WHAT DISPLEASES JESUS

WHAT DISPLEASES JESUS
A sermon by Evangelist Greg Presley

TEXT: Mark 11:15-19

Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? But you have made it a robbers’ den’.”

INTRODUCTION:

The Choir has sung of Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to His seizure. What brought Jesus to Gethsemane? What sent Him to Calvary? Probably, more that any other one thing, His action of cleansing the Temple. The wrath of Jesus brought down upon Him the self-righteous wrath of the temple officials.

This display of wrath by our Saviour seems paradoxical to His normal behaviour. How do you reconcile this whip-slinging, angry revolutionary with man’s idea of “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild?”

What could have provoked Jesus to such anger? Surely He had encountered graft before; he had seen dishonesty and cheating. This time, though, it was different. Jesus was angry! Taking a small whip as a weapon, He overturned the tables and ran the money-changers out; He attacked the sellers of doves and stopped the through-traffic. This was radical action!

There is a message for the churches here; it is a message to you as church-members and it is a message to me as pastor. It is a message to church leaders about what displeases Jesus.

I. IT DISPLEASES JESUS WHEN GOD IS TAKEN OUT OF THE CENTRAL PLACE IN WORSHIP.

What should have been aids to worship had become a flourishing business that was the central preoccupations for the people involved. The priests, who should have been servants of the temple became its possessors making the temple and all it stood for to serve them. Thus they replaced God as the central figure.

I have seen this very thing take place in the church; I have seen the pastor become the central feature, I have seen an individual become the central figure; the organist or soloist. I have seen pieces of furniture made the center of attraction. In every instance I know Jesus was displeased.

II. IT DISPLEASES JESUS TO SEE GOD ROBBED OF THE REVERENCE DUE HIS PRESENCE.

The temple was being used as a short-cut into the city. The Mishnah lays it down as law: “A man may not enter into the temple mount with his staff or his sandal or his wallet, or with the dust upon his feet, nor may he make of it a short by-path.”

The church is a short-cut today for many to fulfil their ambitions.
There are those who come to church because they think it will enhance their social prestige; there are others who think it will increase their business. Some come to impress others with their goodness, to show off their affluence, to be seen as someone to be looked up to. Church is not to be a short-cut to some personal goal, it is to glorify God .

Many think that going to church will give them happiness, and it can do that, if the motive is to glorify God and not oneself.

Some believe that the church is a short-cut to heaven. Jesus is the only way to heaven.

We must be reverent in God’s presence. To be irreverent is to displease Jesus.

III. IT DISPLEASES JESUS TO SEE GOD ROBBED OF HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE AS JUDGE OF ALL HIS PEOPLE.

The cleansing took place in the court of the gentiles. Between that court and the inner part of the temple hung this sign: “No stranger is to enter within the balustrade. Whoever is caught will be answerable for his death, which will ensue.”

Thus, certain of God’s children declared that the proper worship of Him is only for some people, and that the special people would decide who was worthy!

When Jesus rebuked them, he quoted Isaiah 56:6:

Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for ‘mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.’

The church was less than 50 years old when Paul had to write a letter admonishing the people not to be “respecters of persons.” Today the church is still in need of that admonition.

CONCLUSION:

Christ, if He should come to our church, might be angered. Oh, we don’t have the tables out selling doves or exchanging currency; we have, however, replaced God as the center of our worship. The preacher, the singer, the choir, the musicians, the liturgy, the order, the feeling—what is the central figure in your worship? Who is fit to worship with you in your church? Have we really opened the doors of our churches to all of God’s children? Have we distinguished among people according to their race or
social status? Are we judging who is worthy to come with us into the inner circle of the church?

Are we using the church or are we serving the church? These questions confront us: Is Jesus angry with us?

On "Separation of Church and State

While Church and State may be separate by law, the obligation of the Christian to be "like Christ" is a call that most of the world today considers hypocritical at best and obscene at worst. The Church today is dying because the world is waiting for Christians to act upon what they say they believe. That means putting the compassion for others ahead of themselves; it means clothing the naked, healing the sick, feeding the hungry and giving hope to the hopeless. This activity brought Christ into conflict with the powers of the Temple and Rome. They ultimately crucified him for it. In the political arena, Christians are called to espouse their ideology within the public arena so that the world sees Christ - not money, not race, not individualism, not anything but Christ. If we achieve that, we must be willing to be crucified with him also. Jesus was a threat to the Temple controlled by the politicians of Rome. The religious right has become the modern day Pharisees that Christians need to stand against like Jesus did. Equating a victory for those who are disenfranchised from basic health care with a defeat for Christians is very much like throwing moneychangers out of the temple when you look at it from that perspective.

The modern Christian is empowered by the right to "free Speech" but is usually afraid to voice the Gospel and its message that brings us into conflict with the status quo. When the "sons of God" act like the "Son of God" then we can move into the "Kingdom of God".

Overcoming the Pain of the Past.

By Earl G. Presley, A Voice for Today Ministries

Galatians 1:11-24
For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.

Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days; but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord's brother. In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!

Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; they only heard it said, "The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy." And they glorified God because of me.

Paul experienced a revelation of Jesus Christ while traveling on the road to Damascus. Paul's conversion is described in greater detail in Acts 9:1-31. Although Paul was highly trained in Judaism, he embraced a call to ministry to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:16).

It is important to note that Paul was, in many ways, isolated. He did not spend a great deal of time in the company of the apostles; in fact, he was practically unknown in the churches in Judea. What Paul learned was revealed to him by the Lord. This was due, in part, to the fact that he had a terrible reputation for persecuting Christians before his conversion (Galatians 1:23).

What's Your Story?

Paul's testimony appears repeatedly in the New Testament. Through it, we learn that testimony is an important part of Christian community.

Where have you come from;
Where are you going?
Who has accompanied you on the journey?
What is your call?
To whom are you called?

These were just a few of the questions answered by Paul's testimony.

What's your testimony? (And have you had an opportunity to share it?)


Overcoming the Pain of the Past.

Paul was haunted by his past. The Jews persecuted him as one who had wandered from the faith. At other times, the Christians shunned him because he once persecuted them. The records of Paul's conversion mentioned his checkered past frequently. The good news of Paul's story is not hard to find: Paul was not imprisoned by his past. He made no attempt to hide the evil things he had done in ignorance and unbelief. He always made sure that his audience knew that it was only the grace of God working in him, and not his own giftedness, that caused him to become one of the most influential men in the church of his era. He never took credit for the work of God.
Paul's ability to overcome is good news both for those who sin in secret as well as for those whose sins have been made public.

The way that Paul overcame his past is good news for all of us who have be deluded by “Religion” to persecute God. Paul was so convinced that his relationship with God through Christ had changed him that he was able to pen these words: "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NRSV)
Our testimony is as necessary as Paul’s.


I grew up in the Church.

My Mother was a devout Christian. My Father was a Baptist Minister. I went to church, sang in Sunbeams and Youth Choir and made a profession of faith at 9 and was baptized.

I saw a side of the “Church” that not everyone sees.

In the name of Justice and Christian Compassion my family suffered. At the hand of “Christian People” in our first Pastorate, the KKK burned a cross in the front yard of the Manse because the Church voted to seat African American visitors.

In St. Joseph, MO I learned that it was unacceptable for the Union people to teach Sunday School and be leaders in the Church. My Father was fired while away at Convention in Miami by a packed house of people who we had never met, but were “Members”.

I saw passive aggressive behavior first hand.

I watched my mother cry when we had to move and heirlooms were broken. I watched my father become broken both physically and mentally from a collapsed lung and Duodenal Ulcer caused by stress. My father told me once as we reminisced “It never occurred to me that me and Jesus couldn’t do anything”

When I was a teenager, my music skills gave me the opportunity to join my father in Full-time Evangelism. I learned how to share my testimony about Jesus without the inconsistency of the Church. I learned to not share the dissention, the backbiting, the bigotry, the exclusivity, the guilt and the negativity. I learned that Jesus’ Gospel and what I saw in the Church People I knew had very little to do with each other.

I met Dr. S.M.Lockeridge Pastor of 1st Bapt. Church, LA. He was an African-American educated in Fort Worth at Southwestern Seminary in the Basement, taught by professors on their own time. He said, “You can’t expect regenerate behavior from unregenerate People.”

When I was 22 I left the Church.

I didn’t set foot in a church for almost 5 years. But the Holy Spirit came to me and said “you can’t change it from the outside”. I returned and changed denominations to the Disciples of Christ because of their stated non-creed “No Creed but Jesus”.
I worked as a bi-vocational minister for 22 years, never allowing myself to be dependent upon a congregation for my livelihood. I was disobedient to my calling. I was deluded by “religion”. I still didn’t understand that it was about Jesus and me, not the “church”.

I now serve as Pastor of First Christian Church of Rockdale, TX. I try to hold up Jesus as the source of ministry, compassion, love, and justice. I have probably fallen short of my Lord’s expectations once again, but I know that my relationship with Christ is stronger, more vibrant and real than ever before.
My obedience has been reward enough for me. I see clearly the prize before me and the reasons why I haven’t attained it. I see even more clearly, like Paul, my shortcomings and my past baggage.

I see the miracles God has done in our congregation. I see a deacon, who came to know the Lord with a broken body from a car accident, who is now a spiritual leader of his family and this congregation. I see an elder that thought cancer would disfigure his face only to go to pre-op and the cancer was gone. I see a family who ask for prayer for one with cancer. She fought through Chemo and Radiation for months and then went to the Dr. and the Cancer was gone.

As the old hymn says, “This is my story, this is my song; Praising my Savior, all the daylong”

What is your testimony?
Can you tell it outside the context the Church?
Can you share it with a total stranger?
Can you show someone how to have a living, breathing relationship with the Son of God by the validity of your own relationship with Him?
Can you demonstrate how the love of God can forgive you and also give you the power to forgive those who offend you.
Can you share how the love of Christ can change all the struggles of life into the Beauty of Holiness?
Most importantly, do you have a Testimony? Are you Born Again, a new creation? Have you repented of the delusions of your religion that led you to persecute the Lord Jesus Christ by your actions and in-action, your keeping control of your life and possessions?

If you don’t have a testimony; If you don’t know this King of Glory; and you want to repent of the sin in your life and dedicate yourself to Jesus in such a way that He will be the most important relationship in your life; then I invite you to present yourself to him in prayer. Find a congregation of believers and present yourself as a new creature, repentant for the decisions you have made that grieved God. Begin a new life in Christ, a new creation in a new relationship.

A Pentecost Church

I am praying for Pentecost! Pentecost is not simply the church’s birthday; it is the church’s day of power. On Pentecost God came to a frightened and discouraged group of believers and delivered the power to live up to what Jesus did. God’s power is now the church’s power. God’s power to liberate, heal, and redeem is given to us so that we can faithfully fulfill the great commission. Pentecost delivers to the church what it needs to engage in the radical reign of God. Pentecost empowers God’s agenda.

It would appear that the church in the twenty-first century has lost its power to proclaim the reign of God. What has happened to our power? If Pentecost is the power source for faithful action and witness, why does the church seem so powerless when it comes to the poor, the captive, the dispossessed, and the imprisoned?

The loss of power has something to do with our tendency to “identify up” rather than to “reach down”? So much emphasis in contemporary religion is on success and prosperity. According to the leaders of the church growth movement, the faithful church is a growing church. A small church is a sign of an unfaithful church. The television preachers call us to prosperity and material gain, so that even being poor is a sign of God’s disfavor. To be faithful, one must be growing in prosperity, the signs of which have to do with consumption and ownership. Somehow the gospel in the United States has come to be identified with those who have rather than those who have not?

We have lost our power because we are identifying with “haves” and we turn our backs on the poor, the outcast, and the dispossessed? Pentecost power calls the church to difficult action and then gives power to proclaim the message of liberation. It provides the power to stay at the task and to develop communities of faith in the midst of the despair, inequity, injustice and of global terror.

I am praying for Pentecost! It is not so much about people speaking in “a strange tongue” as it is about believers getting power to be faithful. We don’t need power to identify with the rich and privileged. We don’t really need power unless we are standing at odds with the world as it is. If we were to put the “Have Nots” first, would we once again receive Pentecostal power?

I am praying for Pentecost! Maybe we do not desire such power or the consequences of Jesus’ teaching. I cannot help hoping that such power comes and we experience the power of God’s intervention in this congregation.

I am praying for Pentecost! What is a Pentecost Church?
* A Pentecost church will reach out to people of every language and tongue.
* A Pentecost church will call young and old, women and men to prophesy and proclaim Jesus as Lord.
* A Pentecost church will preach and baptize, but the story always ends too soon if a Pentecost church isn't concerned about economics, justice, and the downtrodden.

Derived from sources at http://www.gbod.org/site/c.nhLRJ2PMKsG/b.3784805/k.D1A1/Worship.htm

Eternal Surprise

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.
There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How did all these sinners get up here?
God must have made a mistake.
'And why is everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.'
'Hush, child,' He said,'they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you.'

JUDGE NOT!!

Remember...Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Every saint has a PAST...
Every sinner has a FUTURE!

Anonymous Source

God Is Love

God is love; We must love
God is Peace; We must be peaceful
God is caring; We must care
God loves the world He created; We must love the world
God loves us; We must love God and ourselves
God is present with us; We must be his presence in the world.

What is Success in Ministry?

Luke 4:25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land;

4:26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.

4:27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."

Ever consider how many failures there are in scripture. Just like today, we only remember the winners. Not many can tell you who lost the past 3 Superbowls, or which horse came in second in the Derby. Jesus calls attention in his home town of Nazareth to those who are not saved in the famous stories. They were very upset that they might be the ones who would refuse to hear God's message or see that he was the Messiah. It begs the question, how many are lost due to the lack of a prophet and how many prophets preach without response. How many Moses refused to go back to Egypt? How many Hoseas just got a divorce. How many Ninivehs didn't respond to their Jonah. Consider Sodom and Lot! The scripture is full of success stories and only John the Baptist and Stephen's martyrdom are well recorded. The Romans destroyed the Essene Community which was the birthplace of the Christian and Rabbinical movements.

Jesus Gospel of Love and Peace is not always accepted. Look what the Temple powers did to him! A true commitment ot the God of Love and total submission to the Lordship of Christ is not a guaranty of success as we imagine it from the stories recorded throughout history. You are more likely to suffer for the Gospel than to prosper from it. It is not a free ride to prosperity. Total submission to Christ does have the promise of "the peace that passes all understanding" which, as my father the evangelist used to say - "enables one to sing 'Amazing Grace' while the lion eats your leg off". It is enough for me.

Continuing in Christ's Service - Even when no one will listen,
Earl G. Presley, A Voice For Today