PERSISTENCE IN PRAYING THROUGH

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2 Chronicles 20: 1 - 30

Lesson Prepared by: krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Some points are taken from:

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/standing-firm-in-persistent-prayer.html

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

September 9, 2018

MEMORY VERSE:

Luke 18:1

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

 

INTRODUCTION:

Our lesson for today titled “Persistence in Praying Through.” What does it mean? “Praying Through” is an expression and it actually means “you pray until you receive the breakthrough, you pray until the answer comes or you pray until the circumstances changes” (Dr.Brown of https://askdrbrown.org/library/what-does-it-mean-%E2%80%9Cpray-through%E2%80%9D ). While persistence means the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people (Webster).  In Filipino means “Pagpupursigi sa Patuloy na Pananalangin.”

Let me ask you, do you see the urgency of persistence? Base on your experience, what motivates you to persist in prayer?

lesson points:

1)       PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER COMES WHEN WE REALIZE THAT WE HAVE NOTHING (2 CHRONICLES 20: 1 – 30)

Are we persistent in our prayers? Are we destitute? Have we reached the place where we say, “God you must answer this prayer because I have nothing? God said in the Bible, “Without me, you can do nothing.” And we can say, “But Lord, I can do lots of things. I can teach a Sunday School class. I can even get up and speak at a conference. I can have a Bible study with men. I can sing and teach the choir. I can play musical instruments. I can teach in kids at any level. I can do the programs and do slideshows and many more.” But the problem is, without Him, we accomplish nothing – and it’s when we realize this that we begin to be persistent in our prayer life. Sometimes it takes us to nothing before we realize that we can’t do it by ourselves.

In the Old Testament record, King Jehoshaphat’s remarkable military victory over a coalition of enemy nations came about by God’s direct intervention, but that doesn’t mean that Judah’s king needed only to sit back and watch this victory happen (2 Chronicles 20). His urgent prayers appear to be a critical element.

Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was in the south end of ancient Israel. Some men came and told him that a huge number of the soldiers of surrounding kingdoms had already amassed a vast army to wage war against him. These enemy states included – Moab, Ammon, Edom, and several other peoples, all located in present-day Arab lands of the Middle East.

The massive coalition was already on the march around the southern region of the Dead Sea and was moving northward toward Judah’s southern border.

The king was understandably alarmed. His first move was to proclaim a fast for the whole nation. The people responded and gathered in Jerusalem from every town to seek the Lord’s help.

King Jehoshaphat recognized the great company of the enemies and he said in verse 12 “… neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” In verse 18, “And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all the Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

A prophet named Jahaziel then stepped forward to announce the word of the Lord: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours but God’s.”

The story moves quickly to the conclusion. The king appoints singers to lead the troops with singing. The Lord at the same time creates a mysterious ambush against the enemy coalition which throws their fighting forces into confusion. In their chaos, they begin to kill each other.

Jehoshaphat’s troops gather the spoils of battle. They return to Jerusalem with joy. The fear of the Lord falls on surrounding nations, “when they heard the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel” (2 Chronicles 20:29).

https://justcallmepastor.wordpress.com/2014/07/07/let-us-pray-with-fresh-urgency/amp/

Sometimes it takes a painful situation before we realize that we need to be persistent. Don’t wait for the time we have nothing before we realize we need God to have a successful ministry in this world.

2)      PERSISTENCE IS REALITY (MATTHEW 26:36-46)

Have we experienced the excitement in doing our ministry? Most people like to live and serve God when everything is exciting. Mostly the first three months in the ministry is full of excitement. I remember when I decided to be in full-time ministry, the excitement and the good plans were there. At first, you see that you have the time in doing the ministry: you can visit, you can have more time in Bible studies, you can receive free food from members, others offer you to sleep over, they gave you gifts during Christmas and you can do lots in spiritual things. But time went on and all the glamour quickly wore off. Suddenly, you missed your family, you saw your budget was not enough to buy yourself some personal things, you noticed that you have no privacy because your room was visited always by young people and sometimes the church was used for basketball so it was noisy, you started to get irritating to your fellow workers, though you have companions, you started feeling alone doing the church work or cleaning and you started to think of your future. To press my point, church life has a lot of persistence and endurance.  No matter who we are or what job we have, if we are going to reach the world for Christ we will have to persist. Persistence is a reality. The real world is not always exciting. It may have exciting moments but in between those mountaintop experiences, there is a lot of persistence.

If we all stop and think about it, life is not easy for anyone. Every job includes endurance and persistence. Prayer takes persistence. There are wilderness and dry times when you think you are the only one praying. There are times when you feel as if you’ve prayed a thousand times without an answer. Real purposeful ministry takes time and persistence as it develops. Everything good takes endurance.

When we are praying for something big, we need great patience. It takes both faith and patience to inherit the promise. We read in Hebrews 6:11-12 “And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That be ye not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The greater the purpose, the greater the faith and patience are required.

In Matthew 26: 36-46, Jesus even prayed three times regarding the cross. Following God’s will, takes persistence but sad to say the disciples were found sleeping; they were reminded three times, but they were very sleepy. We can conclude that persistence is a reality.

3)      PERSISTENT PRAYER DOES NOT GIVE UP (LUKE 11: 5-13)

Beginning with verse 5, Jesus makes a practical application. He said to His disciples, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will rise and give him as many as he needs.”

This is the situation. Here’s Man A, and Friend B has come to visit him, but Man A has no bread, and this is in the Middle Eastern culture, where hospitality is huge. So Man A says to himself, I know what I’ll do. I’ll go to my next-door neighbor and I will ask him for some bread. So he rushes over to his neighbor’s house, and he knocks on the door and says, “Lend me three loaves of bread,” and he explains his predicament. But his neighbor says, “I can’t do it. I’m already in bed. Don’t bother me.” Jesus continues in verse 8: “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will rise and give him as many as he needs.”

Not to give up means not to faint or lose heart. It is a steady prayer. It’s long-term and not for the faint-hearted. It stands firm. It displays a trust in God that says, “I am going to believe you for the answer in your way and your timing.” When we persist in prayer, we cover every aspect of the need from a variety of perspectives. We see it from the big perspective and from the tiniest aspect. We don’t forget the prayer because we carry it with us, and it’s in our routine. We knock and knock at heaven’s door. We are passionate about it. 

When the neighbor said, “Don’t bother me. I’m already in bed with my children,” the man who needed the bread didn’t just hang his head and go home. He kept knocking. Hey, I need something. He argued with the man: “A friend of mine has come on a journey. I’m in a dire predicament.”

CONCLUSION:

We know that God is good and that He desires to give us good gifts (Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 11:13). We can continue to seek Him through prayer and to make our requests known to Him (Philippians 4:6). But in our persistence, we must be willing to submit to God's will. God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). We know that whatever we ask in His will is granted (1 John 5:14-15). We also know that sometimes our hearts do not understand His will or His timing. At times we must be willing to wait for God's yes to manifest. Other times we must be willing to accept no for an answer. When we know God and trust His good character, we can repeatedly bring Him the same request and rest in the fact that His response will be best for us. God desires both our persistence and our submission.
https://www.compellingtruth.org/persistent-prayer.html

HOW WOULD YOU RATHER BE FOUND…?

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Ezekiel 33: 1- 9; 1 Peter 4:7

MEMORY VERSE

1 Peter 4:7

But the end of all

Things is at hand:

be ye therefore

sober, and watch

unto prayer.

Introduction:

Almost everyone here is in the field of working except those who are still studying. I remember my first job outside the Christian world or company. There was really a huge difference; that was a great adjustment for me. The way the employees talked, the way they dressed, the way they treated people, the songs they sang, the program they made, and everything. I endured all those because of God’s guidance. I saw that job as a part of my journey that you needed to overcome. It was a two-month tutorial, but the company will lessen their teachers after a month because other students will go back to their country. I didn’t expect to be chosen for a 1-month extension because I know that was my first-time teaching tutorial to Koreans. When my name was called to stay for a month I was wondering why, then before the meeting ended, the meeting facilitator gave a

thankful message to those who gave their best. He had shown a booklet that was left by one of the students who already went back to Korea. That booklet was one of the activities we made for my students to understand vocabulary. He mentioned my name and gave thanks; now I know why I was chosen. In the field of work, it’s quite a difference when we work with and without the presence of our boss. Some don’t work hard when their bosses aren’t there. Another experience in my previous work was on how to deal with your fellow teachers. I saw them talking and when I approached them, they stopped; they were talking about me but one thing that I learned was to be patient and let God do it for you. Before I leave the company, they have treated me well. Being a Christian employees, you need to work with or without your boss because you are paid for it.  If you do this, you have no problem with always paying attention to your boss’s presence.

Our lesson for today titled, “HOW WOULD YOU RATHER BE FOUND…? AT JESUS’S SECOND COMING?

If you ask yourself, “How would I rather be found at Jesus Christ’s Second Coming?” Maybe we are: eating, drinking at our favorite place, gossiping at a salon or barber (anywhere else), playing our favorite sports, shouting at our loved ones, sleeping, posing at a camera, shopping, singing of your fleshly desires, sharing the gospel, worshipping and many more. Our memory verse for today says, “…watch unto prayer.” Another verse from Revelation 3:3 “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”

Like what we heard from our pastor’s sermon, Christians have a warfare to accomplish in this world. That’s why we need to watch; a Christian should watch. According to Ephesians 6: 12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Let me ask you and I need your ideas; base from personal experience, how can you say that you’re in the battle or warfare? (allow few people to respond)

Israel has always had many enemies (then and now, unfortunately) and historically the city of Jerusalem had thick high walls around the entire city. In fact, many great cities in olden days had walls around them for protection. For example, we read in scripture about the walls surrounding Babylon and the great walls of Jericho. Now Israel’s watchmen were guards who would stand upon the walls of Jerusalem and in the towers and look out upon the land. The Hebrew word for watchman is ‘tsaphah’ and it has the meaning ‘to lean forward, to peer into the distance; by implication means to observe, behold, spy out, wait for, keep the watch.’ So they would be in their towers and upon the walls and would literally be peering forward, looking out into the distance, on the watch for messengers, unusual activity, or most importantly, any sign of an enemy or approaching army.

http://jesusplusnothing.com/studies/online/Isaiah56-10-12.htm

How would you rather be found at Jesus coming? It is so blessed to be found we are WATCHING unto PRAYER!

LESSON POINTS:

As part of our watching let’s consider these points:

I.             WATCHING IS OPPOSED TO INSECURITY AND SLEEPING (JUDGES 18:7-10; 1 PETER 5:8)

§  The watchman must keep his eyes open but sometimes when we cease from our labor and our life is in better condition we begin to sleep and not watching like what happened to the people of Laish. Let’s read Judges 18:7-10. These verses explain why Laish was vulnerable to an attack. However, in looking at these verses, we are not just reading something of historical note. As we consider these points, we can make a spiritual application. Peter wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant; because of your adversary the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). With the devil seeking a suitable target, we do not want to be in the same vulnerable state as the inhabitants of Laish against the Danites.  

-       The people of Laish were secure and thought they were in no danger. We must never allow ourselves to become complacent. Paul wrote, “Wherefore let him that thinketh standeth take heed lest ye fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). If we believe that there is no danger around us, we are more susceptible to the devil’s attacks.

-       The people of Laish were unsuspecting and not watching for threats. We already noticed Peter’s warning about how the devil “the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). John warned that “many deceivers are entered into the world” and said, “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward” (2 John 7-8).

-       The people of Laish were isolated and far from help. We need encouragement and strength from our brethren. The Hebrew writer explained that “lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” can develop within us (Hebrews 3:12). To help prevent this from happening, we are to “But exhort one another daily,” (Hebrews 3:13) and “provoke unto love and to good works…but exhorting one another” (Hebrews 10:24-25). If we are isolated from faithful brethren, we are vulnerable (from google search).

§  We are all prone to danger and we must be aware of this. All of us feel this way; being complacent in our spiritual condition. We think we are always okay and not being observant of the possible snare of the enemy. Before we recognize it, we are already there with the enemy. (Optional: give your own testimony about this)

II.            TO WATCH IS TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS (ISAIAH 56:10)

§  Isaiah 56:10 says, “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.”

You can probably imagine how the the job interview went for one of the watchmen described above...

Do you think such a person’s description would get the job? Not exactly attributes that look good on the CV, are they? Yet that was God’s assessment of Israel’s

watchmen in the days of Isaiah! Now obviously God was talking about more than just the watchmen upon the walls here. This was His assessment concerning Israel’s spiritual leaders at the time of Isaiah. This was His assessment of those whose responsibility it was to spiritually guard God’s very own people. Let’s quickly run through those impressive attributes again:

§  This is a special point of the watchman’s duty, to let nothing pass without observation, whatever object would come in, to ask at it from whence, and whither. The heart is a highway-side that all things travel through. If the Christian then is not exact in this to know what comes in, and what is its errand, he may be surprised. He should observe all the motions of the enemy. He must know his own spirit, or his thoughts, he should also observe all the Lord’s movements and dealings. It concerns him also to know what is his enemy or friend.

III.          THE WATCHMAN GIVES WARNING (EZEKIEL 3:17; 33:4,8)

§  The job of the watchmen really just two-fold – Firstly to see the enemy and then, secondly, to alert the people of the coming danger. When they saw the work of an enemy but do nothing, their blood shall be upon the watchman’s head. In today's church time what watching means and who are watchful in the church. They are not the people who judge everyone but see the dangers. They are the leaders and pastors; also, we have our own responsibility to watch our own selves. When we see things lead people away from the Lord, we should warn them through God’s word. It’s blessed, using God’s word, that you have the discernment to see what is good and evil in a hidden situation or agenda.

§  Have you experienced something unusual situations and you use your discernment through the dealing of God with His word? Are we watchful about the possible dangers the church may encounter or the dividers of the church?

IV.          THERE MUST NO INTERRUPTION IN THIS WATCHING (MARK 14:38)

§  How easy it is to sleep or become careless in our Christian walk. Temptation strikes when we are most vulnerable. When we neglect certain areas of our spiritual lives—such as prayer and Bible study—we become drowsy and let our guard down, making us easy targets for our enemy, Satan, to strike (1 Peter 5:8).

We need to be alert to the possibilities of an attack and pray to maintain vigilance. If we remain watchful and pray—for ourselves and for others—the Spirit will enable us to resist temptation. https://odb.org/2016/08/24/watch-and-pray/

§  One of the main tasks of the watchmen in the Old Testament was to be on the lookout for any signs of disturbance or the activities and schemes of the enemy. Remember in the days of Nehemiah, when the wall was being rebuilt, there were still gaps in the wall that were called ‘the exposed places’. Obviously, this was a very tempting area through which to attack for any half-serious enemy. So let’s ask ourselves – what is our/your exposed place? What is the area that the enemy is more likely to attack you in? What is the area of weakness that you repeatedly trip up in? You will have one. We are all hopelessly flawed. We have common struggles yet we all have specific individual struggles in particular areas of weakness which the enemy will love to exploit. 

What was Nehemiah’s advice? Everyone be on the watch. Everyone be on guard. And specifically, at the exposed places! Where are you weakest? Some have problems with greed and the pleasures of this world. Some with lust. Some with pride and some with fear... I’m hoping that you haven’t been nodding at all of those! Whatever your exposed place or places are, be aware that that is an area that the enemy would like to exploit. Be on the watch.

http://jesusplusnothing.com/studies/online/Isaiah56-10-12.htm

WE HAVE SEEN THE ROLE OF WATCHMAN IN THE BIBLE AND WE’RE REMINDED TO BE WATCHFUL UNTO PRAYER. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

        1.    TO WATCH UNTO PRAYER IS TO BE SPIRITUALLY ALERT

        2.    TO WATCH UNTO PRAYER IS TO BE SPIRITUALLY AWAKE

-       As we live closer to the time of Christ's return, we must not be in a state of spiritual stupor or slumber. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He came to His disciples expecting to find them awake and praying for Him, but instead He found them all asleep! Then He chided them, 'What, could ye not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.' (Matthew 26:40,41).

When Jesus returns from Heaven soon, will He also find us in a state of slumber? How shameful it would be for us if He were to find us in this state! 

CONCLUSION:

How long has it been since you last had real quality quiet time with the Lord? How long has it been since you last experienced God's presence in your life in a wonderful way? How long has it been since your Bible study was a great delight to you and were discovering marvelous gems from God's Word that thrilled your soul? How long has it been since you were moved to tears by the thought of the grace of the Lord to you, a sinner? If it has been a long time and cannot even remember when it was, it is certainly high time for you to wake up from your spiritual slumber, and to watch unto prayer!

This is not the time to be spiritually asleep, but the time to be fully revived. This is the time for us all to lay aside every sin and anything in our lives that may hinder our spiritual growth, and run the race that is set before us. This is the time for us to draw closer to God, and to seek His face. Please do not say to yourself that this can wait a little longer, since after all, the Lord has been so patient and with His children. The Lord is indeed longsuffering toward us, but that does not give us an excuse to try His patience further, and expect Him to wait a little longer. According to Romans 2:4, the goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering of God must lead us to swift repentance.

Let us begin today to change our lifestyle. Ask the Lord right now to help you to change to a lifestyle that is characterized by sober-mindedness and a fully alert and revived spiritual life! And, that is not all that should change in our lifestyle. We go on now to look at the change that should take place:

https://www.lifebpc.com/resources/treasury-of-sermons/74-1-2-peter/623-1-peter-4-7-11-what-should-our-lifestyle-be-in-these-last-days

HAVE WE MADE IT A DEN OF THIEVES?

This picture was taken from Google

MEMORY VERSE

MATTHEW 21:13

 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.

LESSON BACKGROUND:

Taken from: https://bethelhouseofprayer.com/about/what-is-a-house-of-prayer/

What exactly is a House of Prayer?

The first reference given to a house of prayer is found in the Old Testament in Isaiah 56:7 “For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”(all Nations) parenthesis mine. The next time this passage is mentioned is in the New Testament and Jesus quote the same verse in Matthew 21:12-13 after He entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling and the money changers and Jesus quotes the passage from Isaiah. In Matthew 21:13, Jesus says “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a DEN OF THIEVES.” There are two other times in the New Testament this same verse is quoted and those are found in Mark 11:17 and Luke 19:46.

Why would Jesus refer to His the house as a House of Prayer?

First of all, Christ himself was a house of prayer and he was teaching his disciples to become one by modeling this for them when He continually withdrew and was talking with His Father and drawing strength from that intimate relationship He had in heaven. This same intimate relationship is one we can have because of Jesus Christ came and hung on a cross to pay the price for us with his life, a perfect sacrifice shedding His blood for the forgiveness of all of our sins (John 3:16-17) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Remember, the Father in heaven sent His Son, Jesus Christ to be born of the virgin Mary, through the Holy Spirit, as a child to live with a real earthly mother, father and family and experience life as we know it. Think about it this way. As a the child you have an intimate relationship with your earthly father or mother and you want to be around them and you depend upon them for certain things like food, clothing, a home to live in, and all the good things you like and need. Well, even though Jesus had those earthly parents, He came from heaven and longed for the intimate relationship with His Father in heaven. Prayer was the connection of intimacy that He left behind when He came to earth. He was modeling this for His disciples, and for us to follow, He restored the relationship for us with the Father by His death, burial, and resurrection.

There was such a longing in Jesus’ heart for heaven even though he lived as a man on this earth. Philippians 3:20 puts it this way, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence we also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” This is the thing Jesus longed for while He was here upon the earth because He came from heaven and knew He would be returning there upon His resurrection. So, you see, even though we live on this earth and live out our lives here, as we give our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ to become Savior and Lord we then also become citizens of heaven as we are restored to our Heavenly Father.

What is prayer?

Prayer is that longing and intimacy restored and brought back to life which was dead in our sinful state, apart from Jesus Christ. Prayer is that intimate communication with the Father in heaven and the house of prayer is the earthly expression of what is in heaven. And that is why Jesus was so adamant about it in Matthew 21:12-13 when He came into His house and saw what it had become–this house includes two types of houses explained below.

In Luke 11:1 Jesus’ disciples came and asked Him, “Teach us how to pray”. This desire must have grown out of them as they watched and heard Jesus have intimate conversations (read: prayers) with His heavenly Father, which Christ modeled for them day by day. Eventually, that led them to ask Him the above question. We see in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4 Jesus gives them insight and instruction into what He has been praying all along and this has become known to most of us as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Many of us learned this prayer growing up and could recite it at will or could at least enter into it when the congregation was reciting it. This is not the only thing that Jesus prayed but he gave it as instruction or as a “how to.” To Jesus, prayer was a joy and that’s why the scriptures say there will be, “Joy in My house of prayer.”

Defining the House of Prayer

I will attempt to give some definition and expression to the House of Prayer. As I understand, there are two expressions of it, so here they are.

-       YOU ARE PERSONALLY A HOUSE OF PRAYER. After you receive Jesus Christ as Savior, you become the temple of the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 6:19 says, “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”

-       THE CHURCH IS A HOUSE OF PRAYER. As we assemble together we are the corporate expression of prayer. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Hebrews 10:24-25 puts it this way, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” 1 Peter 2:5 says it this way, “Ye also, as lively, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”

INTRODUCTION:

When we visited our sister and her family in Kentucky, USA my nephew invited me to go to a Christian church to worship. The church was so wide and big. As we went to our destinations, we used the escalators; I don’t know how many escalators we used because I felt dizzy going up. I think we went to the 4^th floor.  Along the way, I saw many things: bookstore, coffee shop, restaurant and many more. I asked my nephew where the church gets, its financial needs and he responded in their tithes. Then I said to myself, “what these stores for?” Maybe the stores are for church members’ business. This kind of environment is hard to be monitored by the pastors who attend the worship service or not. Do they have a schedule so others can attend? Whatever strict the church board members (if they have) are, these situations are prone to the sin of not attending. The people are given distractions.

Jesus began his ministry at the Passover just as he now ended at a Passover. He is just about to cleanse the Temple just as had done on one other occasion three years earlier recorded in John 2:14-16, “And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money-changers doing business. (15) When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. (16) And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!" Now we read in Matthew 21:12-17 how he cleansed the Temple once again and his reasons for doing so. “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. (13) 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.’" (14) Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. (15) 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 (16) 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’?" (17) Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.” As we continue our study of Christ’s Commands the next command we want to examine is found in the 21:13 where Jesus says, "It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’" The command is found in the phrase “you have made” (polite) the command seems to center on what these people have made God’s house into. In verse thirteen Jesus says that they have made the temple into a “den of thieves.”

LESSON PROPER:

This the scenario makes me think the question: how we make the church and ourselves a den of thieves?

    1)   IF WE HAVE MORE TIME IN OUR JOB AND NO TIME LEFT IN PRAYER.

-       We have read that Jesus got angry and clean the temple. Some commentaries explained that Jesus was angry because commerce, that there is buying and selling of anything being done in God’s house. Some use this verse as a defense of denial of allowing anything, at any time to be sold in the church. Yet the provision of animals for sacrifice was in its self-vital for worship as it existed at that time.

-       Personally, I see this scene as also in our present times: we are busy working in our job, sometimes we go to church, but our hearts are not there and possibly we still do something; we’re there but we’re not worshipping and praying.

   2)  IF WE CHEAT AT SOME POINT

-       Other commentaries said that it is not that commerce was being done in the Temple that is the problem but that the people are being “ripped off” in the process. According to Old Testament law, any animal approved by the priests could be offered for sacrifice in the Temple. But the chief priests made certain that animals not bought in one of their franchises would be judged unacceptable.  Annas, the High Priest had sold franchises for the concession stands to the various merchants and money-changers… to the highest bidder. The business enterprises in the outer court came to be known as the “Bazaar of Annas” whose chief priest and associates oversaw the Temple franchises. Merchants would buy the right to sell sacrificial animals, wine, oil or salt, or exchanging money into the proper currency used in the Temple. According to historian Alfred Edersheim, a person would have to pay as much as ten times what an animal normally costs. And when their foreign currency was exchanged they were charged a twenty-five percent fee.

-       Personally, I have seen lessons from these situations. The priests have the wrong judgment regarding the offerings of the people. The people at some point have created God in their tithes and offerings. If we come to worship we make ourselves ready even our tithes and offerings.

   3)  USING OUR POSITION NOT AS AN OPPORTUNITY FROM GOD BUT RATHER TO ACCUMULATE MORE MONEY

-       One other possibility of why Jesus was angry is that if we stop to think that the term “A den of thieves” is not where a robbery takes place but where the thieves live. The godlessness that in the Temple is not so much that money was exchanged or that doves were sold; but rather that He was distressed that the priests were using their position to make themselves rich.

-       Personally, we have all the reasons why we go to church but above all things, we must have that purpose of talking to God and worship Him. We must see that our service in the church is an opportunity for God’s given. It’s worth to worship our God.

   4)  THE SUPPOSEDLY HOUSE OF PRAYER IS FULL OF DISTRACTIONS AND YOU CAN’T REALLY PRAY PROPERLY.

-       They used the OUTER COURT for this Mall. There were four courts in the Temple. The COURT OF THE PRIESTS, which was the inner court, where only the Priests could go. The COURT OF THE JEWS, where only natural-born Jews were allowed. It was this court where they handed over their sacrifices to the Priests. The COURT OF WOMEN, where the women were allowed and could go in no further. The COURT OF THE GENTILES was outside, and it was the large open area that had turned into a shopping mall … or a Super-WalMart!

-       The COURT OF THE GENTILES was a place set aside for those who were not born Jewish … but had converted to Judaism. They had seen that Jehovah God was the one and only true God … and they renounced their pagan ways and turned to the God of the Jews.

-       All this buying and selling was being done in what was called the outer court but it had another name, the “court of the Gentiles.” It was the only area in the Temple into which a Gentile believer could go to worship. Can you imagine trying to worship in such a place?

A pastor from sermon.com shared on how Kent Hughes describes the scene as he imagines it, “The noise of this court of the Gentiles was terrific. Merchants shouted from their stalls to the customers, noisy, haggling, pushy pilgrims jostled one another for the position. The incredible din was heightened by the constant bawling of livestock, the aroma of the livestock, accentuated by the enclosure, made it like a county fair and the Stock Exchange all rolled into one.” [ R. Kent Hughes. Mark: Jesus, Servant, and Savior. Vol II ( Westchester, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1989) p. 87] In the end it would have to be said that this was a desecration of the Court of the Gentiles and as such was a massive national sin against God and the lost people of the world. So which of these possibilities is what Jesus was saying about making his house into a “den of thieves.”

Jesus never said, “My house shall be a called a place of preaching.” Nor did he say, “My house shall be called a house of music or singing.” Obviously, those things are good and a part of our worship experience but the Lord said, “My house shall be called a place of prayer.” And I don’t think that he meant by this that prayer was to be a perfunctory thing that we do at the beginning and end of a service. If you examine the birth of the church in the book of acts you quickly see the vital connection between the church and prayer. In Acts chapter four when the apostles were unjustly arrested, imprisoned, and threatened, they did not lodge a protest; they did not look for some political leverage instead they prayed. The early church had this instinct; when in trouble, pray. When intimidated, pray. When challenged, pray. When persecuted, pray. Acts 4:31 records, “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”

CONCLUSION:

God’s house is to be called a house of prayer. To be a house of prayer, we must be people of prayer and to be people of prayer we must

1. PRAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD’S WILL. We must be desire God’s will in our lives more than our own will. Jesus provides the supreme example in his prayer in Gethsemane where he boldly states, “Not my will, but you will be done.”

2. PRAY CONFIDENTLY. When Christians pray in Jesus’ name we can be confident that our prayers will be answered if they are compatible with his will. There are some things Christians should not ask for and some things that God will not give us. Consequently, we may receive answers we do not want and find things we are not looking for.

3. PRAY WITH A FORGIVING SPIRIT. We have animosity with others it will hinder our prayers.

Have we made the church a den of thieves? Have we made our body, the temple of God, a den of thieves?