O Worship the King: Why Faithful Worship Matters

Lead Vocalist (Joel)

Welcome & Announcements (Mike Lindell)

Good morning family!

Ask guests to fill out connect card

3 announcements:

1) Evangelism Sunday School, beginning August 13at 9:15

2) Members Meeting on August 6 at 5PM

3) Caleb Figgers to give brief update

Call to Worship (Psalm 8)

Prayer of Praise (Sandra Lindell)

All Praise to Him

What A Friend We Have in Jesus

Prayer of Confession (Max Michaud), Doubt

Assurance of Pardon (Colossians 1:13-14)

No Not One

I Want To Know You

Scripture Reading (Matthew 21:12-22)

Pastoral Prayer (Mike Lindell)

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

I am not a great multi-tasker. Usually on Holly’s birthday or Mother’s Day I try to make the entire meal for her. It’s never anything too fancy. Steak, baked potatoes, asparagus, rolls and a salad. And if I was doing any one of those things I would probably be fine. But the stress level of doing all those things at the same time is more than I can handle. So by the time we sit down to enjoy our meal, I’m stressed out!

Jesus, on the other hand, is a great multi-tasker. As we watch His actions on the days leading up to His death He’s accomplishing multiple things at once. Of course, there’s the obvious thing. Like entering the city riding on a donkey and cleansing the temple. But Jesus is doing more than meets the eye. He’s also fulfilling prophecy.

About 500 years before the events in Matthew 21, a prophet named Malachi prophesied to a people who were seriously wrong about worship.

To the outside observer, their worship probably looked pretty good.

But Malachi reminded the people that they were worshipping in the wrong way, they were worshipping for the wrong reasons, and as a result they were worshipping the wrong god. And in the end, their rotten worship bore rotten fruit.

The Lord was not pleased with Israel’s rotten worship. But He wasn’t giving up on them either.

Malachi also prophesied a day when the Lord Himself would enter the temple to cleanse and purify the worship of God’s people...

Malachi 3:1-2—Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, He is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.

In Jesus’ day, the worship of God’s people looked a lot like it did 500 years earlier.

To the outside observer, their worship probably looked pretty good.

But many of the people were worshipping in the wrong way, they were worshipping for the wrong reasons, and as a result they were worshipping the wrong god. And in the end, their rotten worship bore rotten fruit.

So Jesus’ first order of business in Jerusalem is to enter the temple and cleanse it.

Turn to Matthew 21:12

The Big Idea we learn from Jesus’ cleansing of the temple is that We will be seriously wrong about worship unless we carefully follow Jesus.

Four truths about worship we must consider if we’re going to carefully follow Jesus:

1) It Matters How We Worship

2) It Matters Why We Worship

3) It Matters Who We Worship

4) What Happens When We Worship

1) It Matters HOW We Worship.

If you had just been welcomed into a city the way that Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem, what would you do next? Probably not what Jesus did...

Matthew 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.

Up to this point we have seen Jesus use His power for all sorts of things. He’s walked on water, healed the sick, calmed the storm, cast out demons, fed thousands, and more.

But this is the first time we’ve seen Jesus use power against people.

What’s going on here?

Remember, this is the week of the Passover festival, which for a Jew was kind of like Christmas and the Fourth of July combined.

Thousands upon thousands of Jews would travel from all over the known world to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem.

These moneychangers served a necessary function. Many people traveling from far away had foreign currency that needed to be exchanged to pay the temple tax. Others needed to purchase animals, wood, or oil for their sacrifices.

So why is Jesus driving them out?

Some have argued that these moneychangers were extortioners, charging exorbitant exchange rates so they could rip off the people and line their own pockets. That could be part of the problem, but Jesus’ concern is actually bigger than that.

Jesus actually gives us the reason for His actions in...

Matthew 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.

The reason Jesus gives for His behavior is taken from a prophesy in...

Isaiah 56:3, 6-7—Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from His people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord: “. . . the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to Him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be His servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast My covenant— 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.”

The prophet Isaiah is giving Gentiles a promise: if you trust in the Lord, He will receive you. You won’t be cast out. There will be a place for you in God’s house with God’s people.

But 700 years later, the chief priests in the temple are pushing the Gentiles out of the temple.

SHOW TEMPLE DIAGRAM

The temple courts were arranged kind of like boxes inside boxes. The outermost court was the court of Gentiles. Inside that was the women’s courtyard. Then the Israelites’ courtyard, where the Jewish men could go. Inside that was the Priests’ courtyard. And inside that was the holy of holies, where only the high priest could go and that but once a year. [2]

Most scholars believe the moneychangers were conducting their business in the court of the Gentiles. This means the Gentiles were unable to gather to worship God!

To understand what that might have been like for the Gentiles, let’s imagine we required families with young children to sit in the lobby. And what if we decided to open a little coffee shop in the lobby for worshippers to get caffeinated before they entered the service? And what if we put one of those little coin-operated merry-go-rounds for the kids to ride on during the service. Or maybe a bouncy house or two. With all that racket we would be robbing you of your ability to worship God rightly. [3]

That’s why Jesus cleanses the temple. That’s why He calls them a den of robbers.

The problem is not necessarily the moneychangers, but where they’re conducting their business. They’re doing it in a way that impedes the Gentiles from worshipping God.

So Jesus kicks over tables and drives out the moneychangers.

If the chief priests had paid careful attention to the Scriptures, they never would have allowed such things in the court of the Gentiles. They would’ve kept that space sacred so all of God’s people—regardless of ethnicity—could worship Him rightly.

Brothers and sisters, we too must pay careful attention to the Scriptures if we want to worship God rightly.

I saw a Tweet the other day that said this: “It’s Sunday. If you want to be with Jesus, take a nap; tell a good story; drink some wine; share a good meal; defend the oppressed; make the self-righteous angry. And if it will bring peace, joy, and love into your life, attend a gathering of his followers.”

What’s the problem with that Tweet? It completely ignores God’s Word!

God’s Word tells us how to worship!

Why do we devote so much time in our worship services to prayer? And why do we take time to pray different types of prayer, like prayers of praise, confession, and supplication? Because God’s Word repeatedly emphasizes prayer as an essential part of the church gathering.

Why do we sing? And why do we strive to sing songs that are singable by the congregation rather than just having some sort of musical performance? Because God’s Word repeatedly commands us to sing when we gather.

Why do we read so much Scripture in our meetings? From the call to worship, to the Scripture reading before the sermon, to the closing benediction? Because God’s Word says the church must be built upon the Scriptures.

Why do we take so much time to hear God’s Word preached every Sunday? Because God's Word says it is through the foolishness of preaching that God saves those who believe.

Why do we encourage new believers to get baptized? Why do we take communion? Because God’s Word tells us to do these things.

PBC doesn’t do any of these things perfectly. But our desire in every aspect of our worship gatherings is to follow what God tells us in His Word.

The worship gathering is not the place for innovation. It’s not the place for experimentation. It’s not the place for pragmatism. It’s the place for obedience. If we fall short of that standard, may Jesus do the same thing in our midst that He did in the temple 2000 years ago.

We will be seriously wrong about worship unless we carefully follow Jesus’ Word concerning how we worship.

But also...

2) It Matters WHY We Worship.

Picture the scene at the temple that day. The moneychangers and religious people are running out of the building. Tables are being flipped, people are screaming, pigeons are flying everywhere. The scene looks absolutely chaotic. But amidst the confusion, you notice there’s another group of people walking into the temple.

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

In Jesus’ day, some religious leaders placed severe restrictions on the handicapped, requiring certain kinds of cushions or supports so that uncleanness wasn’t introduced into the temple. [4] Others were trying to kick the crippled and the blind out of the temple entirely. [5]

In stark contrast to the religious leaders, Jesus welcomes the poor and the needy. He performs His final “official” healing miracle and heals the blind and the lame.

Why does Jesus welcome these men and women yet drive out others?

One group recognized their need, and the other did not.

Jesus tells a story that illustrates these two approaches to worship in...

Luke 18:10-14—“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Here’s the lesson: If you come to worship seeking to impress God or your neighbor, your worship will be rejected. But if you come to worship humbly recognizing your need, your worship will be received.

Why are you here? Are you here thinking you’ve arrived? Or because you know you haven’t? Are you here to impress? Or because you need Jesus?

These crippled men and women are a picture of how every one of us must come to Jesus. We recognize our need. We leave our old life behind, and turn to Jesus alone for rescue.

If you come to Jesus recognizing your need and believing He is the only One who can save you, He will not drive you away!

If you’ve already come to Jesus like that—you’ve already repented and believed in Jesus—you are not immune from the temptation to worship Jesus for the wrong reasons.

Christians can get spiritual amnesia. We forget that the local church is a hospital, not a job interview.

Think about the difference between those two things. How do you show up for a job interview? You dress up. You smell nice. You put your best foot forward. You don’t talk about the time you got fired from a job doing night cleanup for playing basketball on the clock—true story. You talk about all the good things you’ve accomplished in the workplace.

And how do you show up to the hospital? You don’t worry about showering. You’re rocking your sweatpants and that t-shirt with moth holes in it. You don’t shave. Or put on deodorant. And you certainly don’t try to talk about how great you’re doing. You tell everybody all your problems.

Now I’m not encouraging you to wear ratty t-shirts and sweatpants to church. I still want you to wear deodorant. But I am encouraging you to interact with one another like you’re at a hospital not a job interview.

Be honest and open about your need. If you’re struggling today don’t say “I’m too blessed to be stressed!” with a fake smile on your face. Be honest!

But don’t stop there. Ask each other for help. Ask each other for prayer. Ask each other for encouragement and wisdom.

We will be seriously wrong about worship unless we carefully follow Jesus’ teaching concerning why we worship.

But also...

3) It Matters WHO We Worship.

If you asked any self-respecting Jew in Jesus’ day, “who is the Passover about?” They would say it’s a celebration of how God rescued His people from bondage to Egypt. We worship God in the Passover. So it’s not surprising that some of the religious leaders are a bit frustrated when it appears some of the little kids are worshipping a man...

Matthew 21:15-16a—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, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?”

If you were with us last week, you heard that “Hosanna” comes from Psalm 118:25 and it literally means “save us!”

And the title “Son of David” was a nickname for the Messiah.

So these little kids must’ve heard what the crowd was saying when Jesus entered the city, and now they’re repeating what they heard. They’re crying out, “Rescue us Messiah!”

And the religious leaders are furious. So they confront Jesus and they ask, “did you hear what these kids are saying? You need to put a stop to this!”

Look at how Jesus replies...

Matthew 21:16b—And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”

Jesus once again responds with Scripture, just like in the wilderness when He was tempted by Satan.

This time He quotes...

Psalm 8:1-2—O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, You have established strength because of Your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

Now, you may have noticed that Jesus’ quotation is slightly different from Psalm 8:2.

The Psalm says “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, You have established strength” but Jesus says “prepared praise.”

But Jesus is quoting the Septuagint, which was the Greek translation of the Old Testament and the common Bible in Jesus’ day. Jesus actually quotes the Septuagint word for word.

I share that because sometimes we’re told we cannot trust our translations that record God’s Word in our language. Some people say, “Unless you can read Hebrew or Greek you can’t possibly have any confidence that the Bible you hold in your hands is the Word of God.” Jesus would disagree. Jesus cites a translation of the Hebrew Old Testament as if it is totally reliable.

If you have a faithful translation of God’s Word—something like the ESV which we use at PBC (although that is certainly not the only faithful English translation)—you can have confidence that you are reading the Word of God when you read your Bible.

And by the way, the grammar and context of Psalm 8 makes it clear that “prepared praise” is a perfectly reasonable translation.

But even more important than the translation differences in Psalm 8 is Jesus’ main point.

Notice in Psalm 8:1 the word “LORD” is written in all caps. Whenever you see that in the Old Testament, that means the word being translated from Hebrew is the word “Yahweh,” the covenant name for God.

When Moses talked to God in the burning bush and asked, “who are you? What is your name?” God replied with this name. I am Yahweh!

Notice then what Jesus is doing. Jesus is saying that the praise that Yahweh deserves is the praise that He deserves. Jesus is claiming to be God!

In a few days, the religious leaders will condemn Jesus to death for claiming to be God. Perhaps they decided right here at this moment that Jesus needed to die. Perhaps what Jesus is saying didn’t click until later. We don’t know because before they’re given a chance to respond Jesus leaves the scene.

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

Kids: When Jesus left Jerusalem on Monday night, He was not pleased with the religious leaders. But He was pleased with the kids. And He’s pleased with you too when you worship Jesus!

VBS Volunteers: Thank you for investing your time last week to help little boys and girls learn the truth about Jesus. Your work matters! Jesus sees it and He is pleased!

More important for us today than how the religious leaders responded to Jesus’ claim to be God is how you and I will respond.

Years ago on her show, Oprah Winfrey was talking about how there are many ways to God. She said, “There couldn’t possibly be just one way.” A member from the audience replied, “What about Jesus?” Oprah replied, “What about Jesus? . . . Does God care about your heart, or does God care about it if you call His Son Jesus?”

The point Oprah was making is still popular in our world today: Jesus is just one of many ways to God.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus is clear in...

John 14:6—Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Brother, sister, friend: are you worshipping Jesus as God?

It’s easy to answer “yes.”

But the real evidence of whether or not you truly worship Jesus will be seen in your life.

We will be seriously wrong about worship unless we carefully follow Jesus’ Word concerning who we worship.

But finally...

4) What Happens WHEN We Worship.

I’ve included the next few verses in our study this morning because they reveal to us the results of true worship.

If we’re faithful to worship God in the right way, according to His word...

… and worship God with the right motivation, not to impress God but because we need Him...

… and worship God as He has revealed Himself, in the person of Jesus...

… our lives will change!

If we have the right starting place, we will reach the right destination.

Notice with me two results of true worship:

A) We will produce FRUIT together

Matthew 21:18-19—In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

Even though Jesus is truly God, something He alluded to in verse 16, He is also truly man. So naturally Jesus gets hungry.

Since Jesus and His disciples are staying in Bethany (probably with their friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus), they’ve got a bit of a hike into Jerusalem each day. So it’s not surprising that Jesus would be hungry on the way.

Based on the time of year when Passover is celebrated, we know that it wasn’t quite the time for figs in Jerusalem.

In fact, Mark 11:13 explicitly says it wasn’t the time for figs. But Jesus spots in the distance a fig tree with leaves on it.

Now I’m not a fig expert, but from what I’ve read the figs actually appear before the leaves. So when Jesus sees a fig tree with leaves on it, He rightly expects it to have fruit on its branches too.

But when Jesus approaches the fig tree, He finds no figs. There’s only leaves. So He curses the fig tree.

Up until this point, all of Jesus’ miracles brought grace. But this miracle brings a curse. Why?

Is Jesus just hangry? Is He just taking out His anger on the fig tree?

Some of us do that, don’t we? We get angry and we take out our anger on the dog or the cat. Or the kids. Or whoever happens to get in our way when we’re in a bad mood. That sort of behavior is sin!

The Scriptures are clear that Jesus is without sin.

Hebrews 4:15—For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

His anger while cleansing the temple was certainly not sinful anger. Jesus wasn’t motivated by personal frustration, but a zeal for God’s holiness. But what about here?

Jesus actually isn’t angry at all here. He’s cursing this fig tree in order to make a point:

You better not promise fruit and deliver none.

The leaves on the fig tree were a false promise. They made the tree appear fruitful. But on closer inspection there wasn’t any genuine fruit on the tree.

Just like the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Their religious activity made them appear fruitful. But on closer inspection there wasn’t any good fruit in their lives.

What about you?

What fruit can you or others point to from your worship of Jesus?

How has your time in God’s Word changed since you began worshipping Jesus?

How has your faithfulness to God’s people changed over the past few years?

Are you living like you believe Jesus is God? Are you following His teachings in the way you handle your money? Or relate to the opposite sex? Or in your thought life? Or with how you speak? Or in how you parent?

If we looked at your anger would we see good fruit in your life? Are you getting angry about the things that make Jesus angry? Are you handling your anger in a way that follows Jesus’ example?

But let’s be careful not to think about fruit-bearing only as individuals.

Yes, you have an individual responsibility to bear fruit. But Jesus’ plan is for us to produce fruit together.

Notice what He says in...

John 15:6-8—“If anyone does not abide in Me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.”

In these verses, Jesus is clear that we must bear fruit. The fruitless Christian is an oxymoron! If you belong to Jesus you will bear fruit!

But you don’t bear fruit alone. You abide in Jesus, yes, but you also abide in Jesus with His people!

Every time the word “you” is underlined on the screen it’s actually a plural “you all” in the original language.

So we bear fruit together!

This is why the local church is so important!

Show me a professing Christian who is not bearing fruit and I’ll show you someone who is likely disconnected from the local church.

But if we’re truly worshipping Jesus we will produce fruit together!

But also...

B) We will exercise FAITH together

Matthew 21:20-22—When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

The disciples are stunned by the miracle of the fig tree, but Jesus reminds them of something that He told them in Matthew 17:19-20.

With faith we can move mountains.

Jesus is not saying that by our faith we can literally move mountains.

I remember reading this as a kid, then going on a family vacation to the mountains and trying with all the faith I could muster to make one of the mountains budge.

Moving mountains was a common figure of speech that referred to overcoming obstacles and difficulties.

So Jesus is not promising a magic formula to remove all of life’s difficulties, but the power to overcome them with His help.

Once again, there’s something important going on with the pronouns in these verses.

Every time our English translations say “you,” it’s plural in the original.

So Jesus is not referring to the faith-filled prayers of the individual Christian, but of God’s people together!

Whatever we ask in prayer, we will receive, if we have faith!

This changes the meaning significantly, doesn’t it?

Because now we’re not talking about the individual Christian who can be tempted to think of prayer like a vending machine—as long as I put in the right coins I can get whatever I want!

Jesus is talking about a community of faith who comes to Jesus in faith and receives whatever they ask for. Why? Because they’re asking in faith, and they’re only asking for those things which please the Father.

But what about when we doubt? Jesus says “if you have faith and do not doubt” our prayers will be effective.

Again, this is where the local church is such a gift.

Christian, if you’re honest you regularly struggle with doubt. But if you’ll be open with others in your local church about that struggle, you’ll find often that they are not doubting when you are.

On your own you might be swirling with doubt, but alongside God’s people you’ll find that your confidence grows.

Here’s how this works:

This morning we prayed for God to strengthen our worship as a church. We asked Him to end human trafficking. We asked for people from Malta to be saved.

Do you know how God is going to answer those requests? YES!

Maybe not in the way we expect, or at the time we expect.

But there is coming a day when our worship will be not just strengthened, but perfected!

There is coming a day when every human trafficker will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And every helpless little boy and girl will be rescued from their tormentors. And people from Malta and every tribe and tongue and nation will worship Jesus!

That doesn’t mean that Jesus only answers these requests in heaven.

There was a day when many Christians prayed for the end of legalized slavery. Or the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Many likely thought they would never see the end of these things in their lifetime.

But God responded to the faithful prayers of His people!

And He may do the same today with the things we pray about every week as a church!

So don’t disengage as we pray! Engage your heart and mind and cry out to Jesus in faith asking Him to do these things and more!

If we’re truly worshipping Jesus we will exercise faith together!

We will be seriously wrong about worship unless we carefully follow Jesus.

In The Magician’s Nephew, C.S. Lewis tells the story of the creation of Narnia. And much like our own world, evil entered Narnia shortly after it was created. And it came through the sin of a male human; through the foolishness of a boy named Digory.

Towards the end of the story, Digory has to face Aslan and give an account for his actions. Eventually Aslan says, “do not be cast down… Evil will come of that evil, but it is still a long way off, and I will see to it that the worst falls upon myself.” [6]

Remember how I told you that Jesus is a great multi-tasker? He’s not merely cleansing the temple He’s also fulfilling prophecy.

I believe He’s doing even more than that in this story. He’s also showing us how the worst will fall upon Himself.

On Monday, Jesus cast the robbers out of God’s presence so that the Gentiles, the broken, and the outcast could enter in.

On Friday, Jesus was crucified as a robber and cast out of God’s presence so that the Gentiles, the broken, and the outcast could enter in.

On Monday, Jesus cursed a fig tree to show what would happen if God’s people don’t bear good fruit.

On Friday, Jesus became a curse by hanging on a tree to make it possible for God’s people to bear good fruit.

Christian, our strength to worship rightly doesn’t come from within. It comes from the cross!

If you’re not a Christian, you’ll never be able to worship rightly until you come to the cross! Repent and believe in Jesus today!

As bad as Monday may look, Friday looks worse. Jesus saw to it that the worst fell upon Himself.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Good and Gracious King

Benediction (Colossians 3:16-17)