Mark 11: 15 - 17

God placed in our hands the keys to effectively witness for Him. It is His desire that everyone of His children have a supernatural, Holy Spirit empowered ministry to meet the needs of others. Yet, He never meant
for us to become individuals who are laws to themselves or do their own thing. As Christians, we operate at varying levels of spirituality and motivations. Also, God gives special anointings, special gifts and places special callings in the Church.
 
The truth is God meant for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ to be a healing centre, not just specialised ministries. This is a very, very important truth.
   
In the Book of Mark 11:15 - 17, Jesus went into the temple and found merchants and their customers, the money changers. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the stalls of those selling doves.

He stopped everyone from bringing in merchandise. A parallel verse says in 2 Timothy 3:5, "These people display a form of godliness but denying the power thereof."
 
Jesus had a definite purpose as to what the work of God was and what purpose the House of God was to serve. What Jesus saw definitely did not meet His expectations of what was intended for the Church.

That is why He dealt with them forcefully. As we compare it with the Church today, we could spiritualize it in many ways. We could miss its real purpose, completely overlook and substitute it with non-essentials.

The Church, too often, becomes a social centre, a recreation centre and a super committee centre. These activities are well and good in their time and in their place, but it is not what God has in mind. He sent His disciples out with a task to perform. He said, "Go out to the highways and by-ways, go everywhere, bring the sick, the lame, the deaf, the mute and the blind. Go, get the needs of the people and bring them to the temple."

The temple represents the Church, the Body of Christ. Jesus cleanses the temple, saying "Get the forms out, get all the things that are wasting time out of My Father's House." Why? Because, My Father's House will be a House of prayer, a place of intercession, a place where people's needs will be met by the supernatural power of God.
 
Every time we open our Church doors, there should be ministry to meet the needs within the Church. The Church is supposed to be the House of God where the sick, the needy, the unsaved can be brought and their needs met. Inside the doors of the Church, the ministry of salvation and healing should be taking place. Sick bodies should be healed, bondages of people should be broken, deliverance and miracles should be happening in the Church.
 
When we hold the keys to what we must do to do the work of God, we hold them not only for empowerment for our own individual ministry. We hold them for the Body of Christ, the Church, the place God meant it to be, the Healing Centre where broken hearts, broken lives and bodies are ministered and healed by the Power of God.