January 8, 2017am Ne w Hope R oad Joelton, TN READ Mark 11:15-19

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1 Mark 11:15-19 House of Prayer January 8, 2017am Ne w Hope R oad Joelton, TN READ Mark 11:15-19 One of my absolute favorite stories of all time comes from C.S. Lewis s The Chronicles of Narnia: Susan says, Is he safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion. That you will, dearie, and no mistake, said Mrs. Beaver, if there s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they re either braver than most or else just silly. Then he isn t safe? said Lucy. Safe? said Mr. Beaver. Don t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn t safe. But he s good... He s the King I tell you. We are obsessed with making Jesus more palatable to the masses. The book soon-to-be movie, The Shack is the perfect example. If you want my opinion on it, just ask me. Corey M. Minter Page 1 of 6

2 The Gospel account of Jesus throwing out the money changers reminds us He is not tame, but He is good. He s the king I tell you. Mark 11:15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. The Setting Triumphal entry Hosanna Save Now Last week of Jesus s life Tuesday (At Jesus s first public Passover as a teacher, He did a very similar thing making a whip and using it to drive out animals and cleanse the temple) Passover Exodus 7 12 Pharaoh s enslaving the Jews Plague 1 water turned into blood Plague 2 frogs Plagues 3 lice Plagues 4 Flies Plagues 5 livestock disease Plague 6 boils Plague 7 Hail Plague 8 locusts Plague 9 darkness. Corey M. Minter Page 2 of 6

3 Plague 10 death of firstborn (unblemished male lamb) Unblemished male, lamb sacrificed Scholars have estimated that during the Passover over 3 million Jews would swarm Jerusalem in order to participate in the temple sacrifice Almost impossible for poor people to travel great distances with animals like that Levitical Solution: Have people buy animals in Jerusalem (not wrong) The Sin Under Annas (HP) this got out of hand: Bazaar of Annas Temple Tax $25 per male to enter the temple Shekels of the Sanctuary other coins was seen as dirty (Gentile) money They would charge to exchange your money (at an unfair rate) There was a penalty for exchanging dirty money Animals UNBLEMISHED Traveling long distance by foot w/o blemishing animals Requirement of Animal Inspectors (charged for their services); usually in cahoots with livestock Corey M. Minter Page 3 of 6

4 sellers Exchange rate of animals outside Jerusalem two doves cost the equivalent of $25; INSIDE Jerusalem $375! The Sermon 17 Then He taught, saying to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves. Quotes Isaiah and Jeremiah My House They wanted to worship an individual that fit inside their regular life. They wanted to proclaim Jesus as Messiah. They wanted the ceremony, the pomp, the circumstance of the King of the Jews, but they did not want Emmanuel God with us. House of Prayer for all nations The Bazaar of Annas (the place where Jesus cause this scene) was found in the Court of the Gentiles. It was the only place where non-jews could seek God s face and they turned it into a market. The Jews were supposed to be a mission-minded people, but they approached the promises of God more as a birthright to protect than a blessing to share. Why did Jesus react so violently? Corey M. Minter Page 4 of 6

5 Because He is fiercely protective of His own, and they were being abused. Active Sin The Temple had become a place of taking advantage of the less fortunate. Passive Sin The Temple had become a business instead of a place to meet with the Almighty. The Temple had become a club instead of a rescue mission. The Temple was filled with people holding to the status quo instead of to the will of God. Prayer had become an afterthought before a lesson, before a meal, before bed, before a service, before dismissing, etc. The Solution: I want 2017 to be a year of serious prayer. Personally: Mid-December Cracker Barrel We re going to pray for our meal in just a second, but we were also wondering if there was anything that we could pray with or for you about. Bro. Barker Only if you pray with this girl too. I have taken a very casual approach to prayer. Corey M. Minter Page 5 of 6

6 Pastorally: The thing that Jesus said that a house of worship should be known for is the thing we spend the least amount of time doing. Publicly: Recently, among a group of pastors, I was reminded, Traditions and ceremonies can help get you through the dry periods of worship. Here s the good news: we already have, in our existing church format, a way to take prayer seriously and make this place A House of Prayer. 6-8 Stop in and 7 we will sing a couple songs, and I will bring a BRIEF thought, specifically directed towards prayer. I can pray anywhere. Yeah, but we don t. Besides, there is something about being with the people of God in prayer. I don t know what to pray for. We will help. That is really the whole point of meeting together praying through each other s lives. I don t have time. Free flow to the prayer meeting stop in when you can and leave when you need to. I think the big issue is that in order for our church our own lives to be called a house of worship, we need to get rid of some things. Passover cleaning. Dust/leaven/mold Jesus drove out the corporate sin in the Temple. What does He need to drive out in your life? Corey M. Minter Page 6 of 6