Real Gathering

Today in my bible reading I came to Ezekiel 34. I was struck that God’s main gripe against the shepherds of Israel was that they had “allowed the sheep to be scattered”. God was upset about his sheep being scattered, because it allowed the wild animals to attack them. They were picking the scattered sheep off one-by-one.

When Jesus called the disciples,

they came to him.
that they might be with him (Mark 3:13-14).

When the Holy Spirit fell on the early church,

they were all together in one place (Acts 2:1).

When thousands came to faith,

All the believers were together (Acts 2:44).

The emphasis was on being together.

Somewhere along the line, this has all changed. For the modern church, it is acceptable for the flock to be scattered all over a city, provided they are together for a couple of hours on Sunday, and perhaps an hour on Wednesday night.

The problem is that the flock is scattered for the other 6 days and 20 hours of the week, so the spiritual powers of evil can pick them off one-by-one. I presume that God is still upset when he sees his sheep scattered and vulnerable to attack.

Pastors in New Zealand are currently delighted that due to the easing of lockdown restrictions, they can now bring 100 of their scattered sheep together for a two-hour meeting on Sunday, but I am not sure if God is quite so excited, if the sheep still remain scattered and vulnerable during the rest of the week. I suspect that he wants a lot more for his people.

The answer appears in Ezekiel 37, a passage that many pastors will refer to on Pentecost Sunday, because it speaks about the Holy Spirit falling on scattered bones. However, something important is usually missed. The first thing that Ezekiel prophesied was that the bones would come together.

There was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them (Ex 37:7-8).

This was not just a casual meeting; it was a proper joining together with tendons and skin (as prescribed in Eph 4:16).

When the bones were joined together in a proper body, Ezekiel prophesied again, and the Holy Spirit came down and the body rose to new life. Scattered sheep cannot experience the fulness of the Spirit. Joining together is essential for receiving his fullness, and protection from the attacks of the enemy.

See Circuit Breaker.

Scattered Sheep

In my planned reading through the Old Testament this morning, I came to Jeremiah 23. I was struck by the first verse in John Goldingay’s translation.

Hey, shepherds who led astray and scattered my flock.

This season is exposing the reality that the shepherds of God’s flock have allowed them to be scattered. They have taught their sheep that they can live anywhere they like, provided they come together for two hours on a Sunday. In hindsight, this appears to have been a mistake.

Sheep need to be together. Sheep live together. Shepherds do not let their sheep wander where they like, and bring them back together once a week. That would be far too dangerous, because the sheep could get lost, or be taken by wolves, or other predators. The is true of God’s flock. They need to be together.

All the believers were together (Acts 2:44).

Sheep that are scattered are vulnerable when trouble strikes.

Allowing God’s sheep to be scattered was a serious mistake, which is now being exposed. In my book Being Church Where We Live, I explain how followers of Jesus can come together with others to serve him in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is important, now more than ever, because God does not want his sheep to be scattered.