asked for a sign: “Jesus answered them, "Destroy                                                  this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” [John 2:19]

                                    b.         We are the temple of God: “Do you not know that you are God's                                                             temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?” [1 Corinthians 3:16]

                        3.         Jesus is challenge the authority of the religious leaders. 

                                    a.         Religion is self-serving.

                                     b.        Jesus is self-sacrificing.

II.        Our Power

            A.         “House of prayer”

                        1.          Isaiah 56:7 “these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful                                     in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be                                accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all                        peoples."

                                    a.         Notice the key words: holy, joyful, accepted, prayer (FOR ALL                                              PEOPLES)

                                    b.         The worship of God is an invitation FOR ALL.

And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. [Ezekiel 22:30]

                        2.         It is a place for REPENTANCE (“sacrifices”)

                                   

                                    a.         “Holy” means separate (clean)

                                   

                                    b.         The bringing of sacrifices was generally in repentance,                                                          acknowledgment of sin and the penalty.

                                   

                                    c.         PRAYER: our direct communication with God.

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’ [Hebrews 4:16]

III.       Our Pitfall

            A.         “Den of robbers.”

“Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, [10]  and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, 'We are delivered!'—only to go on doing all these abominations? [11] Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD.”  [Jeremiah 7:9 – 11]

                        1.          A place where sin is safe.

           

                                    a.         A place were sinners are not disturbed… comfortable, unjudged

                                    b..        A place were saints are not motivated… comfortable, lukewarm.

                        2.         A place to cover-up and protect.

                                    a.         No need to repent, admit sin, or deal with sin.

                       

                                    b.         There is an unspoken “fellowship” that creates “comfort.”

            B.         Prevent those in need from entering:

                        1.          Matthew 21:14 à blind and lame are healed!

                        2.         Matthew 21:15 à Children shouting praise!          

                        3.         The religious? “Indignant” (angry)

IV.       An honest “moral inventory.”

                A.            Lack of prayer….

                                1.            Means judgmental gatekeeping.

                                2.            Means sin running us. (Regular need for confession and repentance.)

                                3.            Means a brutal but comfortable separation from God.

                                4.            Means an utter lack of power… settled pointlessness.

                B.            God’s house: place to worship, the church, and our life.

                                1.            Can you imagine the change that would happen if we committed ourselves to                                                   prayer…?

                                2.            Can you imagine what would happen if we actually spent time with God?

                                3.            Imagine the freedom from sin, the ability to say no to things that weigh us                                                          down, and the answers we would have to prayer…

The Wow and Woe of Worship

Please note this is part of the series “The Power of the Cross” which can be obtained free from CTA.

(The outline is mine.)

Luke 5:1 – 11

The Wow and Woe of Worship

Imagine the sights and sounds of what is happening in this story. The sounds of the water as it splashes on a beach. The smell of old boats and nets being washed. Watch the exhausted fishermen, backs bent with the disappointment of a fish-less night.

Into all of this steps Jesus and interrupts a perfectly good pity party.

A. Personal disappointment and perceived failure are God’s interruptions.

1. Fishing then was strenuous...

a. It involved boats, casting heavy wet nets, serious competition with others.

b. It involved “toiled all night” [v 5] and high maintenance “washing their nets.” [v 2]

c. This was commercial fishing... so if no fish, no pay.... no food.

2. Personal disappointment and perceived failure are times when God has our attention.

a. Jesus just gets in the boat... doesn’t ask permission.

b. Personal reflection on my disappointment over “alter calls” here.

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, [29] for our "God is a consuming fire.” [Hebrews 12:28 – 29]

B. When God interrupts our lives, God is requiring a response.

1. [v 3c] “And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.”

a. Peter hears what Jesus is saying.

b. Some bond of trust must have developed in listening to Jesus because he is willing to “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” [v 4]

2. Peter’s response: we are tired, we came back empty, BUT...

a. KJV: “Nevertheless.” Peter is willing to do this because Jesus told him to do it.

b. This is a huge act of faith.

3. But Jesus does something special that gets Peter’s attention.

a. Jesus almost breaks the nets and sinks the boat. [vv 6 – 7]

b. This is the “moment of wow” were Peter is amazed, immediately followed by a “moment of woe” when Peter confesses his sinfulness.

“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” [v 8b ESV]

C. This seems to be the pattern when God shows up.

1. Isaiah 6:5 “Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” [NIV]

a. The word “woe” is a “passionate cry of grief or despair” [Brown-Driver-Briggs]

b. It is the word use to signify being under God’s curse.

2. Here is a holy God, showing up in His glory... verses an unholy human.

a. Doesn’t matter who you are: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [Romans 2:23 NIV]

b. That is the “moment of woe.” That point were we, looking at the cross, realize what our sins cost Jesus.

Imagine if you were swamped with the memory and realization of every sin you have committed. Your reaction would be the same as Isaiah’s and Peter’s: overwhelming guilt and enormous fear.

3. Why?

a. Because you have been in contact with a holy God.

b. BOTH Peter and Isaiah met God in the everyday ordinary grind of life. FACT: God is found in all things as all times.

c. And that requires a response.

D. The purity of God’s holiness and the dirt of our sinfulness and up to “grace.”

1. Jesus got Peter’s attention with a “wow.” Peter made the leap to “woe.” But Jesus was not finished there.

a. “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” [v 10b ESV]

b. Wow to woe to wow.

2. What is the effect of what is happening?

a. When we humble ourselves and confess our sin... we are cleansed.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1 John 1:9 ESV]

b. We are then commissioned by God.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” [Acts 1:8 ESV]

c. Then we are irreversibly changed.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. [2] Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” [Romans 12:1 – 2]

3. Maybe we do not respond to God because:

a. We don’t want anyone to know we are in need of forgiveness. (“Duh”)

b. We are afraid to say yes to anything/everything God asks of us. (Such as being His witnesses.)

c. We are not willing to be transformed... we are comfortable with the status quo...

Invitation:

1. Come to the alter and experience the woe of your condition.

2. Commit yourself as a “living sacrifice” and experience the wow of God’s wonderful grace.

3. Compelled by a joy that overshadows all sorrows and fear, live out God’s wonderful grace for all to see!