St Matthew, Chapter 12, verse: 30, Choose your side: Gatherer or Scatterer.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ refutes them) Part 5. 

The lines are being drawn.  The battle continues.  The sides are chosen and the players know the stakes at hand.  Christ has given the Pharisees the run down on his prophecy of what is about to happen.  They listen and are astonished that such a man, a man in their eyes and not the Messiah as they see it, would give such a statement to them, the men of authority, the men of power.  Christ told them that the kingdom of God was upon them and they did not see it.  He told them that there will be plundering because the strong man had been bound and all his treasures would be taken from him.  

Christ was speaking to the Pharisees and he was speaking to their counsels , the devil.  He was giving notice that he came to plunder.  He was giving notice that he came to take back the treasures that were stolen from the kingdom.  He came to separate the good from the evil, the just from the unjust, the damned from those who would be saved by his actions.  let nothing or no one get in his way.  For he brought the sword of God with him.  He brought the sword that would cut, the sword that would slash, the sword that would slice to the bone.  Christ came to bring victory to the house of God and to restore what was taken by force.

He told the Pharisees,  "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.   So the Pharisees knew without a shadow of a doubt where they stood.  They knew that they did not follow Christ.  They knew that they were against him, for he sought to take away their power over the people and spoke directly against their teachings.  So they knew that they were against him and being such, they knew that they were there to scatter.  For they wanted to divide the people.  They wanted to turn them away from Christ.  They wanted to be the leaders of the people.  They wanted the people to follow them and not Christ.

Give God the glory for he is worthy of the glory.  Give God the praise for he is worthy of the praise.  Unity in Christ is our desire and our future.  We desire to be one in Him and being in Him we are one with each other.  Yet we have those who would scatter, in our churches, in our towns, in our villages, in our homes, in our markets, at work, at school, wherever we are.  We have those who would seek their own praise and their own glory instead of giving it to God.  Do we go to church to scatter or to gather?  Do you go to church to be with Christ or to be against Him?  For in our churches, in our synagogues, in our chapels, we are one in union with Christ. 

There are many Pharisees in the midst of the believers.  There are those who would scatter for their own glory.  There are those who would scatter for their own gain.  There are those who would scatter for their own praise and yet they are not worthy.  And praise be to God that there are those who gather.  There are those who, through their efforts, others are brought into the church.  There are those who, through their sacrifice and their devotion, work to build up the church.  And they are the ones who are with Christ.  They are the ones who love Christ.  They are the ones who have the spirit of Christ within their hearts and know him.  Be not deceived.  There are workers in the church who work to build up the kingdom but they do not know Christ.  He does not live within them, for they work for their own glory and edification.  Give God the praise that all things work for the good.  Be not a scatterer but a gatherer with Christ.  Be with Him and not against Him.  The battle continues, even within you.  Come, join the army.  Which side do you choose? 

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 13 - 15, John is Elias.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ's witness concerning John) Part 5. 

Christ has spoken about the assault on the kingdom of heaven that has taken place since the coming of John the Baptist.  The war is on.  The evil one knows that Christ has come to turn the tide of the battle.  Out of desperation the evil one has taken the lead and increased the attacks on the kingdom.  The evil one has stepped up the assaults to the point of becoming violent with the people.  People are being possessed more.  People are being afflicted with more diseases. Believers are dying at the hands of possessed people who are driven to violence by their evil spirits.  And Christ comes on the scene.  But first there was John who preached to the people to repent.

John was a great prophet.  Christ attests to his greatness by telling the people that of all men born of women, none is greater than John.  Christ tells the crowds, "For all the Prophets and the Law have prophesied until John."   Now that John is here the prophesies come to conclusion.  The Messiah has come and the war has begun.  Before the coming there was no battle.  Before the coming the devil had free reign.  Before the coming the people had no defense against the onslaught of the enemy.  But John came and prepared the way and Christ came and gave the people the sword of God to do battle with the enemy.

John was the great one.  He was Elias as had been written.  Christ said,  "And ifyou are willing to receive it, he is Elias who was to come."   So the scriptures had been fulfilled.  The scriptures were complete.  Elias had come just as prophesied and now the Messiah was here.  His mission was to preach the message of the kingdom.  His mission was to establish the church here on earth.  His mission was to anoint his followers.  And his mission was to die for the sins of the world.  John fulfilled his mission.  Christ fulfilled his mission.  And sword of God came to earth to separate the believers from the unbelievers, the saved from the damned, the just from the unjust, and the followers of Christ from the followers of Satan.

Christ told the crowd, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."   We all have ears but we all do not hear the words of Christ.  We all receive with our ears the message that is preached, but we all do not understand the meaning of the message.  Can you hear the message?  Can you understand the message of the kingdom of heaven?  When we go to school the purpose of education is to advance.  But when we go to church the results of the spiritual education is to become stagnant.  Why do we not hear?  Why do we not understand the message and become college graduates in our spiritual education rather than retarded children?  He who has ears to hear let him hear!   Preachers preach from week to week on the same problems, the same issues, the same sins.  Yet we do not grow in godliness.  We do not grow in spiritually.  We do not hear the message of the kingdom and the gift that God has given us.  With all the years that religion has been around and all the churches, we should have millions of spiritual giants.  But instead we have millions spiritual midgets filling the pews of churches each week trying to figure out the message of Christ.  Thank you Father for your patience.  Thank you Father for your love.  Thank you Christ for your sacrifice.  Thank you Holy Spirit for your coming to teach all.  More is needed and more will  be revealed!

St Matthew, Chapter 10, verse: 35, The Battle

Our paragraph topic is:  (We must give up all for Christ) Part 2.  

The war begins.  Christ explains to his disciples who will be the enemy and who will be the friends.  He tells his disciples that war will break out in the towns and villages.  War will break out in the market place.  War will even be in the homes of the lost sheep of the tribe of Israel.  He has come not for peace but to bring a sword of separation.  He has brought the sword of God upon the people who are unbelievers.  But for the believers they will be protected.  They will be provided for.  They will not feel the sharp blade of the sword of God.

For Christ will bring turmoil.  He will bring division.  He will bring separation even down to the members of ones family and in ones household.  For he tells his disciples, "I have come to set a man at variance with his father, and a daughter with her mother, and a daughter-in-law with her mother-in-law."   The war is up close and personal.  For it will come to a man's home.  It will come to a man's family.  It will come to a man's marriage.  It will come.  And it will divide and separate and conquer and destroy.  For Christ has unleashed the sword of God and it will bring destruction upon those who follow the evil one. 

The disciples must bring the message.  They are the carriers.  They are the foot soldiers.  They are the bearers of the good news and the bad news.  Times will not be the same.  Chaos will come upon the people and the rulers will seek to stop the change.  But Christ has set things in motion and his mission has begun.  Nothing will be the same from this day forward.  Father will turn against son.  Daughter will turn against mother.  Children will betray theirs parents and chaos will reign.  For this is the design of the evil one.  He wants division.  He wants chaos.  He wants destruction.  He wants betrayal.  These are his tools to capture the souls of men.  Those who do not accept the message of the kingdom of heaven will be turned away. 

Christ gives us this message because he is telling us the state of things to come.  Even today you will find division.  Children turn against parents when they enter the world and are captured by it.  Friends turn against friends when the sword of God comes.  Worker turns against co-worker when the sword strikes.  And all will be divided. 

It is only through the grace of God that they have the opportunity to repent and return before the day of judgement comes.  For we do not know when it will come.  It may come tomorrow.  It may come next week.  It may come in two years.  But for some, death knocks at the door and will not cease.  For death is the ultimate accountant and when the tally is made the balance determines eternal life or eternal damnation for the soul.  And we do not know when he will come.   Is your house divided?  Did the sword of the God separate you from your family members?  Many will fall by the wayside.  Many will not believe. For the devil has blinded their eyes that they may not see.  He has closed their ears that they may not hear.  He has bound up their hearts that they may not understand the love that God has for them.  But the battle has begun. 

St Matthew, Chapter 10, verse:34, The Battle

Our paragraph topic is:  (We must give up all for Christ) Part 1.  

And now we talk about the philosophy of battle, the philosophy of war.  Christ speaks to his disciples about the whys and wherefores of this battle.  He tells his disciples, "Do not think that I have come to send peace upon the earth."   Peace will not be sent forth.  Peace will not be called.  Peace will wait in the background after the battle is completed.  Christ makes his principle statement of the why of his coming to earth.  He has come to do battle.  He has come to bring war.  He has come to bring turmoil upon the earth and its people.  For the evil one has taken over the earth and the people of God have fallen by the wayside and forgotten their creator.  Christ has come to re-establish the kingdom of heaven.  He has come to take back the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  He has come to do battle.

Christ tells his disciples this because he wants them to know that they are in a time of upheaval and turmoil.  The earth will no longer be the same.  Satan will be outcast from the earth and the sacrifice will be made.  And to the victor goes the spoils.  The disciples are the warriors.  They are the leaders of the new alliance with Christ.  They will conquer all the earth with their mighty words and deeds.  One can look back into history and wonder about this mighty cause.  Twelve men did the impossible.  Twelve men brought about the end of the reign of Satan on the earth and spread the gospel of Christ throughout the entire world and Christ led the way.  He came to conquer.  He came to separate.  He came to divide believers from unbelievers, sinners from the sanctified and justified, the protected from the unprotected, the faithful from the unfaithful, the light from the darkness, and the good from the evil.  Just twelve men began this movement some two thousand years ago and Christ was their leader.  It could not have happened without the hand of God.  And it did.

Christ said to his disciples, "I have come to bring a sword, not peace."   He brought weapons of war.  He brought battle plans.  He brought strategies from the Father.  And he did not bring peace.  The sword will cut.  The sword will slash.  The sword will stab and it will kill.  For many are the ones who have lived by the power of evil.  Now, the sword will slash evil.  It will cut evil from the flesh of the people.  It will split into, the good, from the evil and provide a means of protection for those unprotected.  The sword will cut to the quick the evil that is in men, separating the just from the unjust.  Christ brought the sword of God to do battle with the evil and to reclaim the lost that had been taken by the evil one.

The sword will cut you.  The sword will cleans you.  The sword will divide you.  The sword will heal you.  Prepare to do battle for the Lord of Host has declared that peace is not here.  He has brought the sword.  He has brought weapons of war.  He comes to conquer.  Christ brought the sword to earth.  Will you be cut?  Will you be slashed by the sword?  Will you be stabbed by the blade of the sword?  War is at hand and the sword will conquer the defenses of the evil one.  Christ has brought swords for everyone to do battle.  He has brought the word.  The word is the sword.  The word is the blade of truth.  It will cut.  It will slash.  It will stab.  Will you become a warrior for Christ and take up the sword for battle?  Will you become a player for evil living in the world of lust and passion?  The battle is coming.  It will come to you soon.  Do not be caught off guard and become a casualty of the sword.  Be prepared.  Join the ranks of the solders of Christ and fight the battle of the Lord.  Uncle Sam calls you to do battle with the enemy of the US.  Christ calls you to do battle with the enemy of the kingdom.  Which battle will you join?