Gathering

… in the business of gathering, a term that appears many times in the bible. From the gathering of God in the opening act of the creation of this earth (Genesis 1:9), to the gathering work of the angels in the Apocalypse (Revelation 16:16) before the manifestation of a new earth, the divine acts of gathering are central to the narrative of temporal and eternal history.

When Jesus began His earthly ministry He gathered. After his death, resurrection and ascension to Heaven His disciples gathered. In Matthew 18:20 Jesus says “When two or three are gathered in My Name I am there in the midst of them.”

We gather in God’s presence, for his glory around His Word and for his purposes. If your gathering is unto Him, with worship and the Word as vital purposes, then there is going to be a revelation of who God is, and a revelation of who we are. This promotes prayer that is specific asking, the asking of God with great faith and boldness because He has revealed His might and majesty, His will and works through the worship and the Word. The gathering has confidence to ask. But it is the revelation of who we are, of what our nation is, of what the condition of the church is, that also fuels our asking. Thus, the gatherings of God are marked by asking for mercy and forgiveness. They are marked by conviction, by confession, by repentance and by asking for restoration and revival.

In Acts, the worshiping gathering becomes the key springboard for going – so gathering to God is not inward looking but outward looking.

Will you gather with us or is the Lord calling you to gather others?