John 2:13-17 Now
the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And
He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money
changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove
them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the
changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold
doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house
of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was
written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”
Last Sunday, Pastor Kyle
continued in our church’s Sermon series through the book of John. There are
times that we need to cleanse the temple by denouncing those who make it harder
for ordinary people know God, to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and find their
Savior. People far from God can find Him. Jesus had a passion about reaching
lost soul for salvation and a zeal for God’s house; His church. So should we.
Psalm 69:9 “Because
zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach
You have fallen on me.”
Pastor Kyle wanted to clear
up a misconception the cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem by Jesus was not
about the money or the giving to the temple. Tithes, offerings and temple taxes
were normal and acceptable practices. Jesus was condemning the temple
leadership for commercialization of the temple and the real frustration that
the distraction of money-changing tables and animals being sold for sacrifice
were placed in the only spot where the nations could come worship God. Jesus
cares for lost souls and this marketing location in the Court of the Gentiles
set a wrong tone which negatively affected worshipers. The very people that
God wanted to reach received a man-made distracting and non-peaceful experience
away from Him. The conflict was to restore worship for all nations. It still is
today.
Isaiah 56:7 “Even
them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in
My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will
be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of
prayer for all nations.”
Pastor Kyle suggested two
keys to keeping our zeal for God’s things at the forefront of our minds and
hearts. (1) Sometimes we have to remove human desires and things to make room
for God’s desires and things. Do a heart check and clear out space in order to
pray, praise and worship God. This is called divine subtraction. Be willing to
change and sacrifice for the kingdom of God. What do you need to remove for God
in order to hear what God has put on your heart? “Good things” are not always God
things”. There is a set of four sin things that we all need to get rid of: (a) ungodly
relationships that are dragging you down. (b) Resistance of confession to
another Believer. (c) Disagreeing with God and (d) not getting help. Picking up
your Cross and carrying it daily is not easy and can hurt, but produces divine
and eternal rewards.
Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus
came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and
lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
(2) Always keep an
evangelical mindset in your Christianity. Think, act and speak to reach the unsaved
and lost sinner with Christ-like love. Jesus said the there is a wide road to
destruction in Hell, but the path to Heaven is narrow and few find it. People
outside the kingdom are the priority. Heart work is hard word. God is still in
the business of turning over tables, so have the mindset to make space to meet
others. Sure, there is an on-going need to cleanse our own temple in prayer,
worship, walking in the Spirit, but our faith is not just for ourselves, but a
passion for the nation and nations that the Lord wants to reach also. Does it
consume you?
In Christ, Brian
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