Cleansing Our Spiritual Temple

The title for today's message is Cleansing our Spiritual Temple. Cleansing our Spiritual Temple. And I'd like to begin this afternoon by actually looking at two similar events in the ministry of Jesus Christ. And they're sort of like bookends, really, to his ministry. Because one event happened at the beginning, and the other took place there at the very near of the end of his ministry, both set in the same timing of the year, very similar circumstance. And again, like I said, they're sort of bookends to his ministry. So let's begin today in John chapter 2. John chapter 2, as we find this first event, which takes place very shortly after Jesus performs his first public miracle, turning water in the wine at the wedding of Cana of Galilee. We come to John chapter 2 and verse 13, an event that will be familiar to us. John chapter 2, verse 13. It says, now the Passover of the Jews was that hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep, doves, and the money changers doing business. And when he'd made a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen, poured out the changers' money, 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. Verse 17, then his disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for your house has eaten me up. That's a quote from Psalm chapter 69. So what's happening here exactly? What would provoke Jesus Christ so strongly that he would actually maybe we'd say, get a little physical with this, overturn the money changers tables, make a whip of cords, and drive the animals out of the temple? Sometimes I've heard the retelling of this story, like he made this cord of whips and was whipping the people. It doesn't say that. I imagine it was like you're snapping this whip behind the animals. You're hurting them out of the temple. And you're removing this system that's taking place. But what exactly is taking place? And why was he so upset? And why was his response such as it was? Well, to understand that, it's important to understand some of the background, again, the timing of this passage. Verse 13 says the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. So we understand this was a pilgrimage feast, right? One of the three times of the year in which people journeyed into Jerusalem from all around the surrounding regions, some even perhaps traveling hundreds of miles away. This Passover season includes Passover in the days of unleavened bread in which they would come and assemble before God. And Jesus was doing this. In fact, Josephus, the Jewish historian, estimates that in the time of Jesus, the Jewish population in Jerusalem would swell to approximately 2 1�2 to 3 million during one of the pilgrimage feasts, as the people came in. And you can just imagine this bustling city full of people there to worship God and to keep the festivals.

And verse 14 again said, and he found in the temple those who sold the oxen and the sheep and the doves and the money changers doing business. There was some big business going on here in the temple.

Understand, at the time of Jesus Christ, the priesthood, and especially even high priesthood, had become corrupted. The system had become corrupted. The way the people conducted themselves in, you know, these people that should have been serving God's people, it was a corrupted business system that was taking place here around the temple of God. The high priest and his position by this time, rather than being as the Bible directed to be of the descendant of the line of Aaron, was actually a political appointment that could be bought at the highest price from Herod and his Roman backers. So understand, this was a corrupted system from that which God had intended for his people to function at the temple with the priesthood. To be the high priest over the temple in this day was big business. It was revenue to be generated and business to be made on the backs of people, actually, by taking place, taking advantage of the masses that had come in for the feast.

The money changers that operated in the temple as well were there for the purpose of facilitating people's ability to pay the temple tax, okay, which of and by itself was not a problem. Okay, that was actually a commandment of God from Exodus 30, verse 13. This is what everyone who is numbered shall give, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary, half a shekel, a contribution to the Lord. Everyone numbered 20 years and older shall give the contribution to the Lord. So that is what they should have been doing. The temple tax facilitated and helped cover expenses and needs at the temple, but understand the money changers that were there, this wasn't simply what they were doing.

They were conducting a business that was, frankly, out of line compared to what God would have them do. When I go to Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, I walk in with dollars and I have to see the money changers. And depending on where you're gonna see them, if it's at the airport, it's a pretty high rate of commission of exchange, but there's people right out on the street right there trying to make deals to exchange money. But if these people are coming from around the region into Jerusalem, some would have brought and lived under different currencies. So you have to see the money changer to pay the temple tax to conduct what needs to be done. But there's more going on here than that. The problem here is the money changers were taking advantage of the people for big profit. Instead of a reasonable exchange, it's a major markup in what they're doing and enrich the priesthood and especially the high priest.

They've done excavations around old Jerusalem in areas that they've discovered, oh, this, by digging up the houses and inspecting, that it would appear that this was a high priest of the day. And these were very wealthy people, again, made wealthy through this political corruption through the back of the people that were there to worship God.

And the same type of corrupt business model was practiced as well for the selling of the animals. If you needed an animal when you came up to Jerusalem, maybe for a sacrifice, you're coming up for the Passover, maybe you need that lamb without spot or blemish. Are you gonna bring it from days and weeks away? It's there, it could be purchased in Jerusalem at the temple complex. But again, the system in place, a great markup, a great profit to those who were running that system. Maybe you even brought your own animal for the sacrifice. But again, the priesthood inspection of those animals to see, is this proper for the sacrifice? Is it perfect such as it should be? Perhaps even sometimes a unjust determination was made, but it's okay, we have this temple approved animal that you can buy. Again, at markup.

We have, in my mind, I think, okay, there's places you go, maybe it's the football stadium to see a game, so I'm not trying to knock the vendors there. But you go somewhere where it says, no outside food or drink. But you go in and the concessions are selling, so you can fork out 25 bucks and have a beer and a hot dog. But what you get on the outside is different than that. This is what was taking place at the house of God.

So what Jesus Christ witnessed when he came to the temple was a corrupt and oppressive system that was taking advantage of the people who came in response to God's call to worship, and it was a defilement of the house of God. And Jesus was so righteous anger, right, upset with that system that he witnessed, that he took action and with zeal and passion for the sanctity of his father's house, he cleansed the house of God, overturned the money changers tables, drove the animals out and said, take these things away.

So that was the beginning of his ministry. Let's go now towards the end, Matthew chapter 21, because we find actually Jesus Christ did this two times.

Matthew chapter 21, the context of this passage is the triumphal entry. And we went through this here recently, where Jesus Christ comes into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey's colt and the people are crying out, Hosanna in the highest. It's recognition of who he is as the king of Israel coming into their midst.

So Matthew chapter 21 and verse 10, it says, and when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, who is this? So the multitude said, this is Jesus, the prospect from Nazareth of Galilee. Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And he said to them, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. Again, essentially robbery that's taking place on the backs of the people of God by the system in the house of God. And Jesus Christ as a result, once again, cleansed the temple because it was being filled with the ways of the world. The corruption of the world drug into the house of God.

So these weren't small events. And frankly, these events did not endear Jesus Christ to the leadership of that day. Okay, but he was making a point. And I believe it's a point that's so important for us as the people of God today to take the heart as well.

You see the temple was the central fixture of worship for God's covenant people. Historically, the tabernacle in the wilderness and later the temples that were built, it was the dwelling place of God's presence. It says, this is where I will be among you, among my covenant people. And it was the place of worship and the emphasis and the focus of the worship of the people of God. The temple was a place where sacrifices for sins were offered. It's the place where repentance was expressed and atonement was sought.

It's a place where the people literally had this relationship with God. I remember he said, you pray towards this place and I will hear from heaven. So it was a focal point of the relationship of the communion, the fellowship that existed between God and his people.

And as a result, the house of God was a place to be held in the highest of regard.

And it's a lesson that you and I must take by the actions of Jesus Christ. As followers of Jesus today, you and I are called to have zeal and passion for the sanctity of the house of God, for what takes place in the house of God. And indeed to hold it up with that passion as somewhere we reverence, because it is indeed where the presence of God dwells.

All through the Bible, we have this message. We have this warning. It takes on different forms. But indeed the Bible contains accounts of those who had real zeal for the house of God historically. Those who understood what it meant for that house to be in their midst.

In the Old Testament, we can find examples of those who stood up for God's house, who took action to protect the house of God, to preserve the dignity of that dwelling place, in some cases to actually bring it back and restore it when it had fallen into disrepair, when it had been forgotten, when in fact even it had been trampled underfoot.

Additionally, the Bible also contains accounts of those who in their disregard for God's sanctuary, defiled it, polluted it. Indeed the record shows this back and forth, zeal versus disregard for the house of God.

And you know, so often whether people were zealous for it or whether people disregard it really determined, was determined by who was on the throne. The king that led the nation, what was his attitude towards God?

What was his passion for serving God? Oftentimes the attitudes of the people followed.

So we can find an example of such zeal and disregard, actually all under the same king, in the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 24. So let's go there next.

2 Chronicles chapter 24. And what I want to point out through the message today is we're gonna see that actually Jesus Christ cleansed the temple. God himself has cleansed his temple. And indeed brethren, we are called to be people who regularly cleanse the habitation of God's presence as well. 2 Chronicles chapter 24 and verse one, I'm gonna actually conduct a little more extensive reading in the Old Testament passages today. Let's let the Bible tell the story. 2 Chronicles chapter 24 and verse one.

And it says, Joash was seven years old when he became king. And he reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. And Jehoiada took two wives for Joash and he had sons, he had daughters. And now it happened after this that Joash set his heart to repairing the house of the Lord. Okay, it's come through a period of time where the house of God has been neglected. It's fallen into disrepair and hasn't been really reverenced as it should have been.

Verse five says, and he gathered the priests and the Levites and he said to them, go out to the cities of Judah and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year and see that you do it quickly. However, the Levites did not do it quickly. So the king called Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, why have you not repaired, or excuse me, required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses, the servant of the Lord and of the assembly of Israel for the tabernacle of witness. So the sons of, it says, for the sons of Atholiah, that wicked woman had broken into the house of the Lord, had also presented all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord to the bales. So understand what has happened previously, the house of God and the accoutrements of the service of the house of God, these things that were made of gold and silver and were part of the priestly service in the house had been stripped out of God's house, taken and actually used in the surface and the offerings to Baal. I mean, can you imagine such a defilement of the sacredness of that holy place of God and the things dedicated to it? This is what they are recovering from.

Verse eight says, then at the king's command, they made a chest to set it outside the gate of the house of the Lord. And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord the collection that Moses, the servant of God, had opposed on Israel in the wilderness. Go back in your mind to the wilderness when they were collecting for the tabernacle and people zealously contributed to that from the plunder they brought out of Egypt.

And for some reason it sticks into my mind and I didn't go look for the verse on it, but there's actually a verse that says, even the ladies, they donated their mirrors. You know, the mirrors in the day actually would have been polished bronze that you could look in and see your reflection. It says the ladies donated their mirrors to the bronze laver that was constructed. I mean, people dedicated and wanting to give all into what it is that was being built, a house for the Lord. It says, let's ramp this up again. Verse 10, it says, then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, put them in the chest until all had given. So it was at the time when the chest was brought to the king's official by the hand of the Levites. And when he saw that there was much money, that the king's scribe and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest and took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day and gathered money in abundance. You know, the people just kept in their passion and zeal. Yes, let's restore the house of God, brought these treasures day by day.

Verse 12, the king and Jehoiada, the priest, gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the Lord. It says, then they had hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord, and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the Lord. So the workmen labored and the work was completed by them, and they restored the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it. You know, they went in and they just, they cleaned it up. Right, we could say they cleansed the house of God, they rebuilt it, they restored it, as it says to its original condition, which is, go back, that is the temple of Solomon, right, which David collected materials for, which Solomon built, this glorious building, the one that when the Jews came back from captivity in Babylon, they came back and rebuilt this, what can we say, it was the day of small things, right, this temple by comparison, and they mourned the fact it was nothing like the splendor of Solomon's temple. That's what was restored here under the kingship here of Josiah at this time, or excuse me, Joash at this time.

So we can say there's a cleansing and a restoration again. Verse 14 says, and when they finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king in Jehoiada, they made from it articles for the house of the Lord, articles for serving the offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver, and they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada. They restored the temple worship, they restored the glory and the prestige of what was to be the national worship of Israel and Judah. Actually, Israel, excuse me, was gone by this time, but the nation of Judah to God who dwelt in their midst.

Verse 15 says, but Jehoiada, the priest, grew old, and he was full of days, and he died, and he was 130 years old when he died, and they buried him in the city of David among the kings because he had done good in Israel both towards God and his house, so in honor to Kings burial for this great priest. Verse 17, now after death of Jehoiada, the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. Okay, he listened to Jehoiada, and he did, and it was a blessing to the worship of God's people, but now his heart's gonna be turned by the advice of others. He listened to them, it says.

Verse 18, therefore they left the house of the Lord, of the God of their fathers, and served the wooden images and idols, and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. Yet he sent prophets to them, God did, to bring them back to the Lord, and they testified against them, but they would not listen. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and he said to them, thus says God, why do you transgress the commandment of the Lord so that you cannot prosper? You know, it's like Mr. Klein was mentioning in the first message, you know, the point is God would work with his people when they responded to him in worship and obedience, but so often they turned and went the other way, and God had no choice actually but to, in righteous judgment, let them face the consequences of their actions.

But a warning is being sounded. Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord so that you cannot prosper? He says because you have forsaken the Lord, he has also forsaken you. So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king, they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. Can you imagine, can you imagine turning aside from God, going after the false gods, God sends the prophet in your midst, and to have the audacity to stone and kill the man of God in the court of the temple of God?

The defilement, I hope, is frankly appalling to all of us.

Verse 23 says, thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Johoheda, his father, had done to him, but killed his son. And as he died, he said, the Lord looked on it and repay.

And so it happened in the spring of the year that the army of Syria came up against him and they came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. For the army of the Syrians came in a small company of men, with a small company of men, but the Lord delivered a very great army, the army of Judah, into their hands, because they had forsaken the Lord, God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. And when they were drawn from him, from Joash, where they had left him severely wounded, his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the sons of Johoheda the priest, and they killed him on his bed, so he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

Such a sad story.

This man who started out with great passion and zeal to restore the house of God, the worship of God, to reverence the presence of the God of the universe in Israel, then to turn aside, move to idolatry and profane that which he once exalted.

Judgment came, right? Judgment came as a result, and we understand this was judgment from God, and it came upon the people of God and upon this king for their defilement of the house of God. Ultimately, through judgment, God would cleanse his temple. God would actually restore the dignity that should indeed be there. But this is a sad commentary to the consequence of losing zeal for the ways and the truth and the presence of God. And unfortunately, as you go through the Old Testament, you see it's a pattern that's repeated over and over and over again.

Let's go to 2 Kings chapter two.

Story continues on. 2 Kings, excuse me, chapter 21, let's go there.

2 Kings chapter 21.

This is now approximately 150 years later. Still the tribe of Judah.

2 Kings chapter 21 and verse one, it says, Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king. And he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hepseba. Says, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed. He raised up altars for Baal and made a wooden image as Ahab king of Israel had done.

It says, and he worshiped all the hosts of heaven and he served them. He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, in Jerusalem I will put my name. And he built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. Again, unimaginable to take, not only, it's one thing to take your worship to the outside of idolatry and these false things.

It's bad enough to do those things on the outside, but to drag the idol and to set it up in the court of the house of God, in the presence of God, in the place as dedicated and called by his name.

This takes it up to a whole another level.

Whole another level, verse 10.

Actually, let me continue on in verse six where I stopped. It says, also he made his son pass through the fire.

Child sacrifice, practice soothsaying, used witchcraft, consulted spiritus and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger. Says he even set a carved image of Asherah that he had made in the house of, which is the Lord had said to David and to Solomon his son in this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. I will put my name forever. And I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore.

God had said from the land which I have given to their fathers, only if they are careful to do according to all, they have commanded them. According to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. But they paid no attention to Manasseh, excuse me, they paid no attention and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the children of Israel. So understand they're taking it up even another notch. God said these nations, he had to wait until their iniquity was full before he cleared them out before Israel. And he says now I've brought you into this nation and what you have done is taken the abominations of the nations around you and brought those up to another level that is despised in my sight.

I'll just say you know, modern Israel doesn't fall far from the tree. And the descendants and what it is that even as a nation, we have done and been willing to bring up to a level that frankly is beyond anything that God would have imagined for his people to do.

Verse 10, the Lord spoke by his servants and the prophet saying because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations. He has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him and has also made Judah sin with his idols. Therefore, thus says the Lord God of Israel, behold I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. Says that I will stretch over Jerusalem, the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes the dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. So I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies. And notice why, verse 15, because they have done evil through my sight and they have provoked me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.

But then God doesn't take it lightly when his people turn aside, when they engage in idolatry, when they engage in this worship of the false gods and bring this, their idolatry, into his house and turn away from him. God actually says, you know what? There's going to be a cleansing of this temple and indeed of this land that will take place.

Jeremiah chapter seven, Jeremiah chapter seven, misunderstand, God gives his people opportunity to cleanse their lives, cleanse their nation, cleanse the house which is called by his name. But you know, if they will refuse to do so, there comes a time then when God himself will clean house. And indeed it is a righteous judgment and anger by which he does so, the end result being, hopefully, restoration to him again.

With Jeremiah chapter one, excuse me, seven, verse one, the word of the Lord coming through Jeremiah, he says, stand in the gate of the Lord's house, verse two, and proclaim there this word and say, hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words saying, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these. You know, he's saying, don't stand in this land and look around and say, we're God's people, we have his temple in our midst, therefore, we're fine. Right, we're the chosen nation, we're the people of God and God's house is here, nothing's gonna happen to the house of God and somehow they excuse themselves to say, you know, the temple of the Lord are we, it's fine. But God says, no, it will not be fine, actually.

Verse four, in my place, Jeremiah chapter seven, let's carry on, verse five, it says, for if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between man and his neighbor, says, if you do not oppress the stranger and the fatherless and the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your hurt, he says, verse seven, then I will cause you to dwell in this place and in the land that I've gave to your fathers forever and ever. But behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. There's Jeremiah's his prophet, Jeremiah's proclaiming the message of repentance, return to God while there's time. But there were other prophets, not of God, who were opposing him, right, false prophets, false message. Those that were saying, it's okay, you're God's people, you're God's nation, you have God's house in your midst. And yet, Jeremiah says, God's not gonna let this slide.

Turn now, turn now. So you trust in these lying words that cannot profit.

Verse nine, it says, will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to bales, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say we are delivered to do all these abominations. You know, God says, are you willing and able, actually, to go out there and do all these things on the outside and think, it's okay, I go to church on the Sabbath, I stand in the house of God, I sing hymns along with the brethren, but the other six days of the week, we're out there chasing bale and the things of bale. God says, these things are not okay, and they will come into judgment. Verse 11, he says, has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of thieves in your eyes?

The same words Jesus used, again, and quoted, when he drove out the money changers, and the animals in the temple, the second tithe, you've made my father's house, right? A den of thieves.

Behold, I even I have seen it, God says. Says, but go now to my place, which was in Shiloh, okay, up in Israel, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it, because of the wickedness of my people Israel. God had them removed from the nation by the Assyrians, brutally, and they were scattered among the nations.

He says, and now because you have done all these works, says the Lord, and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking to you, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer. He says, therefore I will go to do to this house, which is called by my name, in which you trust, and in this place which I have given you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh, and I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, the whole posterity of Ephraim, that northern 10 tribes of Israel. Therefore, verse 16, do not pray for this people, Jeremiah, that's whom he's talking to now, Jeremiah, do not pray for these people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to me, for I will not hear you.

God says, this has actually come to a point in time, Jeremiah, where I will actually not relent from what it is I've determined to do, because of the abominations of my people.

And actually, if we were to consider what the Bible tells us about the end of the age, there's coming a time again where God will not relent, because things move to the point where the only way to restore the righteousness of God to the earth is to wipe it clean, and wipe the nations of Israel clean, and restore again with that righteous judgment.

Jesus, don't even bring this to me, Jeremiah.

Verse 29, Jeremiah 7, verse 29, says, cut off your hair and cast it away, take up a lamentation on the desolate heights, for the Lord has rejected, forsaken, the generation of his wrath. For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the Lord, they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name to pollute it. Again, the point I keep coming back to show us, brethren, is the high regard for the sanctity of the house of God, that frankly was the tipping point for whether his people would restore or be removed.

The fact that God says, my presence in your midst apparently means nothing to you, for the way in which you will come before me and what you will do in my house. And it's a serious warning for indeed all of us even today.

Verse 31, it says, and they have built the high places of Topit, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it even come to my heart. God says, I would not even thought of requiring such a thing. But this is taking what the nations around them did, again, in bringing it up even to another level of dysfunction.

Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, will no longer be called Topit or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter, for they will bury in Topit until there is no room. The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth, and no one will frighten them away. He says, then I will cause you to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of Mirth, the voice of Gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, for the land shall be desolate.

The people did not have passion for God. They did not have zeal for the house of God and the sanctity of the place of his presence. They did not have passion for cleaning up their own lives in service to him. Therefore, God's judgment was to come upon them, and he would cleanse them.

He would cleanse the land, he would cleanse the temple, and we know the story. The Babylonians came in and Judah was taken away into captivity, right? Jerusalem was sacked and burned. The temple was destroyed. Don't think because the temple is in your midst, you're free, God said.

Brethren, you and I can never afford to think for a moment that God takes lightly the defilement of his sanctuary.

We can never say, well, the church of God are we. It's okay, I go to church every Sabbath, I assemble with God's people, and yet I can go out here every other six days of the week and do these things.

We cannot bring the idolatry of the world into the house of God. Indeed, it is a calling to purify ourselves as his people, and to come before him in a way that is pleasing in his sight.

Temple of the Lord are these. In the end, that identity did nothing for those who defiled God's house and turned their backs on the commandments of the living God. Ultimately, the zeal of God cleansed the place.

The zeal of God cleansed that place.

And so the question for us today is, are we as consumed with passion for the sanctity of God's house as he is?

Are we as full of zeal for the house of God as Jesus Christ was when he cleansed the house of God? Indeed, we must be.

It's our calling, it's our responsibility as God's people today. The Bible gives clear instructions to the people of God for how we must regard his house even in the age of the church.

But where is the house of God today, and where does our work actually begin?

We know the answer to these things. 2 Corinthians chapter six.

2 Corinthians chapter six and verse 14.

I want you to keep in your minds as we read this, because this is a continuation of the message of God's house in the Old Testament, that you're not to take the idols from the world around you and set them up in the house of God. And that's what Paul is telling us. 2 Corinthians chapter six and verse 14. Paul says, do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness, what communion has light with darkness, what accord has Christ with belial, or what part has a believer with an unbeliever, and what agreement has the temple of God with idols? God says there's actually things of this world that we could bring into in that sense, the house of God today, and they don't mesh. They don't work. It's an abomination, he says. We have to be very careful what would come into the house of God.

What agreement has the temple of God with idols, verse 16, for you are the temple of the living God, you and I are. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people, you know, the place of my presence, the place that is called by my name. Therefore says, says the message, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

And so if you've committed in covenant relationship to God through baptism, you have a spirit dwelling in you. You have become the temple of the living God. And this is something that applies, as we know in the scripture, individually as well as collectively. My focus today actually is going to be moving forward primarily on the individual basis, that you, put your name in there, are the temple of God.

And how it is that we ought to be caring for that temple. As a temple of God today, how zealous are we to preserve the sanctity, the holiness of ourselves? How consumed are we with pushing aside and putting out of our own lives those things that could defile us so that we are pure and right before God, a holy vessel for his habitation? How dedicated are we for that in our own lives? There's no chapter breaks in the writing. So carrying on chapter 7 and verse 1, it says, therefore in light of this, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves, Paul says.

This is an individual and a personal responsibility. Let's cleanse ourselves for all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So our lives must be dedicated to this purity for the purpose of perfecting holiness, for being the vessel that is that which is filled with God's spirit, that place where he is content to dwell and desires to dwell. We must not take this calling lightly.

We just read through the accounts of Jesus Christ cleansing the temple twice. So consumed was zeal for his father's house that he went in and he drove the corruption out from that place in response. We also read through the accounts of Israel and Judah defiling God's temple with the ways of the world around them. And God took action to cleanse that place. God cleansed the temple literally himself.

Indeed, he cleansed the whole nation. But understand, it doesn't have to be that way. In another place, Paul says, if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. And if I can take a little license with that, I would say, if we would cleanse ourselves with the tools that God gives us to cleanse ourselves, we would not have to be cleansed by God. But as was mentioned in the sermon, God is making us into what he desires us to be. And sometimes, if we become a wonky piece of clay and that wheel is spinning around out of balance, he has to take that ball and smash it back down to something he can reform again.

And we'd rather him not have to do that with us. To cleanse our ways before him is indeed what he seeks from us all along. So we're reading through the reverence God has for this house. What kind of action are we willing to take in our lives to be that habitation which is suitable for God? How zealous are we for cleansing our faults? How consumed are we with guarding the door of our mind?

After all, Judah went and brought all the things that were out there into the house of God. But as Paul says, we are the house of God. That Greek word is neos. And it doesn't mean the outer courts and the court of the Gentile and the women and the Israelite men. It means the inner sanctuary, the place of God's presence. What is it that we're willing to pull out of the world into our own mind, into our own heart, and allow to reside there in the house of God?

It's a strong admonition. It's a strong warning. Guard the door of your mind.

We won't take the time to go there, but 1 Chronicles chapter 9, you can jot that down and look at that later. But in that chapter, as well as other subsequent chapters, the sons of Korah were charged with responsibility of being gatekeepers for the house of God. And as gatekeepers, they literally stood guard at the entrances to the temple complex. Because there were gates where people came in and out. And you couldn't just have an open free-for-all. And so you had these trusted individuals. Again, they had to be, and they were of the sons of Korah, standing guard. They opened and closed the gates as needed. They let those in who belonged as the priests came in for their daily service and their duties. They kept those out who did not belong. They admitted those who were properly purified. You didn't just have somebody come waltzing in drunk into the house of God. So these guys had actually responsibility to see if who is passing into the presence of the house of God actually should be there. Were they clean? Were they ceremonially unclean? There's actually a gatekeeper responsibility that must exist in our lives today as well, brother. Were to guard the door of our minds. Were to be people who are gatekeepers for the house of God. And we each have individual responsibility to stand guard in our lives and to shut out access to anything that is profane or that would defile in this holy habitation. It does include collectively.

But it starts individually. Starts in the mind and the heart of each and every one of us who are the temple of God today. Second Corinthians chapter 10 verse 5, I'll just quote it for you. Paul says, bring every thought and the captivity to the obedience of Christ. And it's what we must do each and every day as gatekeepers in our own lives to assess actually what is going to come into our lives, what is going to live and reside in our minds and in our hearts. And I think sometimes we go, you know what? It's OK. I'm God's called out one. I have his spirit. It really doesn't matter what I watch. I can filter that. Really doesn't matter what I see and do. I can filter that. It's not filtering it. It is pulling out the filter and allowing the garbage in, if indeed, because we are willing to that. God calls us to be gatekeepers of his temple. Clause in chapter 3 and verse 1.

Clause in chapter 3 and verse 1.

I can beg and borrow about 10 more minutes from you as the crockpots are making the room smell wonderful. Clause in chapter 3 and verse 1, it says, if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which were above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things of the earth, for you died, and your life is hidden with Christ and God. He's saying you've entered into this covenant relationship with God through the sacrifice of his son. Verse 4, when Christ, who is our life, appears, you then also will appear with him in glory. He says, therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth. Put them to death, he says. And something I neglected to tell you is actually that was a responsibility of the gatekeepers. They had the authority to put to death, someone who would actually go in and defile the house of God in such a way they had charge in that responsibility. And Paul says, you therefore put the death in your members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, evil passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry.

So he says, if we allow those things into our lives, it's idolatry. It's like setting up the idol of Baal in the courtyards of the temple of God and allowing it to exist there. But just as the gatekeepers had the authority to exercise that death penalty on those who would dare to defile the sanctuary of God, brethren, we are to put to death, Paul says. Any of those things that we would allow into our own lives defile us. Don't drag it into the holy holies of God's presence. Be zealous for that work.

First Corinthians chapter six and verse 15.

First Corinthians chapter six and verse 15, apostle Paul writing, he says, do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not, he says. Or do you not know that he was joined to a harlot as one body with her? For the two, he says, shall become one flesh. But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. Understand the level of intimacy of the relationship we're to have with God as the temple of God. Our spirit joined with his spirit in this very, very intimate and personal relationship. It says, you know, you're not to bring something else into the midst of that that would defile.

Verse 18, then he says, flee sexual immorality. Every sin a man does commit is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, you have from God, he says, and you are not your own.

You are not your own.

And that kind of flies in the face of our, I don't know, American sensitivities, our freedom. What do you mean, I'm not my own? I have rights. But you see, we submitted to the reign of God in our life when we came under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We were under the death penalty and we've been brought from death to life. You were bought at a price, Paul says. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

Body and spirit which are God's.

So this is a very, very high calling, brethren. The way we glorify God is by cleansing our temples and doing the things that please him.

Means we move from the physical to the spiritual, from the carnal man to the stature of the nature.

And Jesus Christ. To be as he was in the face of his father, full of his father's spirit. And again, that dwelling place that was perfect in God's sight. So we have to cleanse our temple. Temple of our own body, the temple of our own mind. But how do we go about doing it?

Well, King David asked and answered that very question.

Psalm chapter 119. Psalm chapter 119 and verse nine.

Again, remember this is a process whereby if we don't cleanse our habitation, God and Christ will.

Indeed, they're fully willing to do so for our ultimate salvation. But he calls us to do so willingly as a matter of our worship. Psalm chapter 119 verse nine, David asked the question, how can a young man cleanse his way?

Of course, that's from his perspective. We could say, how can a young woman or an old woman or an old man? How can we cleanse our way? He says, by taking heed according to your word, with my whole heart I have sought you, let me not wander from your commandments. Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.

And so we understand the process of cleansing our ways starts with God's word. Starts by evaluating ourselves against the standard of this word. And when we see places we fall short, we change it, we correct it. We see God's forgiveness. And that is called in so many other places in the Bible, repentance. And that's ultimately the process for the cleansing of our temple. The removal, the wiping away of what it is that defiles. It is repentance on our knees before God and the forgiveness then that he offers.

Additionally, David said, we hide God's word in our heart, which means we internalize it. We make it a part of who and what we are. So it's not enough to say, well, let's see. I cannot steal, I cannot kill, I cannot commit adultery, I cannot lie, I cannot do these things. We must know the word of God, but it's not just what we know, it must become who and what we are by God's spirit within us. I am not a liar.

I am not a thief. I am not an adulterer. And in that way, we become a vessel that is purified for God's use. And it becomes who and what we are, not just what we know.

Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.

First John chapter one.

First John chapter one, ultimately as well, we must rely on God to cleanse us himself. But you see there's two ways God can cleanse us. We saw how Christ cleansed the temple. We saw how God cleansed the temple and the land in the Old Testament as well. There's another way God can cleanse us and it is the way he desires. First John chapter one and verse five.

This is a message which we have heard from him and declare to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin.

Says he cleanses us. This is how God desires to cleanse us by coming under the sacrifice of his son, by our willingness to come to God and say, please father in your mercy, cleanse me of my transgressions.

And then we turn and we go the other way.

Then we talk about this a lot coming up to Passover, but this isn't a Passover only event. That sets the stage for our entire way of living. And God says, I desire to cleanse you through my son. And this is the most loving, the most merciful way that you and I could possibly have the temple cleansed. Verse eight, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

And so living under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is what is required for us to be truly cleansed.

We receive God's word, we live it, we rely on him, we rely on his spirit, we rely on the sacrifice of his son to make this process possible. Otherwise our temple will simply continue in the same state as Jesus found it when he entered the temple in Jerusalem for the Passover. Right, corrupted, out of order, unfit for the presence of God.

The calling is, cleanse your way.

First Peter two verse five tells us that we are living stones being built up as a spiritual house. Which means, yes we do this individually, but brethren we also do this collectively. Because you're a stone and I'm a stone, but we're not to just be stones rolled out in the field somewhere.

You've probably seen a lot of farmhouses back in the day, right, they collected the stones out of the field so that they could plow up the field. And they built walls with them, they built houses with them. And you take those stones and you stack them one on top of the other and you ply mortar between them and you build a structure that is solid. And that is what God has done here. When you assemble the stones, you assemble the house. When we come together on the Sabbath, we assemble the house. When we fellowship and when iron sharpens iron, we are bringing the strength we each have by God's spirit to the assembly and it's a blessing. But it also requires us to be responsible as well because I have a responsibility to be as strong as a stone as I can possibly be to contribute to the strength of the structure. And what I bring to you and what you bring to me, brethren, we are all accountable before God. But what we bring collectively can either glorify the house of God or it can defile the house of God.

So the calling in this standard is very, very high.

Again, it begins with each of us individually.

Let's conclude in Revelation chapter three.

Revelation chapter three because here we find the ultimate blessing for overcoming this world and cleansing our habitation for righteousness. Revelation chapter three, we've seen, shall we say the cursing for not doing so.

What is the ultimate blessing for doing so? Revelation chapter three and verse 12, the words of Jesus Christ, the letter to the churches. Jesus says, he who overcomes, he who comes out of the world, he who cleanses his way, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. He says, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God. And I will write on him my new name, he who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.

The promise for those who overcome is to dwell as a pillar in the temple of God forever, to live in the presence of God, to be his children forever in his house, in his house.

That's the promise, that's the blessing. Brethren, do you and I have zeal for God's house, both now and in the future. If we do, we have responsibility, we have a calling, we must go about exercising it every day, be consumed with cleansing the temple of the Holy Spirit, which you are. Guard the door of your mind. Do not allow anything that defiles to enter into this temple. You know what, brethren, if you do those things, surely the goodness and mercy of God will follow you all the days of your life. You will not only be a temple of God today, but you and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

It's wonderful to be together.

I'm grateful for the potluck, it smells wonderful. Looking forward to the fellowship. Brethren, have a wonderful Sabbath.