Matthew 18:20.
A scripture that I hear a lot, by well meaning and beautiful children of God.
This scripture has always been a source of confusion for me. From the surface, it seems very encouraging! Especially if you have been raised in the church. It's something you probably grew up hearing, something you put into practice (I know I have!) when praying about something specific or big!
But, what if you weren't raised in the church?
Try reading, or speaking this scripture, in the context that we, as Church Raised Christians use it.
Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
So does this mean that if I pray by myself He isn't there? Does this mean that He may not hear my prayer if I stop in the grocery store when I get a text from someone asking me to pray for them, and I do?...
Hmmm...
Well this summer, when I was in Uganda, I heard the Segner's Pastor say something mind blowing!!
He explained the context in which this verse was given! I had never even considered that there was any other context! I had fallen prey to my own laziness of not paying attention to this scripture when reading it, just passing it by as "Oh I know that one and I know its meaning already, no need to hover" Ouch!! Conviction!!
Here is what the scripture actually reads:
Matthew 18:15-20
Dealing With Sin in the Church
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Wow!!! You are telling me, this scripture has nothing to do with Prayer Meetings??!! It doesn't mean that if I want something, I mean REALLY want something to happen I have to call my brother or sister in Christ so that 2 or more are gathered...I can pray myself!! YESS!!! Hallelujah!!!
I find this incredibly encouraging!! We as believers have the ability, and the awesome blessing, of speaking directly to our Heavenly Father!! That's pretty cool;)
Of course praying together with your Brothers and Sisters in Christ is extremely awesome and should be done regularly!
But, wait, what does that say?? This opens up a whole other world of questions!
My thought process that began this blog, came because recently I have heard this phrase ALOT:
"You/they can't judge me, only God can judge me!"
And I don't mean personally someone told me this, although I would be lying if I said I had never been told this, or truth be told, never said those words before...cause I have, to both.
But what got me thinking about it was a series of events, that started with a conversation about a sermon my Pastor, Will Lewis of Brazos Fellowship Church, was going to be doing. Something stuck with me from that conversation, and I will share it with you.
Simply it was (in my own words, because frankly I have slept since then, and I don't remember the exact wording;):
We are not to judge the non believer, they do not know any better, but the believer is held to a different standard, and we are called to lead and judge our fellow believers, to hold them to a different standard than the world.
That was a powerful statement to me.
I always knew, that as a believer, our eyes had been opened and therefore we were held to a higher standard, but hearing those words made a larger impact. I think it helps us as believers to see that while we are set free from our sin, that doesn't mean that we have been given a "get out of jail free" card! It doesn't mean we can do whatever we want and think "oh well, He will forgive me". And while that statement is true, His blood covers a MULTITUDE of sins, yours and mine, previous and future, does that mean we should take advantage? Is that what we think of our SAVIOR?! You know, the one who died for our sins? Not just died, His death was bad enough (if you have never read the story, go now! Read it as if you were there, not as folklore! It was not an easy death. Start in Matthew 26), He was then separated from our Heavenly Father, taking on the sin of the world... that was the real punishment. He KNEW what it meant to be with the Lord, He knew what He was giving up. We can't even fathom how Great, Mighty, Glorious, Amazing, Breath taking our Heavenly Father is. But He did. And this is why He was sweating blood praying for the cup to be taken from Him, why He cried out "Father! Father! Why have you forsaken me?!!" He did that for you and me...and our human nature is to take advantage of it...
The next thing that struck me was hearing jokes about it. I just recently saw a post by a comedian whom I won't name, because honestly, she is not the type I want to advertise for...
She was making fun of Miley Cyrus...and she said "You can't judge me! Only God can judge me!" to the camera.
There were other incidences but these were the major ones, and this one was the last straw! I had to say something:)
I want you to know that if you are a believer, and you are under the authority of a church, your church leaders have been given the authority to instruct you in the ways of the Lord! And to discipline you if you turn your back on those ways.
I am not saying that we as believers need to go around to each other and start "throwing stones" every chance we get! No! But I am saying that if someone has a serious sin in their life that they refuse to let go of, you need to address it with them! Lovingly, do as Matthew 18:15-20 states, and if someone comes to you in this manner...LISTEN! And do not get defensive, and know that if they are coming to you, they LOVE you! It is not malicious intent, it is out of love that they speak, and even discipline. Our Pastors are led to play a parental role in our lives, they are called Shepherds because they are called to lead.
My story is FAR from perfect!! I was that girl! I remember saying (or really repeating the devils whispers) "God would want me to be happy, and you only live once (YOLO right??!! Am I right??!!) HA! No! He wants us to be JOYFUL!! and He wants that for us all!! And if you have ever counseled with me, you already know this, but there is a difference between happiness and joyfulness!
If we are doing something selfish, we are hurting someone else! Why would He want that? He loves us all (even those we don't like! So pray for your frienemies!! Pray a blessing over them!!).
Do not let yourself be fooled into believing that you live for today, for we live for eternity...and our lives, our choices decide where and how (yes there is a difference) we will spend it!
Even tho I was that girl, something in me told me, take what you are given, you do deserve the punishment, the alienation, the judgement. I hated it. I am a people pleaser, and I hate knowing that there are those out there that dislike me in a big way because of my past actions. But I thank the Lord, that He never stopped pursuing me. That thru those who judged me, I learned how to truly be a follower.
The difference between a believer and a follower?
Believer: One who believes in the Lord
Follower: One who thinks everyday about how he/she can please the Lord, and MOURNS his/hers sins when he/she does fall short and repents!
Which are you?
