BYM ONLINE DESK Blessing Emagazine English July 2019 | Page 5

PAGE 5 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