THE CHURCH OF JESUS CANNOT BE STOPPED

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Although big C Churches may come and go, the church of Jesus-the gathering of His followers that He builds-will continue and thrive. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, "I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it."

The "gates of Hades" means death, specifically the coming death of Jesus will not prevent the church of Jesus from growing and thriving. The church of Jesus is built by Jesus and based on Jesus, the master of the followers who gather in His name. Jesus holds His movement together and will perpetuate it throughout the nations of the world. He is building His church and our responsibility is to be His church-His gathering-His movement.

What's interesting to me here is that the active agent is not the gates of Hades. It's not that the "gates of Hades" is the attacker of the church that Jesus builds. The active agent here is the church of Jesus-the Jesus movement itself-is so active and powerful that not even the gates of Hades-the power of death-can successfully withstand its penetration of light into the darkness.

This kind of power is not political power to legislate morality and righteousness. It's not a mega organization of any kind. Jesus is the only one who can activate this kind of power. He is the one who is able to empower His followers as they gather together in His name-Jesus. Note it's not the power of the membership of followers; it's the power of Jesus living and moving in and through His faithful followers.

The Jesus movement may appear small-just a few gathered together, but it's within the power of the few that the church of Jesus finds its greatest growth. Jesus taught this when He was describing what the Kingdom is to look like. Matthew records this teaching in the 13th chapter, He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." So, it looks small, yet the Kingdom-the Jesus movement-the church of Jesus-will experience incredible growth. It can't be stopped!

Jesus goes on to say in this same setting, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened." Here Jesus uses the illustration of a woman who puts a little yeast into about 60 pounds of dough and it permeates throughout the entire dough. No matter what you do, you cannot reverse this process. You cannot remove the yeast, once it is introduced into the dough. What He is teaching here is that the Kingdom-the Jesus movement-the church of Jesus-will experience irreversible growth. Again, once the Jesus movement is introduced into a community, it can't be stopped from spreading!

Aside from the pastors and Church leaders I referenced earlier in the week, those who are working in other cultures really understand the church of Jesus, how it functions and how it multiplies. The church of Jesus cannot be stopped. So, whether you are attending a big C Church or not, always look for the Jesus movement in your community. You can be sure He is there and active in people's lives. So, pray that you will be aware of Jesus sightings around you, then do everything you can do to encourage the movement and embrace it for yourself. See what Jesus is doing and get there as soon as possible!