For where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.”Matthew 18:20 GNB
The Context:
Jesus was teaching his disciples about the rules of His kingdom, not the rules of the world. Even though the disciples were citizens of a nation, He was showing them what the rules of engagement for His own nation and kingdom were. In that divine kingdom, even though offence may come and men may be wronged, the rules of the kingdom require that efforts be made to make it right. It does not say that the one who did the wrong must be the first to make the approach, but anyone can. This goes to the heart of a man whose life has been totally surrendered to God. When God sits on the throne of my heart, there is no room for malice, bitterness, hatred and all the other petty things men of the world hold on to in order to prove superiority or age.
And the power of a personal encounter with Jesus will always impact and affect corporate fellowship. It is the lessons of my personal walk that will impact my public work. I can make all the right noises and keep up appearances; deceive the world about my sincerity; fool parts of the world with external piety and public devotion, but when I am all alone, does God reckon with my walk with or my work for Him? Is He interested in the physical at the expense of the spiritual? Is He moved by the applause of men at the expense of the approval of heaven?
The Message:
It is important that I check my life in the light of God's Word. I read the three verses around today's extract: 18 - 20; and I see the progression from the individual walk to the corporate walk. I see the power of a private walk with God being made manifest in corporate fellowship. If I don't have the private walk with God, what would I be bringing to the corporate fellowship? If I do not know the God of the church on a personal level, how do I join others in worshipping Him the right way, so that we can achieve all that has been laid out in today's extract?
Heaven recognises the power of an individual walk with God. Heaven responds to the demands of a life that has surrendered to the God of the church. Men and women who have met God have changed the direction of the world in their own generation, and many still continue to do so by a daliy demand on heaven to back them up as they walk and work. That is why a mortal man like Elijah could stand before king Ahab and declare a drought and for 42 months, rain did not fall. Or a man like Joshua could command the sun to stand still and for a whole day, the sun did not go down. That is exactly what happens when God promises to back up those who know Him personally, and heaven responds to their demands.
The Response:
Don't go out without being sure of your backing. Don't dare speak without being sure of your backing. Men like the sons of Sceva got away with it for some time until they met demons who knew the genuine from the fake and one man fell upon seven men and beat them black and blue. The world is such a dangerous place for people who do not know God. The world's principles and policies keep shifting and changing, and with the world, nothing is certain. With God, He tells you what the terms of engagement are and they remain the same through all generations, and it is this: walking with God is the key to a successful work and impact for God. It will not happen any other way.
So, when I come into fellowship, I had better be sure I am bringing with me the presence of God. When I gather with people of like minds, we access power that the world cannot know or understand. When all of us know God personally, imagine the impact on fellowship and the world we are in. Acts of the Apostles list so many things the apostles did: ordinary and unschooled men who made chief priests and teachers of the law uncomfortable, rendered them irrelevant in the new move of the Holy Spirit, and impacted the hearts of men in those days. It is still the same God, still seeking hearts that will seek Him. Remember, the key words again are: in my name. He only blesses that which glorifies His name. He wants to bless, impact and use. He wants to take glory in and through me. Would I let His name known by my actions and lifestyle? Would you? His time of favour is here.
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