When Jesus Enters The Temple

INTRO.- ILL.- A woman’s husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months, yet she stayed by his bedside every single day. When he came to, he motioned for her to come nearer.

As she sat by him, he said, "You know what? You have been with me all through the bad times. When I got fired, you were there to support me. When my business failed, you were there. When I got shot, you were by my side. When we lost the house, you gave me support. When my health started failing, you were still by my side... You know what?"

"What dear?" She asked gently. "I think you bring me bad luck."

The moral of the story is that some relationships are not good. Some people are not good for one another. Some associations are not good because some people are not good.

Brothers and sisters, it’s true that bad company can get any person into a lot of trouble.

I Cor. 15:33 “Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

ILL.- I read that the young actress, Lindsay Lohan who starred in HERBIE: FULLY LOADED in 2004, recently entered rehab for her drinking problem. She is only 20 years old and she already has a serious drinking problem. Why? Well, look at who she’s been running around with: Paris Hilton and Britney Spears who appear to be a couple of party girls. Bad company corrupts.

Britney Spears also needs to clean up her act, because she’s a mother who, in my thinking, is neglecting her babies. And she’s strayed a long way from her Southern Baptist background in Louisiana. And it’s because of the bad company that she’s been keeping over the years. Hollywood corrupts. At least, some people in Hollywood corrupt others.

Matthew 21:12 “Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.”

When Jesus entered the temple area things began to happen. Jesus cleaned house, among other things. And when Jesus enters another temple, things begin to happen. WHAT TEMPLE? The temple that God gave each one of us…our bodies. When Jesus enters into a person, things begin to happen, to change, and change for the better.

PROP.- From this text, let’s think about what happens when Jesus enters into a person’s life. 1- When Jesus enters He drives out evil 2- When Jesus enters He calls for prayer 3- When Jesus enters He brings healing 4- When Jesus enters He evokes praise

I. WHEN JESUS ENTERS HE DRIVES OUT EVIL

Matthew 21:12 “Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.”

When Jesus enters anywhere, a temple area, a human heart, evil cannot stay. He drives out the evil.

ILL.- Did you read or see where that lady beat off a mountain lion who was chewing on her husband? It happened on Wed., Jan. 24th. Here’s the news item. A 65-year-old woman fought off a mountain lion attack in Northern CA using a ballpoint pen to stab the animal -- and in the process probably saved the life of her 70-year-old husband.

The lion pounced on Jim Hamm at the end of a 10-mile hike in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. He was trailing his wife when the big cat attacked, pinning him face down on the trail.

Nell Hamm did all the right things. She approached and screamed at the lion. Then she grabbed a branch and began beating it on its back.

“It wouldn’t let go, no matter how hard I hit it,’’ she said in an interview at Mad River Community Hospital Thursday, where her husband was in intensive care recovering from surgery.

Jim Hamm, who was trying to tear at the face of the cat, told his wife to grab a pen from his pocket and stab the cat in the eyes. She did, but the pen broke. “That lion never flinched,’’ she said. “I just knew it was going to kill him.’’

Nell Hamm picked up the branch again and this time slammed it butt-end into the cat’s snout. The lion had ignored her until then. Finally, she had its attention. The cat stepped back, and glared at her with its ears pinned back. “I thought he was going to attack me,’’ she said. Instead, the cat slipped into the ferns and disappeared.

Wow! Talk about exciting and frightening! I don’t plan doing any hiking anywhere and especially, northern California!

Brothers and sisters, the evil one is just like that old mountain lion. He’s a hanger-oner! He never wants to let go. And so with evil in our lives. It doesn’t give up very easily. It continues to claw its way into our lives in order to deceive, gain control and kill. But when Jesus enters in things can change! They will change!