Regaining Lost Ground

Announcer: He's calling wake-up time. It's your turn to shine. You were born for such a time as this. He set His face like a flint. I need to set my face like a flint as well. If I could just get to Jesus today, I know my problems would be over, or at least He'd hold me through those problems. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, they got mad. There He goes, healing people again. And they saw the children crying in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David." They were indignant. That word is a strong anger.

Thank you for joining us here at Westside Christian Fellowship, located in Leona Valley, California, one hour north of Los Angeles. Today on Regaining Lost Ground, we hear the second part of this igniting message titled, "He Set His Face Like A Flint, So Should You." In Luke 12:49, Jesus said, "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled." Do you seek to be on fire for Jesus? Overflowing with His Spirit, the Spirit of the living God? Listen now as Pastor Shane Idleman sparks a firestorm of holiness. What will it take for God's people to be burning for more of Christ, to have a thirst for truth and a hunger to see the lost found? Buckle up and catch fire right now here on Regaining Lost Ground.

Pastor Shane Idleman: Zeal for my Father's house has consumed me. I don't know if He's making it on the way, getting off the donkey and grabbing some rope to make a whip to drive them out of the temple. What passion for God's house. Can you imagine if we got that back again today? Don't bring things like that, but bring a heart that wants to fear God again. That's why many churches aren't experiencing what we experience here and what other churches experience. There's no fear of God in that place. There's a manipulation, a compromise. This isn't your house, it's God's house.

We don't come in here acting like this is our house. I want new believers to be welcome, and so do I, but I'm not going to compromise for them. They're coming into God's house. I could spend some time on this. I think they still do it, you'll probably see it come out during Easter, all these weird stunts. Have you ever seen those? One guy thought it would be cool to play in the lobby, AC/DC, "Highway to Hell" for Easter because his sermon title was something about hell. You don't have the Spirit of God in you, you're just trying to entertain the masses.

Don't convict, don't say anything. I understand there's a balance there, reaching the lost. But did you know you're supposed to also reach the lost out there? And then we come here as believers and we worship the living God. Of course we want to be sensitive to newcomers. We want to make sure I take constructive criticism all the time and some of it is warranted. When people say, "Shane, when you say things about LGBTQ, make sure you also offer hope and don't just..." Yeah, that's a good point. I got it.

There's a balance there that you have to find. Even politically, you don't want to get too political. Lord, help me. You understand that there are different people on sides of the political spectrum and being sensitive to that. But at the same time, you can't silence the truth. I have pastor friends that can't say a lot of what I say. The deacon board would meet with me after that. Really? I would resign and go get a job somewhere. How is that possible? Simply because it's too controversial.

Isn't the Bible controversial? Last time I checked. And so He also overturned the tables where they had their money and the seats. He's going off. Who would have said, "That's not a Christian"? Wouldn't we? Now, I'm not giving permission to go into places because most of us would not do that with a perfect heart like He did. If I did that, I guarantee there would be a little old school mixed in there with new school. But that's not what a Christian does. The way you talk so boldly and about truth, you're not being very Christ-like. Where's the love for others?

I hear that sometimes if I respond on X or Instagram and somebody's in another religion. People in all these religions don't want to talk about their religion. Why can't we all just love each other and be quiet? That's Christ-like. Can't we all just get along? Technically, yes, we're supposed to, but also the truth is kind of narrow. Here's something to think about. All religions can be wrong, but they cannot all be right. Do your research. Dig, folks. Know what you believe and why you believe it. All these different faiths, they all believe we're focused on God. Not the same God.

Look at what the Bible says and look at what they say. Do your homework. But I hear that a lot, "Why can't we just love each other? Why do you have to say something about that or that or that?" I get it because you don't want to be known as the guy that does that. We've all seen those mean-spirited, angry people. But by the way, the truth is the truth. How do you make the truth taste good? Jesus said He's the only, well, one of many ways, and so I understand where you're coming from. I know the cross, we probably could still have Christianity without the cross.

Where do you draw the line? You don't. The truth is the truth and God honors that. You just have to make sure it's coming from a right heart. That's where all of us can make mistakes. Sometimes we are too arrogant and bold and we need to put on the brakes. Many others of you are too silent and you need to step on the gas and speak the truth in love when God calls you to do that. And so as He's doing this, He said, "It is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers." Robbers taking advantage of people.

My house shall be called a house of prayer, God said it. Did you know that's the primary focus of a church? That should be the primary goal of a church. There should be opportunities to pray. It should be the church pressing in. It's not really a social club, it's a prayer meeting. Granted, it's hard to get people to come to those and usually the most important things are the hardest to do, aren't they? Some of you should go home and cut up some broccoli and bell peppers and eat healthy, but you're not going to. You're going to go somewhere because it's the easy thing to do and it tastes better.

And so we have to fight against, even spiritually speaking, we have to fight against those things. So again, He set His face like a flint and the first thing He did was He cleaned up worship. He cleaned up worship in the house of God. I started thinking, why wouldn't He just say, "Okay, well these guys are lost, I'm going to the cross in five days or so"? That was the first order of business coming in. He knows He's going to His execution and He establishes, He cleans up worship.

It's a reminder that compromise affects worship. Your compromise in your heart, compromise in your attitude, will affect worship. Since I've lived it many times, I can say this. I'm not attacking, I'm just trying to help. Many people come into church and the reason they can't worship is because they've been compromising all week. Compromise dulls your spiritual weaponry. You don't have the sword of the Spirit. You're not passionate. You really don't want to get here. You got here because it's what we do, we go to church.

And when compromise cuts in, how would we know? Like all week, I know I've got a gossiping tongue, I know it, but I love it and I'm not repenting of it. You think you're going to be able to worship? Slander, backbiting, divisive, critical heart, arrogant heart? You think we'll be able to worship when we've been compromising in those areas? Sexual purity, other addictions, things we come in. Guys, I just feel for the church today in general because we come in, it's almost like the zombie movies.

We're coming to church, many, but their heart's not engaged with God. They can't really worship. They're kind of bored. I just heard a speaker last month who told us, a group of pastors, why we should get our whole service down to one hour. From start to finish? But it's a big mega church in LA. We've got to follow his advice, right? And I should say, I don't want to come across cocky or arrogant because there's good points when people are trying to reach the lost. An unbeliever comes into church, they're not even going to know what you're singing.

They don't want to be singing it. Why are you singing for 20 minutes? That would be my reminder. We're here worshipping God. That would be so hard for me to tailor everything based on new people coming in and what they might want. Because what you normally find is the opposite. They come in, their hearts are convicted, and they want to come back. Something was changed, their hearts were challenged because God was honored. They saw real authentic ministry and worship.

And I love Jesus said here, "My house, God's house, shall be called a house of prayer." A good reminder for us that the priority must always be prayer as you set your face to seek Him. He set His face like a flint, so should you, meaning prayer is that focal point. Prayer is that dividing line. And maybe a good reminder for some of you this morning and some listening later that seeking to profit financially from the worship of God is a blasphemous thing to do. It's very, very sinful, profiting off the worship of God, trying to make money off people with the worship of God.

And many of you have been watching things coming out in the Christian news. I'm not going to go into that whole thing, but a lot of what's being exposed, false prophecies, plagiarism, worship leaders that are spending money they shouldn't. You're seeing all this because of this point: seeking to profit financially from worship. Now we do have to be careful because some events and things have to charge things. Sometimes I have to handle this verse when it's taken out of context.

If we have a worship leader here who wants to offer his material at a good discount to bless people, people get upset. Didn't you read this? No, that's out of context. That's appropriate and the right heart and it doesn't fit the context. So again, we have to be careful in this area. But I'm going to read what I read on Wednesday, just the short version regarding compromise in the church, regarding charging for worship and things like that. David Wilkerson said, "I look at the whole religious scene today and all I see are the inventions of ministries of man and flesh.

It's mostly powerless and I see more of the world coming into the church and impacting the church rather than the church impacting the world. I see the music taking over the house of God. I see entertainment taking over the house of God and obsession with entertainment in God's house, a hatred of correction and a hatred of reproof. Nobody wants to hear it anymore." And we do see that even more and more. And I remember even there was a desire, people would understand conviction in the church. Now they actually find churches that don't convict them.

Matthew 21:14. I love this about Jesus too. Comes in, fulfills prophecy, goes in the temple, hopefully restores worship. We don't know what happened after that, but if He restored worship, hopefully those guys aren't coming back in. Hopefully people were convicted because days later, when Jesus was on the cross, God the Father decided to reach down from heaven and tear the veil. This big, thick, four-inch veil that covered, they could not go into the Holy of Holies. Now that worship is restored and God breaks that veil.

The Bible says from the top to the bottom. And what does this do? This is so powerful because you had to go in, the priest had to go in once a year and hopefully do everything right to atone for the sins of the people. The blood of bulls and goats and keep every year, every year. And then God says, "Enough, it is done. The veil is torn and now people can enter themselves boldly into the throne room of God." They can go directly to Jesus Christ.

Folks, this is another one of my beefs with my Roman Catholic friends. You don't go to a priest. Actually that's not a good idea, that's not biblical. And there are so many different things because Christ said, "It is finished." It's done. Another side note, no need for purgatory. What sins are you going to pay for that He didn't pay for? To me this breaks my heart and every time I do this, people get upset, but I don't know what to tell you. It breaks my heart to tell people you're still going to have to pay for some sins though. Jesus' sacrifice was not quite enough.

So when He said, "Tetelestai, it is finished," He meant it's partially finished. This is serious stuff. But we don't want to offend people. I don't either. I don't want to offend people. My mom said I was growing up as a people pleaser. I like to please people, don't be upset at Shane. But when the truth grips your heart and you can say like the prophets, "His word is in my heart like a burning fire, I have to say what's burning in my heart as long as it lines up with scripture."

And so after He drove out the money changers, He went and the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple and He healed them. What a contrast. Whipping people, I don't know if He hit them but He probably hit by their feet or drove them out. It goes from that, now He's back to the mild, meek-mannered Jesus, Superman back to Clark Kent. And He begins to heal these people, all who came to Him in the temple. So people came to Him. And so the second point of this sermon, ministry flows from worship.

All God-inspired ministry will flow from worship. As you're worshipping Him, as worship becomes a priority, that is the anchor, that's actually the foundation from which all ministry flows. You have to have that as the foundation. And also we often have to initiate the pursuit, don't we? And I hear that a lot, "God's pursuing me," and He is, thank God for that. And that is true, that's biblical. But did you know you're also supposed to pursue Him? The verse I use all the time, if you seek Me, if you pursue Me with all your heart, if I become your priority, if I become your passion, if I become your main focus, if I become that love of your life, if you pursue Me, you will find Me if you search for Me with all of your heart.

What about people even here that I'm amazed, of course this isn't always happening, but many of the people that were healed pursued Him. Not every single person, there's intercessors and different things, but a lot of times they came to Him. They pursued Him. They knew they just needed a touch, their faith drove them to Him. What about the lady, "If I could just touch the hem of His garment, I would"? Can you imagine if we got up and said, "If I could just get to church today or this week, if I could just get into worship, if I could just get into prayer. I've got a busy day, but I've got to touch Him. I've got to find Him. He set His face like a flint, I need to set my face like a flint as well and pursue."

If I could just get to Jesus today, I know my problems would be over, or at least He'd hold me through those problems. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, they got mad. There He goes, healing people again. And they saw the children crying in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David." They were indignant. That word is a strong anger and they said, "Don't you hear what they're saying to you?" And Jesus said, "Yes, have you never read?" I love how He goes back to scriptures with these guys.

"Yeah, haven't you read? I came in on a donkey, haven't you read? You said this, yeah, haven't you read? You did this, yeah, haven't you read?" Well, did the Isaiah the prophet speak of you? Your lips draw nigh unto me, but your hearts are far from me. Haven't you read? And the prophet said, "Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes, you will have prepared praise." I think some other translations might say, "perfect praise" in the sense of it's complete, it's lacking nothing.

Have you ever seen little ones truly worship? They don't care what you think. Isn't that amazing? They don't care what you think, they don't care what they look like, they're not worried. Some of them sometimes, of course, are shy and things like that, but when they worship the Lord, it's beautiful. Children worshipping highlights God's strength, perfected through weak, unexpected sources. When the broken worship, God moves. As much as I would like to see this, won't happen for obvious reasons, but instead of seeing LeBron, Kobe, and Michael Jordan worshipping, I'd love to see the broken, the hurting, worship.

That would be like, whoa, but that's worship. I'm not discounting that. I'm just saying God often uses the lowly and the broken to represent the heart of the Father because it's genuine. And where does this verse come from? Psalm 8. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. If you don't know why we should worship, just focus on this Psalm today.

Announcer: You've been listening to Regaining Lost Ground with Pastor Shane Idleman. You can find more information at westsidechristianfellowship.org. That's westsidechristianfellowship.org. And for all the latest on what God is doing with His ministry here, please be sure to follow us on most social media platforms. Westside Christian Fellowship is located 60 miles north of Los Angeles in Leona Valley, California. Thank you again for listening to today's message of Regaining Lost Ground, where we are reminded daily, times change, truth does not.