LIFE OF CHRIST
John 2:12-22
CLUTTER!
Life of Christ #10
The American
Heritage Dictionary defines “clutter” as “A confused or disordered state or
collection; a jumble.” Most of us are
familiar with clutter.
Clutter is not a modern
phenomenon. They had clutter in the day
of our Lord Jesus.
We want to look at clutter as
found in the temple at
Vs. 13 – The feast of the Passover commemorated the deliverance which the Lord
gave from
God had commanded that the
Passover become a yearly feast. Our Lord and His disciples went up for this
feast to
Vs. 14 – Our Lord visited the temple. This was to be the place where the
presence or glory of God was to be present here upon earth. It was God’s House.
Our Lord entered the “Court of
the Gentiles”. The Gentiles were not
allowed in the inner confines of the
What did Jesus find when He
entered the Court of the Gentiles? He
found clutter!
There were all sorts of animals.
These were sold to be used as sacrifices before God. Also a temple tax was to be paid, and money
was converted here from other currencies into temple currencies.
Here was the House of God being
used as a market.
Vs. 15 – Jesus was angered by the sin!
He made a whip and drove them
all out of the temple.
He did a complete, thorough,
housecleaning that removed all the clutter.
Vs. 16 – Jesus told the ones who sold doves to leave. He didn’t want His
Father’s house to be a house of business.
In the second cleansing of the
temple at the end of Jesus’ life, Jesus made this very bold statement, in Matthew
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.
Vs. 17 – The disciples remembered a prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus in Psalm
69:9. Jesus certainly fulfilled that
prophecy with His zeal, His passion that the temple be cleansed.
Vs. 18 – Jesus had touched a nerve. This
was a money making operation.
The Jews wanted to know what
authority Jesus had to come in and start cleaning up, removing the clutter.
Vs. 19 – Jesus, of course, was talking of his death, burial, and resurrection.
He would be put to death for the sins of the world. However in three days he would rise
again.
Jesus’ resurrection from the
dead was the proof that He had the authority to cleanse the temple.
Vss. 20-22 – The Jews did not understand what Jesus was talking about, but later
the disciples figured it out.
So Jesus removed the clutter
from the temple in His own day.
Jesus is still cleansing temples
today.
When you trust Jesus as your
Savior you are cleansed from sin. The clutter of sin has been paid for.
A very special thing
happens. Because the Spirit of Christ
lives inside of you, because the Lord Jesus lives inside of you, you become the
Jesus dwells inside of you! You are God’s temple!
So, because Jesus is in you,
let’s talk about His cleansing our temples today. Let’s talk about his
cleansing us.
SEE THE ACTIVITY OR CLUTTER
We let things clutter our
thoughts when we should be worshipping and serving the Lord. Some of these are
very good things, some of them are not.
What are some of the things that
clutter our thinking?
·
Some of us allow sports to
clutter our thinking. We preoccupied with the world of sports.
·
There are some who preoccupied
with hunting. How many of us have been
out in the woods mentally when we should have been paying attention to a
sermon, a school lesson, or something else.
·
Some of us are distracted by
certain kinds of music whose words are anything but Godly, and do not cause us
to think in healthy thought patterns.
Let me ask you.
·
Of course, there’s the kids and
no matter what their age, they can preoccupy our thoughts and our worries.
·
School will tend to get us
distracted, whether it’s the desire to study, or to party, or mess around, or
do as little as possible, school can consume our thoughts.
·
And then there’s our love for
cars. We can let hot wheels, and just
the privilege of driving take our thoughts away from what is really
important. We can also let the
distraction of car repairs clutter our thoughts as well.
·
Guys, gals, love, marriage,
sexual activity, and for some pornography
can clutter our thinking.
·
And of course with the Satellite
Dish the TV can take up more time than ever, if we are not careful. If you ever stayed home from church, to watch
TV, shame on you!
·
Movies are often a
distraction. Some of you know more about
the latest movie than you do your Bibles.
And it makes sense. You’ve spent more time with the movies than the
Bible. If we are not careful they can
affect our thought lives. Be careful what movies you watch.
·
Guys and girls alike get
distracted by taking care of their looks. And let me say this, we should never
dress to show off what we’ve got. We should take care of ourselves to look
presentable, even attractive, but we should not be obsessed with it and always
be modest. Remember, if you’re saved,
you are God’s temple. The way you dress
should indicate that God dwells inside.
This should be true all the time, but especially on Sunday Morning.
·
Some are obsessed with food.
That takes up a lot of their thinking and their activity. Remember, it is
moderation that glorifies God.
·
Some get distracted by home
repairs and dwell on them when they should be dwelling on God!
·
Some are distracted by the love
of money (dollar sign). And remember you don’t have to have money in order to
love it. It is the love of money that is
the root of all evil.
·
Some are distracted by work and
dreaming of climbing the corporate ladder (fellow at computer)
·
And finally many are consumed by
their worries, that is they are consumed by themselves. They love themselves.
(man worrying)
As you can see there’s lots of
potential for clutter in our lives. It
is usually more than one of these that adds to the clutter.
SENSE JESUS’ ANGER – Vs. 17
Jesus was angry because the
temple in his day had become a market and a den of thieves! Who are the thieves on the screen behind me
that are cluttering your life?
Jesus was zealous for the temple
because it was His Father’s house. If we
are the
You can imagine how angry He
becomes when we worship other gods.
Matthew 22:37-40 - Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind. [38] This is the first and great commandment. [39] And the second is
like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [40] On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
James 4:4 - Ye adulterers and adulteresses,
know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever
therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
SEE THE ACTIVITY OR CLUTTER
SENSE JESUS’ ANGER
HEAR JESUS’ ACCUSATION – Vs.
16
Listen to these two challenges
from our Lord.
John 2:16 - And said unto them that sold
doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of
merchandise.
Matthew 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.
What is it that Jesus is telling
you that has to go from your temple in order to remove clutter. Are you more interested in business, family
and fun than you are the things of God?
LET JESUS TAKE ACTION – Vs. 16
All Jesus needs is your
cooperation and He will remove the clutter.
Will you let Him?
Will you ask Him to show you the
clutter?
Will you let Him remove move it?
It is time for Godly sorrow for
the clutter that keeps us from Jesus. As
we confess and forsake, He will remove the clutter.
Psalm 32:5 - I acknowledged my sin unto thee,
and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto
the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
James 4:7-10 - Submit yourselves therefore to
God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Draw nigh to God, and he
will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts,
ye double minded. [9] Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be
turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. [10] Humble yourselves in the
sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
LET JESUS TAKE ACTION – Vs. 16
RESPECT JESUS’ AUTHORITY – Vss.
Vss. 18-22
Jesus had the authority to
cleanse the temple in your day.
He has the authority to cleanse
your temple.
But He will only do it as you
let Him.
When Jesus is truly Lord in your
life, He will take out the clutter and replace it with better things.
These better things belong in
the
·
PRESENCE
He will never leave or forsake
us.
We can abide Him and enjoy
fellowship with Him.
·
PRAISE
We can spend our time and energy
giving adoration and thanksgiving to Him.
·
PRAYER
We can constantly bombard the
throne of Grace.
·
PRECEPTS
God’s Word is to be our love and
joy.
·
POWER
As the Holy Spirit controls us
we can be very productive.
·
PARTICIPATION
We have to think and pray about
doing good to others before we can actually do good works to benefit others.
Let Jesus be the authority in
your life, and your life style is guaranteed to change.
Let the Lord Jesus deal with the
clutter!
SEE THE ACTIVITY OR CLUTTER
SENSE JESUS’ ANGER
HEAR JESUS’ ACCUSATION – Vs.
16
LET JESUS TAKE ACTION – Vs. 16
RESPECT JESUS’ AUTHORITY -
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