BYM ONLINE DESK Blessing Emagazine English July 2019 | Page 5
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JULY 2019 ||www.bymonline.org
eyes and in the eyes of the world. But as God blesses
our ministry, people may praise us. We may become
influential. During this phase we need to be aware of
pride. It always lurks near the door of our heart when
everything is improving and increasing.
The worst form of pride is spiritual pride.
There are several ways through which it manifests
itself, some of which are:
1. Pride of experience Experience in ministry is good
but only God can use that. We cannot brag about it.
2. Pride of Bible knowledge Theological knowledge
is needed but we need to trust in His Grace.
3. Pride of usefulness in the Kingdom It is not a
matter of how useful we are, rather how faithful we
are in accomplishing His will.
4. Pride of super-natural experiences God may give
us such experiences but our life and testimony speak
more.
5. Pride of 'the chosen-vessel of God' attitude We
should never forget that everybody is a chosen vessel
for a particular purpose.
6. Pride of 'I am always right' attitude We are not God
to be right always. We can err at any moment in life.
We stand by His Grace alone.
We need to be careful in these areas.
Especially when God uses our ministry to bless scores
of people, we need to be more humble and need to
have frequent self-examinations. We should always
have a close group of friends who can correct us and
guide us. Since the human heart is deceitful, we need
to be extra-careful. When pride sets in, we make God
our enemy (Jam 4:6, 1 Pet 5:5).
I believe God will always lead us to
through 'Humbling Experiences'. Somebody or
something will always buffet us. Let us thank God for
those people and experiences. It is by these
experiences we stay humble.
5) Depending On Human Strength
Jer 17:5 “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man
who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose
heart turns away from the Lord.”
1 Sam 17:50 “There was no sword in the hand of
David.”
Ministry belongs to God. Hence, we
should always turn to God for His direction when we
are perplexed. And when there is a need in the
ministry, we need to trust Him for supplies.
We should never trust the arm of flesh to
accomplish even good ends. It is of utmost
importance how we treat the supporters of our
ministry. We should show no partiality between a
believer who gives more for God and the one who
gives less. There should be no 'highly-valued
believer' clause, especially with relation to their
monetary contributions. This is an abomination in the
sight of the Lord.
Never stand in front of any man to secure
personal support or money. We can convey the needs
of others, but I believe as full-time ministers, God will
take care of our personal needs.
Today there are so many ministries
which have come up in order to mobilize or divert
money. It should always be “Money for Ministry” and
not “Ministry for Money.”
Also let us not seek sympathy from
partners. Beware of sympathy-appeals. As ministers
of God, we need no human sympathies. When we are
faced with dire needs and crisis let us always run to
God. It is He who has called us. It is He who has led us
thus far. It is He who will lead us till the end.
When God calls us to do something, let
us not try to find out how many people will support us.
We do not need a family-background to establish the
ministry. Our worldly knowledge is useless when it
comes to Divine things. We need to trust in God and
God alone. We need no strength of men. When God
calls, He equips. When He sends, He provides. When
He commands, He attests. So let us not worry. Let us
go in the strength that we have. He goes in front of us.
6) Disparity In Family-Ministry Balance
2Sa 5:12 “And David perceived that the Lord had
established him king over Israel, and that he had
exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.”
2Sa 5:13 “And David took him more concubines and
wives out of Jerusalem, after he had come from