Is God always happy when the church doors are open? Is everything that passes for worship acceptable? Consider these two examples of unacceptable worship. Uzzah (1 Sam 6). King David placed the ark on an ox-drawn cart. The brothers Uzzah and Ahio led the cart. The oxen stumbled. Uzza reached out to steady the ark, and God struck Uzza dead! Uzzah wanted to help God, Uzzah's way. God didn't need Uzzah's help, and said Uzzah's worship was irreverent. Or Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5). The couple sold a piece of property. They brought part of the proceeds to church and put the money in the offering plate. So far, so good. But they told everyone they were giving all of the proceeds. God struck Ananias and Sapphira dead. Their worship was dishonest.
Don't get me wrong, God loves and looks for your worship, but you have to worship God, God's way. If you want to make God mad, try to worship Him your way, instead of His!
This principle sets the stage for Jesus' second sign of His authority and deity, His first temple purging. There was some serious bad worship going on in the temple precincts! Jesus' fixed that in a shocking demonstration of His divine authority and then provided a camouflaged preview of His resurrection. It was a sign,the second sign in John's gospel (the first was at that wedding in Cana). In Jerusalem, by purging the temple and pushing back on the Sanhedrin, Jesus' deity was demonstrated in a Passover drama, in four acts: 1. Act 1 – A problem Passover (vv.13-14). 2. Act 2 – A passionate purging (vv.15-17). 3. Act 3 – A puzzling prophecy (vv.18-22). 4. Act 4 – A passing profession (vv.23-25).
Featuring a sermon puts it on the front page of the site and is the most effective way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands including all mobile platforms + newsletter.
Text-Featuring a sermon is a less expensive way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands on the right bar with optional newsletter inclusion. As low as $30/day.
