Well, good morning crossing. How are we doing? We're good. We're good. It's good. Good to see you all. Shout out to all the sites. Uh, glad we get to join together. Uh, as Tim said, my name's Will Coleman, uh, and today just treat me like I'm your cousin from North County. That's all we going to do it. Uh, I, pastor Cone Church, as he said. Now I've had some people, like, they tried to look for it. They, they're having a hard time finding it. It's because it's spelled like CHONe, but it's pronounced cone. So it's C-H-A-Z-O-W-N and you can actually find that in Proverbs 29, uh, 18, where it says, where there is no vision, people perish. That word vision, the Hebrew word is kone, which means a dream of revelation, the vision from God. And so, uh, I've come down here from, from Kone, and I'm just glad to be back with you. How many of you all were here last time I was here? Uh, of around Labor Day? All right, man, that's probably the most, the largest crowd. Uh, so shout out to the 11 o'clock, you know, and then those of you who weren't, you know, Hey, it's good to meet you. Uh, I hope they invite me back after this one again. You know what I'm saying? Uh, I, I did think though, as I came up here, I was like, one of two things happened. Either I did a really good job Labor Day weekend or they were really desperate this weekend. I don't know. I'm gonna lean on. I did a good job. That's at least what I hope and I pray, uh, but I do want to honor, uh, pastor Greg and all of the crossing staff, uh, they have been, they have supported me, uh, my family, my church, and uh, they really all like family. So thank you guys. And it's just good to be back with you again. Before I jump into the message, I do want to show you all my family. If you were here last time, it's the same picture. I'm gonna show it to you again. That's my wife, beautiful wife, Davina, and our daughters, Hadassah, Willow and Zoe. They are the joy of my life. Uh, they were here at the five o'clock last night. They're actually at our church right now. Uh, and yeah, it's 11. It's 1130. Yeah, they're at the church right now serving. So, uh, shout out to them as well. But I love my family, love them so much. And, uh, we're back. We're here, we are in the next day of the, the series seven days. But before we get to that, I want to talk about something that we all have in common. All of us have in common, and it is, how do you feel about Mondays? See a little, little bit of laughter, but I did hear a groan towards the back there. Mondays have a reputation, don't they? Like, I don't know about you all, but like on Monday, my alarm clock is extra disrespectful and it's like, wake up, wink up, win up. And I'm like, oh my goodness. See, I don't drink coffee, but coffee drinkers have told me on Monday, one cup is not enough. You need maybe three or four, right? And then if you get, uh, if you have a job where you need to be checking your email, it's like you show up and your inbox is full of emails of people who do not know what a weekend actually is. Mondays just hit different. And, uh, one thing I've been noticing as I watch you all online, I see Pastor Greg do that. See some of the other pastors do this. You all do something at the crossing that back in the day, I would've gotten in trouble for. And that's like, there's these times where he will allow you all to talk to your neighbors. The church that I, the churches I grew up in, the only talking we could do in service was you would talk back to the pastor like you're preaching good. Amen. If I talked to my neighbor, I got pinched for that. Like, so I thought to myself today, I want to try it. So what I want us to do, just for a few moments, you are gonna get a chance to talk to your neighbor. And I want you to answer this question. What is the worst part about Mondays? What's the worst thing about Mondays for you? Take one minute, talk to the people that are around you. All of our sites, what's the worst thing about Mondays? These are the, I Gotta get outta here. I think I'm gonna lose it. Uh oh. Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mund. Now be honest. How many of you all are the lady in that clip? Like Mondays is just, it's a great day, you're excited to be at work. Not many of you are, okay. That may be why you all are at the 11 o'clock. You're not the early risers. I don't know. I don't know. But how many of you all are that other guy looking at her? Like who get her outta here. Like it's Monday, right? And so I heard a lot of you all talking, just shout out what are, what are some of the things you all talked about? What's the worst thing about Mondays? Waking up, waking up. You just don't want to even have to get up. Okay, somebody else. Monday morning conference call. Oh, the Monday morning conference call. Okay, listen, if you are a manager or a boss, don't do that to your people, you know, good. And well what you're doing, don't do that to your people. We one more. One more school. I have heard that at every single service school. Why do, it's like, what if we move the start of school to Tuesday, but then Tuesday will become Monday and you still complain about it, right? We all have these issues with Monday and I get it. And matter of fact, because I heard so many issues with it, I'm just gonna stop the message. I'm not gonna preach. We're gonna have a prayer service to pray for your Monday issues. Heavenly Father, I pray for Ev. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. But why are we talking about Monday? Well, as Tim said, we are looking at holy week. The seven days last week, pastor Greg kicked us off with Palm Sunday, right? And this is the most unsettling week of Jesus' life on Sunday. It didn't start off unsettling, it started off. In the moment of celebration, Jesus shows up to Jerusalem, they're waving palm leaves at him, they're singing Hosanna a moment of victory and celebration. But now we're gonna shift to Monday and the mood is about to shift drastically. Okay? So if you were with us last week, you remember Monday, Sunday, let's get into Monday. So let's look at Mark chapter 11, verses 12 through 17. And let's see what's about to happen as we get closer and closer to Friday. But this is Monday. The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. He noticed the fig tree in full leaf a little way off. So he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. Then Jesus said to the tree, may no one ever eat of your fruit again. And the disciples heard him say it when they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple and he began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. And he stopped everyone from using the temple as a marketplace. And he said to them, the scriptures declare my temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations. But you have turned it into a den of thieves. Woo. Monday we're celebrating, excuse me, Sunday we're celebrating. And Monday Jesus is flipping tables kicking people up out of the temple. What in the world happened between Sunday and Monday? How did we get here? Was Jesus having a case of the Mondays? Because I don't understand it. Wait a minute, they're hosanna, they're cheering you, you're the Lord your Savior. And then the next day you're telling 'em to get out of the temple. What happened? Well, in order to understand this, we need to dive into and look at why Jesus responded this way. So last week, Greg showed you this flyover view of Jerusalem and what was happening there. And if you remember, he talked about his Passover. And at this time people were coming from all over the world to celebrate Passover. And there could have been anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of extra people in Jerusalem. And where this all happened was in the temple, but right outside of it, in the court of Gentiles, see if the temple is up there and in the temple, the further into the temple that you went, the stronger the presence of God was. You had the holy of holies, the inner court, then you had the outer court, and then way on the outside was the court of the Gentiles. Now you may look at this and go, man, that's messed up like the, the non-Jewish folks could only go so far. But what I need you to see is, and one thing you need to remember, the Bible was written for us, not to us, okay? At this time, this was still a powerful moment that God was making room for all people. Even though the Gentiles couldn't go all the way in, there was still a place for them to go and worship God. And yet we see Jesus seemingly going off. Why? Because instead of a place of prayer, it had turned into a marketplace. So imagine that whole section down there is covered with tables share as you hear, you are seeing, uh, animals, uh, being sold, bought and sold for sacrifice. And you're hearing the jingling of money, of coins being exchanged. And imagine it's full of all of that. And you just to get through it, you're having a hard time getting through it. And Jesus saw this and he was angry, but it's not 'cause there was just a lot of people. It's because of what was happening. You see those money changers, they knew that those folks had traveled from miles and miles away to come worship God. And they had to bring Roman currency. And these money changers knew, okay, we're gonna make them exchange the Roman currency for the temple currency, but we're gonna mark it up so we get a prophet. They, and then they knew that these folks were traveling. They need animals to sacrifice because that's how they would, would bring their penance to God. They had to sacrifice an animal. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna make the price for these animals outrageous. And Jesus sees this and he's like, what? They're supposed to be here to worship God and they can't get through because of all of this. These folks were met with barriers, financial, spiritual, and physical. And the place that was meant to welcome them to God had become a place that kept them out. And Jesus was angry. Now the question is, is did Jesus just wake up that day like many of us on the wrong side of the bed? Did he wake up hangry? You know how it is? Those old Snickers commercials, you're not yourself when you're hungry. Was that Jesus? Did he show up because the weekend, woo, that was a weekend, y'all. We had a time yesterday that Palm Sunday crowd, let me tell you, they took, took all my energy disciples, look, I just need some time to rest. Listen, don't let anybody talk to me today. If I see anything I'm going off today. Is that how Jesus was responding? Is that what happened? Was he having a case of the Mondays? Was he just having a bad day? The answer is no. Jesus was not just having a bad day. If anything, he was having a righteous day because Jesus had walked into this place and he saw that people were being blocked from worshiping God. And we know this wasn't impulsive. See, most of our anger is impulsive. Something happens, we have to respond. But we know that wasn't the case for Jesus. And how do we know? Well, let's just rewind just a few verses before where we started off today. And let's go back to Sunday. Remember we're on Monday before a few moments. Let's go back to Sunday. Mark 1111. Let's see what happened on Sunday. So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. And then he returned to Bethany with the 12 disciples. So you notice everything that Jesus saw on Monday. He saw it on Sunday. He saw the money changers, he saw what was going on in there and he didn't do anything on Sunday. So his response on Monday was not reactionary. It was thoughtful because we saw that he went to Bethany that night. And what we don't know, scripture doesn't tell us exactly what happened in Bethany that night, but we can look at the rest of Jesus' life and we can, we can look and go, okay. He spent a lot of time in God's presence, a lot of time in prayer. The uh, we would, if you really look at it, Jesus would spend hours in the presence of God in moments performing miracles. So I believe the scripture doesn't tell us, but I believe Jesus went back that night and he prayed. Father, that's not what the temple is supposed to be. God, what? What do you want me to do? You sent me here so that these people can get to you, but in the place that they're supposed to do that at, they can't even do that. I think Jesus was grieving over what he saw that day. And so I think he noticed that the temple had drifted so far from what it was meant to be. And so Jesus' anger was not reactionary, it was prayed for and he knew that something had to be done. So on Sunday he saw it. Sunday night he prayed and on Monday he was angry. But is Jesus's anger like our anger? I see a few people shaking your heads. Noah was not because our anger, let's be honest, is reactionary, right? At least mine is. Mine is always Rena reactionary. It's especially if I feel inconvenienced. A few years back, uh, I needed a cell phone charger for my phone and this was some years back so I couldn't get it on Amazon at the time. I, so I needed to go to the store and I won't tell you the carrier of it, but just know I needed a cell phone charger. I show up, there's four employees there. I speak to one of them. I'm in the market for a cell phone charger. They give me one. I look at it, is this what I need? Yes, that's what you need. Thank you so much. I pay for it. I drive home 10 minutes away, I get home, I open it and it's a charger for your car. I need one for the wall. I pack it back up, get in my car, I drive all the way back, I walk in the room. Hey, you all gave me the wrong charger. I need one for the wall. Oh, we're sorry about that sir. Here's a different one. Okay, is this what I need? Yes. Are you sure about it? I don't want to get all the way home and this is not what I need. Yes sir. Okay. I paid for it. Thank you so much. I get in my car, I drive all the way home, I get home, I open it. It is not what I needed. And at that moment a switch went off and I thought about Jesus flipping tables and I said, WWJD, what would Jesus do? I got in my car, I drove back up to that store and if Jesus can kick over tables, boom, I kicked in the door and those four employees could see the rage in my eye. Now at this point, what Jesus did and what I did, that's where we split. I blacked out. I don't remember what I said to them, but I know it wasn't Christlike and I left. Now let me bring this story home. Let me, let me also say this. I was not a pastor at the time, so I just want, I wanna put that out there. I wanna put that out there. You know, I'm not, this isn't, this didn't happen last weekend. This was some years ago before I was a pastor, okay? But what was interesting was that night, it was a Saturday and a few hours later I was at a 5:00 PM service and I'm in service and worship. And I heard the Holy Spirit say, go back and apologize. And I was like, Nope. They got what they deserve. He said, no, go back and apologize. And I remember buying some gift cards from a coffee shop. And I remember driving back up to that store. I opened the door and you should have saw the look on their faces. I said, I come in peace. I come in peace, okay? But I lost it because I felt disrespected. I felt attacked. I, you all did this to me. You knew you did the, you knew you tried to do this to me. I was inconvenienced. And that's what happens to so many of us. You see, Jesus' anger wasn't based off of that. And I do want to say something really quick to all of us here today just so that we understand the difference between Jesus's righteous indignation and our inconvenience indignation. See, Jesus' response wasn't about himself. It was based off of others who could not get to God. It was never reckless. It was never sinful. His anger did lead to action. It was passionate, but it was holy. So the lesson for us is that righteous anger isn't reactionary. It's thoughtful, purposeful and fueled by God's heart. So the next time you get on social media and you type out your opinion about something and someone responds and you don't like it and you feel attacked, that is not the time to crack those knuckles and say ww JD and respond to them with impulse. Imagine how it would've been different for me had I saw that phone charger knew that it wasn't the right one. Had I prayed, that's what Jesus did. God led him, but it wasn't about him, it was about others. But let's go back to Monday. He's kicked all of these people out of the temple and there was something that happened even before he got angry and did this. And it was something that when I read it the first time years ago, I didn't understand it. And even as I was preparing, preparing for this message, I read it and it felt out of place. And it was what we read at Mark 1112. Uh, and we don't have to show it, but it, it talked about, you remember where I mentioned how Jesus saw a fig tree and he told me that the fig tree will never produce fruit again. When I read that, I was like, what? What does this, why is this here? And I don't know if you've ever read the Bible and been like, I don't understand that. Well one, I want you to know, especially for those of you who may be new to the faith, it's okay to read something in the Bible and not understand it. But bring those questions, ask. It's okay. 'cause even pastors sometimes we read and we're like, I gotta figure this one out. I tell our church at Cone, I always tell 'em, listen, if you ask a question, if I don't know it, I'm not gonna make something up. I'm, I'm gonna go find it. I'm gonna do some research. And so as I was looking at this, I was like, what was going on? Why this fig creek? Because the only thing I know about figs is fig Newtons. Does anybody, how many of you all like fig Newtons? Raise your hand high. I need to see this. Okay, I have one question for you. Why? Why those are the most disgusting? I don't even know if you can, can you call them a cookie? I don't even know what it is. So as I'm reading this, I'm going, I understand why Jesus cursed that tree. Because if that's what it produces, nobody except a few of you all want it. And I'm looking at it going, okay, is this maybe Jesus was really hangry? Like it talks about this fig tree and maybe that's why he was kicking over tables. But the more I researched it, I found out something that wasn't the case. You see, the fig tree was not about Jesus being hangry, it was actually a parable in action. You see, most of the time when Jesus would tell a parable, it was always about another situation, another person. It was a story. But this was a parable that he himself was living out. And what I found out was that the par, the parable about, or Jesus, excuse me, the fig tree and the temple were connected because look at what he said about the fig tree. He walked up to a fig tree. On the outside it saw, you saw all the leaves. When you would normally see all the leaves on a fig tree, it would mean that it was fruitful. But he saw the leaves, he got up to it, no fruit. Likewise, when he saw the temple, it looked like a place where devotion to God and worshiped to God was happening. But when he got up on it, that's not what was happening at the temple. There was no fruit there. And so when Jesus was cleansing the temple, he wasn't just kicking over tables 'cause he was mad. He was making a statement about the kind of faith that only appears alive but is actually fruitless. He was making a statement on the outside, you look like you have it all together and I don't know about you all. Like you show up to church on Sunday. Hello brother. Hello sister. God bless you. I love the Lord. And you're in here and maybe your hands are just here. Maybe they're up high. But if we were to leave this place or if somebody were to really look at your life, it only appears fruitful. But God wants our lives to actually bear fruit. The results of what Jesus has done transforming us aren't just for us, are they for us? Yes. But the results are actually to be a blessing to our family members, our friends, our coworkers, our classmates. Because when a tree bears fruit, the the tree doesn't get to eat the fruit. It's for others to experience now in this life as a of a follower of Jesus in the kingdom of God. Yes, some of that fruit is for us, but it's also for others. Jesus wants you to be fruitful. He wants your life to be the kind of life and a place where he can actually dwell. Which then leads to this next part, which is Jesus walked into the temple and it was fruitless and that was the temple Then What is the temple now? Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. That was the temple then what is the temple now? Well Paul actually tells us what the temple today is. First Corinthians six 19. Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You and I, we are the temple. I'm gonna say it again. You and I now are the temple. And just as Jesus flipped tables in the temple to remove what was keeping people from worshiping, he wants to do the same thing In your life and my life today, this was not the only time that Jesus went into the temple and flipped tables. And there will not be just one time in your life where Jesus wants to remove something out of your life in order for you and him to actually commune together. What is the table in your life that Jesus needs to kick over? You were probably wondering why all these tables were set up here earlier. They were set up for you. 'cause I want you to imagine that these tables or a table is whatever barrier is in between you and God. So let's imagine that this table is your faith being a formula. What do I mean by that? It's just a box that you check. Read my bible, check. Went to church, check did my Christian thing. Check. But you don't have a real, genuine, authentic relationship with Jesus. It's just something that you're like, I did it. I'm gonna move on to something else now. That was my Christian stuff there. Now let me live the rest of my life. Jesus needs to flip that table. And you maybe your table is pride, self-made. I built my life from the mud, from the ground up. I got it out the mud. Or ladies, I'm a strong independent woman. I don't need any man including God. And you think your independence and your pride makes you who you are. And to some degree it does. And that's why Jesus needs to flip it. Because in the kingdom it's about dependence on him, not dependence on yourself. Is this the table Jesus needs to flip in your life? Some of you all, maybe you're up high or you're at one of the other sites. This is the table of Jesus. Jesus. The flipping your life. You know what it is? Hidden sin. You know that thing that nobody else knows about but you keep tucked away. But you keep saying one day I'll let it go. But you know good and well, you can't why 'cause you like it. Be honest. You like that sin. So you keep going back to it. And Jesus is saying, that thing is in the way of me and you. And I'm coming to flip this thing out the way so that we can be in fellowship together. It's at the table for you. Maybe your table is a table of excuses. When I get myself cleaned up, I'll come to God. When I finish school, I'll live for God. I rem I remember being younger saying Man, I will fully live for God. I remember being a, I remember being a teenager and I said, when I'm 30 I'll start really living for God. 'cause I want to sow my wild oats. And maybe that's you, all these excuses, that's what Jesus needs to flip in your life. Some of you, That table is unforgiveness, they hurt me and I won't let it go. And I don't care if God says he won't forgive me unless I forgive my brother or sister or the person that hurt me. You don't know how bad they hurt me. And Jesus is saying, I'm not just coming to move this table. I gotta flip it completely out the way because that is hindering you and I from being in community together. Can I tell you about my table that Jesus has been flipping in my life? Because hopefully this will help you be vulnerable and say what your table is. My table is allowing the work of ministry to supersede the work of God in my life. What do I mean by that? I'm a pastor. I'm always in the word of God. I'm always thinking about others and trying to help people get close to God. So when I read my Bible, I'm preparing for you. When I'm praying, I'm praying for you. I'm trying to think of you, but sometimes forgetting I need God for myself reading. The word is just for will, not for a sermon, not for a devotional, not for a meeting. Just because I'm in relationship with the king of kings and the Lord of lords. But oftentimes I allow my job of ministering to others, supersede what Jesus wants to do in me. And Jesus is flipping that outta my life. What's your table? Some of you all, you're not yet Christians. And the reason you're not a Christian is because some religious folks put up a table that said you can't come to God until you clean yourself up, until you do this, this and this. Don't you show up? And Jesus is saying that's not true. Jesus is saying that is a table that not only am I here to flip, I need you to know I never put that up for you because in Luke 5 32 it says this, I have come Jesus said to call, not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent. Jesus's flipping tables out for everyone because he wants all of us. He's making space and room for all of us to come to him. He wants you to come to him. And these tables that he's flipping aren't to push you away, but they're to make room for all of us. Is it any wonder now why Jesus was angry? Do you see why now? I'm angry too. I am angry that I've allowed something to get in the way between me and God. But what I love about Jesus is he isn't telling me or you that I have to flip the table, he's saying surrender the table so that he can flip it. He's not flipping the table because he's mad at you. He's flipping the table because he loves you. Do you understand that? He wants to remove whatever is blocking you and him so that you can experience and others can experience God fully. So what I want to do here, I just, I'm not gonna ask you to talk to your neighbor, but I want us to all take just maybe a minute or less, and I want you to talk to Jesus. I want you to name whatever your table is. Don't sit there and go, no, I don't. I'm not, no I you need to name it. What is the thing that is the barrier between you experiencing God fully? I shared mine with you for this moment because that's the thing that you need to surrender to Jesus today. So we're gonna take a moment and then I'm gonna pray for us all, and we'll be outta here in a few minutes. We're gonna get back to Monday here in just a moment. But we need this moment to just think about, and I want you to answer two questions. What tables need to be flipped in your life and what's standing in the way of true worship? Whatever it is, you don't have to talk to your nab. Maybe you whisper it softly to yourself. But whatever it is, answer those questions and ask God to remove them out of your life At all the sights. I want to pray for you. Jesus, we invite you into the temple of our hearts. If there's anything in us that is keeping us from fully worshiping you, we surrender it right now. Flip the tables of pride, of sin, of unforgiveness, distraction, anything. Even if it's the work of ministry, doing things for God. Whatever it is, remove that from us. Lord, anything that keeps us from knowing you more, cleanse us Lord so that we would reflect your glory. In Jesus' name. Amen. I believe Jesus is flipping tables in your life just as He did then. But let's go back to that Monday in Jesus's life, right after Jesus flipped those tables, something happened. Mark 1118 tells us that when the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. That was the final straw they had been putting up with Jesus for three years. And then he does this. We gotta get rid of this guy. And Jesus cleansing the temple led to battles with those religious leaders. On Tuesday, next week, next weekend, that's what we're gonna focus on Tuesday. So I want you to come back because it's gonna be a rough Tuesday for Jesus. And each of these days gets more complex and rough. But we're gonna cover that next week. But I want you to remember this is Monday, but it's also one step closer to Friday for Jesus would hang on a tree and give his life for us. You see every confrontation, every challenge was one step closer to what we call Good Friday, but it wasn't good for him. But every step closer to Friday Was also one step closer to Sunday when he would rise in victory. Aren't you grateful for Jesus? Aren't you grateful for his passion, for true worship, for his love for you? Aren't you grateful for the hope of the resurrection? I know some of you may be here and the the thought of the resurrection could be something that you're like, I don't know about that. That's okay. Keep bringing those questions. Keep showing up to church. Don't let your questions become a barrier that pushes you away. That's the table that Jesus also lived for you. But we're getting closer to Sunday to and as you move closer and into your Monday, I want you to remember one thing, Sunday is coming. Let's live in that hope this week. God bless. Thank you so much for joining us this weekend. It is. It's always so good to hear from our friend Will Coleman. Now next weekend, we invite you back because we're gonna be looking at maybe what is the longest, most controversial day in the life of Jesus. It's Tuesday in our seven day series Now. We would love to connect with you during the week. Feel free to email us at Pastors at The Crossing Church, if we can help answer questions, help you take a step. We're here to do that. Also, we wanna invite you, join us in the Lenin devotionals that you can get through our app. We'll see you next weekend.