Title: Zeal for the Temple of the Lord
Contents
Expository Preaching
Subject: Zeal for the Lord's Temple
Text: John 2:13-17
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13 As the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 and saw in the temple those selling oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers sitting. 15 He made a whip out of cords and drove all the sheep and cattle out of the temple. Pouring people's money, he overturned the tables, 16 and said to those who sold doves, Take this from here, and do not make my father's house a house of business. said
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In the morning, I shared with you a deep understanding of the temple of Jesus under the title, Zeal for Longing for the Temple of the Lord. In it, there was the love of the temple of Jesus, who loved the church despite trials and wounds.
One day, as British Prime Minister Gladstone was leaving the church after a service, a gentleman said to him: “I don't understand why a learned person like you would come to listen to such a vague sermon,” Gladstone replied. “I come to church because I love England.” This answer has many implications. But perhaps a better answer is this. “I come to church because I love the world. Because there, I hear the law that we must love one another with the love that bears the cross.” When there are members with this kind of heart, the church will change to glory.
In the afternoon, we will change the text and think about the second reason for the zeal that we continue to long for the temple of the Lord.
As I said earlier, I said that this temple incident of Jesus was not a cleansing incident, nor a house of prayer, but an event that he worked hard for the Lord's house.
I found another advection. That's verse 1. “As the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem,” he says. This verse appears only in the Gospel of John. It does not appear in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which deal with the same article. Only John connects the events of the temple of Jesus with the Passover.
This beautiful heart of the Lord is engraved here. Jesus did something extraordinary in the temple. Why?
“It is more zeal for the Lord’s house than the meaning of prayer rather than the meaning of cleanliness and sorrow for the soul.” I can tell you.
A few days later, Jesus dies on the cross. It is very pitiful for these people who know nothing about his death. That pain was manifested in such extreme actions.
It's like a hen looking at Jerusalem and gathering her young under her wings, how much I have gathered my children, and weeping and lamenting over the unrepentant and unrepentant Jerusalem.
This cry of pity is shown in today's text as a very strange and terrifying act. We are here to see the Lord show his love for the soul and let go of his sorrowful heart. This is the second reason. The first was zeal for the Lord's house, and the second was because of the heartfelt heart toward the soul.
When I think of this kind of heart of Jesus, this illustration came to mind. There was Princess Alice, the second daughter of Queen Victoria of England. The princess had a young son, four years old. Unfortunately, the young son suffered from a disease known as black diphtheria, an incurable and dangerous epidemic at the time, and he was on the verge of death.
The princess's doctor warned the princess never to go near her son. In addition, it is said that Princess Alice's constitution was exceptionally weak. Princess Alice was standing in the corner of the spacious room where her son was suffering from an illness, and was staring at him from a distance. When the nurse who was taking care of the son went to the bedside, the young son said to the nurse, looking at his mother standing in the distance. “Why doesn’t my mother come close to me and kiss me anymore?”
As if she couldn't stand it any longer, the mother, standing in the corner listening to this low voice, ran up to her and hugged her young son, saying, "I'm sorry, Mom, I really love you." Despite the doctor's warnings, she showed a deep maternal love.
In the end, it is the story of a mother, Alice, who contracted the dangerous plague and was buried with her son in the ground one day several weeks later. This mother died after showing the love that only a mother can show through the 'Kiss of Death'.
The crusade of Jesus is like that kiss of death. Because he was accused of insulting this temple and eventually died on the cross. Just like the princess who loved her son who passed away after kissing him intensely, the Lord died on the cross after kissing his soul so intensely in the temple.
I pray that God will pour out such hearts on us today.
Dr. Terry Welling gave us a big challenge. From the first day, I started beating with the Word. “It doesn’t matter what ministry you came from. Now you are not exhausted, you are in transition. It is not another ministry to renew us in this transition period. Let go of that ministry for a moment and focus on yourself as God sees you. God is not interested in the success or failure of your ministry. You are yourself. God is interested in you. What kind of person are you really being made before God? Please don't discuss church size. God is not interested in that. Focus on how you are being built up before God right now. Then, there is only one thing God requires of you in this transition period, not exhaustion. Can you love your soul like me (like Jesus)? Can you truly love? Can you pray by calling their names? is to do During this retreat, above all else, recover this.”
Tears flowed when I heard those words. This is because I recently broke the habit of praying by calling out this soul's name from a month ago. At some point, he had not come to the morning prayer meeting with his notebook. As I truly repented, I thought that if I go now, I will have to recover from this.
The Lord was willing to carry the cross after this intense death kiss. I hope that this kind of love for the soul will arise in all of us.
Do not shout that the church must be reformed simply because of the cleansing of the temple. Do not force prayer by claiming it is a house of prayer. This temple event is engraved with the message of zeal for the Lord's temple and the heartbreaking love of the soul like the kiss of death.
Let us pray over this and pray that we will all be like this. And recover. This is the message to us today. It is a message to examine and restore ourselves first before calling for reform in the church and others.
Restore your zeal for your temple. Go beyond the hills of wounds, through the hills of trial, to the place of zeal for the Lord. And there, recover the heart of sincere love for the soul. This is the core of today's temple events. This is the most important message.