WHEN JESUS COMES INTO THE TEMPLE
REV. SCOTT EPPERSON
2/18/07
(Mat 21:12) And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
(Mat 21:13) And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
(Mat 21:14) And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
(Mat 21:15) And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,
(Mat 21:16) And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise
INTRO.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
(1Co 6:19) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
(2Co 6:16) And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
The world says that you are your own and just do what feels good. God says don’t you know you are my temple? You are not your own.
The world says, " God is not interested in men and is not concerned with your life."
God says " I want to dwell in them not just look at them, I want to walk and fellowship with them not just talk to them, God says I want to be theirs and they mine.
It is clear as we read this text what happens when Jesus enters the temple.
#1) HE CAST OUT SIN FROM THE TEMPLE
(Mat 21:12) And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
2Co 6:14 for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
Duplex Mentality ( God does not live in a duplex)
He will not share your heart with sin and carnality he wants complete sovereignty.
YOU STILL FEEL CONVICTION ?
Jesus hears what you hear
Sees what you see
Feels what you feel
When Jesus comes in the temple sin must go out. If you are growing comfortable in sin possibly Jesus has left the temple.
Insensitivity to Sin
A little girl in London held up her broken wrist and said, "Look, Mommy, my hand is bent the wrong way!" There were no tears in her eyes. She felt no pain whatever. That was when she was four years old.
When she was six, her parents noticed that she was walking with a limp. A doctor discovered that the girl had a fractured thigh. Still she felt no pain.
The girl is now 14 years old. She is careful now, but occasionally looks at blisters and burns on her hands and wonders, "How did this happen?" She is insensitive to pain! Medical specialists are baffled by the case. It is called ganglineuropathy.
There is another insensitiveness which is deadlier and more dangerous-insensitiveness to sin! Paul said of people with this malady: they had "their consciences seared as with a hot iron" (1Ti_4:2).
(eSWORD)
#2) JESUS BRINGS PRAYER INTO THE TEMPLE
(Mat 21:13) And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
President Abraham Lincoln, in a National Proclamation of Prayer and Repentance in 1863 wrote, “We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.” (The Presidential Prayer Team Website)
Prayer brings FOCUS ON TRUTH
WHEN WE PRAY WE FIND FOCUS ON WHO WE ARE AND WHO HE IS.
(SINNERS UNTO A ALMIGHTY GOD)
WHEN WE PRAY WE REMEMBER WHAT WE TRULY NEED AND WHERE TO FIND IT. ( ALL WE NEED IS GOD AND WE ONLY FIND HIM IN PRAYER )
WHEN WE PRAY WE FIND FOCUS ON NOT OUR PROBLEMS BUT THE PROBLEM. ( IT’S NOT PROBLEMS THAT BRING OUR SORROW BUT IT IS OUR SIN PROBLEM.)
WHEN WE PRAY WE FIND FOCUS NOT ON OUR BROTHERS SIN BUT SIN. (DO NOT HATE THE SINNER BUT THE SIN)
(Luk 18:1) And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
(1Th 5:17) Pray without ceasing.
(Phi 4:6) Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
(Phi 4:7) And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
#3 ) JESUS BRINGS HEALING TO THE TEMPLE
(Mat 21:14) And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them
ILLUSTRATION: HE WAS HEALED
Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing.
That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo thought when he heard her use the past tense verb that his cancer had been eradicated! But before he could think much about it she said, "He died." Compolo felt terrible.
But she continued, "Don’t feel bad. When he came into that church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence.
But the lady told Compolo, "After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing."
And then she said something incredibly profound.
She said, "He wasn’t cured, but he was healed." (
SOURCE: Tony Campolo, "Year of Jubilee," Preaching Today Tape #212.
#4) JESUS BRINGS PRAISE TO THE TEMPLE
(Mat 21:15) And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,
(Mat 21:16) And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise
"We can’t change our circumstances. But praise puts our circumstances in right perspective. "
(Contributed by: Kenneth Squires )
"True Christians really cant help but praise God!"
(Psa 33:1) Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
(Psa 147:1) Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
