Last night during our House Church gathering in my family room I looked at all the empty places on a couch where someone could be sitting or earlier at our dinning room table eating and they could have received both physical and spiritual foods. I prayed over this and asked the Holy Spirit to help me discern why seats were empty. And this passaeg in this morning’s reading of Matthew chapter 12 spoke as if it was directed towards me.
“Knowing their thoughts, he (Jesus) said to them,… “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12 :25, 30)
The persecuted church in China is growing, they are gathering. One of the reasons when you look into it, is that every Christian there tells someone daily about Jesus. They are compelled to share the Gospel daily with at least one person. When asked why this is, they say that the Government officials and others who are persecuting them, throwing them in prison, and trying to eradicate the church, daily do not share the Gospel. Each day our persecutors refrain from speaking the name of Jesus. If there is a day we do not share the Gospel or tell someone of Jesus, who’s side are we on that day? Who do we a line ourselves with, Jesus or our persecutors? Are we on the side that gathers or scatters? “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (12:30) Jesus knows their thoughts. He knows yours and mine as well.
It spoke into my post from earlier this week that everyday I am nice to people, do what is right, treat them fairly and show them respect but never share with them the Gospel, my friends and popularity will increase, but my ministry will decrease. I appear to be gathering, but to what? I am in reality scattering. Jesus said when we come before him one day, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me,” (Matthew 7:22) His main and only concern is that I know HIM! His heart is not about the nice things I did, (serving at Manna House and House of Harvest, going every morning to Waffle House, delivering items to people in need, though those are good things) but did I know HIM. His desire for me is not to simply introduce people to kindness, but to introduce people to HIM! What good will all the good I do for someone do if I never gather them to Jesus and they are still scattered from his presence!
I hear people say, “Share the Gospel, and at times use words.” When I hear this I sigh inside. That is like saying “feed the hungry, and at times give them food!” How wrong would it be to invite a person who is perishing from starvation over to your house for dinner, treat them kindly as a guest, share a delightful evening with them, yet never serve them a meal, then wave at them as they leave your home as starving as when they entered? How wrong is it to invite a person who is starving and perishing spiritually into a relationship with you, treat them like a friend, spend quality time with them, meet some of their physical needs, yet never share the Gospel with them. Then hug them before you walk away from them as spiritually dead as when you met them.? Paul tells us, “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved,” 1 Cor. 15:1-2 And I have never pastored or been part of a church where people were sharing the Gospel way yo much that I had to tell them to slow down telling people about Jesus and and just do more actions. I am am almost positive your church or your witness has that problem either.
Flip side: Say a church of 20 people in the US intentionally commits like the Christians in China, to share the Gospel of love and grace of Jesus with just one person a day. They each do this and fail miserably 98% of the time to lead a person to faith. With a failure rate of 98% and only a 2% success rate, at the end of one year that church would grow to 146 people. If those 146 members also commit to share once a day, and still have a pitiful 98% failure rate, at the end of year 2 that church would have grown to 1,065 members. With th same commitment and same failure rate, and at the end of year 3 the church grows to 7,780 members. Failing 98% of the time, at the end of year 4 it grows to 56,794. And at the end of year 5 it grows to 414,596!!! With a terrible 98% failure rate! This is how the church in China is exploding. This is how Jesus intended our churches in the west to explode. You can’t add additional Sunday services or build churches big enough and fast enough to keep up. It is a spread of the Gospel walls can not contain!!! Guys we do not have to be good at it. We can fail 98% of the time and that’s ok!! What we need to be is obedient to Him! What we need to be is not against Jesus, but with him. We need to on the side that is actually gathering, and not scattering.
Take time to pray this morning. Read this passage again with the complete and honest understanding that the “their thoughts” in the verse below is “your thoughts” and Hr fully knows if you are gathering or scattering, if you are for him or against him. and if you know him.
“Knowing their thoughts, he (Jesus) said to them,… “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12 :25, 30)
My family, I pray today as I am doing, you will also honestly reflect on your life and level of obedience. Who’s side are you on? In what ways are you for Jesus? In what ways are you against him? In what ways are you scattering? In what ways are you gathering? When was the last day you shared the Gospel with someone? Who is Jesus calling you to intentionally gather? All in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
As we read through the New Testament, I can not post a reflection on an entire chapter, but what verses stood out to me. I would love for you to post what stood out to you or your thoughts/reflections from the days chapter reading with myself or others using the comment box below. Thank you!
Begin 2025 by resolving to partner with us!
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
We started January 1st the journey of reading through the New Testament in a year. This plan has only one chapter to read each weekday. There are no assigned readings on the weekend. The plan we will use is from Bibleplan.org. Click the button below to go to the site, enter the starting date January 1, 2025, enter your email, and a time you want to receive an email reminder, then click subscribe. Then you will receive an email confirmation to click on. Every weekday then you will receive an email reminder of the chapter reading for that day.
