15-5

In Jesus Christ

In 586 B.C. the temple was destroyed and the Israelites carried into captivity. They did come back and rebuild (although it didn't come close to the greatness of the previous temple), and the temple was once again the center of their spiritual lives. It is where the sacrifices for sins were made, it was where God lived! With that in mind imagine what a shock it was for the people to hear Jesus say, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up!' Of course now we realize that He was talking about His body, but have we stopped and really thought about what that means. Jesus was saying that He is the new temple. He is the place where worship is centralized. He confirmed this when He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well and said that a day is coming when people won't worship on 'this mountain' or in Jerusalem, but in Spirit and in truth. "Jesus was saying that our meeting place with God would no longer be limited to physical structures, geographical locales, or specific times. It would no longer require animal sacrifices, Levitical priests, or holy places. In a sing conversation He relocated the place of worship from the Jerusalem temple to Himself."

D. A. Carson writes: "To worship God 'in spirit and in truth' is first and foremost a way of saying that we must worship God by means of Christ. In Him the reality has dawned and the shadows are being swept away. Christian worship is new-covenant worship; it is gospel-inspired worship; it is Christ-centered worship it is cross focused worship."

Scripture says that Jesus came to be a mediator between God and man. "A mediator is a person who intervenes between opposing parties to help reconcile them. Without a mediator, there's no hope of the two connecting or being restored." Most of us don't spend much time thinking our need for a mediator in our relationship with God. That is because most of us underestimate the severity of sin in our lives! C. J. Mahaney says: "When you tell non-Christians, 'God loves you,' they aren't surprised, they aren't perplexed, they aren't stunned. Regrettably, the same is true among most evangelicals, who simply assume this gracious disposition of God-and therefore presume upon it. And we'll continue to do this until we learn to see our condition more fully from God's perspective."

Sin is a huge deal to God. So huge in fact that it required the death of His Son for forgiveness to even be thought about. You and I sin everyday, are you beginning to get the picture here? The cross is central to our worship. Without it, we would have no access to God. Before Jesus, only the holiest man from the holiest tribe of the holiest people on earth could enter God's presence. Even then only once a year and even then only with the perfect sacrifice. Any other way and it would mean death (Lev 16:2). Jesus has made a way for us to come before God everyday! It is only through Jesus that people can come before God. So before we get too caught up on which style of worship brings us into God's presence, remember that worship itself can't bring us into God's presence, only Jesus Himself can! He did that through His death on the cross!

Without the cross our worship wouldn't even be accepted by God. Why? Because we are full of sin. God condemns worship that is associated with idolatry, unbelief, disobedience, and evil motives. "All our offerings are humbled by the work of Christ because they would be unacceptable without Him. All our offerings are exalted because when they are joined to the atoning sacrifice of the Savior, god accepts them as though His own Son were offering them. Nothing against skill, practice, complexity, nuance, musicianship, or sincerity, but only the finished work of Christ makes our offerings of worship acceptable in God's eyes. That doesn't mean that what we do in corporate worship is unimportant. But when we overemphasize our own actions in worship, we can inadvertently create the impression that our contribution makes our worship acceptable to God. We think God is persuaded to listen to us because of our sophisticated musical arrangements, our polished performance, or even our heartfelt sincerity."

"If we help people focus on what God did 2,000 years ago rather than what happened 20 minutes ago, they'll consistently find their hearts ravished by His amazing love."

Too often in our gatherings is the cross an afterthought. Sure it may get mentioned during the Communion meditation, but not a ton of time is spent on its significance. This is not the case in heaven. Just take a look at Revelation! The worshipers in heaven say that Jesus is worthy to open the scrolls BECAUSE HE WAS SLAIN, and by his blood ransomed people for God. Heaven never 'gets over' the cross. Heaven in both Christ centered and cross centered.

All of that being said, we must be clear as to what the cross means. Sometimes we like to think that the cross is a symbol of how important we are to God. While it is true that we are important to God and that He loved us enough to send His Son to die on the cross for me, the cross ultimately reminds me not of how important I am to God but of the greatness of my sin. "Yes, if I were the only person in the world, Jesus would still have come to die for me. But that's because my sins would require the shedding of His blood unto death."

Our thoughts on Sunday morning should be this: "Will our time together cause people's view of, trust in, and desire for God's glory in Christ and Him crucified to increase?" Nothing is more important.