When Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)
The Lord’s inmost desire is to gather all of His children—the whole human race—to Himself, under the shelter of His wing so that He can bless us with everlasting peace and happiness. Are we willing to be gathered?
Jesus said "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34)
If we are willing to be gathered, there is no place too far away for the Lord to reach us. This is the story of Easter…"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.” (Deuteronomy 30:3-4)
"Scattered & Gathered" Easter Services
Is anyone else feeling a little scattered? In modern life, a million things are pulling us in different directions. The demands on our attention come on every side. Keeping a good balance between work and life at home is a huge challenge. People in general seem to be more at odds with each other than ever before…. Yeah, I’d say it’s reasonable to feel a little scattered right about now.
The Lord wants to help us with that problem! In this opening service of the series we will look at how being "scattered" may be an unavoidable part of accepting the Lord as our Messiah.
When Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)
Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” (Matthew 26:31)
"Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.' (Jeremiah 31:10)
The Lord's Church on Earth exists. It is NOT among a single group, or denomination, but is "scattered" across the face of the whole earth. All those who truly love the Lord and love their neighbor are a part of this church. Though we may be unaware of it, the Lord already gathers His church on earth, and it functions as one human under His providence.
"Thus says the Lord GOD: "Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone…. I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel." (Ezekiel 11:16-17)
Children's Message: "Who are the Lord's Sheep?" (John 10:16, 24-30) The Lord is the Shepherd of ALL people, but who are the Lord's 'sheep'? They are EVERYONE throughout the world who "hear His voice and follow Him".
"At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. (Jeremiah 3:17)
Family Message: Why does the Lord want us to "gather" in His name? Is it to make Him feel good or in control? Is it just for Him to know that He is loved and worshiped? Or is His reason for bringing us together actually for our sake?
"Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them." “Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, "Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him." (Isaiah 56:7-8)
We are all invited to gather for the Lord’s Holy Supper—“The supper of the Great God”—Whether there are just “two or three” of us gathered, or our whole assembly, Communion is something we are meant to do “together”. Even though Jesus had to fight alone from Himself, as all His followers were scattered, His final act and sacrifice was not for His own sake, but for all of us. So even when we approach the Holy Supper as individuals or as a couple, we ought to consider how communing with the Lord, is to help us better care for the gathering of people around us.
So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. (Revelation 14:19)
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God.” (Revelation 19:17)
On Easter morning, after the women had discovered that the Lord “had risen as He said”, the disciples were gathered together in mourning when He appeared to them, to comfort them, to let them know that the work He had set out to do in the world was accomplished and that the next phase of His ministry was to begin… They were now to be sent, scattered over the face of the earth, to teach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to establish the Christian Church. Once we have been gathered to the Lord in spirit and in life, the Lord asks us to share our story, the good news of how the Lord has changed and rescued us so that even more may be led into the joy of a truly Christian life.
So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20:21-22)
And Jesus said "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20 )
And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. ..."Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. (Matthew 13:2, 47-48)
Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. (Genesis 25:8)
“The LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.” (Deuteronomy 30:3-4)
Then he said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.'" (1 Kings 22:17)
"At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. (Jeremiah 3:17)
"Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.' (Jeremiah 31:10)
“Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, "Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him." (Isaiah 56:7-8)
"Thus says the Lord GOD: "Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone…. I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel." (Ezekiel 11:16-17)
When Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)
And Jesus said "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20 )
And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. ..."Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. ((Matthew 13:2, 47-48)
Jesus said “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” (Luke 11:23)
Jesus said "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34)
And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish." Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. (John 11:49-53)
"Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.” (John 16:32)
Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” (Matthew 26:31)
"All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:32)
So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. (Revelation 14:19)
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God.” (Revelation 19:17)