So you might be thinking, how is this Lenten journey supposed to be about joy when you keep talking about how messed up the church is? The answer is the church is messed up far worse than most know but this is where the joy comes in as God said he would redeem us from this desolation, so we wait. Psalm 130:5 “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. 6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. 7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. 8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.” Psalm 40:1 “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. 4 Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.”
The church is filled with the worship of false gods and no I am not talking about cults like the mormons and jehovah’s witnesses, as they are not the church. I am talking about those who say they follow Jesus Christ but do not adhere to His words. As Paul said 1 Corinthians 15:2 “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” Since the church has not held on and turned away to go their own way, the church believes in vain. This is why I said turn back to God don’t turn to the church down the street. This means you go straight to the source which is God’s word and then pray God will join you together with others whom God has moved their hearts. This is called the remnant, those who follow God’s word wholeheartedly. Ezra 1:1 “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: 2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4 And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.”
The remnant is about to return to the land. Jeremiah 30:3 “The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.” Jeremiah 24:6 “My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” Yes all around you may look like chaos but Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 4:25 “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”
I know that it is not often said to turn away from the church by someone who is a pastor but if the ways are wicked then turn away. It actually wasn’t me who said that, it was God. He said in 2 Chronicles 7:13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. 17 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’ 19 “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”
Our wicked ways are the ways of the church and the church has been uprooted. We must turn away and repent by confessing the sin of going our own way. Solomon gives us direction as to what we are to do. 1 Kings 8:46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; 47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; 48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; 49 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. 50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy; 51 for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace. 52 “May your eyes be open to your servant’s plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you.”
So we plead to God that He will hear our cry yet most will not plead as they think nothing is wrong. They will just keep being the church and continue in their own direction that leads to death. The church has now been exposed as powerless before the nations. The last couple of days I have given you examples of how the church has been taken captive. Over the years we have talked about false teaching and doctrines of demons such as dispensationalism. We have talked about other gospels that are throughout the church. We have talked about denominations and church growth gurus and on and on the list can go. Today I want to talk about the church as a den of robbers. Yes the first thing people think from outside the church when they talk about the church, well maybe the second is money. It’s close but the first would be hypocrisy. During this time of shutdown, churches are making sure that you know you can still give! That’s a blog for another day.
Jeremiah was given this message for the people. Please understand he is talking to the church here also, not just the temple. The church is supposed to be the body of Christ, the temple of God. Jeremiah 7:1 “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message: “‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. 9 “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.” See this is the opposite message the people are hearing in church these days. Their message is one of peace when it should be repentance. Jeremiah 6:13 “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. 14 They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” Jeremiah 5:31 “The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?”
Jeremiah goes on to say Jeremiah 7:23 “I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’ 27 “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.” Stephen said in Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
Thinking about the church as a den of robbers may set you back a bit, but it is important to understand this so you can repent. Isaiah even says it stronger. Isaiah 1:21 “See how the faithful city has become a prostitute! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her— but now murderers! 22 Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. 23 Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!”
Matthew 21:12 “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it ‘a den of robbers. 14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.” This is happening throughout the church. Church as a marketplace is good business these days but as Paul said 2 Corinthians 2:17 “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.” The church is full of peddlers. Years ago Jim Cymbala preached a message at a conference called “My House Shall be Called a House of Prayer.” My House Shall Be Called A House of Prayer has become one of Pastor Cymbala's most memorable messages on the importance and power of prayer. Pastor Cymbala preached this message at the Praise Gathering, Indianapolis in 1994. Today it still speaks and exhorts people everywhere to "First of all, pray." He said “You see, these people were in the temple but they didn't have the Spirit of the temple. They were supposed to be there to assist people to worship and to come into God's presence. They were there but they were out of sync with the whole purpose that God had for the place called the house of the Lord. They were doing it, they were doing their job, but they were making big time money and they were greedy and they had brought a secular spirit into a sacred place. They were business men. They were crass business men, coming into something that God said “my house should be called a house of prayer… you made it a den of thieves...you're getting over on the people...out with you!” Awesome thought.” He then said “And in a day when Gospel music, Gospel preaching and Gospel work can become so mechanical or oriented toward me, myself and I, it reminds all of us as today, here at the Praise Gathering, that as we go back to our separate duties that we have to do God's work with God's spirit.” “ But that's not my main point this morning. But that's a well taken point for all of us. Not only on the crass business side of money ...because its so easy to make Gospel work just another way to make a living. That's what these people were doing. They weren't interested in people getting in contact with God they were making a living out of it. But, as we do God's work we must not rob the glory that is only due to Him. Whatever we do and whatever we say, the Lord wants to remind us through this, that all the glory and all the honor must go to Jesus Christ.” This sermon went viral but let me just make a point. Lets say I wanted to buy this sermon. So I Google the title “My house shall be called a house of prayer” Jim Cymbal and 12600 sites come up but the 5th one down, after four YouTube videos takes to me to My House Shall Be Called a House of Prayer (DVD) –store.brooklyntabernacle.org So then you go to the store and you can buy everything from a pen, to books, to music and music tracks, to DVD’s. When you go to the book section there are books by Jim Cymbala and one by his wife but in the same section there is a bible heading with no listings. That could be a glitch or it says something significant. The sermon was about the church being a house of prayer but the context of the passage was about the church as a marketplace. John 2:13 “When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
Yes there are many doing good work but is there the same power as described in the New Testament. There are charities around the world doing better work than the church. There are churches like the Salvation Army etc. who do great work but is there the authority and power to go out in the name of Jesus and heal the sick and cast out demons and see things only God could do. As you know by now this lack of true power in the church has been uncovered. Everyone is selling something these days even the church. Everyone wants your support and your money so they can do their thing. You tubers want you to pay for their lives of pleasure and the church wants you to pay for their buildings, houses salary planes etc; Give! Give! Give! Wake up church! Jeremiah 2:26 “As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the people of Israel are disgraced— they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. 27 They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ 28 Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns. 29 “Why do you bring charges against me? You have all rebelled against me,” declares the Lord. 30 “In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravenous lion. 31 “You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord: “Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to you no more’? 32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number. 33 How skilled you are at pursuing love! Even the worst of women can learn from your ways. 34 On your clothes is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this 35 you say, ‘I am innocent; he is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’” Jeremiah 8:6 “I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle.”
If we want to be free from our captivity and desolation and have joy as Psalms tells us in Psalm 126:1 “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy,” then we must return to the Lord so that He will return to us. Isaiah went on to say Isaiah 1:16 “Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. 17 Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. 18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes and avenge myself on my enemies. 25 I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. 26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old, your rulers as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.” 27 Zion will be delivered with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness. 28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the Lord will perish. 29 “You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen. 30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water. 31 The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the fire.”
