Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / When Jesus Lowered the Boom Msg 221 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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When Jesus Lowered the Boom Msg 221 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: We've come to the central section of the twenty first
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  Speaker 1: chapter of Matthew. As we work our way through this
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  Speaker 1: gospel by Matthew, we'll begin reading at verse twelve of
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  Speaker 1: Matthew twenty one. Down through the twenty second verse, you'll
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  Speaker 1: find an outline and your worship holder that will guide
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  Speaker 1: us in our time together. This is one of those
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  Speaker 1: sections in the Bible that surprises most people. You don't
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  Speaker 1: normally think of Jesus as one turning over tables and
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  Speaker 1: throwing chairs to the side and driving people out of
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  Speaker 1: a place normally dedicated for worship until you understand why
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  Speaker 1: he did it and what prompted such an angry response.
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  Speaker 1: It also leads into a section that is very difficult
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  Speaker 1: to understand when you teach through the scriptures, which is
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  Speaker 1: called expositing the Word of God. In your exposition, you
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  Speaker 1: don't have the freedom to skip the tough parts and
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  Speaker 1: to take only the easy parts, and some parts of
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  Speaker 1: the Bible are very difficult to understand. One of my
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  Speaker 1: resources in preparing for today, made the statement that, in
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  Speaker 1: his opinion, this section is the most difficult part in
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  Speaker 1: all the Bible to understand. I remember pausing in my
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  Speaker 1: study and praying even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus, and
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  Speaker 1: deliver me from this difficult time. But he didn't. And
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  Speaker 1: by the end of the first service and no one
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  Speaker 1: threw anything at me. So we made it through that part,
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  Speaker 1: and now we're here for the second. But as I
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  Speaker 1: read for you these verses, try to imagine you're teaching
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  Speaker 1: them and what you would say about them, especially verses
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  Speaker 1: eighteen through twenty two. But I want to read for
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  Speaker 1: you from the New Living Translation Matthew twenty one, beginning
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  Speaker 1: at verse twelve. Please stand together for the reading of
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  Speaker 1: God's word. Jesus entered the temple and began to drive
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  Speaker 1: out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices.
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  Speaker 1: He knocked over the tables of the money changers and
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  Speaker 1: the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them,
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  Speaker 1: the scriptures declare, my temple will be called a house
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  Speaker 1: of prayer, that you have turned it into a den
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  Speaker 1: of thieves. The blind and the lane came to him
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  Speaker 1: in the temple, and he healed it. The leading priests
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  Speaker 1: and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles,
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  Speaker 1: and heard even the children in the temple shouting praise
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  Speaker 1: God for the son of David. But the leaders were indignant.
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  Speaker 1: They asked, Jesus, do you hear what these children are saying. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus replied, haven't you ever read the scriptures? For they
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  Speaker 1: say you have taught children and infants to give you praise.
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  Speaker 1: Then he returned to bethany where he stayed overnight. In
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  Speaker 1: the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was
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  Speaker 1: hungry and he noticed a fig tree beside the road.
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  Speaker 1: He went over to see if there were any figs,
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  Speaker 1: but there were only leaves, and then he said to it,
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  Speaker 1: may you never bear fruit again, And immediately the fig
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  Speaker 1: tree withered up. The disciples were amazed when they saw
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  Speaker 1: this and ask how did the big tree wither so quickly.
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  Speaker 1: Then Jesus told him, I'll tell you the truth. If
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  Speaker 1: you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things
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  Speaker 1: like this and much more. You could even say to
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  Speaker 1: this mountain, may you be lifted up and thrown into
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  Speaker 1: the sea, and it will happen. You could pray for anything,
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  Speaker 1: and if you have faith, you will receive it. May
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  Speaker 1: the Lord help all of us understand what this is
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  Speaker 1: saying and what it means for us today. You may
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  Speaker 1: be seated worship is really a human response to a
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  Speaker 1: divine revelation. When we pray, we are responding to our
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  Speaker 1: heavenly Father, who has invited us to do so. When
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  Speaker 1: we teach, we are declaring his truth for his glory
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  Speaker 1: so that people might understand, apply it, and live a
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  Speaker 1: better life. When we pray, we ask for the Lord
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  Speaker 1: to have his way in this situation, whatever it may be.
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  Speaker 1: Some of you are facing some real challenges and you
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  Speaker 1: are absolutely at a loss to know what you should do.
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  Speaker 1: That's when the best thing you can do is pray.
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  Speaker 1: Join me as we together pray before this offering, which
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  Speaker 1: is also an act of worship. A few moments ago,
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  Speaker 1: our father, there were parents who stood, There were graduates
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  Speaker 1: who stood in front of us, and we realize each
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  Speaker 1: family has reached a milestone in their lives, and we're
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  Speaker 1: all grateful for that. Thank you for seeing them through
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  Speaker 1: the challenges, the joys as well as the hardship and
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  Speaker 1: the tough times. Thank you for relationships that grow over time.
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  Speaker 1: For the love of a mother and father for a child,
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  Speaker 1: and the same for young adults looking over their childhood
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  Speaker 1: years and teenage years, loving and respecting their parents. For
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  Speaker 1: all they've gone through together. Thank you, Father for your
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  Speaker 1: wonderful presence and blessing. There are still unanswered questions we
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  Speaker 1: all have. Who knows what the future holds. Who knows
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  Speaker 1: if a dream has come from you or from oneself?
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  Speaker 1: Who knows what the outcome will be when another graduation
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  Speaker 1: occurs and a degree is earned and another phase of
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  Speaker 1: life begins. Who knows if we will even be here
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  Speaker 1: four years from now. With that it fought in mind,
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  Speaker 1: our Father, we acknowledge that without you we are a
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  Speaker 1: wash adrift. We are left of our own devices, and
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  Speaker 1: we've been there enough to know that's often a dead
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  Speaker 1: end street. So guard us from going there. Remind us
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  Speaker 1: to lean on you, to trust you, and to give
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  Speaker 1: you what is before us, whatever that may be, and
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  Speaker 1: to rely on you when we cannot see what is
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  Speaker 1: around the corner of the future. Minister, in a wonderful
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  Speaker 1: way today, as you address subjects that are unusual to
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  Speaker 1: hear in a church, maybe hear them. May we not misunderstanding.
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  Speaker 1: May we walk out of this place better people than
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  Speaker 1: we arrived, And may you have your way in the
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  Speaker 1: way we carry out our lives for your purposing glory. Now, Father,
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  Speaker 1: I want to thank you for your forgiveness. We've all
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  Speaker 1: passed through this journey enough to enumerate the things we've
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  Speaker 1: done that have been wrong. They often haunt us when
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  Speaker 1: we come to a place of worship. We pray we'll
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  Speaker 1: be freed from that when we remember that if we
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  Speaker 1: confess our sins, you are faithful and righteous to forgive
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  Speaker 1: us and to cleanse us. And so as vessels prepare
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  Speaker 1: our minds for the sowing of the seed, and as
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  Speaker 1: we give of our gifts today, remind us that they will,
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  Speaker 1: in many ways go to places we will never go,
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  Speaker 1: and they will touch lives we will never meet. They
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  Speaker 1: will minister in ways we will never hear about. And
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  Speaker 1: so we give confidently that you will use these gifts
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  Speaker 1: for those purposes. Bless those in a very special way
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  Speaker 1: who represent you in difficult places, some as missionaries, some
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  Speaker 1: as warriors, some as those working in secret, and those
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  Speaker 1: who serve you in very dangerous, difficult circumstances. Minister through
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  Speaker 1: them to them, and because of them to others. We
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  Speaker 1: give our gifts confidently in the name of Jesus and
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  Speaker 1: for his sake alone. We prayed, everyone said, Amen, can
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  Speaker 1: you remember the last time you got really mad for
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  Speaker 1: the right reason. I'm not talking about an out of
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  Speaker 1: control temper tantrum kind of rage. No, I'm talking about
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  Speaker 1: a time when you had every reason to be angry,
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  Speaker 1: and you were, and you showed it. This is sometimes
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  Speaker 1: called righteous indignation. Paul writes of that kind of thing
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  Speaker 1: in Ephvisions for twenty, when he in fact gives a
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  Speaker 1: command be angry, but do not sin, do not let
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  Speaker 1: the sun go down on your wrath. So, in the
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  Speaker 1: right sense, when it is for the right reason, when
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  Speaker 1: you are angry righteously, you don't sin, You're doing the
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  Speaker 1: right thing. Something that should have made you angry made
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  Speaker 1: you angry, and you reacted. The wrong thing would have
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  Speaker 1: been for you to fold your arms and simply lean
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  Speaker 1: back and carelessly shrug your shoulders, as if you're not
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  Speaker 1: going to get involved, or you're not going to say
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  Speaker 1: anything for whatever reason, You're just going to remain passive.
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  Speaker 1: I read somewhere and I heard also on a number
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  Speaker 1: of occasions a good statement passivity is an enemy. And
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  Speaker 1: it is easy for us in this day, when so
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  Speaker 1: much goes on that is wrong for us to cultivate
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  Speaker 1: the whole lifestyle of passivity. We don't make waves. We
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  Speaker 1: just stay out of the problem and hope it works
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  Speaker 1: its way out. Now, there are times when you need
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  Speaker 1: to be engaged in the issue. For example, is right
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  Speaker 1: to feel anger toward an abuser who deceives and then
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  Speaker 1: later wounds or brutalizes an innocent child that ought to
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  Speaker 1: make you mad. It's appropriate to feel anger toward a
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  Speaker 1: bully who takes unfair advantage of someone smaller or disable,
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  Speaker 1: or for whatever reason, cannot defend herself or himself. That's
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  Speaker 1: worth getting angry over. We should feel anger when we
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  Speaker 1: witness individuals who shamelessly desecrate that which is sacred, or
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  Speaker 1: selfishly exploit those who are poor. Those wrong acts get
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  Speaker 1: to us, and they should. They stir up our anger,
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  Speaker 1: and they should when we're asked later about our reaction,
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  Speaker 1: I have the feeling that, without trying to blow our
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  Speaker 1: own horn, we simply say, look, it's only human, it's
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  Speaker 1: only right that I say something, or that I do
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  Speaker 1: what I did. I want to use that statement as
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  Speaker 1: a place to address of an important theological subject. Stay
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  Speaker 1: with me because it will help you understand what Jesus
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  Speaker 1: did when he was on this earth. When Jesus was
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  Speaker 1: among us. He took upon himself flesh. He became the
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  Speaker 1: first and only god man. Theologians refer to Jesus as
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  Speaker 1: the the anthropic person FAOs god anthropos man, the athropic
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  Speaker 1: in one body, two natures exists, deity and humanity. When
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  Speaker 1: you study the life of Jesus, you see each emerge.
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  Speaker 1: Sometime we see them come close together. For example, we
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  Speaker 1: witness him as he was perfect, knew no sin, did
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  Speaker 1: no sin, had no sin. As deity, he could calm
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  Speaker 1: the waters. He could give sight to the blind. He
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  Speaker 1: could give health to the cripple and the disabled. He
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  Speaker 1: could walk on water. As Deity, he could turn huge
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  Speaker 1: jugs of water into aged good wine. He could even
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  Speaker 1: raise the dead. Because he's God but also man. As
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  Speaker 1: a little baby, he didn't know how to talk or walk,
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  Speaker 1: so he had to learn. He had to obey his
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  Speaker 1: parents as he was growing up under their roof. He
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  Speaker 1: learned the carpenter's trade from Joseph, Oh God. He was
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  Speaker 1: also man. He became weary, so he needed sleep. When
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  Speaker 1: life was funny, he laughed when he was in grief.
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  Speaker 1: He wept when he was hit, He hurt when he
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  Speaker 1: was cut, he bled when he died, his heart stopped beating.
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  Speaker 1: Human He got mad when he witnessed the desecration of
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  Speaker 1: sacred things, and he should have. There was everything right
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  Speaker 1: about it. But because of sound doctrine, when you understand
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  Speaker 1: his person, you have no difficulty interpreting the things he did,
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  Speaker 1: and often the things he said. Jesus has walked into
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  Speaker 1: a large worship area called the Court of the Gentiles.
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  Speaker 1: The temples a vast bit of architecture. The temple includes
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  Speaker 1: this outer court, which covers one of my resources, says
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  Speaker 1: thirty five acres acres of spaith. When worshippers came, they
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  Speaker 1: would come unlike today, with animals, and they would bring
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  Speaker 1: their animals that would be sacrificed, and the blood that
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  Speaker 1: would be poured out would be a part of the
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  Speaker 1: forgiveness process that God would honor. Over time, all of
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  Speaker 1: this became corrupt, and the leaders, because of their greed
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  Speaker 1: and pride and unaccountability, turned the whole thing into well
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  Speaker 1: a bizarre. For example, when you came as a visitor
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  Speaker 1: from another country to worship at the temple, you could
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  Speaker 1: bring your animal, but the leaders at the temple would
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  Speaker 1: disqualify that animal. For those simplest of reasons. The point
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  Speaker 1: is you have to buy one of theirs, and when
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  Speaker 1: you buy that animal, you have to pay ten times
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  Speaker 1: more than the animal would normally cost. Extortion. You would
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  Speaker 1: come with money from the country where you were living,
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  Speaker 1: and you now must exchange the money into the coin
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  Speaker 1: of the realm of Jerusalem. They would charge you twenty
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  Speaker 1: five percent surcharge for all the change in that money process.
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  Speaker 1: It is a classic case and point of corruption. What
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  Speaker 1: you have to understand is that those who were behind
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  Speaker 1: it were their robes of religion. They looked so religious,
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  Speaker 1: they were proud of their robes. All of it is
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  Speaker 1: an empty pretense. They were studies in hypocrisy. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: the one who was behind it is a man named
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  Speaker 1: annas Anas. The whole courtyard scene came to be known
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  Speaker 1: as annas Bazaar. It was a joke. One man described
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  Speaker 1: it as resembling a mix of a county fair and
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  Speaker 1: the pit of stock exchange. It was an unholy mercenary
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  Speaker 1: commercial myth, and what was meant originally to be acts
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  Speaker 1: of worship turned into well desecration. When Jesus walks in
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  Speaker 1: on the scene, he lowered the boom and it was
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  Speaker 1: the side of him. They had not seen before. I frankly,
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  Speaker 1: I love it for you to ask me what scene
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  Speaker 1: would you like to have been in at the time
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  Speaker 1: during the This is the one I would love to
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  Speaker 1: have been there. I mean, animals ran everywhere, and money
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  Speaker 1: was rolling all across the courtyard, and doves were flying
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  Speaker 1: and chirping, and tables are turned over and chairs are
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  Speaker 1: turned over. It is a great scene. And the priests
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  Speaker 1: are staring in disbeliefs. Those who think they're going to
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  Speaker 1: live through it or they're the rest of them ran
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  Speaker 1: for their lives, and strangers who had come to worship
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  Speaker 1: must have stood and stared, and some of them must
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  Speaker 1: have thought, good, this is right. But of course Jesus
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  Speaker 1: simply did what was right without announcing it. Hey, have
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  Speaker 1: you ever been at a scene where tables are turned
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  Speaker 1: over in chairs or thrown aside and there's a whole
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  Speaker 1: mess in front of you? Maybe you haven't. Well, I had,
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  Speaker 1: and I'm going to tell you about it. I was
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  Speaker 1: eight thousand miles from home, thank goodness, and I was
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  Speaker 1: serving in the Marine Corps. We had just done a
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  Speaker 1: landing on the north end of Okinawa and we were
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  Speaker 1: on a combat training three days living in the field,
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  Speaker 1: no showers of sorry food from rations, and it's hot
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  Speaker 1: and it's miserable situation, and you are wading through swamps
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  Speaker 1: and going through all that nonsense, and you wind up
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  Speaker 1: really dirty, really stinky and stuff. When we finally got
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  Speaker 1: back to the base, for some reason, I'll never understand why.
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  Speaker 1: But the chef, well, let me put it this way,
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  Speaker 1: he did not train at the Rich Carlton in Paris.
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  Speaker 1: The chef chose to serve us liver and onions for
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  Speaker 1: our meat that day. Now, the good thing is in
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  Speaker 1: the Marine Corps, when you have liver and onions, they
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  Speaker 1: also provide another meat dish because so many don't like
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  Speaker 1: liver and onions. I happen to like liver and onions,
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  Speaker 1: but I'm weird, so I didn't mind. But the other
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  Speaker 1: dish he served was meat loaf, but for him it
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  Speaker 1: looked a little more like Alpo dog food. I mean
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  Speaker 1: it kind of a slimy mess. And then there was potatoes,
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  Speaker 1: mashed potatoes, and gravies I recall it in green beans
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  Speaker 1: and green peas. And there was coconut pie, cream pie,
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  Speaker 1: and there with chocolate pudding. I'll get to that in
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  Speaker 1: just a minute. So we all went through the line
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  Speaker 1: and we got this, and of course then when they
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  Speaker 1: serve you, they slap it on your tray so that
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  Speaker 1: it tends to get on your garment, and you walk
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  Speaker 1: and sit down at the table, and everybody is kind
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  Speaker 1: of hair trigger close to a rage. When we sit down.
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  Speaker 1: Everybody stinks. Everybody's hungry and they don't like what they've
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  Speaker 1: been served. And a guy punches into the meat loaf
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  Speaker 1: and part of the meat lands on the guy sitting
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  Speaker 1: across from him, and he gets on his fatigues, which
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  Speaker 1: we're already dirty. But he picks up this and he
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  Speaker 1: slings it back at the guy and hits him in
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  Speaker 1: the face. And I'm thinking, nice shot, and I decide
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  Speaker 1: I have a little more liver than the normal person
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  Speaker 1: would want to eat, so I hit this guy in
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  Speaker 1: the face with a slab of liver, and of course
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  Speaker 1: it ran down his neck. And by then there were potatoes, peas,
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  Speaker 1: and oh, I should add a chocolate pudding, and some
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  Speaker 1: of the best kind of pie landed on heads and
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  Speaker 1: bodies and it, I mean, tables are turning over, guys
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  Speaker 1: are duking it out. It was great, and all the
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  Speaker 1: chairs were all over the place. The place was a
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  Speaker 1: royal miss I've eaten food all my life, and that's
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  Speaker 1: the first time I've ever worn it. And we were
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  Speaker 1: all wearing it, and we looked over at the exit
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  Speaker 1: and there stood the officer of the mess hall staring
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  Speaker 1: at us. He tended to blow this shrill whistle so loud,
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  Speaker 1: and he's blowing till he's red in the face until
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  Speaker 1: he gets hit with a piece of liver and some
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  Speaker 1: onions that go. And it's not a good moment because
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  Speaker 1: until about nine thirty ten o'clock at night, we are
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  Speaker 1: in the mess hall with hose and scrub brushes cleaning
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  Speaker 1: everything up. So I've been in a scene something like that.
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  Speaker 1: But that was all for the wrong reason. That was
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  Speaker 1: all just satisfied. I mean, there's something about getting it
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  Speaker 1: out of your system. And you can't throw enough food,
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  Speaker 1: and you can't get on enough tables, and you can't
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  Speaker 1: throw enough chairs around. It's just you just have to
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  Speaker 1: do it. That is from your flesh. But here, interestingly,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus does it all alone. You don't read a word
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  Speaker 1: about the disciples helping out. They don't want to get
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  Speaker 1: involved in this. I mean, after all, Annas is a
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  Speaker 1: powerful man. By the way. He's one of the reasons
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  Speaker 1: Jesus was later arrested. He never forgot this. He's the
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  Speaker 1: godfather of the religious establishment, and he despises Jesus. Tables
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  Speaker 1: are turned over, doves are flying, animals are rushing here
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  Speaker 1: and there. And while Jesus is doing all of this,
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  Speaker 1: look verse thirteen, he's quoting verses. You know its righteous
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  Speaker 1: indignation when what you were doing includes the quoting of
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  Speaker 1: Versus the scripture, and he does it from memory. He
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  Speaker 1: quotes from Isaiah fifty six. In Jeremiah chapter seven, he says,
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  Speaker 1: scriptures declare, my temple will be called a house of prayer,
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  Speaker 1: and you have turned it into a denter feees. He
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  Speaker 1: yells not at the worshippers who had come, but at
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  Speaker 1: the leaders who were behind all of this corrupt activity. Interesting,
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  Speaker 1: as soon as he if you will cleans the place
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  Speaker 1: out of all of this corrupt activity, look at what
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  Speaker 1: happens verse fourteen. The blind come and they receive site.
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  Speaker 1: The lame come and they are healed, and children come
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  Speaker 1: and they are shouting praise to God for the son
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: of David, a messianic statement. And the leaders watch all
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: of this, and though the miracles were true and real
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: and life changing. And though the children's songs were innocent
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: songs sung and praise, the reaction of the leaders into
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: verse fifteen, look for yourself. They were indignant. The word
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: has in mind. They were livid, They were angry beyond words.
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: Why for all the wrong reasons? That's an anger, that's
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: a wrong anger. He had done what is wrong. But
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: because he messed up their religious playground and the income
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: they had counted on for that day, and he had
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: exposed the wrongness of their activities, they hated him for it.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: By the way, don't fear for him. He is as
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: safe as Daniel in the lions Den. Though he's won
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: against all, he's invincible. In fact, he has enough presence
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: of mind to say to these leaders who were staring
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: him down, do you hear what the children are saying?
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: Have you heard their words? They asked him that, and
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: then he says, yes, haven't you read the scriptures? For
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: they say you have taught children and infants to give
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: you praise? Write out a Psalm eight verse two. Then
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: he returned to bethany where he stayed overnight. Before I
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: go further, I really have to add something of a
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: practical nature. We live in a corrupt world. Now nobody
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: died and left one of us in charge of this
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: corrupt world. We'll never be able to clean it all up.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: We can't. We pray, we do what we feel we
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: should be doing as we live our lives as good
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: Christian people. But there are times when it is only
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: right for you or me to step up and step
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: out head. A man say to me following our first
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: morning worship service as he sat just sort of riveted
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: during the message. I talked to him later. I've never
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: seen him before, but he said to me, I want
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: to thank you for what you said. I am right
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: now in our home dealing with something that is an
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: absolute mess. He didn't tell me what it was, but
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: he said, you gave me encouragement without realizing because I
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: need to be standing where I'm standing, standing against what's
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: going on around me. And it continues, it will ruin
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: our family. I want you to think about that statement,
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: each one of you. It says one thing to want
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: of you and of something else altogether different to someone else,
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: but your great tendency because of whatever reason insecurity, what
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: people will say. The boss may call you in, or
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: you may look foolish, or you may not have all
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: the facts, or it could get dangerous, or whatever the reason.
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: I want to encourage you at those times when you
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: really should speak up, to speak up because our forefathers
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: did at certain times. We are today free because David
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: did at the right time. A giant was killed. What
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: is this uncircumcisedful esteem, mocking the armies of the living God.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: And then when they talk to him about what he
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: thought about doing, He's going to go slay the giant?
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: He simply said, is there not a cause? And we
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: all centuries later admire this young shepherd who with slinging
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: stone kills the giant because there was a reason. Are
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: there reasons for you to stand up against something that
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: is going on that a ought to be stopped? In
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: rather recent years, some have had the courage to stand
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: against human trafficking. And because they have dangerous though it is,
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: and believe me, it is dangerous, they have rescued who
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: knows how many young ladies from those who would ruin
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: them use them and ruin them. I'm so grateful for
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: that kind of courage. And when you do that, I
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: want to assure you it is the right kind of anger.
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: To fold your arms and to look the other way
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: is absolutely the wrong thing to do. If you do
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: not go, then support those who do go. If you
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: do not, speak up and stand alongside those who will.
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: Jesus did what was right, even though it enraged the leaders.
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: Remember he's wanted in the city. There were those disciples
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: who said, we're going to go to Jerusalem, knowing that
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: he was a marked man, and here he is cleansing
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: the temple. You gotta admire him. These leaders were thinking
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: of the money they lost, the embarrassment they felt when
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: he said to them, have you not even read the scriptures?
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: They who were so supposed to be such scriptural giants?
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: And the children who shouted praise, do you not realize
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: they are the ones who are in the right. And
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: these men are indignant. They're so covered with their hypocrisy
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: they cannot see themselves as they really are, corrupt to
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: the core. So they slip away to Bethany, a little
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: quiet village outside Jerusalem. By the way, Before I go there,
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: let me add that the reason it incensed them. So
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: when the children use these messianic words, because he wasn't
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: the kind of Messiah they wanted, they were looking for
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: one who would come with political power and with military might,
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: and with economic prosperity, and overthrow Rome, get the swine
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: out of our lives, and bring Israel back to its
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: own rightful place with authority and power. We didn't come
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: for that reason. He came to die. They didn't get that.
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: In fact, they didn't want that. That's not the kind
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: of Messiah we anticipated. He knew that, but he pressed on.
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: And now we get to the little village. And this
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: is the part that you have to really think to
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: understand it. I wrestle with it for hours. He gets
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: up in the morning, and he's hungry. See that in
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: verse eighteen, another characteristic of humanity. God's never hungry, but
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: as a man, he's hungry. So his hunger kicks in.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: And as they are making their way to Jerusalem, the
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: disciples around him on their way, he comes to a
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: fig tree beside the road. He went over to see
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: if there were any figs, obviously was going to eat
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: some of them for nourishment, and he saw that there
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: were only leaves. I pause here, because what we've just
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: dealt with has nothing to do with figs or leaves.
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: Unless you see this figuratively. Often Jesus's response and words
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: and explanations have figurative things in mind, and you have
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: to realize that to understand them. He doesn't explain all
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: of it. He saw only leaves. You see this, And
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: then he said to the tree. He talks to the tree,
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: may you never bear fruit again? And immediately the fig
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: tree withered up. What's that about? Why do you do that? Frankly,
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: I think there is a symbol here that we shouldn't miss.
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: He had just been dealing yesterday with those who are
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: only leaves. There's no fruit in their lives. It was
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: all the robes of religion, the leaves of hypocrisy covered
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: their lives. They weren't interested in spiritual things. They were
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: interested in making a prophet and lining their own pockets,
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: remaining in power, carrying out their corrupt activities all leaves.
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: Jesus uses the tree as an example of that. I
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: like the way one man puts and listen to these words.
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: Good expositor says it this way. Jesus' point regarding the
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: fig tree was that Israel as a nation had an
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: impressive pretense of religion represented by the leaves, but the
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: fact that the nation bore no spiritual fruit, was positive
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: proof that she was unredeemed and cut off from the
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: life of the power of God. He goes on empty.
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: Religion almost invariably has many outward trappings in the form
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: of clerical garments, investments, ornate vessels, involved rituals, and other
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: such physical accouterments. It is also typically characterized by repetitious
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: prayers cited by rote and offered at prescribed times. Such
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: were the meaningless repetitions of the Pharisees, whom Jesus said
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: were actually praying to themselves, having seen hypocrisy on parade
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: the day before. He uses the fig tree as an
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: example so that he might tease the disciples. Not sure
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: they got it. In fact, they said to him as
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: they were amazed, how did the fig tree wither so quickly?
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: He doesn't really answer that question. I kept looking for
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: that answer, but it's not here because that's the wrong question.
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: The question is why would you cause it to wither?
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: What was it about this that caused you to respond
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: like that? Not how could it wither? Or The obvious
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: answer to how is that He's God, he can do anything.
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: But Jesus then answers their curiosity with words that could
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: get you into a lot of trouble if you didn't
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: think clearly. Now, look at what Jesus says. I'll tell
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: you the truth. If you have faith and don't doubt,
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: you can do things like this and much more. You
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: can even say to this mountain, may you be lifted
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: up and thrown into the sea, and it will happen.
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: You can pray for anything, and if you have faith,
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: you will receive it. Stop right there. Be very careful
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: about going to an isolated verse or a couple of
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: verses and building your whole theology on that verse, the
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: whole Name it and claim it. A style of teaching
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: is based on the singularity of isolated verses like this.
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: But I want to ask you a question. You ever
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: known anyone move a mountain. I've never met anyone who
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: moved a mountain. And I've known prayer warriors since my
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: earliest years of walking with Christ. I've never seen one,
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: as a result of prayer move a mountain into the sea.
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: But he says you can. He says you will when
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: you come to a passage like this, Please hear me. Understand.
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: It is extreme language stated in an exaggerated manner to
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: get a point across. Let me do that with a warning.
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: You and I have situations that are mountain like. Some
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: of you face him right now, perhaps the largest in
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: your life. It's impossible for you to fix it, to
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: change it. If you will, to move it to a
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: better place. Christ can, and he tells us by relying
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: on him, having faith in him, since he's the mountain mover.
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: Why do I say that? Because he's the mountain maker,
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: You must make a mountain in order to be able
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: to move a mountain, and no human being is a
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: mountain maker, only God. And since Christ is the one
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: who created all, he's telling them trust me, rely on me.
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: Don't live your life full of leaves, all the pretense
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: of religion. I'm looking for fruit, fruit that will nourish.
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: So what am I saying? I want to underscore the
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: importance of using this verse with other verses on prayer.
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: Do that, or you'll get yourself in a lot of trouble.
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: You'll be very disillusioned. You'll start praying for a million
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: dollars to show up in the mail, and then tomorrow morning,
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: tomorrow afternoon, when the mail comes, you check and it's
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: not there. You said, I asked God for it, and
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: he said in Matthew twenty one, if I asked for anything,
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: I could have it. I asked for a mat No,
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: that was all for you. You didn't ask for his
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: will because you've not chosen the verse that talks about
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: praying in his will. You must go there. That's in
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: First John. And you may have sin in your life,
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: and that's in Som sixty six eighteen. If I regard
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: sin in my life, the Lord will not hear me.
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: So you may be asking for the wrong reason. So
• 45:02
  Speaker 1: what I'm saying is you must correlate verses with verses,
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: because you see Jesus. Jesus was never a clown in
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: the center ring showing off his power. He's not down
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: here moving a mountain. He's talking to people living with mountains,
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: saying to them, I'm here for you to trust, and
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: you can come to me and you can bring to
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: me that impossible need and situation, and I'm here to
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: help you with it. I want to caution you about
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: clinging to an extreme example and making that your life's verse.
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: I read in my study of a couple who happened
• 45:58
  Speaker 1: to be in ministry, and they were of this persuasion
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: that if you claim you name some you can claim it.
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: And they when they made their way to their church,
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: they passed a very wealthy part of the city and
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: they saw these what we would call mansions, and they
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: said to each other, we're going to claim a mansion
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: for us to have you hear the pronoun. Not for
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: God's glory, not because that's what he wants, but we'd
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: love to have a mansion. And they lived their lives
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: anticipating and getting a mansion. Unfortunately it never showed up
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: on their block or they never moved into one. You see,
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: I deal with those who are disillusioned, and they come
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: from a toxic place where they have been worshiping, and
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: they went through all of this extreme kind of thinking
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: and pray and wound up with not experiencing what was
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: promised because they had no mountain move So don't make
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: the extreme your standard. Guard against that. When God does
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: an amazing thing, remember it's an amazing thing at that moment.
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: He's not doing amazing things each day. I have a
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: friend who says, if miracles happened every day, they ought
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: to be named regulars. Honestly, in my life I maybe
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: have known of five miracles. They're rare. I have a
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: book named Miracles, and the man describes so many things,
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: everything except a parking space at Nordstrom at Christmas time.
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: He doesn't name that, but that's almost close to what
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: he would call a miracle. They're not miracles. Don't go there,
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: stay balanced. Realize there's more on prayer than this verse.
• 48:13
  Speaker 1: Right here, I think I've got the point across. Okay,
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: let me draw four lessons for all of us, and
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: I think they're valuable enough for you to take note of.
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: Number one, don't be afraid of feeling angry. I've heard
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: people say that you should never be anger angry because
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: you're a Christian. Wrong. There are times when if you
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: don't feel angry, something's wrong. Don't be afraid of anger.
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: Just make sure it's for the right reason and expressed
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: in the right way at the right time. Be angry,
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: but don't sin. Neutralogy curses us in the hour of decision.
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: When you reach the time of decision, decide, don't just
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: let it pass. God may want you to be the
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: one on the point of that wedge. Second lesson I
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: learned is steer clear of all things hypocritical. I don't
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: know if anything Jesus came down harder on than hypocrisy.
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: He dealt with the Pharisees as severely as he did
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: because they were walking hypocrites. They wanted you to think
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: they were more righteous than they really were, that they
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: were people of great prayer and commitment. They were neither.
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: They were showmen who showed on the street corner and
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: prayed so that you would watch them and you would
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: be impressed by their words or by their frequent prayers.
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: Steer clear of all things hypocritical. Here's a third lesson.
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: Life is about producing fruit, not growing leaves. You want
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: to know the fruit, the fruit of the spirit. Love.
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: Here we go, love, joy, peace, long suffering, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness,
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: self control. Go there. You want to ask the Lord
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: to do a major work in your life. Let him
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: move those mountains. Ask the Lord to give you the
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: ability to find joy in life circumstances, To love those
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: that are difficult, to like, to be a person who
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: is patient, gentle, gracious. Here's the fourth, and I mentioned
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: it earlier. Guard against making the extreme your standard. Guard
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: against making the extreme your standard in anything. May I
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: add this, since we're all older, and that is I mean,
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: we're rearing children, or we have reared them and we
• 51:46
  Speaker 1: have grandchildren. Whatever. Let's be sure we convey this to
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: our younger generation so they realize the importance of it.
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: And let's not try to fake It's keep it real.
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: When we've done what was wrong, let's admit it was wrong.
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: When we have been impatient, let's call it impatience. When
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: our anger was miss placed, oh, let's call it what
• 52:19
  Speaker 1: it was, inappropriate anger. If all of this sounds too
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: good to be true, it may be because you've never
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: come to the cross. None of this is out of
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: the realm of reality. If you know Christ, because Christ
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: lives in a life, he wants to produce the fruit
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: of the Spirit through your life. He longs to do that,
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: whether at home or at work, whether in the familiar
• 52:58
  Speaker 1: places are in the unfamiliar, whether in private or in public,
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: whether now or in the future. He wants you to
• 53:09
  Speaker 1: represent him. And when you do, I'll tell you it's
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: remarkable how he can get the glory and you have
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: a chance to speak for him in the most wonderful ways.
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: You get the picture about with me? Will you please?
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: Where are you in this? You find yourself on the
• 53:34
  Speaker 1: edge of a situation where somebody needs to say something
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: and you really realize now that it's you and say something.
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: Have you begun to develop habits that are hypocritical, where
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: it's very important for you to look more holy than
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: you really are. This would be a great time to stop,
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: ask God for the strength to be authentic and to
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: give up the leaves and to go for the fruit.
• 54:15
  Speaker 1: How wonderful it would be if today would be the
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: day for you to come to the cross, that Christ
• 54:23
  Speaker 1: might take over your life and change you from yourself
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: and an emphasis on yourself to Him and his glory.
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: How marvelous can happen today? Right now? Do you trust him?
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: Thank you Father for the privilege of walking with Christ
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: through these scenes. Can't imagine what it would be like
• 54:55
  Speaker 1: to stand beside him as he stood alone, or to
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: hear his voice as he spoke in such unmistakable, though
• 55:08
  Speaker 1: at times mysterious terms. Thank you for the promise that
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: we can lean on him and he will hear us,
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: and you will honor his name, because what we are
• 55:24
  Speaker 1: asking is your will. May we forever be on guard
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: against hypocrisy. May we be real, real to the core
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: so that you might speak to us and through us,
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: and we might represent you correctly to a watching world.
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: And for those who've never come to the Savior, I
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: pray that that will be a reality today, even today.
• 55:57
  Speaker 1: May the mind of Christ, our Savior, live in us,
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: from day to day, him exalting, self abasing. This is victory.
• 56:09
  Speaker 1: In his name we pray, and for his sake alone,
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: everyone said amen.
• 56:18
  Speaker 2: The preceding message when Jesus Lowered the Boom was copyrighted
• 56:23
  Speaker 2: in twenty seventeen and twenty twenty one, and the sound
• 56:27
  Speaker 2: recording was copyrighted in twenty twenty one by Charles R. Swindahl, Inc.
• 56:32
  Speaker 2: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
• 56:36
  Speaker 2: commercial use is strictly prohibited