(11/10) Welcome to all of you as well as those of you joining us online. Today we are going to talk about God’s disruptions. In other words, times when God disrupts our lives in order to bring us into a new reality so that we can walk more closely with him.

How many of you know that God wants us to live daily in his presence, walking with him, trusting him for our daily bread, and living in the abundance of his life-giving love?

The Scriptures make this very clear, but sometimes Jesus needs to disrupt our lives in order for this to happen. You see, the problem is that so often in our lives we settle for cheap substitutes instead of having a vibrant passionate relationship with the living God. And so, we get stuck in this rut, this trap of the enemy, a stagnant cesspool of dry dead religiosity.

That is why Moses told the people of God, "You shall clear out the old to make way for the new" (Leviticus 26:10, ESV).

And I believe what we need in the Church in America today is a disruption of the way that we have been thinking and doing things. I was glad to see that the Church woke up this election season and showed up at the polls to vote for the righteous, biblical values of God, because God wants to do a new thing.

He made this announcement through the prophet Isaiah, "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them" (Isaiah 42:9, ESV).

In other words, we are holding onto things in our lives that are now obsolete, they are outdated, and they’ve been surpassed by something so much better.

The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter twelve that Jesus came to disrupt some things, that better things are coming our way, because he is the mediator of a new covenant, and his sprinkled blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12:24).

In other words, there is power in the blood, there is power in the blood of Jesus, and the new covenant which Jesus established with his own blood is far, far better than the old covenant which was based on the Law.

And so, the old covenant is now obsolete and Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises (Hebrews 8:6, NLT).

And so, I want to encourage you to live abundant lives, living in the reality of the new covenant, not trying to put new wine into old skins, but walking daily in God’s mercy and everlasting love.

Today, we are going to read from the gospel of John, looking at a story which shows us that Jesus is the disrupter of dead religion. And my prayer is that this word from the Living God will disrupt anything in our lives that isn’t based on a new covenant relationship of faith in Jesus Christ. As we come to John chapter two, verse thirteen, the gospel tells us,

"When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money" (John 2:13-14).

"So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market" (John 2:15-16).

In other words, he was insulted by the misuse of the temple, because of the practices of the merchants who had commercialized the worship of God and were exploiting the poor. And so, instead of making it a house of prayer, instead of it being a place of holiness and worship, the merchants were charging exorbitant prices, and making a great profit, by taking advantage of the people of God. Verse seventeen says,

"His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me" (John 2:17). In other words, Jesus reacted strongly against such a flagrant disrespect for God. And yet, the Scripture is a reference to him, because ultimately, he would be the object of scorn and contempt of the Jewish nation, he would be rejected by them, and they would heap reproach upon him.

But I want you to notice that Jesus’ actions were actually much deeper than what you see on the surface. In other words, this was actually a prophetic movement signaling the end of a dead religious sacrificial system. In this cleansing of the temple, Jesus is prophesying that the temple and the sacrificial system was about to become obsolete. He said, "One greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42).

Indicating that he was declaring an end to the system of worship and the rituals they knew and identified with, because Jesus will disrupt any system that interferes with our daily walk with him.

In fact, the Lord had hinted or warned them over and over again saying, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6).

However, the people just didn’t seem to get it, the sacrificial system was so deeply ingrained in their religious experience that Jesus had to disrupt their way of thinking. And so, he told the crowds, "Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Mark 12:33).

In other words, he wanted them and us to live in freedom, living abundant lives, relying upon his grace, and even though any change to the Law was seen as revolutionary and blasphemous, when Jesus came on the scene he was recognized and identified as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). And so, not only was Jesus the perfect sacrifice, but he was the last sacrifice, the eternally sufficient sacrifice, and therefore through his death and resurrection he brought an end to the sacrificial system.

Not only did the coming of Jesus Christ divide our calendar, but his death and resurrection is the core of our Christian faith. His message of love and the powerful demonstration of his everlasting love on the cross was a turning point, disrupting even human history. And the gospel of Jesus Christ will often provoke strong reactions, because Jesus said himself,

"I did not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matthew 10:34).

The message of the gospel divides, "a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law," because Jesus is a disrupter, causing conflict within families as people choose to follow him or reject him (Matthew 10:35). In fact, in the last days he talked about one being taken and the other left and separating the people one from another, the sheep on his right and the goats on his left (Matthew 25:33).

And that’s not a new message, when Israel came into the promised land Joshua said to the people, "Choose this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15).

In the same way, Jesus emphasized the importance of prioritizing our love for him saying, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:37-38).

In other words, the point I’m trying to make is that Jesus is going to disrupt anything in your life that is preventing you from wholeheartedly following him. He said, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money" (Matthew 6:24).

And so, Jesus is trying to disrupt your way of thinking, your way of living, so that you would follow him and live the abundant life in his kingdom. But there are no halfway, halfhearted, sitting on the fence disciples, "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God" (Deuteronomy 4:24).

In other words, with the same passion and zeal that the Lord cleansed the temple, disrupting the sacrificial system, with that same enthusiasm he disrupts our lives as a perfect and holy Heavenly Father wanting a relationship with his children. His passion for you and me, his attitude toward us, is the same as his passion for the holiness of the temple. As it is written, "Zeal for your house consumes me" (Psalms 69:9).

And it is with that same enthusiasm, the same zeal, that he disrupts our lives, because every disruption is rooted in his mercy and love for us.

There are so many examples of this disruption by Jesus in the Scriptures. There is the story of the woman at the well in Samaria. Jesus, breaking social norms, asked the woman for a drink before telling her about the "Living Water" he offers. He then reveals his knowledge of her personal life, mentioning her five previous husbands and the mess of her current relationship. This insight convinces her that he is a prophet, she mentions the promise of the coming Messiah, and Jesus declares, "I who speak to you am he" (John 4:26).

Leaving her water jar she goes back to town and tells the people about Jesus emphasizing the transformative power of an encounter with him that would cross both cultural and social barriers.

The second example I want to share with you is of another woman, this time a Jewish woman who was caught in the act of adultery. Jesus is teaching in the temple courts when the scribes and Pharisees forced this woman to stand in front of Jesus. They are ready to condemn her for her sin, to stone her to death according to the law of God, and they asked Jesus what should be done with her.

Instead of answering, Jesus stoops down and writes on the ground with His finger. When they persist, He stands and says, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground" (John 8:7-8).

Convicted by their own conscience, the accusers drop their stones and leave one by one. Finally, Jesus stands and asked the woman, "Has no one condemned you?" "No one, Sir," she said. "Neither do I condemn you, go now and leave your life of sin" (John 8:10-11).

Again, Jesus emphasizes mercy over judgment and the call for personal reflection of one’s own sins before condemning others for theirs.

Third, Jesus does the same thing with us, coming right into the middle of the mess that we have created. In fact, because of our selfish desires Jesus has two objectives: Number one, he wants to cleanse the temple like the woman caught in the act of adultery. And number two, he wants to satisfy our desires with himself like the woman at the well.

And so, once again we find Jesus standing in the middle of the temple courts and he says in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37).

I wonder if there is anyone here who is thirsty? I want to encourage you to respond to his invitation, receiving the gift he offers, because he said, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (John 7:38).

In other words, when you believe in Jesus, receiving the Holy Spirit, embracing the invitation that he offers, you will have life to the full and you will be able to walk daily in the flow of God’s everlasting mercy and love.

But the key to our understanding this is to recognize that this is something that Jesus is doing within the one who believes. In other words, we can’t miss the bigger picture of the biblical narrative that describes who God is and what he wants to do in and through us. In other words, there is a narrative that runs through the pages of our Bibles, beginning in Genesis and concluding in Revelation. This narrative tells us that we have a God who created us and who loves us so much that more than anything else he wants to spend time with us.

For example, we discover in Genesis chapter three, prior to the introduction of sin, that verse 8 tells us, "The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8).

In other words, God was walking in the garden that he created, so that he could be with the people he created; because his desire was to have fellowship with them. He wanted to relate to them, to walk with them, and to enjoy life with them, but they rebelled and disobeyed, and their sin changed everything. Suddenly, they were overcome with guilt and shame, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden (Genesis 3:8).

But the Lord didn’t give up on them. Aren’t you glad that God was relentless in his pursuit of us? God shifts his tactics, because he hasn’t changed his mind, he is still intent on meeting with us.

As we continue flipping through the pages of the book of Genesis, we find the Lord reaching out to a man named Abram. He made an unconditional covenant with him, saying to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing" (Genesis 12:1-2).

Abram believed and got up and left, but many centuries later his descendants now called the nation of Israel were enslaved by Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. They cried out to the Lord, and he rescued them, sending a savior named Moses, and he delivers them from Pharaoh’s cruel oppression. After swooping down and carrying them off on Eagles wings, he brought them to himself and made this declaration in the wilderness.

"I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God" (Exodus 29:45).

From that moment in time in Israel’s history we begin to see closer relationships forming with God. We see the concept of the tabernacle taking shape, a meeting place where God’s people could come into his presence offering sacrifices and experiencing his favor. The Lord tells Moses to make a place where they can experience his presence so that God would live among them, and they would be his people.

Many years later we see the progression of this concept of fellowship and communion which shifts to the idea of a more permanent temple that would be constructed in Jerusalem. Again, it was in that place that God’s presence would dwell, and people could come and experience his favor, because this is and has been the desire of God to dwell among his people. The Bible tells us that when King Solomon finished constructing the temple he dedicated it to God. After he had prayed the Bible says, "Fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple" (2 Chronicles 7:1).

Now, no matter where God’s people were there was a fixed place where they could come and experience his presence. It was in that place that Solomon prayed, "May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your name there" (2 Chronicles 6:20).

The Lord’s desire was to live among his people and that they would know him and so he replied to Solomon: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place" (2 Chronicles 7:14-15).

The progressive nature of this relationship continued to evolve and the concept of God dwelling among his people ultimately manifests itself in the promise given to Isaiah.

"The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14).

Matthew describes the fulfillment of this prophecy telling us that Immanuel means, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).

And yet, that still wasn’t the culmination of the promise, because when Jesus came, they didn’t recognize him, his own did not receive him, and so they crucified him.

But this is beautiful and powerful to you who believe, this stone is precious, because through him your relationship with the Father is restored. And the Bible says, "As you come to him, the living Stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; you also like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:4-5).

In other words, believers are being remodeled, they are under construction, and the Holy Spirit is making a dramatic change in the meeting place.

In verse 18, John tells us that the Jews demanded of Jesus, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days" (John 2:18-19).

Now, they did not understand what he was talking about, because they did not realize that the temple he had spoken of was his body, but, "After he was raised from the dead his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken" (John 2:22).

You see, the resurrection was a game changer, not just for them, but for us who believe, because suddenly we experience another change in the meeting place. The temple is not a place where you go to experience God’s presence, but the temple is the people who belong to Jesus, they are the living stones being built into a spiritual house. The Bible says,

"We are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people" (2 Corinthians 6:16).

In other words, those living stones are now the members of the body of Christ, the Church, or the temple of the living God.

And then, one of the last pictures we see of God’s intent to restore that relationship which began in Genesis, now we understand that the temple is no longer a place you go to experience God’s presence, because the temple is the people that belong to Jesus, who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We see this in the last book of the Bible, in Revelation chapter twenty-one, it says,

"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God" (Revelation 21:3).

This is the culmination of thousands of years of striving with men when Jesus Christ establishes his kingdom and we see him face-to-face in our glorified bodies. He will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away and Jesus said, "I am making everything new" (Revelation 21:5).

That is the mighty power of God’s redemptive plan, that God loved us so much that he didn’t want to remain at a distance, he didn’t want to be a bystander, looking at all the things that are happening in our lives, but he wanted to enter into our world and dwell among us. That is what is so meaningful when we gather together as the church and we celebrate what Jesus has done, because he has made us temples of God. He lives among us, and when we come together, we worship in the presence of God.

And so, do you have a greater understanding of what God is doing in here, in our lives right now? I mean, are you aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit here right now? Because he is here, and his power is greater than any other gift we could ever receive.

As we close today, would you allow Jesus to disrupt your life, aligning your heart and your desires with his through the Holy Spirit? The Lord said through the prophet, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26).

Do you recognize what God has done in sending his Son Jesus Christ and filling you with the Holy Spirit?

Let me remind you of the high priestly prayer of Jesus the night before he died on the cross. He was in the upper room, praying with his disciples and he said,

"Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us… that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me" (John 17:21-23).

I want you to be mindful of the presence of the Holy Spirit among us. In fact, would you invite the Holy Spirit to make himself known to you? Would you call upon the name of Jesus, because the Bible tells us, "Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).

There is really no other way to come to God because without faith it is impossible to please him, and so the only thing that remains for us to do is to receive the promise of the Father from Jesus. He is the one who will baptize you in the Holy Spirit, and so would you respond to him?

Right now, no matter what is going on in your life, would you celebrate the fullness of joy, lifting up the name of Jesus, and praying in the Holy Spirit, because the psalmist said, "In your presence is the fullness of joy" (Psalm 16:11).

God’s desire is that you would have an encounter with the Holy Spirit this morning and that you would allow him to disrupt your life. That you would leave here this morning with the fullness of joy because you had an experience with the living God. Would you make that your prayer? That you would leave this place so passionately in love with Jesus, so full of his presence, so full of his power, that you would know him, love him, and serve him all the days of your life.

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott