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Sep 04, 2023 18:30pm

The Same Goal

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I read a story last night of a man who bought a gift card at a local coffee shop for the amount his wife would have spent there this year. She had recently passed away and would go there every morning for coffee. He and his son went to the coffee shop and used that gift card to pay for every person’s order until the card ran out of money.

Acts like this tend to catch on, don’t they? Many times, we see someone want to pass it on, so they pay for someone else’s and so on.

Does it make us mad that someone else wants to do that? I guess we could say, “Well, I was doing it first. They can’t do that on their own. They need to join with me.”

But that would be absurd.

If we have the same goal, the same motives, and the same message, we should encourage and rejoice that others want to follow and do the same.

Luke 9:49-50

“And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.”

It must have been hard being one of the first disciples. They looked to Jesus as their example, but they were the first to do all these new things. They were learning as they followed Jesus.

In this passage, we read about the disciples seeing a man doing something they had done. Well, to be honest, was doing something they recently couldn’t do.

They ran to Jesus with their concerns.

What was really behind their complaint to Jesus? Was it concern for truth? Was it jealousy? Was it pride and arrogance?

Jesus knew the intent of their hearts and answered accordingly.

If we have the same goal, the same motives, and the same message, we should encourage and rejoice that others want to follow and do the same.

Had the man been trying to take credit for what he was doing, this would have been a different story. But he wasn’t. He was following what he had learned and seen and was now acting on it.

The disciples were learning how important this was going to be in sharing the good news of Jesus to the world. They couldn’t do it with just them. There had to be a ripple effect. It had to be more than just adding to their group. There had to be multiplication.

What about us? When we see another church thriving, members being added, discipleship taking place, lives being transformed, do we rejoice with them? Or do we complain?

If we have the same goal, the same motives, and the same message, we should encourage and rejoice that others want to follow and do the same.

Don’t mistake this statement. If someone is preaching something false that does not align with scripture, they are not the ones of whom I am speaking.

Revelation 7:9-10

“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”

I think we will be surprised when we get to heaven and see the people praising God.

Let’s do what God has called us to do. Go and make disciples.