Matthew 12:30 He who is not with Me [definitely on My side] is against Me, and he who does not [definitely] gather with Me and for My side scatters. AMP
Matthew 12:30 “This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you’re not on my side, you’re the enemy; if you’re not helping, you’re making things worse. MSG
Jesus is very explicit about what He is saying. But at the same time as I sat with Him today there is a much deeper revelation here than what we can see without Him.
As I sat and listened to what He was saying to me today I felt very convicted by His correction. What I heard Him say seemed to be somewhat sarcastic, “Whose side are you on anyway?”
In context, after being accused by the Pharisees to be in cahoots with Satan, Jesus was sarcastic as He told them there is a clear difference between Satan and God and they have absolutely nothing in common.
When I read this account the first time and the second time it wasn’t the same as when I read it the third time. The third time I heard, “Now, in this day there is not a clear difference between a believer and an unbeliever, one who serves God and one who serves the enemy.”
Jesus said if we are Christians then we will look like Him. We’ll sound like Him and act like Him. If we are Christians, if we’re Christ-like then we will clearly be on His side. But most of who say they are Christians don’t look like Jesus or act like Him because they are not Spirit controlled but flesh controlled.
What He is saying is we don’t live on His side looking to please Him so much as we want to impress each other. In fact we are so busy impressing each other we live in jealousy and contention with each other.
We’re actually so self absorbed we consider His instructions, how they may make us look before we think we would do what He tells us to do. We consider rather than obey.
We don’t humble ourselves before God, but before man. We don’t let God exalt us we exalt ourselves which makes us like the devil.
Didn’t he want to be God? Yes and he still wants to be god. That is why he works so hard to control us, and as we bow down to his control he is our god.
Our choice is the same as Adam and Eve’s. We can be dominated by the flesh or the Spirit. We can exalt ourselves or humble ourselves before God and when it is time He will exalt us. Not because we are something great without Him, but because we are valuable to Him, He is in love with us and wants only to do good in us.
When we submit to Him letting Him have His way in our lives He will bring us up to His higher way of living. Then just like you brag on your children, He will brag on His. He will brag on you when you rely on Him and His standards becoming all He created you to be. When you do that great thing He designed for only you to do, you will make Him proud as you show who He is in you.
I like how the message reads; if we are not helping then we are just making things worse. I like it because I know that is what Jesus is saying to us. “If you call yourself Christians and still you let the enemy control you, you are actually magnifying him rather than Me, who’s side are you on anyway?”
When I heard God give me this title, it sounded sort of harsh so I tried to soften it by taking away the word, anyway. But as I listened to Him show me how He felt I realized I had to put the word anyway back.
He is displeased with us who claim to be His but act like the devil. We say we are Christians but we don’t surrender. We don’t humble ourselves, but we exalt ourselves, forcing Him to say “Whose side are you on anyway?”