Jesus made it clear that "where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there I am in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). Just two or three!

I thank and praise God that Jesus did not say, "Where two or three THOUSAND are gathered together, there I am." He did not say, "Where two or three HUNDRED are gathered together, there I am." And He did not say, "Where two or three DOZEN are gathered together, there I am."

Jesus also did not say where the two or three had to be gathered together. He did not specify a church building or a living room meeting. And He did not say how many times a week they had to be gathered, or if the gatherings had to be structured or unstructured, open or closed, inside or outside.

By establishing His Presence in the midst of a group so small as two or three, Jesus repudiates our fascination with large numbers. Anyone can gather a crowd if you tell them what they want to hear. May I say that a large group has no more of the presence of Jesus than a small group. The numbers are irrelevant. Either Jesus is in the midst, or He is not. If Jesus is not in the midst of us then having a large group of people will not compensate for Him not being there.

I would rather sit on the living room floor with three people and have Jesus in the midst than sit in a service with three thousand people where Jesus is nowhere to be found.

Of course, Jesus can sometimes be found in large groups of people, but as my wife says, He tends to get lost in the crowd. Read the rest here http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=0B007BL4&GroupID=ZA0072M2&label=&paging=all

By Chip Brogden www.theschoolofchrist.org