Marketplace

It is amazing that the world can inject its way of looking at things into churches that profess Jesus. In John 2, Jesus went to Jerusalem because it was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration. In going there, he went to the house of God and saw the dirty practices that compromised what His house stood for. John 2: ¹³ It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. ¹⁵ Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. ¹⁶ Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

Did you notice Jesus said, "Get these things out of here!! He brought to light the fact that the marketplace was now in the church, and it was not right. What is wrong with the marketplace being in the house of God? The worldly way of thinking became more important than what this place of meeting was designed for by God. There is a tendency for the competitive marketplace attitude to get into the heart of the church and take it to a place that is more worldly than Godly. I guess you could say it takes the heart of the church and combines it with the dirt the world has to offer, and allows the worship to be compromised at its essence. Marketplace Christianity has no place in the Lord's church!!! The disciples remembered the prophecy from the scriptures that says, "Passion for God's house will consume me." If we are to have Godly passion for God's house, we will not let anything from the world be used to draw people into the house. If there is no passion for God's house, then what makes it any different from any other building?

John 17:¹³ “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. ¹⁴ I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵ I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.¹⁶ They do not belong to this world any more than I do. ¹⁷ Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. ¹⁸ Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. ¹⁹ And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.

There is a story of a man drilling a well looking for good water, and if he saw anything foreign or deadly in the water, he needed to shut off the source before it killed them all. The drilling crew began drilling, and the water was of good color, but all of a sudden the water took on a different, green-like color, and that color showed it was deadly. The man, hoping the water was good, dismissed the color of the water and 'let it go." The other workers did not know about the water danger, and the well was set to supply a whole village. The people of the village drank the water as though it was good water, and the next morning all were dead, except for the water expert. As he looked around, he thought, "It was my responsibility to keep them from drinking the deadly water, and I knew it was bad, but I wanted it to be good because I had assured the people I knew where the good water was located. A village was dead because of his 'personal' desire for the water to be good, instead of using his expertise. So sad.

We are offering 'living' water to a lost and dying world, and us just putting things in our worship or our church practices doesn't make them right. Here are some examples of things that have been tainted by the world in ministry today.

1. 'Called' ministers are no longer necessary because the positions are filled by men who are 'hired' just like any other 'job.' This is the world's way of putting men into positions of leadership, but they are just hired and not called. The Spiritual part of the minister is not necessary for the church to hold to a called man. They will just hire someone who can do some of the job, but they are not God-inspired; they just have the tools of the 'trade!"

2. When churches began to be run like businesses, committees took over the yay or nay decisions, whether they were Godly people or not. Leadership was chosen by social position or perceived power in the church, and many a church has gone down and closed its doors because the popular people on the committee went with personal preferences instead of praying for decisions. The early church had a way of making decisions, and here is one example. Acts 6:1 But as the believers^[a] rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. ² So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. ³ And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. ⁴ Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” The early church even prayed over who their table waiters would be, so we have slipped in choosing people for important matters of the church and stooped to doing it the world's way. This is not good!

3. Money controls almost everything. If you have money, you can buy power and position in a church, and this should not be. We are not like the New York Yankees, also called 'the best team money can buy.' A person who is in it for the wrong reasons is a person who will give the perception they are giving a lot, and use that perception to wield the power of the purse.

   1. As you can see, when we allow the world to disrupt and corrupt the version of the church Jesus died for, the compromise is costly. 1 Corinthians 12:²⁷ All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. Be true to God's Word about the church and about worship. Paul wrote the following about worship and what it looks like in Romans 12: 1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

   2. Remember Galatians 5:⁹ A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

      
      

      The Pilgrimage Continues,

      David Warren