Acquiring Heavenly Treasures

When in The Bible did people make history when everything was going well?  During times of impossibility, people who were led by THE SPIRIT triumphed.  Now is the time for us to do the same!

The Beloved Disciple wrote by The Holy Spirit in John chapter 2:

12 After the wedding (at Cana), Jesus, His mother and brothers, and His disciples traveled to Capernaum and stayed there for a few days. 13 When the time was close for the Jewish Passover to begin, Jesus walked to Jerusalem. 14 As He went into the temple courtyard, he noticed it was filled with merchants selling oxen, lambs, and doves for exorbitant prices, while others were overcharging as they exchanged currency behind their counters. 15 So Jesus found some cords and made them into a whip. Then He drove out every one of them and their animals from the courtyard of the temple, and He kicked over their tables filled with money, scattering it everywhere! 16 And He told the merchants, “Get these things out of here! Don’t you dare commercialize my Father’s House!” 17 That’s when His disciples remembered the Scripture: “I am consumed with a fiery passion to keep Your House pure!”

In preparation for Passover, what is the first thing Jesus did?  He cleansed the temple of the love of money (aka greed).  Jesus had already turned the water into wine (a symbol of the Sons of GOD) while attending the wedding at Cana.  Our temples must also be cleansed of greed.  How do we overcome greed?  We do it by cheerful giving which pleases FATHER.  This is why The Holy Spirit keeps emphasizing this point in my writings.  Greed being the root of all evil must be removed in no uncertain terms.  The disciples remembered Psalm 69:9:

9 My Love for YOU has My Heart on fire!

    My passion for YOUR house consumes Me!

    Nothing will turn Me away,

    even though I endure all the insults of those who insult YOU.

What has the church (in most cases) done?  It has focused on commercializing the temple by requiring tithes and offerings to support the pastor’s vision rather than giving to those in need.  It has become a place of mostly entertainment rather than one of Spiritual growth and maturity, emphasizing the work of The Holy Spirit.  Why do you think that Jesus had to warn seven churches in the Book of Revelation about their true status?

Jesus spoke in Revelation chapter 3:

14 Write the following to the messenger of the congregation in Laodicea, for these are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Ruler of God’s creation:

15 I know all that you do, and I know that you are neither frozen in apathy nor fervent with passion. How I wish you were either one or the other! 16 But because you are neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm, I am about to spit you from My mouth.

17 For you claim, “I’m rich and getting richer—I don’t need a thing.” Yet you are clueless that you’re miserable, poor, blind, barren, and naked! 18 So I counsel you to purchase gold perfected by fire, so that you can be truly rich. Purchase a white garment to cover and clothe your shameful Adam-nakedness. Purchase eye salve to be placed over your eyes so that you can truly see. 19 All those I dearly Love I unmask and train. So repent and be eager to pursue what is right.

How do you purchase “spiritual gold”, a white garment, and eye salve?  By giving. we lay up Heavenly treasures. Jesus made this abundantly clear when He addressed the rich, young man in Matthew chapter 19:

21 Jesus said to him, “If you really want to be perfect (mature), go now and sell everything you own. Give your money to the poor and your treasure will be transferred into Heaven. Then come back and follow Me for the rest of your life.”

Continuing in Revelation chapter 3, Jesus spoke:

20 Behold, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If your heart is open to hear My Voice and you open the door within, I will come in to you and feast with you, and you will feast with Me. 21 And to the one who conquers I will give the privilege of sitting with me on My Throne, just as I conquered and sat down with My Father on His Throne. 22 The one whose heart is open let him listen carefully to what the Spirit is saying now to the churches.

We must conquer greed and this is done by being obedient to Jesus’ Words, not just hearers only.  Those seven churches no longer exist today so they did not obey the Words of Jesus.  Let us not make the same mistake.

Continuing in John chapter 2, Jesus spoke:

18 Then the Jewish religious leaders challenged Jesus, “What authority do you have to do this sort of thing and what supernatural sign will you show us to prove it?”

19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up again in three days.”

20 Then the Jewish leaders sneered at Jesus’ answer, “This temple took forty-six years[s] to build, and you mean to tell us that you will raise it up in three days?” 21 But they failed to understand that Jesus was speaking of the “temple” of his body. 22 The disciples remembered His prophecy after Jesus rose from the dead, and believed both the Scripture and what Jesus had said.

23 While Jesus was at the Passover Feast, the number of his followers began to grow, and many gave their allegiance to Him because of all the miraculous signs they had seen Him doing! 24 But Jesus did not yet entrust Himself to them, because He knew how fickle human hearts can be. 25 He needed no one to tell Him about human nature, for he fully understood what man was capable of doing.

After the temple was cleansed, Jesus did many signs and wonders.  Have our temples been cleansed sufficiently?

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