church

INI
21st Sunday after Pentecost
November 6, 2011
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

GOD'S HOUSE IS A VERY SPECIAL PLACE!
Matthew 21:12-17

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God the Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, Amen. This morning we look to the Gospel
of Matthew, chapter 21, beginning with the twelfth verse, as follows:

Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought
and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and
the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, "It is written, 'My
house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'
" Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did,
and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of
David!" they were indignant And said to Him, "Do You hear what these are
saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth
of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?" Then He left them
and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there. Here ends our text.

In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who said, "Blessed are those who hear
the Word of God and keep it," Dear Fellow Redeemed,

Would you ever think of bringing in animal into Church? It seems an odd idea,
doesn't it? God's house is a holy place, a place for reverence and worship. The
idea of bringing animals into God's house seems incongruous and out of place.
A couple of years ago we had a visitor here at church who, I found out later,
had brought an animal into church. It was a small service dog that had been
prescribed to her as a way of alleviating a fear of public places. Well, I’d be the
last person to criticize someone for that…but it’s still a strange notion, though.
Church just doesn’t seem the right place for animals.

It does lead one to ask the serious question, though: Is it true that this
particular building is a special place? Is there something different about God's
house, as compared, say, with my house or your house? Is there a reason for us
to be especially reverent here, and to respect this place, as we respect no other
place on earth? -It might not seem logical at first. As a structure, this place isn't
grand or imposing. It may be the smallest church in Tacoma. But it is God's
house, and according to our text for today, that makes it unique in several
important ways. Perhaps this is something you haven't given much thought to
for a while. Let's listen to what Jesus has to say about church, as we consider
the theme --

GOD'S HOUSE IS A VERY SPECIAL PLACE!
I. A place where profit is absent.
II. A place where prayer is answered.
III. A place where praise is accepted.

It was Monday of holy week. Jesus was just days away from the cross and the
crown of thorns. On this particular morning, He went into the Temple with His
disciples. The sight that met Jesus' eyes when he entered defied description -
penned up in the entryway to the Temple were sheep and oxen and goats. There
were cages full of doves. You see, all these were animals that were required for
the Jewish sacrifices. Now, certainly it was necessary to have them available
somewhere near the Temple. What was unnecessary was to have inside the
Temple itself! But the leaders of the Jews had decided to turn God's house into
a sale barn - move the animals right into the church - so that they would get all
the profits from the sales. On top of this, they were doing a thriving business of
changing money for out-of-town worshippers, so that they would be provided
with the half-shekel every Jew needed to pay the Temple tax. In short, Jesus
saw a church that was full of the hustle and bustle of a profit-making business.

And Jesus was enraged. He drove out all those who bought and sold in the
temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those
who sold doves. And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a
house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "

Profits -- money -- greed. If this all sounds familiar to you, I'm not surprised.
The profit motive seems to govern just about everything in America these days,
doesn't it? Particularly in today’s difficult economic environment. Businesses
are trying to improve their profits by cutting what is often the biggest cost for
any business – human resources. Which doesn’t help the unemployment figures
much, even if it does make sense from the profit standpoint. But there is one
house where our Lord tells us the profit motive is to be absent -- and that's the
house of the Lord.

People often ask me why CLC churches don't put on soup and sandwich feeds,
and spaghetti suppers, and bake sales and bazaars, like the other churches do.
Why don't we host car washes or sell candy door-to-door, or use one of the
gimmicky fund-raising schemes so often employed by the other churches?
There's an easy answer: because that's not the Church's job! Our job is to
deliver the Gospel, the precious Good News that eternal salvation is available
in Jesus Christ. That's what we have to offer people, not cakes or quilts or bingo
prizes. We dare not let God's house become another place where everybody's
scrambling for every available dollar. Describing the mission of the Church, the
Apostle Paul said, "Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for
profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men
sent from God." -- 2 Cor 2:17.

With this fiery outburst of anger, Jesus defended the honor of God's house. He
showed that this is one place, at least, where human greed and the profit motive
are to be absent: a house of prayer, not a den of thieves! -And that brings us to
the second feature that makes God's house such a very special place: it's a place
where prayer is answered.

The merchants and money changers offered no prayer to Christ. Like most of
the Jews, they didn't believe he was the Christ. But there were some who did.
There were those who recognized the presence of the almighty Son of God, and
who wasted no time in laying their wants and needs before Him. We're told
about them in a single, short sentence right in the middle of our text - did you
catch it? Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He
healed them.

In the Old Testament, Moses prophesied that the vast majority of Jews would
turn away from the Lord, but that a small remnant would seek Him and be
saved. And here we see it happening. Right in the very house of God, the
leaders of God's chosen people were turning their backs on their Savior. Time
was running out for the Jewish people. It's for a very good reason that the Bible
warns, "Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is
near." -- Isa 55:6. God is patient and longsuffering. But His patience has an
end. His offer of salvation doesn't last forever, and the Jews had now arrived at
a point in time that was only four short days away from Jesus' crucifixion. But
even at this late date, there were still a few people who were seeking the Lord.
A few humble people, afflicted, blind and lame, who in simple faith brought
their prayers to Jesus. And they were not disappointed. They found out that
God's house is a place where prayer is answered!

Time is running out for our world of today, too. Sin and depravity and
corruption are increasing day by day - and if you don't believe it, all you have to
do is pick up a newspaper or turn on the television. The vast majority have
turned away from the Lord in indifference. But there is a Day coming when no
one will be indifferent to God! On Judgment Day, a million desperate prayers
will suddenly be offered up by those who shunned the Lord in their lifetimes --
but by then it will be too late. Jesus warned the unbelieving Jews, "When once
the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand
outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will
answer and say to you, 'I do not know you.'" -- Luke 13:25.

It is late -- but it's not too late, yet. There is still time to seek the Lord and find
Him. There is still healing to be found, here in God's house, for those few who
will seek Him in faith. Are you one of the few?

Why is this building such a very special place? Because this is the place we
come to lay our petitions before our Lord Jesus. And just as He did for those
poor, afflicted souls in the Temple that day, Jesus answers our prayers! What is
your affliction? Maybe it's some physical disease or illness that torments you.
Perhaps you suffer from bouts of depression, or the loneliness of old age. Maybe
you're a parent trying to deal with a wayward son or daughter, or a spouse
caught in the throes of marital problems. Whatever it is, you've come to the
right place for relief! Jesus loves to answer prayer, and the bigger your request,
the better. Like the hymn says, "You are coming to a King, LARGE petitions
with you bring!"

There's one affliction, of course, that we all share -- and that's the disease of
sin. Every week, here in God's house, we lift our voices together and pray for
healing from that affliction. We say, "O most merciful God, who has given
Your only begotten Son to die for us, have mercy upon us and for His sake
grant us remission of all our sins!" And as often as we ask for it, our Lord grants
forgiveness. Think of it - what a wonderful miracle it is that occurs here at
Ascension Lutheran Church every Sunday morning! In humility and shame we
confess our sins, and as soon as we do, God applies the shed blood of Jesus to
them and erases them from our record. No conditions - no strings attached. For
Jesus' sake our past sins are simply wiped out. The gnawing guilt is gone, and in
its place is the healing and peace and joy that our Savior won for us on the
cross. As Isaiah says in his familiar 53rd chapter, "He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace
was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." -- Isa 53:5.

God's house is indeed a very special place! Here Jesus silences the distracting
noise of commerce, and here Jesus answers our prayers for healing. But there's
something else. Here Jesus graciously receives the praise of His people. God's
house is a very special place, because it's a place where praise is accepted!

Parents: have you ever noticed the unexpected wisdom that often comes from
the lips of a child? Every once in a while you'll hear a little kid innocently blurt
out some statement that's profoundly true, even though it never occurred to any
of the grownups around him. That's what happened in the Temple. While
almost all the grownups were finding fault with Jesus and complaining about
His attack on their business, a group of children were singing Jesus' praises at
the top of their lungs! This, of course, the Jews could never stand for! But when
the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the
children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!"
they were indignant And said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"

Well, how hypocritical can you possibly get?! Here the chief priests were
perfectly happy to put up with the noise of sheep and cattle in the temple, and
the raucous cries of the moneychangers. But as soon as these children begin to
praise Jesus as the promised Messiah, all of a sudden - my goodness! - the noise
hurts their ears!

And so in our day. There are so many churches today where it seems that any
noise is tolerated except the pure sound of the Gospel! In these churches,
preachers are allowed to discuss any topic under the sun - current events, civil
rights, "alternate lifestyles", social reform - as long as they stay off the subjects
of sin and grace. But God's house is the place where sin must be clearly
identified, just as Jesus did that day in the Temple. And it's also the place where
Jesus Christ must be clearly identified for what He is - the promised Messiah,
and the only possible means of salvation for poor sinners. And if grown-up,
intelligent men won't give Jesus the praise He deserves, why then He'll take it
from the mouths of little children! The chief priests said to Him, "Do You hear
what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read,
'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"

When those little children sang their glad hosannas to Jesus, He did not stifle
them or tell them to be quiet. He graciously accepted their praise. The same is
true of us. When we come here to God's house in childlike faith, to offer praise
to our Redeemer for ransoming us from the grave and winning for us a place in
heaven, our Lord does not turn us away. Unworthy though we are, Jesus gladly
accepts the praise of our lips, and it pleases Him. When you think about it,
what could be more pleasant than for a group of heaven-bound believers like us
to gather together to talk about salvation, learn more about salvation, and sing
the praises of Him who earned salvation for us!? The Bible says, "Give to the
LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh,
worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!" -- 1 Chr 16:29. But attending
worship services is much more than a responsibility; it's a privilege. Even more:
when you're in God's house on the sabbath day, praising His name, He'll make
sure that it's a great blessing for you and your family as well!

If you could be instantly transported to any place in the world, where would
you go? Is there one place so special that just being there would give you
complete happiness and satisfaction? You might think that there is no such
place on earth. But King David would disagree with you. There was one place
he loved so much that his only desire was to be there continually. By now
you've guessed the place I'm talking about. David said, "One thing I have
desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the
LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to
inquire in His temple." -- Psa 27:4. God grant to each of us the same zeal
toward God's house -- it is, after all, A VERY SPECIAL PLACE! AMEN.