"Go away you thieves, you snake run or I will come to you with a whip. You will remember from today onwards YOU WILL NOT DO THIS EVER AND DON"T YOU DARE TO RETURN"
Have you seen someone who is always composed and not even once did he/she lose their cool? But imagine one day you happen to see your cool friend explode in full and in a situation that looks normal to others. But why Jesus exploded in full view of everyone?
Mark 11:15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’[c]? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’[d]”
It must be strange for the disciples when they saw Jesus reacted so strongly to a situation that seems normal to all Jews. The buying and selling outside the temple courts were normal dealings. Many would consider it an honest living. But what was wrong it became a market place where greedy money changers were making unwholesome profits and hagglers were looking for loopholes to make money.
The main aim of the temple is to have a chance to make it right with God and worshipping Him. But during that time it was far away from people's focus.
When someone decides to offer a sacrifice, it must be first carefully selected and brought to the Lord. It is not a hasty decision or something you would do while you were on the way to run your daily errands. A sacrifice is supposed to be meticulously selected and bought with your own money that you feel a deep need to do so.
Leviticus 4:3
if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people,
then let him offer to the Lord a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.
Leviticus 4:22-23
‘When a leader sins and unintentionally does anyone of all the things which the Lord his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty, if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a male without defect.
Leviticus 4:27
‘Now if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty, if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed. He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering.
The offerings can be for their own sin or a fellowship offering but no matter what it is supposed to be spotless and with a heart.
Ps 51:15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
Our Father in heaven wanted a broken humble heart of repentance and not some gifts that we can casually grab.
Rich with God:
Do I come before God with a broken and contrite heart? The word contrite in Greek dakah means "be broken, be crushed and to be collapse"
Psa 10:10
He crouches, he bows down,
And the [fn]unfortunate fall [fn]by his mighty ones.
Psa 38:8
I am benumbed and badly crushed; groan because of the [fn]agitation of my heart.
Psa 44:19
Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals
And covered us with the shadow of death.
Psa 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Reading these scriptures led me to think of the kind of spirit I need to have when I come to God. Am I ready to be "crushed" to be "broken" or to "break" by God's word?
The casual reading of the daily bread? The impromptu flipping of the scriptures or even reading the bible as a replacement to Melatonin?
As a family, we had a very serious talk last week about the attitude we need to have when we come to Sunday worship. We sat down as a family to talk about coming to worship ready to respond to His word and sing to honor Him. I don't need a melodious voice to sing but I need to sing to meditate on the words to set my heart for worship. It is not whether we are singing the hippest Christian songs or a traditional hymn but a heart of worship.
The heart is the center of everything. If it is a sacrifice do your heart feels like it is a sacrifice. Someone taught me if there is no effort or pain in the process of delivering a sacrifice it is "No Sacrifice at ALL".
We do not go on a mission trip or sell everything to give to the poor (but if you are inspired to do so please go ahead) yet have no focus on our own heart it is vile. Do you know there are lots of smoking cessation research funded by the tobacco company? I think the best way is to stop selling cigarettes or manufacturing them. But some companies are doing it to fulfill their corporate social responsibility.
My dear friend, are you fulfilling your Corporate Christian Responsibility in the area of worshipping God? Let's do a litmus test. Do you just read your bible and forgotten about it after reading it? Do you remember last week's sermon? By reading the word of God does it move you? Do you pray till you find a connection with God? Do you walk with Him or The King daily?
Our Father called us Sons and Daughters. It will be sad if our relationship with God is very much like some earthly sinful father's model. Our dads are human beings and will have flaws and some are sinful that even destroyed childhood. But our heavenly Father is perfect and loving. He has a fountain of grace and love ready to shower on you.
God wants our hearts to be massaged and be connected with Him. He wants you to feel Rich and comes to Him often. He will fill your hearts with gladness then you will be grateful, He will fill your heart with love and you will start to love. He makes your heart filled with Richness and then you can give again.
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