49. What Does God See? Part 2 AND healing testimonies!!

In the previous post, we began to discuss the issue of doing our righteous acts with the aim to be seen by people. Today we continue with this subject.

If we look at some big ministries, especially those linked to or named after one person, we see that it is easy to be caught up with the ministry’s demands. Everything appears to be about the ministry and the person to whom it is linked. Why did the ministry reach such heights? God made it grow; there’s nothing wrong with that.

But why is the ministry linked to and dependent on one person? Why is one person the lord of the ministry? We so often hear of so-and-so ministries. So-and-so built up this mighty church. Did he do it alone? Did he do the miracles? Was it he who brought in the people? Was it he who thought up all the lovely things to say? Was it by his authority that the devils fled?

            This person runs the risk of doing righteousness for the praise of others if he does not constantly pass glory on to God. In fact, it would have been better to name the ministry something else that would refer to the Kingdom instead of a person.

Some argue that the leader doesn’t lift himself up; the people do it. True, but why then does he accept it? Even in the smallest of churches, the pastor may become lord. Some people tend to build a relationship with the church and not with God and worship the pastor rather than the Lord. The other day I stood by as a man told the pastor he had given a lovely message. By saying, “Thank you,” the pastor fell right into the trap. He did not pass the glory on to God.

Once I chatted with the sound technician of a church when a lady ordered a CD of the day’s message. With awe in her voice, she said she adored the way the minister preaches. A lady once told John Wesley that his sermon was good. He answered that the devil tried to tell him the same thing.

            I encourage you to give God the glory, lest we follow the way of Herod—physically or spiritually. “On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died,” (Acts 12:21-23).

On the other hand, being too timid, too secretive, or too private makes us ineffective. We are often so scared that we might focus on ourselves that we do nothing. The secret is to do what you must do but pass the glory on to God.

I was blessed by a pastor recently. He had every opportunity to become proud. He is a highly qualified man who stood before a large congregation in a new 1800-seat auditorium built for over six million dollars. That Sunday morning, he told of the media coverage of the church’s first service in their new building. His joy visibly stemmed from the exposure the media had given the Kingdom of God, not necessarily that particular church.

He said he would like to put something right that the newspapers had gotten wrong. They had said the church was the pastor’s brainchild, and that he was the one who had built it up. “Please understand,” the pastor said, “it was God’s vision. He, together with all the faithful people, built it up. Not me.” He also rejoiced that some of the newspapers gave God the glory. That is how the Lord likes it.

Testimonies

In previous posts, I have referred to the website http://tlrmovie.com. It

contains videos about the Lord's great power in miracles. Inspired by it I have attended a three-week Pioneer school and started to pray for this sick at a clinic where I've worked last week. I have seen many healings such as people arriving at the desk unable to walk without support, walking away rejoicing, a man whose hand was seriously hurt and in a bandage declaring with a big smile: "I actually don't need this medicine now for I'm healed", a man arriving at the desk unable to even lift his arm, which was limp with pain, but after prayer showing me how he can use his arm and hand, and a man with a hurt neck repeatedly exclaiming his surprise since his neck was healed, and many more. I also had a man, whom I prayed for a month ago for his AIDS to heal, thanking me for the prayer, proclaiming it has worked.

Dear reader, please realize that the Lord Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit wants to be the head of the body, which we call the church. He wants to use all people as His disciples to make a difference in our world through His power, not only the church leaders. "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power" (1 Corinthians 4:20). Anyone filled with the Holy Spirit can do anything under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. "I can do all things

through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12).

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.