Do Not En-cage the Holy Spirit

I was listening to a sermon and a great man of God said something about this scripture that gave me great revelation, so I wanted to document it. Some revelation is His and some is mine. Enjoy!

He Kicked Over the Tables

Matthew 21:12-17 (NKJV)

12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 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.’”

14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”

And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,

‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have perfected praise’?”

17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

First, I want to talk about the money changers. The money changers sold sacrifices, they commercialized the altar. They made it EASY for people to bring sacrifices for their sins. Like they are today saying "all you have to do is say a little prayer" or "just believe." 
Our sacrifice now is Jesus. We do not need to bring a blood sacrifice anymore. However, we are still called to be a living sacrifice, we are to pick up our cross daily and we are to honor God, keeping His sacrifice Holy and we are not to exploit it or commercialize it.

Romans 12:1 (NKJV)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service

Luke 9:23 (NKJV)

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,[a] and follow Me.

Second, they were selling doves. When you sell something you have to control it, either with a cage or leash. The dove is a picture of the Holy Spirit. Those that come to exploit the church or to commercialize it they attempt to control the Holy Spirit. They try and use it for their gain rather than the gain of the Kingdom of God.  

2 Corinthians 2:17 (NKJV) For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

1 Corinthians 5:8n (NKJV) Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

2 Peter 2:3 (NKJV) By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does[a] not slumber.

Third, den of thieves!!!! This refers to the people that come to Gods house just for attendance purposes. They do not come to pray!!!!! They come to make themselves feel like they did their good deed for the week. They are not expecting God to move. Why would they, they control the Holy Spirit! They en-cage Him. They control anything that forces them to look at themselves.  They kill, steal, and destroy the very thing God is trying to do!

            Mark 11:16 (NLT) and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace.

Lastly, we all have seen that new Christian so on fire that they offend people around them! We tell them they need balance. We try and conform them to how we are…., this verse is talking to those older Christians that have become lukewarm and complacent. ”Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, You have perfected praise’!” They are not scared to speak. They want to tell everyone what they have! They want to share it regardless of what everyone around them is saying. HIS STRENGTH IS PERFECTED IN THEIR WEAKNESS.

Luke 19:47 (NKJV) And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him

John 10:10 (NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.