Zeal for My Father's House

When zeal for His Father's house began to consume Jesus, He felt alien to those around Him. Suddenly the fire of heaven became more real than even His friends, and Jesus was infused with divine outrage over the defilement of the true purposes of God. Living amidst the wealth of the United States, we have grown numb concerning the seduction of mammon and what it has done to God's true house, and worse, what it has done to the human temple of the Holy Spirit. David spoke prophetically of Jesus in Psalm 69:8-9: I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother's children; because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. In case we don't associate this prophecy with the cleansing of the temple, the gospel of John reminds us once again in the seventeenth verse of chapter two.

As Jesus does many times, He speaks here on two levels of meaning. He has become a stranger to his biological brothers who do not even believe in Him at this point in His ministry. Yet He also speaks of His brothers, the Jews, and His disciples who are with Him. His mother's children are not just His brothers and sisters, but they are also the people of Israel, and the people of Jerusalem in particular. Jesus reminds us that money is not the economic system of heaven. Everything of heaven is provided without price. Jesus reminds us in Isaiah 55:1:"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." After all, Jesus died for those who have been disenfranchised from the world economic system. In the last days, that disenfranchisement will become universal for the true followers of God who will refuse to take the mark of the beast. Many will be beheaded for taking that stance, but beheading is a far more attractive option than the alternative, which is to experience the fullness of God's wrath.

There is a zeal beginning to burn in the body of Christ for our Father's house. We have created religious businesses that benefit the ministers more than they do the people. Churches and religious organizations charge good money for conferences, and we create church cultures that are so opulent and formal that no outcast or poor could ever set foot in the door without feeling like the scum of the earth. Paul labored as a tent maker with other craftsmen for that very reason. He did not want to give the impression that he used his position in ministry for personal gain. I am not condemning pastors and teachers for receiving support from the church. Not everyone has a tent-making skill like Paul did. Teachers need to be supported. The problem becomes evident, however, when teachers start begging or twisting arms to get people to give to them, when the church becomes a retailer for their books, tapes, and newsletters. Did the teacher have to buy these sermons from Jesus? If not, why do they sell them to others for profit? It seems to me that spiritual materials should have three prices. These items should be offered for the cost of publishing them. Believers who want these items should prayerfully consider giving an offering that goes beyond the production cost of the item that is being provided. If the poor cannot afford the book, they should in most instances leave the item alone. If they really need it, however, and feel that God wants for them to have it, they should be able to obtain it free, and when they are able, they can donate more toward their next purchase. We have made an industry of music cd's, books, DVD's, and Christian paraphernalia which has made of the church a commodity and a market place. Some pastors have resisted giving time to members of the congregation who cannot tithe on a regular basis because they are out of work. Some members of congregations cannot work because of disabilities, but instead of ministering to these people, some pastors overlook them because they cannot offer anything to the ministry of the church. This is a great sin in the body of Christ. What happened to the gospel that heals the sick, sets at liberty the captives, and places the lonely in families?

I don't mention these things in order to condemn pastors or church leaders. Much of this occurs because of our various denominational traditions, and people merely imitate what they have experienced themselves or have been taught. I see a shift coming, however, where prayer will become the first love of the church, and people will gather to pray and worship as much as they can. This will not completely displace teaching, but the teaching ministry will be restored to its proper place in the church. New members of the body need to be taught and discipled into the Christian life. That will never change. The main focus, however, will be holy, persevering prayer and worship, which will lead us into the market place where people will be saved, delivered and healed.

The currency of the kingdom of God is faith. The Lord tells us we should show respect for the poor because they are rich in faith.( James 2:5) Kingdom wealth and prosperity is measured in faith, not money or possessions. I had always read the parable of the talents as the abilites and gifts God has given to us, and to some degree that is the meaing of the talents. The Lord spoke to me one day when I was praying, however, and He told me that the talents are the measure of faith he has given to each one of His saints. The one with the five talents acted on his faith and the Lord gave him five more. The servant with the two talents, acted on the faith of those talents and the Lord once again doubled his wealth of faith. The one who hid his talent lacked faith to activate what God had given to him. He saw God as a hard man who could not be trusted. The Lord ridiculed him for hiding his talent and told him that he should have at least invested his talent with the bankers and earned interest on it. In a worldly sense, the investment which requires the least risk is to put our money in the bank and let it grow interest. There is virtually no risk involved in putting our money in the bank. That money will not grow, however, because there is no risk involved. The bank account at least acknowledges that the money is there. If we bury our money in the back yard, we pretend that the money does not exist, and nothing is earned as a result. The talents refer to faith, which is spelled r-i-s-k. The greater the risk, the greater the reward, and the reward in this case is more faith to bring more of the kingdom of heaven into this present evil age.

There isn't much available in the New Testament that speaks of worldly wealth as a blessing from God, but the Western church has certainly adopted this point of view. Jesus cleanses the temple and warns us against mammon. James gives a great deal of attention in his epistle to the evil behind wealth and great possessions. Worldly wealth and possessions cause subtle injury to our faith and reliance upon God. God does not want us to be destitute, but He will allow us to experience great lack at times so as to sanctify us and to deepen our trust in Him, which are far more valuable in the sight of God than our comfort and material security. Suffering is sometimes good for us, an idea that is blasphemy in some churches in the West. Remember Paul's exhortation:

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:16-18)

We need to move beyond the need for lavish vacations, fancy cruises, and living in the most prestigious neighborhoods so as to be a "witness" of the goodness of God. God is also good when we are hurting, losing our stuff in a bad economy, and fighting diseases and tragedies. When we suffer lack, we return to the one thing in life who is truly worthy of our attention, and that is our King, our Father, our Creator and special Friend who sticks closer than a brother. We need to learn to embrace suffering in the West. I am not saying that we should seek opportunities to suffer. That is sick. We need to embrace it, however, when suffering comes to us. We can take that suffering to Jesus who suffered things far beyond our ability to understand or experience, and He did it voluntarily on our behalf. When we suffer, we begin to touch the love of our savior who suffers long, and counts every moment pure joy because He sees the end of our suffering and His, the perfection and salvation of our souls. Worldly wealth purchases our escape from much of the suffering that afflicts people in the other nations of the world. If we become depressed, we buy some Prozac. If we have a headache, we take an aspirin. If we have some pain in our bodies, we take pain medications to protect us from that pain. The other side of wealth, however, is the inability to endure difficulty. We become weak, irritable when things don't go our way, susceptible to compromise if such compromise will protect us from suffering. Wealth teaches us that we can have our way at all times. We don't have to feel uncomfortable, or experience pain or loss. We can have it all and heaven also.

Jesus, however, provides us a stern warning with regard to worldly wealth and the compromise and weakness that it causes. He exhorts the church of Laodicea:

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'-and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." ( Revelation 3:15-21)

The thing to notice about the lukewarm church is that Jesus loves her. He loves those He chastens and disciplines as a father does his children. Jesus loves the lukewarm church and He stands at the door of our hearts, knocking. He wants to come in and dine with us, to have fellowship with us. Jesus says to the lukewarm church, "I love you. Come back to My house of prayer for all nations. I will give you trials that will sanctify you like gold. I will give you righteous activities that will produce garments that are white. I will anoint your eyes and give you wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God and My ways." He gives the lukewarm church a promise not given to any other church. He tells us, "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on my throne." What kind of a promise is that? Can you imagine sitting on the throne with Jesus?

I believe that Jesus has such a great promise for us who repent of the lukewarm life, because He knows the price we must pay for such a victory. We must be willing to lose our wealth, our comfort, and our control in order to truly overcome the culture in which we live. Jesus is knocking at the door! He is depositing a zeal in us for His Father's house, and we must obey! Maybe this should be our prayer with regard to money,

Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): remove falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches-feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:7-9)

This is the true heart of God with regard to money. He will give us what we need. If we have more, we can share it with others. If we have less, we can rejoice in our exalted position before God as people of great faith. Oh God, do not numb our hearts with riches, but feed us with zeal for our Father's house!