My House Shall Be Called The House of Prayer

Q: What does the Bible say about prayer in the house of God?

The Bible emphasizes that God's house is meant to be a house of prayer, highlighting its importance in worship and communion with Him. In Matthew 21:13, Jesus states, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.' This signifies that the primary purpose of the temple, and by extension the church, is to serve as a place of worship and prayer. Worship should be centered on God, aiming for genuine communion with Him rather than human-centered rituals or commercial interests. It emphasizes that prayer is a crucial aspect of biblical worship, enabling believers to connect with God and seek His will in their lives.

Q: How do we know Jesus' cleansing of the temple is significant?

Jesus' cleansing of the temple signifies His authority over false religion and His desire for sincere worship in God’s house. The cleansing of the temple is significant as it reveals Jesus' zeal for true worship and His authority to confront hypocrisy. He overthrew money changers and those selling doves, condemning the commercialization of sacred space. This act underscores that worship is to be free from self-serving interests and must focus on God alone. Moreover, it illustrates God's judgment on those who misuse religious practice for personal gain, offering a sobering reminder of the purity required in our approach to worship.

Q: Why is faith important in prayer according to the Bible?

Faith is critical in prayer because it is the means through which we trust and seek God's will, believing He will answer us. In Matthew 21:21, Jesus teaches that faith without doubt is crucial for effective prayer. He states that if His followers have faith, they can move mountains, which symbolizes overcoming significant obstacles through their trust in God. True prayer is not merely about asking for our desires but involves trusting in God's will and purposes. Through faith, believers submit themselves to God's sovereignty and seek His glory, understanding that He hears and responds to genuine prayer offered in faith.

together Matthew chapter 21 verses 12 through 22. Matthew 21 verses 12 through 22. Jesus went into the temple of God and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple. and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer.

But you have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the son of David, they were sore displeased. And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea, have ye never read out of the mouth of babes and sucklings? Thou hast perfected praise.

And he left them. and went out of the city into Bethany, and he lodged there. Now in the morning, as he returned into the city, he hungered, and when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it and found nothing thereon but leaves only, and said unto it, let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. and presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, how soon is the fig tree withered away? And Jesus said unto them, verily I say unto you, if you have faith and doubt not, you shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, But also if you shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done.

And all things whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive. Now in this passage that we've just read, We have two of the most remarkable events in our Lord's earthly ministry. They are two of the most remarkable events in his earthly ministry because normally in the normal course of things and our Lord's general conduct throughout his earthly ministry, whatever he did, he displayed grace and kindness and love and mercy. His miracles were miracles of goodness and mercy. In fact, the miracle here described of the cursing of the fig tree and it's being withered up is the only miracle of judgment that our Lord has ever said to have performed during his earthly ministry.

So these are remarkable things in that both the cleansing of the temple And in the cursing of the fig tree, our Lord Jesus displays himself as a God of judgment and of wrath, as well as a God of grace, love, mercy, and goodness. Now, our Lord Jesus came in this world to establish righteousness. He came to redeem and save his people, but he also came to establish judgment in the earth. And so now, just before he goes up to Calvary to suffer and die for us, He curses the fig tree and he cast out the money changers out of the temple. He cleanses his father's house and then he curses the fig tree.

Now those two events we will look at together this evening as being highly significant, figurative, symbolical, teaching us spiritual lessons, lessons that we ought to lay to heart as we read these verses and consider these things. In the midst of wrath, however, Our Lord Jesus remembers mercy.

I find it striking that just after we were told that he drove out the money changers and those that bought and sold in the temple and those that sold doves, In verse 14, we read, and the blind and the lame came to him in the temple. He's just driven everybody else out, but the blind and the lame, those who need him, know full well that they have access to him, and so our Lord is merciful and gracious in that as these come to him, he heals their needy bodies and their needy souls. Our Lord Jesus then left the caviling scribes, but he went to his friends in Bethany. He overthrew the money changers and threw them out of the temple, and yet he healed the needy.

He refused to honor the services of the proud scribes and Pharisees, and yet he accepted the praise of these children as they sung his praise in the temple. He who is our God, he who is our Savior, is a God of wrath, and a God of mercy. He is a just God and he is a savior. He is one who will execute judgment and yet he is good and merciful. He is furious in wrath so that none can stand before his wrath and yet he's glorious in goodness and grace so that he is merciful and gracious to the soul that seeks him. to the hungry and to the needy who come to him.

As we go through these verses then, I want to call your attention to seven things that are clearly set before us by the Holy Spirit in these verses of inspiration. These things are recorded for our learning and admonition, for our instruction, for our comfort, and for our edification in the faith.

First, in verses 12 and 13, we read of the cleansing of the temple. Hold your fingers here and turn over to John's gospel Chapter 2. Our Lord is concluding his ministry in much the same way as he began it. John chapter 2 is the beginning of our Lord's public ministry. And in verses 14 and 15, we read how that he did the very same thing in the beginning of his ministry.

At the Jews Passover, he came to the temple. and found in the temple, in verse 14, those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and changes of money sitting. And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them out of the temple and the sheep and the oxen, he poured out the changers' money and overthrew their tables. And he said to them that sold doves, take these things hence and make not my father's house a house of merchandise. And folks just stood by and watched. I can imagine him standing by just in astonishment, standing by aghast that he would do such a thing, but nobody lifted a finger to stop him.

During those days, the days of our Lord's earthly ministry, the days when he first came into this world and the days in which he lived in this world, The temple of God, the priesthood, and all the ordinances of divine public worship as they were prescribed in the Old Testament had degenerated to nothing but empty, meaningless ritualism. The scribes, the Pharisees, the chief priests, those who were the religious leaders of the age were self-serving, money-grubbing men who used religion, who used the name of God, and who used man's religious nature to enrich themselves either monetarily or powerfully and politically in the day and age in which they lived. If you can't see a comparison between that and the religion of our day, you're blind. You're just blind.

These folks had taken the things of God and they had made them merely to be mechanics. They had made them to be nothing but means by which they served themselves and used their brethren. They served their own desires and used men as they came and pretended to worship God. what men called the work of the ministry and the work of God, these men used as self-serving professionals simply to do themselves good and to do their own pleasure. When our Lord came to the temple, He found that house that was built for prayer, built for the worship of God, that place where God showed forth His glory, that place where the law of God was enshrined within the holy of holies and there was held within the mercy seat in the ark of the covenant, in that place where the law of God was read and recited and expounded. In that place where men and women came to learn the way of access to God, men had taken all the things of God and used them for nothing but religious merchandise. They were playing games in the place of sacrifice. in the place where God's name was established, in the place where God's honor was to be upheld and maintained.

Everything was out of order. Our Lord saw it all and he saw it with utter indignation. Utter indignation. I don't know that I know anything at all about righteous indignation. Now, there's too much flesh in me. When I get indignant, even in a righteous cause, it's not very righteous. But our Lord's indignation was thoroughly righteous indignation. He saw what was going on in the temple, and he was enraged by it. As a man, he was absolutely enraged by it, so much so that he took a whip and drove out the people from his temple. Now, you try to get a picture of what he saw.

Here is a huge edifice in Jerusalem. Not a little church building like ours. A huge, gorgeous, well-established, well-decorated temple, established so that everything in the temple, in its ornate precision, is a picture of redemption and grace by Christ Jesus.

And these fellows are sitting in the outer court, in the Gentile court, selling doves, and selling goats and selling oxen. And you can imagine the states that got the stables established in the house of God. And just in case other folks came in from outside the country, and certainly they would, there were folks sitting there who were exchangers of currency, making a profit on God.

They were there for the sacrifices. They were there for the great festivities of the Jewish Passover. And they had come from all around the world to this place in Jerusalem, the center of worship, but they had come there to serve themselves, not to worship God. They had come there in the name of God. They had come there on this high, holy day, established by God, representing redemption and grace by Christ Jesus. But they came there in the name of God to fill their pockets.

And our Lord was furious. He was furious. Now, here is a display of his holy sovereignty and power in judgment. As you read this passage and read the others like it, through the gospel narratives, I've already told you, no one offered resistance. I find that striking.

No one lifted a hand to stop him. The scribes, the Pharisees, the chief priests, no one offered any resistance against him because this is a display of his sovereignty as God Almighty in judgment. And I'm telling you, when he comes to judge the wicked, None shall stand against him. None shall resist his power. He will judge all his enemies with the ease of total sovereignty.

Who shall stand in his wrath? Who shall stand before his judgment? He comes to thoroughly purge his floor and purge it he will. Malachi raises a question back in Malachi chapter three and verse two. Men would be well to consider. they would be very wise to consider. Who may abide the day of his coming? Who will stand when he appeareth?

For he is like a refiner's fire and like a fuller's soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. He's coming in judgment. And you and I cannot stand before the Holy Lord God. You and I, in ourselves, in our own nature, with the works of our hands, cannot abide his wrath and his judgment. He will cause the wicked to cease from before him and punish them in everlasting wrath and in his fury.

There is a day coming when the Son of God will purge and cleanse his church and his temple, and he will do it thoroughly. As he drove out the pretentious worshipers, as he drove out these religious hypocrites, as he drove out these religionists who were making themselves something as prophet in the service of God, so the Lord Jesus will drive out the chaff from his field. He will drive out the false professor from his church. He will thoroughly purge his floor. He will burn up the wood, the hay, and the stubble of all false religion, even within his professed church.

Now learn this. The church of God, the assembly of God's saints in public worship, is a place of worship. He quotes here from Isaiah 56 in verse 7 and says, my house shall be called a house of prayer, a house of prayer. And yet every time we read of our Lord Jesus being in the synagogue or in the temple, he did more than pray. So prayer is put for the whole of divine worship. He's telling us the house of God, the gathering of God's saints, not this physical building, not this physical edifice, but the gathering of God's saints, the house of the living God is a place where God Almighty has established his worship.

Now I can't stress this sufficiently enough in our day. We ridicule, we laugh at the silliness that goes on in the name of religion. You go to churches these days and fools stand around with robes on and burn candles and chant nonsense. You go to churches and they have skits and plays and they have entertainment, they have concerts, they have everything under the sun except the worship of God. Everything except the preaching of the gospel. They nuts have a dedication service for the consecration of their pets. And folks come in from the woods, just pack them in. Have nonsense going on and you pack the pews.

But in the church of this day, in the church of this age, the last thing on this earth you can expect is to go somewhere and hear the gospel of God's grace preached, the word of God honored, and the praise of Jesus Christ extolled. That's the last thing I expect if I happen to go into a church I know nothing about. The worship of God is not something that we develop. and the function of God's house and God's church. It's not something we sit down as a committee and say, now, this is what we're going to do in church Sunday.

It's not something we say, will this work? Will this get the crowd? Will this cause the people to come in? God Almighty has prescribed His worship very clearly, and in the worship of God, it's of absolute essential necessity that we follow God's order in all things. Well, as long as your heart's in the right place, it's all right. No, it's not. No, it's not.

When David brought the ark of God up to Jerusalem, he was leaping and dancing before the ark of God. Boy, they were having a good time, all of Israel coming up, and they had a parade. I mean, they had a parade, impressive parade. And as they were crossing the ravine, the ark kind of teetered, that cart. started to slip and Uzzah reached to support him.

He just, all he's going to do is keep the Ark of God from dropping in the mud. That's a good thing. That's a good, you wouldn't want the Ark of God dropping in the mud, would you? Wait a minute, that Ark is a picture of redemption. That art's a picture of salvation by grace. That art's a picture of our redemption by the blood of Christ. The means by which sinful men are brought into acceptance with God Almighty and for a man to put his hand to it means God needs your help.

It's a total denial of the gospel. Uzzah reaches out to steady the ark and God killed him. God killed him. Because God said a man can't touch a thing. A man can't touch a thing. It's not right for a man to touch it. When the priests carry it, they carry it on staves on their shoulders and they go sacrificing before it. And they carry it just exactly like God says. David put this thing down, he went home and he said, now fellas, the Lord brought this breach on us because we have not worshiped him after the due order. We sought him not after the due order. You can read it for yourself in 1 Chronicles 15, 13. Now you may think sometimes your pastor's an old fuddy-duddy and he's old stick in the bud.

You know, we don't have any fun at church. I hope you enjoy the worship of God and the preaching of the gospel. But I'm telling you, this is not an entertainment hall. This is not to be, A place where men and women are brought together to be entertained on their way to hell. But rather, this is a place where Jesus Christ promises to meet needy sinners who come in his name. Oh, son of God, come meet us here today.

And nothing else matters. Nothing else matters. Have you come here tonight? Now, listen to me. Have you come here tonight from your busy day of work and your busy day of care and your busy day of trouble? Have you come here tonight just to fill in a little time in the church house or have you come here seeking the Son of God? He promised if you came seeking Him, you'd find Him. What does that say?

This is the place of worship. That is, it is a place for preaching. Preaching. You can't worship God in the public assembly of worship without preaching. I know folks say, well, we're just going to have a singing service tonight. That means you're getting together to entertain yourselves. Well, we're going to have testimony service tonight. That means you're getting together to brag on yourselves.

But you're hearing tonight we're having a preaching service. where the gospel's preached, where the word of God is expounded and men and women are taught the way of the Lord according to the authority of the Lord, I hope in the power of the Lord. We come together to sing God's praise. These men who lead us in singing, those who sing specials and lead us in the worship of God in doing so, sing the praise of God.

Our hymn books, About all modern hymn books, there are, I don't know of any exceptions. Somebody may know some I don't know about, but I don't know of any exceptions. Most of our hymn books are stuffed full of songs about me, me, mine, your family, my family, mama, daddy, grandma, our emotions, our experiences, what I'm gonna do, how I love Jesus, how I trust Jesus, how I work for Jesus, what I'm gonna do for Jesus. We ought to be singing. the praise of God Almighty in his redemptive glory, in his sovereign power, in his providential rule, in his excellence and goodness. That's what singing is, as far as the singing of praise is concerned.

We come together to read the word. Blessed is he that readeth and understandeth the words of the prophecy of this book. I encourage you men again, when you read the scriptures, I try to give you plenty of notice so that you can pick out a passage. But what Bob read for us, Romans 4 and 5, oh, what an instruction. If you don't hear what I say, hear what God says, hear his word.

Go over the passage. Find a passage that speaks to your heart's need. And during the reading of the word, have as little comment as possible. And read the word with distinction and with clarity. Let's just hear God speak. Hear God speak. And you lead the congregation in prayer.

Two things. As you endeavor to lead the congregation in prayer, that's the hardest thing I know of. about public worship. It really is the most difficult thing I know of. I remember Bobby Estes telling me, I see a little smile on his face. When he was in false religion, he said, I didn't have any trouble praying any time. Here, I can hardly figure out what to say.

Leading the congregation in prayer is serious business. You're here leading God's saints to his throne. So be careful. that you seek those things that are appropriate to be sought in the prayer of God's saints in public. Call on God. Seek his grace, seek his glory, and speak distinctly.

I don't know why it is, I know we feel humbled, we feel overawed with the sense of calling on God, but when you're leading the church in prayer, Don't mutter, don't mutter. Don't stand up here and yell at God, but speak distinctly enough so that we can hear, so that folks hear what's being said because you're leading God's saints in prayer. Now, here's where we come in. As I lead the congregation in prayer, or one of these other men leads the congregation in prayer, see that you lift your hearts to God. That's what the public prayer's for. It's not for one man stand up here and pray for a minute or five minutes. It's for the congregation collectively to seek the will of God, the glory of God, the interest of God's kingdom, the benefit of God's people.

And when you hear the word, listen, whatever it takes for you to hear and try to retain the message that's brought, Do it, whatever it takes. If it means getting the tapes and listening to them 25 times, if it means taking notes, if it means just kind of pinching yourself once in a while to stay awake, if it means going home, getting a nap before you come, whatever it takes to hear the word of God, make it your business. God, I'm going to your house. And if the pastor has sought anything from you, if he's got a word from you, help me now, I want to hear it. I want to hear your word. We perform our ordinances of public worship exactly, exactly the way our Lord performed them.

The reason we don't practice baptism by sprinkling is because baptism doesn't mean sprinkle, it means dip. It means immerse. And we immerse folks because that's the only way you can bury them. And it's the only way it was done in the New Testament. That's the reason we do it. We observe the Lord's table with wine and unleavened bread because that represents the body and blood of the Son of God. And we're going to continue doing it that way. Well, people don't like that. Folks won't come. I don't want this to sound the wrong way, but our object is not to get folks to come.

Our object is to help folks who are here and do so in a way that glorifies God. Our object is the glory of God, the worship of God. And if we're going to forget God's word, if we're going to forget God's worship, if we're going to forget that which God prescribes in worship, we may as well quit pretending to worship him. Worship must be done according to God's prescribed order.

Our Lord says here, you made my father's house a den of thieves. Oh, God help this generation. The least likely place in this world for men and women to hear anything concerning the character and glory of God Almighty is in the modern church of 20th century America. Least likely place in the world. Folks say, well, you got to go to church somewhere.

No, don't. Don't. Don't go. Don't go unless God's worshiped. Don't go unless the gospel's preached. When the apostle talks about not forsaking the assembly of yourselves together, he's not talking about going to church down to where folks worship Satan. He's not talking about synagogues of Satan. He's not talking about places where real worship is performed. He's talking about dabbing with God's saints. Now, when you gather with God's saints, you have opportunity to gather with God's saints. Oh, don't you miss that. Don't miss that. Don't forsake that. For there, God meets together with his people. Well, I can say a lot more, but we'll go on.

Look at verse 14. Our Lord drove out the money changers. There's the cleansing of the temple. Now look at his compassion. In verse 14, The Holy Spirit gives us this incidental display of the compassion of our Savior. And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. In wrath, He remembers mercy. Don't imagine that the Lord Jesus Christ is not merciful because He's just and true. Not at all. He's full of compassion to needy souls. He simply has no tolerance for religious con men and hooksters.

I frequently have fellows who are of the opinion that since we are insistent concerning the gospel of God's grace, since we declare this is the way you must walk to hell. Folks say that's hard, that's proud, that's mean. Oh, nothing, nothing, nothing could be further from the truth. I recognize, I confess, and I lament the fact that there's so much horrible pride in everything I say and do. There's no escaping my pride. But telling men the truth is not a proud thing. Telling men the truth is not a hard thing. It's the most compassionate thing on this earth. Folks are going to hell without the knowledge of God. We must tell them the truth.

Our Lord Jesus, when he was in the temple and folks were crying, Hosanna to the king. Folks heard the noise and the chatter and in verse 10, they said, who is this? Who is this? And down here in verse 14, he answered the question. He is the Messiah, the Christ of God. Watch it. Here come the blind, and the lame, and the haught. And according to the prophets, the Messiah comes and he heals the blind, and the lame, and the haught, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Our Lord Jesus said, the scriptures fulfilled right here in front of you. He said, you want to know who I am? Watch what I do. Watch what I do.

In much the same way, you and I must, like our savior, display who we are, not by a show of religion, but by our behavior in this world. We live in an age in which many women think that a show of religion is spirituality, that a show of religion is a display of grace and godliness. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If a show of religion, if a show of humility, Devotion is Christianity, then the Dalai Lama is a fine Christian. But he's a Buddhist monk, I know, but he's devoted. But he's so humble in appearance. Why, he shaves his head and wears clothes like a girl. He's a Christian. That old man who was over here last week, he looks pious when folks come kiss his hand. Doesn't he look just so gentle when he reaches out his hand to bless folks as though putting his wrinkled up old fingers on your forehead is going to do you some good? Why, that's a show of religion. But a show of religion is not godliness. Godliness is walking with God in this world. Godliness is living in this world according to the will of God and the word of God for the glory of God. You don't have to show it to anybody. You don't have to show it to anybody. Well, we want to have a good testimony. The way to have a good testimony, not try to show a good testimony, but to live for God.

You understand the difference? Don't walk around the streets downtown and carry a Bible stuffed full of papers, you know, so big nobody can miss it. Folks say, oh, look at him, he's a Christian. When you go to the restaurant, don't blow a trumpet, say, let's pray. Just in quietness, without moving a muscle, without closing your eyes, without calling any attention to yourself, give thanks to God. You understand the difference? Don't show religion, but walk in godliness.

There's all the difference in the world. Our Lord Jesus didn't do anything to call attention to himself. He simply walked as God in this world. And yet still, understand this, the place of mercy is right here in the house of God. We recognize that there are no altars, physical altars in this world. We don't have an altar in the church house. Our altar's in heaven. We recognize there are no holy places. This is just a building consecrated to God for holy purposes. That is for the worship of God. But there's nothing holy about this building.

But when God's people gather together in God's name, the Son of God is there in the midst of them. And I'll tell you what, I'll just about guarantee it. I'll just about guarantee it. In this congregation here tonight, you who know the Lord, if you could point to a time, a circumstance, a place, where you met the Son of God in saving power, I dare say there's not one here who didn't meet him in the house of God, hearing the word of God, as men and women were gathered to worship God. There's a place where the Son of God meets his people.

Now, if you're concerned for the souls of men, put them under the sound of the word. Do what you can to get them in the house of God. Encourage folks to come with you to the house of God. I know you witness to folks and you invite folks to come and nobody's interested. Somebody will be. Somebody will be. Just keep on encouraging folks to come hear the gospel.

We're seeking the Lord's sheep. And the Lord Jesus will use us to find his sheep. But the Lord calls his sheep generally in this place right here. He sends us out to call them to the marriage feast. We can't compel them to come to the Savior. We can't encourage them to come hear the word. And if they hear, maybe God the Holy Spirit will compel them to come to the Savior. One time, I came to the house of God. blind, lame, and haught. I wasn't seeking him, but I came there because he was seeking me, and he found me, and he healed me. Is that not true of you? Maybe he'd do the same for others.

Thirdly, look at this confession of the children made in verse 15. And when the chief priest and scribe saw the wonderful things he did, and the children crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the son of David, they were sore displeased. Our Lord Jesus received the praise of these children and didn't rebuke them. Look at verse 16, the scribe said, don't you hear what they're saying?

Well, they're saying you're to be worshiped. They're saying you're the king. They're saying you're the son of David. They're saying you're the Christ of God. They're saying you're God come in human flesh. What are you gonna do about that? And our Lord Jesus accepted their praise. And by doing so, he gave a tacit acknowledgement that he is indeed God.

I didn't realize this until just the other day. I was staying with my friend up in Philadelphia who was, Big shot in the police department up there for 34 years. In the last few years, he was a big shot up there. He retired. He said when Mr. Simpson was arrested, he made a tacit confession of guilt.

Now, in American law, that's meaningless. In British law, this is what it means. It means that when the man did not react in a way that would demonstrate his utter abhorrence at the crime. What do you mean killed my wife? No, no, I couldn't have done such a thing. Because he did not react as normal men would react.

That's a tacit confession of guilt. And in British law, that's an acknowledgement of guilt. Here our Lord Jesus makes a tacit confession. that he's God. He'd made many public, open declarations, but here's a tacit confession that he is God Almighty. They came and said, we're worshiping you in the house of God. And he said, that's all right. That's all right. Perfectly all right if you'd worship me in the house of God, because I am. I am.

The scribes and Pharisees and the priests were infuriated. You see, Nothing that glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ escapes the notice of religious legalist and ritualist. Wherever Christ is honored as Savior alone, religionists are soon enraged. Ecclesiastical pretenders are enraged by the simple worship of Christ, the simple preaching of Christ crucified. And that's nothing less than the constant exaltation of Christ in the house of God.

Religionists say, well, that's all right once in a while, but I don't want to steady die to that. That's all right now and then, but who can survive on that all the time? God's people do. They rejoice at it. The religionists, though, were enraged and confused. And so in verse 16, we see their confusion, the confusion of these religious pretenders.

They said, hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, yeah, I've heard her. Have you never read out of the mouths of babes and sucklings that thou hast perfected praise? And so our Lord again refers to the scriptures in Psalm 8 in verse 2. He says, well, this is what scripture said would happen.

That these fellows have come to praise me. And they are but simple, simple children. And they've learned what you can't learn because you're blinded. Our Lord showed such contempt for their ornate, educated, well-prepared services. They had everything worked out for the Feast of the Passover. They'd been planning this thing ever since last year's conference. They'd been working on this thing. They had it all down pat. And they were educated, they were learned. They were the scribes and the pharisees, the chief priest of the temple. You got to recognize something for us. After all, we've been educated in this thing. And our Lord despised their religion. and accepted the praise of little children who said, that's the king. This is the Christ. He's the son of God. Turn over to Isaiah chapter one. Isaiah chapter one. You see the thing these fellas couldn't understand is that the worship of God involves more than an outward show. It involves more than outward duty. It involves more than outward doctrine. It involves heart, heart, heart.

The Lord looked at only the heart. In Isaiah 1 verse 10, the prophets speaking of men in days just like this, He said, hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom. Give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. What? Do you understand what he's saying? He's talking to folks in the house of God. He's talking to priests and Levites and scribes and religious leaders who call themselves the people of God. He says, you're Sodomites. You're Sodomites. In other words, I think no more of your religion than I do the doings of sodomites.

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices? Unto me, saith the Lord, I'm full of burnt offerings, of rams, and of the fat of fed beasts. I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand to tread my courts? Why, God, you required that back here in your law, not like you're doing it. Now as you did it, I required you to come to me in faith. And these things are but means by which I was pointing you to my son, the sacrifice for sinners.

I require heart worship. Read on. Verse 13, bring no more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination to me. The new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with its iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feast, my soul hateth. They are a trouble to me. I'm weary with them, weary to bear them. And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you. When you make your many prayers, I'll not hear your hands are full of blood.

He says, don't you understand what's that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination to God. God's spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. And these religionists didn't understand it. Any more than a religionist of our day understand it. They can't understand it.

You mean, preacher, God won't accept our saying the rosary or our saying our prayers or our going through our catechism? Baptist or Protestant or Catholic, it don't matter. No, God won't accept it. You mean, preacher, God won't accept our tithes and our Bible reading and our Sabbath keeping? No, God won't accept it. You may picture God won't accept our church attendance. No, you can have Sunday school peons that'll drag along behind you as you walk down the aisle. God still won't accept it.

God looks on the heart. Now, when you come to God with your heart, you perform all The worship of God. When you come to God in heart worship, you don't neglect his ordinances and you don't neglect his worship, but rather you come in the house of God and worship him in spirit and in truth. Now then in verse 17, the Holy Spirit shows us the contrast between sinners.

I couldn't help it, but notice this and make a special point of it. And he left them. Oh, God, what a sober word. He left them. He left them. He left Ephraim to his idols. He left these pretentious religionists to their pretentious religion. He just left them. Left them. They came cavilling. And he said, that's enough. He left them as being weary and disgusted with them. He just left them. Nothing could speak greater words of judgment than that. But look at this next line.

And he went into Bethany and lodged there. Now I've read the whole book, so I know where he went when he went to Bethany. There was a lady who was much-cumbered with much serving. Oh, but she loved the master and he loved her. And he went to be with Martha. And her sister, Mary, who would sit at his seat and hear his words.

Here are these cavilling religionists. They're busy and they're engaged in religious exercise. And everybody looks at them and says, oh, how good they are. The Lord Jesus left him, and he said, I'll go visit Mary, Martha. And Mary, she'll sit right at my feet and listen to everything I've got to say. And Lazarus, oh, Lazarus, he'll sit at the table with me. He'll listen. Oh, Lord Jesus, come, make my heart your abode. Make my house your home and never leave me. What a blessing it was to Mary and Martha and Lazarus. And yet, at the same time, what a restful relief it was to the Son of God.

Last Thursday, I hope this gets back to the fellow, a good friend, young man who's been talking with me a good bit, wanted to visit with us, wanted to talk with me. He came and brought an imaginary self-appointed would-be preacher who apparently had made up his mind what he wanted to say to me long before I ever met him.

And we sat in the restaurant for about 10 minutes and talked. And finally, the cocky, wet-behind-the-ears, No nothing, just I'd had all I could take. I said, this conversation's over. I'm going back to where I came from. You want to take me? You want me to walk? It doesn't matter. But I'm putting up with this no more, no more.

And I went back and sat down with some folks. My wife among them spent the day in sweet conversation about things of God and blessed peace and harmony. I expect that's just a whole lot like the relief our Lord felt when he left these Jews and went to marry Martha Lazarus' house. And he said, boy, I'm glad to be here.

I'm glad to be rid of pretentious, self-serving, self-righteous religious who know nothing about God and yet presume they know everything. Never ceases to amaze me that every mother's son, and in these days, every mother's daughter as well, is an authority on the word of God and doesn't hesitate to challenge someone who spent their life serving the cause of Christ and serving the interest of men's souls and the glory of God studying the Word.

Everybody's an authority, everybody. I wouldn't a bit more think about going into Lindsey Campbell's office and explaining to him the details of insurance laws in this country than a man in the moon. I can picture it. He's sitting there, and Lindsey's nicer than I am.

He'd sit there and smile and nod, smile and nod, All the time he's thinking, you fool, I know what the laws are, what are you doing in here? And when I listen to fellas, if they happen to catch me on a good day and I'm real nice, I'm sitting looking and saying, well, you fool, stick to your business, I'll stick to mine. I know something about this, I've been at it a while. I've been at this business of serving the interest of Christ and studying this word for a little while. I would suggest that you at least consider that possibility. But enough of that.

Look at the curse of the fig tree in verses 18 through 20. Now the morning, in the morning, as he returned back to the city, apparently he had gotten up before Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and he was going back to the city, and he was hungry. Isn't that astounding? Here's God Almighty hungry. Hungry.

Well, that's not God, that's man. I know, but God was in that man. And that man is God. Here he is who made the world. He said, if I was hungry, I wouldn't ask you for anything. But here he is hungry. Of course, he's a real man. You get hungry going back middle of the day. Just get hungry. He did too. He was a man. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, there was gobs of fig trees around there, but he saw one fig tree in the way and he came to it. and found nothing thereon but leaves only. Now let me show you the significance of that.

We got fruit trees out here. Every one of our fruit trees put out a bud, and then they put out some leaves and put out a flower, and then they put out fruit. Every one of them we got out here. Pears, plums, peaches, every one of them worked the same way.

Not a fig tree. Fig tree puts out fruit and then puts out its leaf. So when he comes and sees leaves, just a fig tree full of leaves, the scriptures tell us elsewhere that it was before the time of figs, but the fig tree was full of leaves. It had put out its leaves, its foliage long before the other fig trees. He came and looked on it, nothing but leaves, just leaves. And he said unto it, let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever.

And presently it withered away. Now here's a picture of our Lord's sovereignty as the divine creator. Just as much as that picture of him being hungry is a picture of his humanity. And this is a picture of God's coming judgment upon all who have a form of godliness, but no substance of life. No fruit of grace. He cursed it, and it withered. That was a picture prophecy of what he was doing to Jerusalem. I've left your house desolate. He cursed it, and it's withered. And Judaism is nothing but a withered fig tree now. It still has its leaves, but no fruit, no fruit.

And that's a picture of what shall be done with all who have the leaves of religious profession, and the leaves of religious ceremony, and the leaves of religious morality, and the leaves of religious work, but no grace in their hearts, cursed and wicked.

I can't help but to ask myself this question. Is my religion all leaves? Or is there some fruit in there? The fruit of the spirit. The fruit of the spirit is not something that you stick on your coat. It's not a button you wear for Jesus. And it's not something you stick on your bumper sticker. All of this show of religion.

Oh, I hate it. I just hate it. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, grace, meekness, faith, and peace. Against such there is no law. Now then, one more thing here. I can't spend any time on it, but it's just as well because I must confess I don't know a great deal about it.

Here's the concern of prayer. The disciples saw this in verse 20 and they were amazed that the fig tree was so soon withered. In verse 21, Jesus answered and said unto them, verily I say unto you, if you have faith and doubt not, underscore that word, if you have faith and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if you shall say to this mountain, be thou removed Be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done. And all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive. Now these things are involved in true prayer.

Our Lord is not here suggesting. He is not here teaching us that we have faith in our faith. If you just believe enough, if you just believe enough in your faith, if you just hold on and hold out, I have faith in faith. I don't have any faith in faith. Not in faith to be had in faith.

But if you have faith, if you believe God, believe God, confidently believe God, according to his revelation, according to his will, call on him in prayer. Whatever you ask, God will do it. Whatever it is. So these three things essentially are involved in faith, are in prayer. First, faith in Christ. Prayer is but the expression, the cry of faith. But prayer is much more than just asking God to do something for us. Prayer is much more than just asking God to give us what we want.

That's what James says. You ask and have not because you seek it that you might consume it upon your own lust. And most people, as you hear them talk about prayer, they're talking about just calling on God to fulfill your lust. That's not prayer. But prayer is faith in Christ that seeks the will of God. It is seeking the will of God.

Seeking that which God reveals concerning himself and his work. So that as I walk in this world and seek to serve God and I meet an obstacle in the way, be it a mountain or a man, I walk before God with faith and the mountain is cast into the sea. I've seen it happen so many times, I couldn't take it. I've seen God move men and move people and move situations and circumstances, time after time after time, as you simply walk before God, knowing that you're doing God's will, and you trust Him. Prayer is seeking His will, not my will. Our Lord taught us that as a man, didn't He? He said, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

Yet not as I will, thy will be done. And our flesh, our flesh often is in conflict with the will of God. But in our inmost souls ranks what we want, God's will. If we're his, that's what we want. We want God's will. And so we pray honestly. We say, Lord, your will be done. Your will be done. And prayer involves self resignation. That's what it is to pray according to his will. It's to pray according to the direction of his spirit in submission to his will for his glory. Our father, bless now your word to the hearts of these who've heard it.

Forgive the weaknesses and inabilities of the preacher. and overcome the sinfulness of my flesh and to the flesh of these, your people. And we pray that you'll make your word profitable to us. Teach us to worship you in spirit and in truth. Make us obedient in all things in the worship of our God. And we pray, our father, that you'll enable us by your spirit to walk before you in faith.

Teach us to believe you. God, teach us faith. Teach us to pray. Not in a form of words, not in fair speeches to impress me. But in our hearts, from our hearts, teach us to pray as you taught your disciples of old. So teach us now by your spirit. For Christ's sake, I pray. Amen. Let's sing that hymn, Teach Me to Pray, number 75 in your Psalms of Grace book. Hymn number 75. Judy, let's sing this to 118 when I survey.

My House Shall Be Called The House of Prayer

What does the Bible say about prayer in the house of God?

How do we know Jesus' cleansing of the temple is significant?

Why is faith important in prayer according to the Bible?

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My House Shall Be Called The House of Prayer

What does the Bible say about prayer in the house of God?

How do we know Jesus' cleansing of the temple is significant?

Why is faith important in prayer according to the Bible?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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