Mark 11:15-18 ESV
“And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, ‘Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”? But you have made it a den of robbers.’ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.”
This historical account of Jesus clearing the temple is recorded for us in all four gospels. Some people believe these accounts describe more than one event, but for the sake of applying these Scriptures to our lives and world and church today, that is of little consequence. So, I am not going to enter into that discussion. But I will add here some additional words that were written in John’s gospel account, for not all four accounts are worded in all the exact same ways, but there are many parallels among the accounts.
[Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:13-17]
In John’s account Jesus made a whip of cords which he used to drive the money-changers out of the temple. And there he said, “Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” And his disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
So, what is the temple of God today? What is God’s house today? It is not a building called “church.” And it is not a church denomination, so it is not First Baptist Church nor Second Presbyterian Church nor Third Methodist Church nor Fourth Charismatic Church, etc. So when you enter one of these buildings under the name of “church” and/or under the name of a church denomination, you are not entering the house of God, and the sanctuary or worship center is not holy ground. Those are all of man, not of God.
The temple of God today is us who believe in Jesus Christ with God-given and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Sin is no longer what we obey and what we practice, but the righteousness of God is what we put into practice, in the power of God, to the glory of God. And obedience to his commands is what we practice.
God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit, in the person of the Holy Spirit – now lives within us who believe in Christ with God-persuaded faith. So we are now God’s temple, his house. Collectively we are called “the church.” And our purpose is to glorify God in all that we do, to submit to Christ as Lord, to obey his commands, to walk in his ways, to leave our lives of sin behind us, and to now follow Jesus Christ in living holy and godly lives and in loving and serving our Lord and the people of God and the people of this world through the sharing of the gospel and ministering to needs.
Yet, the gatherings of the church (or of what is falsely being called “church”) here in America have largely moved away from the biblical teaching on the church and its purpose in gathering together. And largely what they are doing is similar in nature to what these money changers were doing in the temple of God in Jesus’ day. For they have turned the gatherings of the “church” into businesses of men being marketed to the people of this world like any other human-based businesses, via marketing tricks and schemes.
And so they have largely altered the character and biblical nature of the church, and they have altered the character of God/Christ, and they have altered and diluted the gospel of Christ, too, in order to appeal to human flesh and in order to not offend the people of the world. And they have largely turned their gatherings into places of entertainment and fun and laughter where the people of the world (the ungodly) can feel at home and accepted, so that they will want to come back.
So, these gatherings are largely not the body of Christ, in whom God dwells, operating as our Lord intended for his church to function, but they seem to be mostly businesses being marketed to the world like other businesses, thus patterning their gatherings after the felt needs and desires of the people of the world so that the world will be attracted to their gatherings and will keep coming back for more of the same. And so many pastors are being trained in being cult-like leaders who are following marketing schemes and techniques for how to draw in large crowds of people from the world.
So, if Jesus was on this earth today, he would be pulling out that whip, and he would be driving all these charlatans and wolves in sheep’s clothing out of these gatherings, and he would be overturning all their marketing schemes and tricks for how to draw in large crowds of people from the world, and he would be rebuking them strongly for changing his character and his gospel to make them more appealing and acceptable and less offensive to the people of the world, and he would be declaring that his house is still to be a house of prayer but that they had turned it into a den of robbers.
God’s will and purpose for his church, his people
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
When in The Stillness
An Original Work / September 26, 2011
When in the stillness of this moment,
Speak to me, Lord, I humbly pray.
Be my desire, set me on fire,
Teach me to love always.
Help me to walk in fellowship with You,
Listening to You; sit at Your feet.
Whisper Your words to me,
Oh, how gently, guiding me in Your truth.
While we are waiting for Your blessing,
Lord, in our hearts be King today.
Help us to live for you ev’ry moment,
List’ning to what You say.
May we not stray from your word within us,
Help us obey You, Lord, in all things,
Walking each moment, Lord, in Your presence,
Our offerings to You bring.
Help us to love You, Lord, our master;
Be an example of Your love,
Helping the hurting, lift up the fallen,
Showing them Your great love.
Teach them to love You, follow You always,
Bearing their cross and turning from sin;
Walking in daily fellowship with You,
Making You Lord and King.
https://vimeo.com/126984144
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