HELEN SANDERS
7-18-2024
THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
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As I was studying and meditating on the word today the Lord spoke to me. He started talking about the cleansing of the temple. You may remember the story. Jesus had come into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and received a wonderful reception. Immediately he passed by a fig tree and cursed it.
Then, he went into the temple in Jerusalem and threw out the money changers, and those that sold the sacrificial birds used as offerings for their sin. He would not allow anyone to carry any vessel of merchandising into the temple. He then said in Mark 12:17, “And he taught, saying unto them, ‘Is it not written, My house shall be called of ALL NATIONS THE HOUSE OF PRAYER? but ye have made it a DEN OF THIEVES.’”
This did not go over well with the religious scribes and chief priests, and they sought to destroy him.
As I thought on this scripture the Lord said he was going to be cleansing temples again. This time it is not just the physical temple, i.e., the church, although the whip is being applied there also. Those in ministry for money will soon find out their lives are about to change. There will be many shut doors where the leadership have failed to be submissive to God and repent of their sin. Hirelings will no longer be idolized.
What God showed me this morning is speaking of the temple of the Holy Ghost. We are that temple. God dwells in us and He is cleaning house. Every little thing that displeases him must go, or that same whip he used in the natural will be used in the spiritual. We must allow him to cleanse us, and it starts first with repentance.
You might think you have nothing to repent of, but God says differently. The little annoyances, the little compromises, the little offenses, the little “white lies,” the little things done in secret, the unholy thoughts, the little gossip, the proud looks, the holding back of what belongs to God. The list goes on and on.
You might wonder what is happening in your life as you read this, but it is not the devil coming against you. It is God allowing you to “come clean” and get your heart right with him. As he cleansed the physical temple in Jerusalem, he now is cleaning us. He is getting us ready for his return and we must be without spot or blemish.
We must allow this cleansing to come willingly, or it will take place without our consent. Remember my friends, if you are a Christian, you no longer are your own. You belong to God, and he wants you to be without spot or blemish when we are presented to His Son. The choice is yours. The whip or the willing heart to change. I suggest we all choose wisely.
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