Cleansing The Temple

John 2 (2) Cleansing the Temple

To the left of my house, after you walk around a 20 foot trailer loaded with a tractor and implements, and after you climb over piles of drip edge, and roof vents and shingles, you will see a 14 x 20 blue building that looks like a shed. I special ordered that building and brought it with me when Gladys, Drew and I moved back here from Mississippi. When we moved, 19 years ago, Drew was just 18 months old. At the time, I told Gladys I needed an office, a place to work and study where young Drew would not be climbing on me and wanting me to play with him throughout there day, so shortly after we moved here we constructed my office.

I used it as my office, as my study for a number of years. During the week I would go in there and work, surrounded by many reference tools and a lot of books. I met with Tom and an accountability group there. It was a place of prayer, and study.

A number of years ago I had a leak in the roof. It got the carpet wet; so after reproofing the building, we had to go in, pull out all of the books and book cases, to get the mildewing carpet out. The books were boxed up and moved for a while. I finally got the book shelves back in and started returning the books to their homes, but never completely finished the job. Our internet no longer reaches out there, so most of the time, I do most of my studying on our dining room table, which anyone who has been in our house can testify to, as that table and all surrounding flat surfaces are covered with books, and pads, and papers.

I usually go into my office now, a couple times a week, sometimes just to turn on the air conditioning to keep down the humidity. I went in it again this week, as I was looking for a specific commentary I wanted to look at as I worked on this message.

As you step in the door, you will notice that there is no carpet there now, it’s just the rough concrete floor I poured 19 years ago. 20% of the books are no longer on shelves. They are on various piles on the floor, or my desk or other flat surfaces, where they were placed when I moved them from the house.

In boxes, and totes mixed among the books there are tools, and caulking, and a mixture of other items which suggest that maybe a roofer had to quickly empty the back seat of his truck before making a trip with his family and that not all of the stuff found its way home.

It’s not what I intended for that space. It’s not what I wanted. It was to be a place of study and prayer and meeting. Now it’s primarily a place of storage. It didn’t happen over night. It didn’t happen on purpose. It didn’t happen because of malice. It just happened. Life interrupted and I did not do enough to watch and guard, so that’s where I am today.

It is easy to let things slip in, and derail our best intended plans. We find an example of that in John chapter 2. Please open your Bibles and turn with me this morning to the book of John . . .

- Read John 2:13-25

1. This was a holy place -

Jesus had been here before. Jesus had been to the temple before. We know He had been here about 20 years earlier when He was a 12-year-old boy. Luke tells us that. Remember? Jesus’ parents got irritated with Him because when they headed home they thought He was with family, but then they couldn't find Him. They had to go back to Jerusalem and finally found Him 3 days later, conversing with the priests in the temple. Back then the temple was a place of prayer, and worship, and teaching. It was a place of holiness. It was a place where you could learn and converse with God.

Now, we know that God is everywhere. We know that there is no place you can go where you will not encounter God. David tells us:

> Psalm 139:7-12 Where can I go to escape Your Spirit?

Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.  If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night”— even the darkness is not dark to You. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to You.