Are You Among the Throng?
When it comes to the things of God, the way of the majority can be the wrong way!
The throng can give a wrong impression
In the Bible, we read of multitudes following Jesus, so much so that He was concerned that they would crush Him on some occasions. Our eyes are beholding wonderful things in this generation: people thronging buildings where church fellowship meetings hold everywhere! The question, however, is, "What are they thronging these buildings for?"
There are many variations to the story of an encounter between two clergymen in the 13th Century in which one remarked, "The church can no longer say, 'Silver or gold have I none!'" to which the other's prompt reply was, "Neither can it say, 'In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk!'" The point? The church now had the silver and the gold, but no longer the power of God. That clergyman saw the abundance of silver and gold, which blinded him from seeing the absence of God's power in the church. Likewise, the multitude thronging church meetings blinds us to the missing fellowship with God in those meetings!
Multitudes flock buildings where fellowship meetings hold weekly, yet righteousness in society is abysmal. We are not talking about social reformation, but real transformation, which should be evident in every Christian's life. Unfortunately, many flocking into these fellowship meeting buildings, sometimes called worship centres, or simply, churches—so-called because the church (those who trust in Christ for their eternal salvation) gather in those buildings to worship God—are not even Christians! A Christian, also referred to in the Bible as a disciple, is a disciplined follower of Jesus' teachings and lives like Jesus lived—doing God's will.
The characteristics of the 'throng'
A throng is a countless, faceless, and nameless people who move in a particular direction, propelled by things other than a sincere desire for God. We can describe a throng as a multitude, a mob, or a crowd. They are usually individualistic and are as selfish as they come, each seeking the fulfilment of his desires. They have little or no commitment to the local assembly where they throng and are usually there only on Sundays. Other activities, particularly the teaching meetings, are considered irrelevant, except the "miracle services" that mostly occur once a month. They are usually not interested in the things of God and are only there to obtain a solution to their problems. They have no desire whatsoever to live right but want to have what those who live right get. They remind one of Balaam who, upon seeing Israel by revelation, sprawled in the wilderness, prayed,
"Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!" (Numbers 23:10 NKJV)
Although he did not live righteously, he desired the death of the righteous. His end was of the unrighteous (Numbers 31:8)
Disciples, not throngs; spiritual meetings, not social gatherings
Today, unfortunately, Â we have members of denominations or congregants, not disciples! We seem to forget that the Lord said,
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, . . . Â teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you . . ." (Matthew 28:19-20, NKJV)
It takes teachings to make disciples. Unfortunately, in many churches today, there is little or no teaching taking place. It takes instruction through God's word to produce real transformation, which the Holy Spirit does in our lives. We forget so easily that the Bible says,
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)
We have several old 'creations' attending church fellowship meetings, but very few new 'creations' in Christ! The modern-day church is gradually becoming a social gathering rather than a spiritual meeting. Even when we hold programmes, for the most part, they are social, filled with activities like singing, dancing, drama presentations, etc., all to keep people entertained and from falling asleep. The Holy Spirit once gave me a description of three gatherings which we call 'church' today, but only one is the true church—the cult, the club, and the true church (more on this in some other write-up).
There is more to being a disciple of Jesus Christ than just being a church member or one who attends church fellowship meetings every Sunday!
Time for self-examination
Sometimes we never know that we are a part of the throng until we do a true self-examination! Are you among the multitude who throng buildings where church fellowship meetings hold on Sundays and have no desire whatsoever to change your way of life? Are you among those who throng churches seeking solutions to problems but are uninterested in the ways of God? Are you among the countless, faceless, nameless crowd who have no identity whatsoever and who have not done anything for Christ, other than what they give Him for something in return?
Then one of the rulers of the synagogue came up, Jairus by name; and seeing Him, he prostrated himself at His feet And begged Him earnestly, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may be healed and live. And Jesus went with him; and a great crowd kept following Him and pressed Him from all sides [so as almost to suffocate Him]. And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, And who had endured much suffering under [the hands of] many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse. She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment, For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health. And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, and [suddenly] she felt in her body that she was healed of her [distressing] ailment. And Jesus, recognizing in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around immediately in the crowd and said, Who touched My clothes? And the disciples kept saying to Him, You see the crowd pressing hard around You from all sides, and You ask, Who touched Me? (Mark 5:22-31, AMP)
The crowd that followed Jesus thronged Him, almost crushing Him. They also almost prevented the woman with the issue of blood from getting to touch Jesus. Many people are not allowing those who truly want to meet with Jesus from getting to Him. Are you among the throng who would not let those with issues from getting to touch Jesus, except with great effort?
When we read how Bartimaeus received his sight, we see that the crowd almost prevented him from receiving that miracle.
Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." (Mark 10:46-49, NKJV)
The crowd's following of Jesus had no real purpose other than to go wherever He went, but here was Bartimaeus wanting to receive his sight. Instead of showing compassion on him, and maybe get him in front of Jesus, they told him to keep quiet! Thank God for Bartimaeus' persistence; we now know that we must not let the throng dissuade us from having meaningful fellowship with God. Are you among the throng asking today's Bartimaeus' to keep quiet when calling on Jesus for their deliverance?
There are many in church meetings today who are mere spectators! They wonder why people make 'noise' when they say they are praying. Perhaps they have not faced situations that warrant them to shout while praying or are just docile individuals who erroneously believe that the church is a quiet neighbourhood., a library, or a graveyard, where "SILENCE" is the word. Like the Pharisees, many people attending church meetings are not interested in heaven but prevent those who may be from getting to that destination (Matthew 23:13, 15).
What is on your mind?
For the throng, heaven is not on their minds. They have filled their minds with things that the Lord asked us not to take thought of—food, clothing, accommodation, employment, etc. They simply cannot understand how seeking God and His righteousness can result in them obtaining food, clothing, housing, among others. In the Parable of the Sower, the thorny ground is a representation of the throng. They are pre-occupied with the cares of this world and concern for their needs. These preoccupations becloud their hearts and minds from heeding the word of God. And like the rocky ground, though they may speak 'Christianese', they move on to some other assembly when the chips are down. They are only interested in hearing what they want to hear. Paul described them as people who cannot
endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears,. . . heap up for themselves teachers; and . . . turn their ears away from the truth, . . . to fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4, NKJV)
The gospel plan is not in their thought; all they want is a good life here on the earth. Many of these people have become suicidal because while they are going through stuff, they keep hearing how someone else has become rich or successful doing next to nothing. Sadly, some of them have attended a fellowship meeting in the morning only to commit suicide in the evening!
Consider your ways
Beloved, if you are one of those who throng buildings where church fellowship meetings hold, just to belong (which only serves to bolster the pastors' ego), you need to reconsider your ways. Know that there is more to living here on earth than an endless search for miracles, signs and wonders. Consider that there is the all-important matter of where you would spend eternity when you die.
Eternity is where you will spend the rest of your existence after death. Where and how you spend eternity is determined by how and whom you lived for while here on earth. So, are you living for Christ? Or, are you living for yourself? You need to answer this question truthfully in your heart while there is a chance for you to repent.
It is time to come out from the crowd!
Get out from among the multitude today and choose to live for God in everything that you do. Remember, Jesus said,
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness …" (Matthew 6:33, KJV)
The kingdom of God comes first; all our expectations and dreams, aspirations and desires, goals and prayer requests, etc., come a distant second. When the Lord taught us to pray (Matthew 6:9-13), "Thy kingdom come" comes before "Thy will be done." Only after these do we pray for our daily needs, forgiveness, and deliverance! Thus, we see how crucial the kingdom of God is—for the disciple, the kingdom first is the correct sequence!
Today, let us commence seeking first the kingdom of God and as God says,
go out from their midst, and be separate from them . . . and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you (2 Corinthians 6:17 ESV)