Cleaning your Temple

This Sunday in church I spoke on

John 2:13-17

Here are some thoughts that I thought were too cool not to share:

Jesus Clears the Temple Courts

¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Jesus and His disciples, like all good Jews, journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.  Upon their arrival, they found the sacred city of God overflowing with thousands of pilgrims from all parts of the world.  Jesus saw the money changers and merchants in the temple selling animals for sacrifice.  That alone wasn’t the issue.  Many pilgrims carried coins from their home towns, most with images of Roman emperors or Greek gods, which temple authorities considered idolatrous. 

The high priest ordered that only shekels be used to pay the temple tax.  The money changers performed a service but charged an unfairly high amount and made huge profits.   Often, more than the law allowed. 

It was often not practical for pilgrims from far away to carry their sacrifices to Jerusalem.  And many times sacrifices that had been brought were rejected as less than acceptable offering.

So there were merchants who sold animals deemed worthy for sacrifice.  Again, at great profit, taking advantage of those who had the choice to either pay the unfair price or be turned away.

The Holy of Holies in the temple was the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are 1.  So walking in to the temple was like going home for Jesus.

Is it any wonder Jesus got fired up?  People were bastardizing His house!

I don’t think the corruption of the temple was something that happened over night.  It was most likely a gradual descent

I used to work for a company where I installed radon mitigation systems.  We went in to many homes in the area but there were a couple of times that really stand out.  Those standout houses were the ones that we walked in to and there was a pathway barely wide enough for us to walk through.  The rest of the house, floor to ceiling was filled with things such as newspapers, boxes, and just piles of “stuff” for lack of a better term.  One house even had an opened box filled with the used cardboard toilet paper rolls stuffed with dryer lint! 

The home owners had filled their homes with what could, for the most part, only be described as “junk.”  But to them, the thought of throwing away these precious things that they may some day need was terrifying.

While the previous, passage a couple thoughts occurred to me:

I was reminded that 1 Corinthians 6:19 says:

I have to wonder, at least in my own life, how much useless clutter is in THIS temple?

Are the important things still important? And have I created an environment which makes the Spirit uncomfortable or unwelcomed?

In Revelation 2:3-4 God has a message for the church:

³ You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.⁴ Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.

This verse convicts me, because if I really analyze my own life I would have to say that there are times that I have put all that God has done kind of on the back burner.  I still try to do okay, but if I’m honest with myself, I’m clinging to a lot of the “clutter.”

But there IS good news!

Jesus could have called down fire from Heaven and, POOF, destroyed the temple.  But He knew that there were good things and the potential to do that for which it was created. 

Do you remember the first time you knowingly sinned?

When I was about 6, I was at the home of a little girl in the neighborhood.  I don’t really remember her name, so I’ll call her “Penny.”  Penny was showing me the cool new Fisher-Price cash register she had gotten for her birthday.  It was that one with the plastic coins you put in the top and they would drop in to the tray beneath.  After playing for a while Penny’s mom called her upstairs for a minute.  While she was gone, I snuck one of the real pennies into my pocket and soon after she rejoined me I told her that I needed to leave.  That night, as I lay in bed, I thought God was going to strike me dead before I had the chance to right the wrong.  I got up the next day determined to sneak the penny back in to that cash register so that it would all be over.  I never made it to Penny’s house that day.  And ultimately never spoke to her again out of embarrassment.

When I didn’t have to face any consequences it became a little easier for me to do things without fear.

Later in life I’d get on huge spiritual highs, like camp or a really powerful worship service.  But when I returned to the “real world” I slipped back in to my old ways.

Cleaning our temple needs to become a priority.  Here are some ways that we can clean our temple and create an environment where the Holy Sprit is comfortable to dwell

Study/Examine God’s Word

Psalm 119:105 says:

Your words are a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

Reading the Bible:

My goal is that quiet times will start out as a discipline, become a practice, then a habit, until it eventually becomes something I crave like an addiction

Don’t get discouraged!

Don’t read and think “Boy do I stink” but learning Gods heart and thinking, “Wow, He is worthy of a place of honor in this Temple!”

Accountability/Discipleship

I cannot recommend these highly enough.  Seek wise counsel and spiritual advisors. 

And small groups or Bible studies are valuable beyond words. 

Hebrews 10:24 Tells us to not stop meeting together and to spur each other on to good deeds!

New (Old) View

When I was a kid I was not the best Sunday school pupil.  One of my teachers, during a particularly tough session teaching me and my 6^th grade peers excused himself for a minute.  When he returned he set a chair down in the classroom.  We asked him why he needed another chair when there were enough for us all.  He told us that he wanted us to imagine Jesus sitting in that chair (because in actuality He is present at all times) and only do or say the things we would in front of Him.  I shut up quickly and was a good little boy for the rest of the hour.

I thought it was cheesy, but even as an adult, I can guarantee I would have made some different choices had I visualized Jesus sitting in the room or car or next to me where ever I was. 

Work, driving, wherever I am, I need to remember that He is there.

Create a Welcoming Environment

In Psalm 139:23-24 the author writes, “Search me oh God” and to point out any wrongdoing. 

I want to give the Spirit authority to point out the clutter and things that make this temple an uncomfortable environment.

And 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us to “Take captive every thought” because we are in a battle. 

Hoarder revisited:

Hoarders are not healed by simply throwing away the junk, but healing and changing the negative behavior.

We need to make the important things important again.

The piles of junk or sin don’t necessarily disqualify us from the kingdom, but it might lessen the power and potential for blessings that is accompanied by the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

In Christ there is victory, not defeat!