BYM ONLINE DESK Nov 2018 Blessing English Emagazine | Page 10

bymonline.org | November 2018
Pharisees.” They preached but did not practice. They
practiced their acts of righteousness to be seen by men.
They wanted praise from people more than God. They
seemed to be careful in tithing and other things, but
they did not give importance to the weightier matters
of the law. They liked to be greeted in public places and
wanted important seats in the market places. They
were looking good outside but on the inside they were
full of evil ( Mat 23: 2,3,4,5,15, 23,34). Beware of such
false religion. Let us not boast about our own
'righteousness' for they are like filthy rags (Isa 64:6).
remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself
said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.''
We find that Samuel and Paul served God in a
sacrificial way. They led an impeccable life-style.
Today we need such men and women of God, who can
testify towards the end of their life. On the other hand
we find many ministries started by God the Holy Spirit
have been taken over by the family members.
Let us not judge a person based on external
appearance. Only God knows the heart. He will one
day bring to light everything that was hidden.
Rom 2:16 “God judges the secrets of men by
Christ Jesus.”
4. Serving Sacrificially
Serving God involves sacrifice. If there is no
sacrifice, we cannot even name it as 'Ministry'. It may
be just another job. When our heart is for integrity, then
sacrifice would be our second nature. Today for many,
being in 'Ministry' has become an 'income generating
job'. How sad! Even during Jesus' days, many
followed Him for food. Let it not be so with us. We
need to take up our cross and follow Him daily. We find
in the Bible two statements of great men of God which
were uttered after their years of active ministry:
Samuel
1Sa 12:3 “Here I am; testify against me before
the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I
taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I
defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose
hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it?
Testify against me and I will restore it to you.”
Paul
Act 20:33-35 “I coveted no one's silver or gold
or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands
ministered to my necessities and to those who were
with me. In all things I have shown you that by
working hard in this way we must help the weak and
Let us run away from the temptation that entices
that we should be 'In-charges' for a life time. God uses
men and women at His will. Let us be open to the
leading of the Holy Spirit.
Let us invest in the lives of the people. Let us
look forward to the unseen glory. Let us follow the
'Apostolic Pattern' of evangelism. The Apostles led a
very simple life-style. They did not accumulate
wealth. They focused on the unreached areas, moving
ahead and travelling. They did not have the 'Settlement
Syndrome'.You may not be recognized. Your work
may not be appreciated. But you need to continue on.
You need to press on. Today I find many leaving the
ministry for lack of appreciation and recognition.
Let us encourage ourselves. Let us not be
discouraged. God will reward us one day. During the
time of Crusades, warrior Godfrey took Jerusalem
from the surrounding enemies. After that astounding
victory, people there wanted to crown Godfrey as the
King of Jerusalem. But Godfrey declined that offer. He
said, “I cannot wear a crown of gold in the place where
Jesus wore a crown of thorns.”
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