People get angry about unimportant things.
The things we get angry about! People get a belly full of fire if the Church isn't meeting their needs, if there is a stewardship campaign and the Church asks for money, if they didn't like the sermon or don't like the preacher, and if the music is too loud or we don't play the "right songs" during communion.
Lara's dad was doing a church consultation recently. As he sat down in the back row, a lady quietly sat down in front of him. A few moments later, someone turned to her and scowled, "Someone's in your seat." People get angry if you pick your seat in "their" spot.
What does God see?
What all of us should be concerned about is not what makes other people angry, but what makes God angry. It's not what other people see, but what God sees.
One of the most eerie verses in the gospel of Mark is Mark 11:11 (NIV). "Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve." Here is what I want to know. What did Jesus see that night as he looked around?
Imagine if Jesus came to Lakeside and looked around at everything. What would he notice? What would please him? What would make him angry? What would we be proud of for him to see? What would we be ashamed of? What would we change if we knew he was coming here?
Imagine if Jesus comes to your home and looks around at everything. He gets on your computer and checks your search history. He opens your refrigerator. He studies your checkbook register and credit card statements. He looks over your DVDs and CDs. He notices your magazine subscriptions. He finds what you've hidden in your dresser, kitchen cabinets, or garage. He reads all of your text messages. He listens to the way you talk.
God's eye is always upon us! Hebrews 4:13 (NIV) says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Isn't it important to you what God sees in your life? Shouldn't you deal with those things?
What is God looking for?
Jesus looks at everything, and then returns to Bethany for the night. Mark 11:12-14 (NIV) continues the account. "The next day as they were leaving Bethany (heading toward Jerusalem), Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again.' And his disciples heard him say it."
At first glance, Jesus seems to be taking his anger out on an innocent fig tree. But this fig tree is symbolic of all Israel. On the surface, Israel appeared to be this vibrant, thriving community, that was devoted to God! But when Jesus pulled back the leaves and looked for true fruit, (when Jesus entered the temple the night before and took a closer look at everything), there was no fruit.
We should pay very close attention to Mark 11:12 where it says that Jesus was hungry. Our God is a hungry God! He is famished. He is always looking for real fruit in our lives and in our church. And if he doesn't find that fruit in our lives, we're in real trouble. Let me explain further.
Jesus is looking for the true fruit in our lives.
Remember what John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:8 (NIV)? "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." Remember what Jesus said in John 15:8 (NIV)? "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." Or what about Paul's words in Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)? "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." And let's not forget Paul's statement in Colossians 1:6 (NIV) where he says, "All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth."
How serious is Jesus about finding fruit in our lives? If his cursing of the fig tree doesn't get our attention, perhaps Jesus' words in Matthew 7:19-20 (NIV) will do the trick. "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."
What kind of fruit is God looking for?
Mark 11:15-17 (NIV) says, "On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, 'Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.' "
Jesus leveled two charges at the people. The first charge is quoted out of Isaiah 56:7 (NIV) where Jesus says, "...my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." In our churches we are guilty of the exact same thing the Jewish authorities were guilty of. Our tendency is to gather only with birds of the same feather. Church is about finding people who are like me. It is about worshipping with and serving people I like-- and then excluding everyone else.
God is angered when we are not inclusive.
What makes God angry? It's not being inclusive! It's not welcoming to the table of fellowship aliens, strangers, orphans, widows, those who are sick, unhealthy, mentally ill, handicapped, incarcerated, or struggling with addictions. It's when our attitude toward those far from God is, "You don't belong here. God's grace is amazing for me, but not amazing enough to save you."
If the Gospel of Mark has been about anything, it's been about welcoming sinners and tax collectors to participate in God's grace. Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors. He welcomed those with diseases, leprosy, paralysis, and demon possession to taste the power of his kingdom. What angers Jesus is when we make the table of fellowship smaller. It's when we become an obstacle to other people receiving grace, when we stop believing in the power of prayer to move mountains and redeem those who far from God. It's when we stop living in grace, but instead live in discord.
Listen to few verses in Isaiah 56:3-8 (NIV). "Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, 'The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.' And let not any eunuch complain, 'I am only a dry tree.' For this is what the LORD says: 'To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant-- to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant-- these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. The Sovereign LORD declares-- he who gathers the exiles of Israel: 'I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.' "
God is angered when we use ministry as a self-serving enterprise.
Jesus' second charge in Mark 11:17 is quoted out of Jeremiah 7:11 (NIV) where the Lord says, "Has this house (the temple), which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?" This is an extremely serious charge. Let's dissect this charge. A den is quite simply a hideout, a cave, a lair, a nest, or a safe place for something dark and sinister.
And look what word Jesus uses in Mark 11:17 (NIV). He uses the word robbers. The temple has become a getaway, a den of robbers. A police friend of mine explained to me that a robbery is when you steal something from someone who is present. A theft is when you steal something from someone who is absent.
What makes God angry? It's when we turn ministry into a self-serving enterprise. The merchants were robbing worshippers by overcharging them for doves and other items which were required by the law for sacrifice. The money-changers were robbing pilgrims by charging them exorbitant rates for currency exchange. The merchandisers saw the temple as the perfect opportunity to make money off people. What makes matters worse is that the whole scam was being orchestrated in broad daylight by the priestly aristocracy.
What a terrible thing when the Church becomes a place where we serve ourselves, serve our desires, generate wealth, sell books, sell CDs, sell our professional services, seek fame and attention, advance our cause, and take advantage of the weak. Church needs to be a place of safety and trust, where people can come and have their lives restored to God, without being taken advantage of in the process! This is what Jeremiah 7:2-11 (NIV) is all about!
" 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. 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. 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!' If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, 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, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 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? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching!' declares the LORD."
What kind of house of prayer?
Mark 11:18-25 (NIV) talks about the house of prayer that Jesus wants his Church to become. "The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill Jesus, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. When evening came, they went out of the city. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!' 'Have faith in God,' Jesus answered. 'I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.' "
It's interesting that after cleaning house, Jesus comes back to prayer. What should we be praying about? I was drawn to Jesus' statement in Mark 11:25 (NIV). "...if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to proclaim salvation to every tongue, tribe, and nation. He came for the Jew, the Gentile, the slave and the free, and for male and female. He came for the sinner and tax collector, the alien and the stranger, the sick, and the demon-possessed. We must pray that we can become a conduit of God's grace to others, and not an obstacle.
Christ's shed blood isn't just for people like us, or for people we like. It's even for our enemies. God freely offers his grace to all who would believe on him. May we pray accordingly!