DEN OF THIEVES, HARLOTS & OUTLAWS
"And He said to them, 'It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.''" - Matt 21:13
After Jesus resisted these thieves, the scriptures clearly states that; the blind and the lame came into the church and He healed them. We would be robbing ourselves of the supernatural when we keep being hospitable to those who should be outcast, we rob ourselves of divinity when we make the church of God business as usual.
How did we become so comfortable with these thieves who continue to steal our bread (healing is the children's bread). Can I also state that because these thieves were available, it seem that the temple will thrive economically, offerings and tithes will be much and of course at this time - 'the Lord is good', but if we let the thief stay, we would all be dead spiritually. This is the sorry state of the church!
These men were carrying out legitimate business in the house of God yet the Lord called them thieves. In a time when the law is more pronounced than anything in our society, many would have argued that the charge against the traders wasn't theft, that Jesus was wrong with His accusation. It wasn't fair, they have traded in the temple for long and why should one Man come and scatter their business.
I can't but see what the Lord is pointing to us at a time as this, while we may not really have business men trading their wares openly inside the temple in our days; I see robbers come into the church to sit as worshippers, not because they seek God, it was the men Jesus was addressing and not really their goods. Though there could be spiritual buying and selling in the church but the matter is always about the traders. We must insist on upturning their tables - those thieves who loot our common wealth should be uncomfortable in the church!
A thief will steal, he will kill our spiritual lives if given the opportunity because, the theif is a misfit in the house and he will always destroy that which is meant to be established. When men who are corrupt enter the church, please sound the alarm that a thief has entered, to keep our spiritual selves alive - we must resist them, before they destroy all that we are building - we must resist it all.
DEN OF IMMORTALITY
"Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting." - 1Sam 2:22
It is so scary to think that there is a possibility of this abominable act in the church, but it is unfortunately true and of course very disheartening. First, there are those who comes to church with this immoral motive and there are those who carry out their act in God's presence - instead of sanctification is it a constant pollution we have.
If these immoral people will stop coming to the sanctuary, then we will be free from this scourge. Let it be clearly stated that, these people intentionally come to church to ply their trade, whether the male or the female folk. Some say the power of God can arrest them, these ones do not want to be arrested, Jesus did not preach to the thieves of the den, they know what the church is meant for - but they continue in their abomination to survive, at least they pay tithe and offering. Heaven weeps at this.
Do you not know that the sexual immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God, where there is perversion ruling the house of God, lust will continue to drive our church attendance and yet the church that is suppose to be the ground and pillar of truth, will have no one standing. I pray that such a one who is involved will repent, I hope that such a person sees a need not to be destroyed unnecessarily - God really frowns at this act.
"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles - that a man has his father's wife!" - 1Cor 5:1
For you who feel good because you distant your immoral acts far from the church, you may just be deceiving yourself, your trade is your identity, your business tells who you are - you are defiling the temple of God - God frowns at it and you should be ashamed and it surely should cause you to repent. It is actually reported that such immoral people are amongst us - and why are they still there?
You cannot be masturbating yet come and handle the instrument on Sunday, you just make the whole worship dented, you can't be an adulterer and still be a Sunday school teacher - what even gave you the effrontery to do come to church? Who told you God depends on men like you to make the kingdom move forward - if we are not purged of these abnormality - we risk falling and robbing ourselves of sanctification.
Anything that encourages the sensual more than the spiritual, anything that takes our gaze off the crucified unto the beautified is nothing but a pollution of the sanctified. This den of fornicators can be cleansed, this den needs no place amongst the worshippers - we shouldn't make them comfortable. I am not saying we start to chase those who need a rescue as some really needs and want to be delivered - but some and a lot at that, want to bring the world's lust into the church and sanctify the acts with scriptures. God forbid!
LION'S DEN
"So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, 'Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.'" - Daniel 6:16
Let the Christain know that he will face persecution for his constant prayers, let the Christian know that men would rather want you quiet at night rather than in worship. These men wouldn't mind if you are blasting your home theatre, but they really have an objection to your prayers - especially when you speak in tongues. They seem to want to persecute you.
The truth is, these people are the lions themselves, they want to eat you up because you are bent on the service of God. They envy you because your fellowship just keeps making them feel like sinners - they hate you and it is the devil in them that has overtaken such people. We are indeed in the midst of lions.
What lion is there, that is greater than the Lion of the tribe of Judah, is there a lion to eat us up when the Lion of the tribe of Judah has fed from our worship, if the Christian remain innocent, the physical lions will never be able to touch you. The king said unto Daniel, 'your God whom you serve continually' - continuous service and worship will keep us untouched from the claws of the lions in the lions den.
"When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell." - Psalm 27:2
O, let the child of God be like David, let the child of God maintain his consecration so that like Samson of old, one can tear these lions in pieces - the lions available now are more dangerous than the physical ones, those ones were tamed as all beasts can be tamed. But, these wolves in sheep clothing, we need a deliverance from.
The enemy goes about like a roaring lion - like a lion they go seeking to silence the voice of the believer, seeking to stop the purposeful mission of the child of God - yet the Lord is the great deliverer. He can save us from their claws and our voice must continually be heard in the place of prayer.
Have you been silenced because people said your vigils are disturbing? Have you become fearful because they have threatened you with a quit notice? The Lord is able to deliver if you remain innocent. I am not saying that religious activities become a nuisance to people around, but we also know that more often than not, we are coarse into silence because of our worship. Shut the mouth of lions through faith in God!
RESCUE MISSION
"Then Jesus answered and said: 'A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead." - Luke 10:30
"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion." - Luke 10:33
It is possible that you have moved DOWN, from Jerusalem to Jericho, it is very possibly that you are on the slide called 'backsliding' and of course, you have fallen in the den of thieves, that priest who is suppose to rescue you have passed the other way, as long as you paid tithe, hope seem to be coming from that Levite who is a church elder, but he too has taken a detour - you as the 'once-upon-a-time' believer is left not half dead but for dead.
We see that when that good Samaritan Jesus passed, He had compassion, compassion is the attribute of God that delivers men in their despair - you may be addicted to these vices, you may also be a victim - but Jesus is looking on you with compassion, and of course He will deliver you. If the whole world neglects you, Jesus will not forsake you - every one who is in any den needs a rescue even the lion wants to be free.
It is possible that the continuos presence of the thieves have robbed many from their hope in God - yet Jesus is making a rescue mission for them, He is not the Saviour for name sake - He is the Saviour because He brings salvation! He saves from sin, He delivers from addiction - let Him save you.
"He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." - 1John 3:8
Would you let Jesus be manifested in your life today, so that the darkness of the den can be exposed and you can be rescued. It may not be your fault that you have been robbed and left spiritually dead - but this is the main reason why He was made manifest to destroy this works.
We who are believers must begin to upturn the tables of this robbers just as Jesus did, we must not have fellowship with the works of darkness, in fact we should rather expose them. If we do not take the initiative now by God's instruction we would be robbed. The blind and the lame were constantly robbed because the thieves held sway - expose and upturn their tables. We must pray against their works.
While the children of Israel gathered at the door of the tabernacle weeping for their transgressions, one man felt he didn't need all the crap, he totally ignored what they were doing and he brought in a woman to further defile all of them. Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron wouldn't have any of that - he took a spear and thrust it through that man and woman. God commended him for it (Num 25:1-18). We must speak and stand against that which is wrong in the house of the Lord.
CONCLUSION:
The easiest way to keep robbers away from their den is to ensure there is light - even the wild animals are afraid of fire - let us keep the light on, to expose the works of darkness.
Let's make the house of God what it is meant to be - a house of prayer.
May you not be a casualty in the den of the enemy in Jesus name (Amen).
God bless you and I love you.
Akinsuroju Femi
© The Fundamentals
After Jesus resisted these thieves, the scriptures clearly states that; the blind and the lame came into the church and He healed them. We would be robbing ourselves of the supernatural when we keep being hospitable to those who should be outcast, we rob ourselves of divinity when we make the church of God business as usual.
How did we become so comfortable with these thieves who continue to steal our bread (healing is the children's bread). Can I also state that because these thieves were available, it seem that the temple will thrive economically, offerings and tithes will be much and of course at this time - 'the Lord is good', but if we let the thief stay, we would all be dead spiritually. This is the sorry state of the church!
These men were carrying out legitimate business in the house of God yet the Lord called them thieves. In a time when the law is more pronounced than anything in our society, many would have argued that the charge against the traders wasn't theft, that Jesus was wrong with His accusation. It wasn't fair, they have traded in the temple for long and why should one Man come and scatter their business.
I can't but see what the Lord is pointing to us at a time as this, while we may not really have business men trading their wares openly inside the temple in our days; I see robbers come into the church to sit as worshippers, not because they seek God, it was the men Jesus was addressing and not really their goods. Though there could be spiritual buying and selling in the church but the matter is always about the traders. We must insist on upturning their tables - those thieves who loot our common wealth should be uncomfortable in the church!
A thief will steal, he will kill our spiritual lives if given the opportunity because, the theif is a misfit in the house and he will always destroy that which is meant to be established. When men who are corrupt enter the church, please sound the alarm that a thief has entered, to keep our spiritual selves alive - we must resist them, before they destroy all that we are building - we must resist it all.
DEN OF IMMORTALITY
"Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting." - 1Sam 2:22
It is so scary to think that there is a possibility of this abominable act in the church, but it is unfortunately true and of course very disheartening. First, there are those who comes to church with this immoral motive and there are those who carry out their act in God's presence - instead of sanctification is it a constant pollution we have.
If these immoral people will stop coming to the sanctuary, then we will be free from this scourge. Let it be clearly stated that, these people intentionally come to church to ply their trade, whether the male or the female folk. Some say the power of God can arrest them, these ones do not want to be arrested, Jesus did not preach to the thieves of the den, they know what the church is meant for - but they continue in their abomination to survive, at least they pay tithe and offering. Heaven weeps at this.
Do you not know that the sexual immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God, where there is perversion ruling the house of God, lust will continue to drive our church attendance and yet the church that is suppose to be the ground and pillar of truth, will have no one standing. I pray that such a one who is involved will repent, I hope that such a person sees a need not to be destroyed unnecessarily - God really frowns at this act.
"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles - that a man has his father's wife!" - 1Cor 5:1
For you who feel good because you distant your immoral acts far from the church, you may just be deceiving yourself, your trade is your identity, your business tells who you are - you are defiling the temple of God - God frowns at it and you should be ashamed and it surely should cause you to repent. It is actually reported that such immoral people are amongst us - and why are they still there?
You cannot be masturbating yet come and handle the instrument on Sunday, you just make the whole worship dented, you can't be an adulterer and still be a Sunday school teacher - what even gave you the effrontery to do come to church? Who told you God depends on men like you to make the kingdom move forward - if we are not purged of these abnormality - we risk falling and robbing ourselves of sanctification.
Anything that encourages the sensual more than the spiritual, anything that takes our gaze off the crucified unto the beautified is nothing but a pollution of the sanctified. This den of fornicators can be cleansed, this den needs no place amongst the worshippers - we shouldn't make them comfortable. I am not saying we start to chase those who need a rescue as some really needs and want to be delivered - but some and a lot at that, want to bring the world's lust into the church and sanctify the acts with scriptures. God forbid!
LION'S DEN
"So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, 'Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.'" - Daniel 6:16
Let the Christain know that he will face persecution for his constant prayers, let the Christian know that men would rather want you quiet at night rather than in worship. These men wouldn't mind if you are blasting your home theatre, but they really have an objection to your prayers - especially when you speak in tongues. They seem to want to persecute you.
The truth is, these people are the lions themselves, they want to eat you up because you are bent on the service of God. They envy you because your fellowship just keeps making them feel like sinners - they hate you and it is the devil in them that has overtaken such people. We are indeed in the midst of lions.
What lion is there, that is greater than the Lion of the tribe of Judah, is there a lion to eat us up when the Lion of the tribe of Judah has fed from our worship, if the Christian remain innocent, the physical lions will never be able to touch you. The king said unto Daniel, 'your God whom you serve continually' - continuous service and worship will keep us untouched from the claws of the lions in the lions den.
"When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell." - Psalm 27:2
O, let the child of God be like David, let the child of God maintain his consecration so that like Samson of old, one can tear these lions in pieces - the lions available now are more dangerous than the physical ones, those ones were tamed as all beasts can be tamed. But, these wolves in sheep clothing, we need a deliverance from.
The enemy goes about like a roaring lion - like a lion they go seeking to silence the voice of the believer, seeking to stop the purposeful mission of the child of God - yet the Lord is the great deliverer. He can save us from their claws and our voice must continually be heard in the place of prayer.
Have you been silenced because people said your vigils are disturbing? Have you become fearful because they have threatened you with a quit notice? The Lord is able to deliver if you remain innocent. I am not saying that religious activities become a nuisance to people around, but we also know that more often than not, we are coarse into silence because of our worship. Shut the mouth of lions through faith in God!
RESCUE MISSION
"Then Jesus answered and said: 'A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead." - Luke 10:30
"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion." - Luke 10:33
It is possible that you have moved DOWN, from Jerusalem to Jericho, it is very possibly that you are on the slide called 'backsliding' and of course, you have fallen in the den of thieves, that priest who is suppose to rescue you have passed the other way, as long as you paid tithe, hope seem to be coming from that Levite who is a church elder, but he too has taken a detour - you as the 'once-upon-a-time' believer is left not half dead but for dead.
We see that when that good Samaritan Jesus passed, He had compassion, compassion is the attribute of God that delivers men in their despair - you may be addicted to these vices, you may also be a victim - but Jesus is looking on you with compassion, and of course He will deliver you. If the whole world neglects you, Jesus will not forsake you - every one who is in any den needs a rescue even the lion wants to be free.
It is possible that the continuos presence of the thieves have robbed many from their hope in God - yet Jesus is making a rescue mission for them, He is not the Saviour for name sake - He is the Saviour because He brings salvation! He saves from sin, He delivers from addiction - let Him save you.
"He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." - 1John 3:8
Would you let Jesus be manifested in your life today, so that the darkness of the den can be exposed and you can be rescued. It may not be your fault that you have been robbed and left spiritually dead - but this is the main reason why He was made manifest to destroy this works.
We who are believers must begin to upturn the tables of this robbers just as Jesus did, we must not have fellowship with the works of darkness, in fact we should rather expose them. If we do not take the initiative now by God's instruction we would be robbed. The blind and the lame were constantly robbed because the thieves held sway - expose and upturn their tables. We must pray against their works.
While the children of Israel gathered at the door of the tabernacle weeping for their transgressions, one man felt he didn't need all the crap, he totally ignored what they were doing and he brought in a woman to further defile all of them. Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron wouldn't have any of that - he took a spear and thrust it through that man and woman. God commended him for it (Num 25:1-18). We must speak and stand against that which is wrong in the house of the Lord.
CONCLUSION:
The easiest way to keep robbers away from their den is to ensure there is light - even the wild animals are afraid of fire - let us keep the light on, to expose the works of darkness.
Let's make the house of God what it is meant to be - a house of prayer.
May you not be a casualty in the den of the enemy in Jesus name (Amen).
God bless you and I love you.
Akinsuroju Femi
© The Fundamentals
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