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Isaiah 50:4- “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary…”
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    • Keeping It in Perspective!

      Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on December 4, 2020

      James 4:10 – “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. NKJV

      keeping-it-in-perspective_.mp3

      My past two blogs have been centered around the idea that we foster, that in order to be humble before God, we must somehow decrease that He must increase. In this blog, I want to look at what humility looks like, in the face of success, with some biblical figures we are all familiar with.

      I want to start with Daniel. Those of us who are familiar with the word of God are familiar with Daniel. He is well known as the prophet who told the Gentile kings the interpretations of their dreams. The first time he did so, the king had threatened to kill all the wise men, magicians, and astrologers, which included Daniel, because of a troubling dream. As a matter of fact, the king didn’t even remember the dream, yet, he wanted them to tell him what he dreamed and what it meant. When his astrologers and wise men said that they couldn’t do it, and no one could, he ordered their deaths. Daniel heard about it, and to spare his life and the lives of his friends, they fasted and ask God about the dream. When Daniel reported to the king to share the dream, he said these words:

      Daniel 2:30 – “But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. NKJV

      Prior to this verse, Daniel had already given the honor to God, who knows the secrets of every heart. He wasn’t looking for anyone to think that he thought he was something special, but had come to share the dream and the interpretation of the dream as God had shown him. What he did was pretty spectacular. The king was so impressed he fell prostrate before Daniel and wanted to make an offering to him. He also placed Daniel in a high position and lavished gifts on him. But Daniel knew who the real interpreter was, and he never forget Him! And God exalted him!

      David was another man who demonstrated what it meant to be humble before the Lord. He was the giant killer who killed his tens of thousands. He was the king who brought unity to Israel. He was the leader of the mighty men. Yet, he understood that even so, it was because of God.

      2 Samuel 7:18-19 – “Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: “Who am I, O Lord God ? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord God?” NKJV

      David said that what God had done for him was a small thing in His sight, but David knew it for the great favor that it was. I met a Jewish believer when I was a teenager. Without thinking, I said, “Why is your name David? That’s not a Jewish name!” He said, “Are you kidding me? You don’t know about King David, the great king of Israel?” I went, “Oops!” (What was I thinking)! Even today, he is heralded as the king of Israel. David knew that God had exalted him above his enemies and his own desires. It’s what happens when humility is truly demonstrated.

      Peter also demonstrated humility after having been used mightily of God. The lame man at the gate called Beautiful, and others, were ready to fall at his feet and worship him. Why? Because the man had been lame and begging for all of his life. And with a few words, he was made completely whole. Peter had to put that to a stop!

      Acts 3:11-12 – “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? NKJV

      Peter knew he didn’t heal the man, although the Spirit of God healed the man at Peter’s words. The old Peter might have responded differently, but this anointed Peter, showed much humility. He didn’t take God’s glory, because it didn’t belong to him. Anymore than it belongs to us. You can do wonderful things for God, even be successful, without belittling yourself, and still give Him all the glory!

      Acts 18:24-26 -Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. NKJV

      I asked the Lord for an example and He gave me Apollos. What we may not have paid attention to is the effective ministry that Apollos had amongst the Gentiles. On at least five different occasions Paul referred to Apollos’ ministry, placing it in the same category of his ministry and Peter’s ministry. Yet, when Apollos met Aquila and Priscilla, and they shared about Jesus, he readily listened, changed his message, and continued to preach. That’s humility! He wasn’t concerned about his reputation, or his prominence amongst the Gentiles, just the message of the Messiah. It was of Apollos that Paul wrote that he planted and Apollos watered, but God got the increase!

      I give you Jesus! The Bible states:

      And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:8 – NKJV

      Never once did He think less of Himself. Yet everything Jesus said and did was a witness to the position of humbleness that He displayed before the Father. He became obedient even to the point of death. He bowed His will to that of the Father, and died for us. In spite of the utter shame the cross held, in spite of the devastation to His physical body, in spite of the lies and being ridiculed, He humbled Himself. And He was highly exalted, and given a name above every name!

      Fellow believers! Each of these individuals humbled themselves before God, whether they said it or not. Each of them honored the Father above themselves. Each of them realized that the success that they had or was having was due to the Father, not to them. They did great exploits for the Father! He used them to do those things, but they gave Him all the honor and all the glory!

      It is possible to be a success in what you do, and give God the honor due Him, without sounding flaky and seeing yourself as a wretch. Paul even referred to himself as the least of all the brethren, which we would probably differ with. Yet, I don’t see that “poor wretched” mentality, I just see that he didn’t think more highly of himself than was necessary. If some of us accomplished what Paul did, we’d want a whole lot more money and fame and service than he received. Looking for the exaltation of others. But Paul was humble in what he did because he did it for Christ, only for Christ! That’s really the bottom line! Keep it all in perspective as to whom we are doing it for, and our hearts will remain humble. Then He will exalt us! Wonderful Jesus!

      Posted in God, Humility, Jesus, Serving God | 2 Comments | Tagged Attitude, Daniel, David, dreams, glory, Honor, humble, Humility, increasing and decreasing, Jesus, obedience, Paul, Peter, service, success
    • Increasing and Decreasing!

      Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on November 30, 2020

      John 3:30 -He must increase, but I must decrease. NKJV

      John the Baptist
      increasing-and-decreasing_.mp3

      In the Church, John the Baptist’s words have become a mantra of humility. When a soloist gets up to sing, she may say this before she sing to give the impression of humility and that she isn’t really singing, it’s God! Or a minister may say it before he preaches, so everyone will know that he isn’t really preaching, it’s God. Whether they are being truthful or not, with their message of humility, I believe this theology is flawed. Although God is using both individuals, the important truth here is that He is using the individual. I want to explain!

      First of all, we need to understand what motivated John the Baptist to say these words. Let’s look in verses 25 and 26 to gain some insight:

      “Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified —behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!

      John 3:25-26

      John the Baptist had been the voice of spiritual renewal in Israel. As he went about with the message of repent and be baptized, he was actually paving the way for Jesus. This is why he was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness”. The ministry John had been given was given to him from birth, and it was simply to be a forerunner of the Messiah. On this particular day in John’s life, we see his followers upset that people are beginning to flock to Jesus. They see Jesus as the usurper of John’s ministry, not as the Messiah.

      John explains to his followers what they are seeing happening with Jesus is what is supposed to be happening:

      • A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven (v. 27). John is helping them to see that his followers are flocking to Jesus because it is what God has purposed to happen. Every single follower he had, God gave to him, and every single follower Jesus has, was given by God.
      • I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him (v. 28). John reminded his followers that he had already told them that he was not the Messiah, he was only sent before the Messiah. His disciples already knew the witness that John had given in regards to Jesus. John just reminds them of that truth.
      • Lastly, John calls himself the friend of the bridegroom. In Jewish tradition, the friend of the bridegroom, the shoshben, was the individual who was the mediator between the bride’s family and the bridegroom’s family. He negotiated the terms of the marriage and was said to be the one who watched the bridal tent. On the night the bridegroom comes, he recognizes the voice of the groom and opens the bridal tent to him only. Then he goes away rejoicing for his work is done.

      This is the point of John’s words in verse 30, “He must increase, and I must decrease!” John had fulfilled his part of the plan of God. His ministry was complete. Now it was time for Jesus to take front and center stage that His ministry, His time would be fulfilled.

      Was John showing humility in this declaration? Yes, he was! But he was not saying that to be humble. It really was his time to get off the scene of spiritual renewal, and Jesus’ time to usher in the kingdom. During the time of John’s crying in the wilderness, he cried aloud and spared not. He didn’t ask God to let him decrease at that time. No! He was the chosen vessel at that time to be used by God to get a specific task completed. It was his assignment and God had chosen to use him.

      John saw his assignment for the honor that it was. His birth was miraculous and his assignment was sure. He fulfilled that assignment with everything in him, in the way that God led him, but it was John that God was using.

      Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

      Matthew 3:4

      John was a simple man. The fact that Matthew described his clothes being made with camel’s hair, and his diet as locusts and wild honey is to help us to see that John was different from other Jewish men. But God used John to fulfill an important assignment, to set the stage for His son. It was an assignment that John was handpicked for, and he did it well!

      I thought of this when I was having a conversation with my niece. She preached her first sermon and her heart was that we would see “none of her and all of Jesus!” Great sentiment, but is it scriptural? More next time! Wonderful Jesus!

      Posted in Attitude, Humility, Jesus, John the Baptist | 3 Comments | Tagged assignments, Attitude, decreasing, false humility, humble, Humility, increasing, John the Baptist, Kingdom of God, ministry
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