The Power of the Multitude

Matthew 15:30

And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:

Throughout Christ’s ministry, you will see the multitudes came to see Him. The power of the multitude is amazing. It is in the multitudes that we see the great numbers of souls being saved. It was a multitude at the day of Pentecost that allowed God to work so that three thousand people got saved and baptized. It was in the multitudes that Jesus was able to heal the great number of the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others. It was when the multitude was gathered and had no food to eat that allowed Jesus to feed the five thousand at one time, and four thousand at another. It was because of the power of the multitude that kept the religious leaders from taking Jesus to kill Him before His ministry on Earth was accomplished. Oh, don't get me wrong, the multitudes can be influential for wrong as well, but if we reach the multitudes, we can use the power of the multitude to influence our cities for right.

One of the great mistakes many in our day make is they think involvement in politics is how you influence the multitudes for right. My friend, I have never seen a political movement change the hearts of people toward Christ, but I have seen a moving of the Holy Ghost changing the hearts of people for God. You cannot legislate righteousness because sinful people will still do wrong. Don't get me wrong; I want laws of righteousness, but you only change people through the power of the Gospel.

If we will influence the multitudes for right, we must do what we can to get the multitudes to our churches. The word multitude means a large number of people or a large gathering. If Jesus gathered multitudes, it should motivate pastors and churches to do what they can to get multitudes to come. Let me share a couple thoughts about the importance of getting multitudes to our churches.

First, the bigger the multitude, the better chance for more to be saved. Why do we have big days in our churches? We have them so that we can reach the lost. Having big days is about the numbers; it is about having a large number present so they can hear the Gospel and have a chance for the multitude to get saved. There is nothing wrong with one or two being saved, but having multitudes present so that more people will get saved is certainly a better thing.

Second, you must have a promotion to draw the multitudes. One reason we have big days in our churches is to give the multitudes a reason to come. Whether that reason is a big meal or to get something that is being given away, we have these promotions so that multitudes will come. The world has its promotions to gather multitudes, so it is wise and Scriptural for the church to have promotions to gather the multitudes. The difference is in our purpose, which is to give out the Gospel so multitudes will be saved.

Third, don't let the critics stop you from going after the multitudes. When you go after the multitudes, the lazy bums will chime in by saying that you are after numbers. My answer to them is that they are right; I am going after numbers so that more people will get saved. Let the critics criticize, but let’s stay busy trying to get multitudes in so that more people will hear the Gospel and get saved.