Matthew 21:12-13 NASB

"¹² And Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. ¹³ And He *said to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.”"

Sometimes we like this passage because it shows a human reaction from Jesus

We realize he did get angry too

But have you ever stopped to think about what made him angry?

Why were there money changers in the temple in the first place?

Don’t forget about those selling doves as well, why were they there?

Way back in Exodus 30:11-16 God required a half shekel from His people

The temple tax was derived from this requirement for the upkeep of the temple

People outside of Jerusalem came to worship and had different money

It needed to be changed into the correct currency

So why is that a problem for Jesus?

The money changers were extorting money as they made the exchange.

Also, the dove sellers were a problem because of how they cheated the people

They inspected peoples sacrifice and often told them it was imperfect

Then the only option the people had was to buy another sacrifice

So again why is Jesus so angry?

^"13 And He *said to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.”

In the name of doing something right, the people were robbing the temple goers

Why am I sharing this message today?

The modern church is no different.

There are all sorts of false religious entities that use the name of Jesus to rob people

There are churches today that promote a feel good attitude instead of truth

This robs the people of the true messages God has for them

God’s house is supposed to be a house of prayer not an entertainment venue

Too many believers have been robbed of the real worship they need

That’s why even Christians are seeking ungodly things to fill their heart

When they attend worship, it is everything but worship

When we, as God’s children, are not willing to share the hard truth

Because it may be offensive to someone, we are robbing them of what they need

We advertise one thing, but then cheat people when we don’t share truth

Stop robbing people and start spending real worship with God.

This false religion has also made it hard for people to realize their need for salvation

The blunt question today is, are you a sinner?

Have you ever asked God to forgive your sin and gave your life to Him?

This is the only real reconciliation you can have. If you haven’t done that,

Every religious thing you do is not real, no matter what you have been told.

Are you ready to give up the fake and accept the real Truth today?

Completely giving yourself to Jesus is the only real way for Salvation

I often remind people that we live in the greatest country

We live in a country that gives freedom to it’s people

Unfortunately, some people confuse this freedom….

With real freedom

^"31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free."

Americans think we are free because we are Americans;

Sin doesn’t care about heritage or government

Sin enslaves every sinner.

Once sin is committed, the penalty is locked on

^"23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

^"6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me."

Jesus is the Truth, but sin is a liar!

Sin says you don’t need Jesus

We live in a world today that loves sin and even glamorizes it

Sin looks beautiful and is popular

Jesus has paid your debt allowing you to be free

But you still have to accept it

Are you ready to be free, free indeed?

President Biden this past week called for Unity

Many politicians have used the word without really meaning it

Regardless of your feelings about our new administration,

Unity is something we should strive for in this world

How is that really possible, you ask?

God is God of ALL

"4 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all."

Vs 1 says walk in a manner worthy of your calling

In other words, don’t do things to draw people away from God

What we need to do is show God’s love in all we do.

I know that sometimes we let the world’s ugliness get to us,

It is speaking of being tolerant of our human failures, tolerant in love

Meaning, we are to be united with God, and by doing so, walk worthy of Him

Knowing this, we must be unified in our walk with Christ, worthy of our calling

This unity, this oneness, means stop trying to be about you

Satan is the prince of this world, and, because of that, tribulation abounds

We get caught up in worldly things and act all kind of crazy

We don’t understand how some of the leaders of this country got there

Let me remind you that no one gains power without God giving it to them

"13 Every [a]person is to be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except [b]from God, and those which exist are established by God."

^"6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all."

God and Father of ALL

Over ALL, through ALL, and in ALL

ALL means…….

ALL

So, if God is God of ALL, and He told us to walk in a manner worthy of Him,

We need to do exactly what He called us to do

Live our life reflecting the love of Christ so others can see Jesus in us.

Are you ready to walk worthy for the God of ALL today?

Are you ready to be Unified in the Spirit?

Sin has been a problem since Adam and Eve

"4 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a male child with the help of the Lord.” ² And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground. ³ So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground. ⁴ Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering; ⁵ but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his face was gloomy. ⁶ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why is your face gloomy? ⁷ If you do well, will your face not be cheerful? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” ⁸ Cain talked to his brother Abel; and it happened that when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him."

Sin is crouching at the door

And it’s desire is for YOU!

This is true for everyone, even today.

How do we keep sin away?

Cain tried to do it half way and that is never good

Unfortunately, for many Believers today, we do the same thing

We know what we are supposed to do, but we don’t

Think about this if God was not pleased with Cain is He pleased with us?

Cain gave, but not of the first fruits

Today we call that deflection.

God asked Cain, "Why are you angry?"

Instead of changing our failures, we dwell and anger burns

When we dwell, we draw sin closer

You see, sin may be crouching at the door

But we are the ones that let it in!

Cain let his anger burn until he opened the door

This anger led to the sin of murder of his brother

You never know how fully the sin will consume you

Therefore do not open the door, don’t even dwell on it

In our world today it’s all about ME

Life was created to be all about Him!

When we don’t put God first, sin is crouching

But if we do well, we can keep sin away through God

Are you a sinner that needs a savior?

Do well and call on Christ today!

Today we gather together in a solemn assembly

Prayerfully, many of you have prepared by fasting and praying together

The purpose is to begin this New Year by re-committing ourselves to God

"You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory."

Paul says to Timothy, suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ

We are called to be soldiers of the cross; advancing God’s word across the world

Christ suffered for us and we are called to suffer for Him

The suffering we are talking about here is from the lost world who rejects Christ

Paul also compares this to being an athlete

In order to do that you must compete! You must get in the game!

Just as a farmer toils, he takes of the first fruits but does feed others

We, who are believers, are called by God to do His work

So that others may follow Christ

Are you a soldier for Christ? Are you in the fight? Are you plowing the fields?

Vs 10
Paul says I suffer so that others may receive salvation

Today, we have become so comfortable that we forget this

God wants us to be in the battle where, sometimes, we get hurt

But how can we win the war if we don’t ever get in the battle?

Vs 15 says study to show yourself approved

If we are not studying God’s word, how can we follow it and share it?

God is not interested in how well you can make something sound

You speak the truth and God will make sure it does not return void

We want to be useful to the Master

We desire to flee from sin and pursue righteousness

The only way that any of this is possible is if you give your heart to God