And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the

changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and

poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's

house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

(John 2:13~17)
The story of Jesus going to the

temple of Jerusalem and cleansing

it is a famous one and it

makes us realize extremely deep

and important things about spiritual

life.
At the time, there were merchants

who sold oxen, sheep,

and doves at the temple of Jerusalem.

The oxen would urinate

and poop, the sheep would loudly

bellow, the doves would flap

their wings . . . .
The temple was a

big mess. There were many people

at the temple at that time.

Those in charge of the temple,

Sadducees, Pharisees, priests . . . .
There were many people but

none of them could cast these

things out. But Jesus came and

cast them out.
I often feel such things in my

spiritual life. When I have various

problems arising in my heart, I

often try to take care of them

myself through my methods and

ways instead of looking to have

Jesus come to my heart and take

care of these problems, even

though I believe Jesus. But in

such instances my problems remained

unsolved, and the Lord

took care of them when I looked

and relied on Him.
He cannot coexist with our lustful

thoughts. Since lust and Jesus are

enemies, one or the other must

leave. Isn't that so? Jesus and hatred

can never be together. Hatred,

fear, evilness; such things

cannot stay together with Jesus.
The temple of Jerusalem was

defiled because it was filled with

the people who sold oxen, sheep,

and doves. Other people may tolerate

this and pass it by, but Jesus

could never tolerate this. Others

may think, "What can we do? We

have to sell oxen to give offerings,"

but Jesus could never allow

this. Jesus could not simply pass

by as He sees the oxen, sheep,

and doves pooping and urinating

in the temple.
This is not only true with oxen,

sheep, and doves but also with

the darkness inside of you. Darkness

can remain in the heart of a

person without Jesus, but if Jesus

remains in one's heart, the darkness

cannot remain there.
The temple 2000 years ago was a temple,

but our heart is also the temple

in which Jesus dwells. Therefore,

just as the Lord could not

allow oxen, sheep, and doves to

remain in the temple, He cannot

allow people whose hearts have

become temples to have darkness

in their heart. You may simply be

lustful and enjoy it, but Jesus cannot

allow it. You may allow hatred,

despair, or sorrow but Jesus

can never allow such things.
Therefore, the determination

in your spiritual life to, "I am going

to live properly. I am not going

to steal. I will not do drugs. I

will not drink," cannot cast such

things out.
If you realize

that you are ruined and if Jesus

comes as the Lord into your

heart, Jesus cannot allow darkness,

lust, nor deceit in your

heart and hence, such things cannot

remain. You, without yourself

even knowing it, become

changed and renewed.
The Sins

Automatically Left

When we did not know the

world of spiritual life very well,

we tried to fix ourselves when

we sinned, lived riotously, and

lived promiscuously.
"I should not drink. I should

not smoke. I should not commit

crimes."
The body of a person is the

screen of his heart. When we watch

a movie, we do not watch the film

but what shows up on the screen.

What shows on the film shows on

the screen. This is also true with

man. If you have pain in your heart,

the pain shows in your facial expression,

shows in your stomach

and intestines. When you have joy,

the joy shows in your facial expression

and words.
When a person is

sick, he only tries to have the sickness

healed. When fixing the film,

what shows on the screen will be

automatically fixed. Likewise, if you

first heal the heart, the body will

automatically be healed. But it is

difficult because people do not try

to fix the film but the screen.
When Jesus enters our heart,

Jesus easily casts out darkness,

fear, and sin.
"Thou shalt have no other

gods before me. You shall not

make idols unto yourselves. Thou

shalt not take the Lord God's

name in vain . . . ."

I recited and memorized them

all but I still broke them all. But

after Jesus entered my heart, all

those sins left me without me

even knowing it. Neither did I try

to throw them away nor labor to

not sin, but one by one, they left

me. It was so amazing and wonderful,

and I am so thankful.
If Jesus Is in Our Heart

Spiritual life is not done

through you. You cannot rid your

heart of sadness, you cannot

overcome fear in your heart, and

you cannot rid your heart of pain.

Even though the temple of Jerusalem

was defiled and dirtied it

could not cast out the oxen,

sheep, and doves.
But when Jesus

came, automatically they were

cast out. In this way, if the lord in

your heart changes from yourself

to Jesus, He casts out all the sadness

and despair from your heart.
The woman taken in adultery

was caught and was being dragged

to death. Her heart was filled

with fear, sadness, and pain.

But when she met Jesus, the fear

departed, the sadness departed,

the pain departed, and only

thankfulness remained.
If the loving Lord is in our heart,

He cleanses our heart, purifies our

thoughts, and leads our life to be

beautiful. That is spiritual life.

Spiritual life is not done through

our efforts to become clean.
The story of the temple of Jerusalem

in John chapter 2 is talking

about the temple of our heart today.

It is telling us that if Jesus enters

in, the dirty things of our

heart depart.