The Withered Temple
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Stories than Knock Your Socks Off
The next day when they came out from Bethany, He was hungry. After seeing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, He went to find out if there was anything on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.
He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples heard it. They came to Jerusalem, and He went into the temple complex and began to throw out those buying and selling in the temple. He overturned the money changers’ tables and the chairs of those selling doves,
and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple complex. Then He began to teach them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves!”
Then the chief priests and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to destroy Him. For they were afraid of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished by His teaching. And whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.
Early in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Then Peter remembered and said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that You cursed is withered.”
Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God. I assure you: If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.
Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray and ask for —believe that you have received them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.
[But if you don’t forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your wrongdoing.]”
According to Gallup, and published by Lifeway Research, on January 5, 2022, 4500 US protestant churches closed in 2019 (last year stats available). Similiarily, approximately 3000 protestant churches were started in the same time period.
According to Gallup:
less than half of Americans say they belong to a house of worship.
Religious membership has fallen to just 47% in 2020.
Only 39% of the American public view pastors as honest
only 37% of American’s have confidence in the church as an institution.
Churchgoers are twice as likely to be 65 or older, than the average American.
3 in 10 unchurched Americans say that a Christian has shared the Gospel with them.
The good news from the survey:
57% of Americans think at least monthly about how they can find more meaning and purpose.
41% of Americans want to avoid fear, more than shame (24%) or guilt (22%).
53% of Americans say churches in their community were helpful during the Covid-19 pandemic.
15 % of Americans who do not normally attend church, watched online during the pandemic.
69% of evangelical Christians who attend chuch are looking for the opportunities to share with their neighbors.
Of the 15000 US religious congregations surveyed, 7 in 10 US churches have 100 or fewer for weekly worship service. Half of all churches surveyed have fewer than 65 people for their weekly worship service.
-Aaron Earls, Lifeway Research, Jan 5, 2022
According to StatsCan, religiosity in Canada is at an all-time low showing only 68% of Canadians 15 or older report having a religious affiliation.
63.2% of Canadians said they were affiliated with a Christian religion
Catholicism accounts for 32% of Canadian Christians, down from 49.6% in 1996
The United Church of Canada is losing one chuch per week. Once the 2nd largest Christian denomination accounting for 14.6% of Cad Christians, it now boasts 3.8% of Cad Christians (2019).
Religious affiliation generationally finds 85% among Canadians born between 1940 and 1959; compared to 32% of those born between 1980 and 1999.
Spiritual belief as being “somewhat important” or “very important” to one’s life sat at 54% in 2019, compared to 70% in the mid-2000’s.
The Anglican Church of Canada has dropped from 10.4% in 1986 to 3.8% in 2019. It is estimated the Anglican church could run out of members by 2040.
53% of Canadians never partake in religious activities.
The Good news, evangelical groups are bucking this trend, being well above these averages. Unfortunately, Jehovah’s Witnesses are not evangelical, even though reported so.
-Reported by Global News January 8, 2022, updated January 17, 2022
What does all this have to say to us today, that the Church of Jesus Christ is withering.? Is it really? Or is it being refined, the chaff and stubble being seperated from the wheat? Jesus said that that time would come as the last days draw near.
His winnowing shovel is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out.”
What I see as good news is that 69% of evangelical christians are looking for the opportunities to share with their neighbors, but only 3 in 10 non-believers say the Gospel has been shared with them. That’s in America, Canada seems to always be further down the road.
Only 30% of non-believers say they have ever heard the Gospel presented to them. What is the church sharing with non-believers? 69% of evangelicals say they are actively looking for an opportunity to share with their neighbors, but the Gospel is not what we are sharing. What then? As the Apostle Paul says,
But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!
Brothers and sisters, who is the last person we shared the Good News of Jesus with? When was that? When is that last time we spoke of God in public? With our neighbor? When was the last time we were Jesus’ ambassador? If it has been longer than a week, it is too long! Our assignment from Jesus, and a reminder from the Apostle Paul,
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
We have been given a trust, a responsibility, are we doing our job?
Is this alarming to us? To you?
What I also see of great concern is the impression that our leadership and the church in general in leaving with non-believers: only 39% view pastors positively and only 37% have confidence in the Church as an institution of credibility. Why is that?
Could it be that religiousity is found wanting, empty? Could it be because of the churches desire, and leadership, to make Christianity relevant through show and not the substance of Jesus and the whole Gospel message? Or that many false teachers and prophets have found cover in the fold of the church and the church has not taken action to expose and expel those from the fellowship of Jesus?
Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
False messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves.
I would propose to you today, that the falling away of the church, is the result of the unfruitfulness of the church of Christ, to do the work assigned to us, bringing people into, and inviting people into a relationship with Jesus, and that Jesus is pruning His church for more production, and casting aside those branches that bear no fruit, for His second coming.
Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.
What would Jesus do with an unproductive church? What would Jesus do with an unloving church? What would Jesus do with a church that is not representing Him? The parable of the withered fig tree tells us …curse it, so that it would never be eaten from again. Wither up and die.
[Read Scripture Mark 11:15-26]
What is the point of Jesus’ parable? Have faith in God? That whatever you ask of God, without doubt in your heart, believing it will come to pass, will be done for you? Jesus says, “whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24 )
Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray and ask for —believe that you have received them, and you will have them.
But then, what is the significance of the withered fig tree? This is a passage that knocks my socks off, when I learned it’s significance. The parable has to do with fruit production. Jesus has come to inspect His bride, the church, the temple, and found it wanting …in fact corrupted, rotten.
Jesus taught, in correction, that His house, His temple, is to be a place of prayer, a place where people can come into the presence of God the Father. But, the authorities have made it, and allowed it to become a place of corrupt dealings, a “den of robbers”. The system was needed, but the system had been corrupted and Jesus came to put a stop to the activity of the temple because it was fruitless.
Coming to the temple was no longer a place where the Israelite could come to meet God and be in His presence. But instead, be taken advantage of, and have no peace - shalom. Profiteering in the name of God.
The fig tree is a symbol of the Jerusalem temple. Jesus examines the fig tree and sees no fruit. Jesus comes to the temple to see if there is fruit? Jesus visits the church to see if there is fruit? What will He find?
The fig tree has lots of leaves, it looks good, but lacks fruit. The temple looked good, but lacked fruit. The church today - does it look good? Sure does? But what is Jesus looking for? Fruit, not leaves, not good intentions. Not ritual, not tradition, but fruit. A people that represent Him, tell His story, and where people can find and come into the presence of God the Father.
What does Jesus find when He inspects the church? Our church? His bride? What has He found in the North American church? Fruitfulness or fruitlessness? The stats I read to you bear witness, fruitlessness for the most part.
What is Jesus’ position on fruitlessness? To cut away, cut off, to curse, to stop it’s activity, bring it to a close. Jesus brought the activity of the temple to a close. He turned over the tables, chased out the money-changers, stopped the sacrifices because it was fruitless activity. There was no place for God to reside and the people to meet with Him. It no longer was a place of prayer to Him; a place of communing with the Holy Almighty. The temple become corrupt and trivial, allowed and encouaged to do so by it’s leadership.
So Jesus brings a curse as Peter says, Mark 11:21
Then Peter remembered and said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that You cursed is withered.”
The greek word translated ‘curse’ [2672] kataraomai - means “to give over to ruin, to with evil or ruin”. Jesus action, in response to the unfruitfulness of the fig tree, is to give it over to ruin. The fig tree withers and dies. The temple was withering, and essentially dead. No longer was anyone getting any spiritual nourishment from it. God no longer resided there. He no longer accepted the sacrifices given. He did not hear the people no more.
After He says above, You did not want or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law ),
You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.
Jesus will bring to ruin an unfruitfull church. Jesus will bring curse to a place where His presence is not encountered, meet, and served.
We may protest, like the disciples, “it is not the season for figs”. What is the significance? Jesus instructs His church, His bride, you and me, to be ready in and out of season. Paul instructs the young pastor Timothy, as he reminds us today,
preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
“Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.
Jesus can be present at anytime, and bring judgment at anytime, upon a body that is not being fruitful. We are seeing this in Canada and America I believe, because the majority of the church has fallen in love with having the world love them, and accept them, instead of being about the business of Jesus; introducing men and women to Jesus and His truth.
The mountain that Jesus speaks about in this parable a reference to the temple mount. The temple mount no longer was a place of prayer and the presence of God, but a place of injustice and oppression. If God’s people would ask for the injustice and oppression to be removed, God will do so. Jesus says that they will be heard! Have faith in Me, Jesus says. And what do we have, the Temple and the Temple mount have laid in ruin and occupation till this day. Sacrifices and prayers have been stopped from taking place at the Temple and on the Temple Mount by Jesus, as a result of the Jewish peoples refusal to follow God wholeheartedly. Because of mislead and corrupt leadership. Because of a disbelief and non-acceptance of Jesus being the promised Messiah and God’s son, the Redeemer and King they have been waiting for. The very person of God!
If God’s people would cry out against injustice and the removal of impediments to enjoying God presence on earth, that prayer will be answered. But God’s people have to be about His business and His fruit-bearing.
You and I are the temple of God. We have the Holy Spirit within us. God lives within us, waiting for us to submit to His ways, and His will. Will we do so and push back the darkness following Jesus today? Believe, belong, and bless - live abundantly and follow Jesus.
Sermon in a Sentence: Jesus curses and closes churches that are fruitless, that are not places where believer, and non-believer, alike can encounter the presence of God and believing, belonging, and being blessed.
Will we be the tree of Christ that when He comes to inspect, is found producing fruit and pushing back the darkness with the presence of God? Do you believe? Do you belong? Do you bless?