Then I fell down at his (angel’s) feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. For I am a servant of God , just like you and our brothers and sisters who testify of their faith in Jesus. Worship God. For the essence of prophesy is to give a clear witness of Jesus.” Revelation 19:10
I, John, am the one who saw and heard all these things. And when I saw and heard these things, I fell down to worship the angel who showed them to me. But again he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this scroll. Worship God!” Revelation 22:8-9
I’ve been reading and thinking on how we try to either sabotage or control the things others are doing in the Body of Christ. There are so many examples of people stepping out and doing what the Lord is leading them to do and others try to get in there and give unsolicited ideas on how to do it better, or they try to worship you or try to kill the ministry or slander you to sully your reputation. Look at this example from Exodus 32, and I’m going to paraphrase it.
Moses went up on the mountain to hear from the LORD while Aaron stayed below with the people. The people thought Moses was taking too too long so they said to Aaron, “Moses must have disappeared. Make us some gods who can lead us. ” Aaron told them to bring all their gold earrings to him, which he then melted and made into a golden calf, which the people began to worship. He then said that they’d have a festival the next day to the LORD. The next day they were feasting, drinking and indulging in pagan revelry. Uh oh!
The LORD told Moses to get down there because the people were defiling themselves. Once Moses and Joshua got down there, Moses threw the stone tablets and they broke. He then melted the calf, ground it into powder and made them drink it. He then asked Aaron what happened. Aaron said, “They told me you disappeared and to make them some gods they could follow so I gathered all of their gold earrings and threw them in the fire and out came this calf!”
No, Aaron, not what happened.
Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded and tooled it into the shape of a calf. Exodus 32:4a
You did it and consequently, about 3000 people died that day.
Beloved ones, don’t be surprised when you’re following the leading of Holy Spirit and people come along and either want to worship you or kill you. Jesus was rejected in Nazareth and He went onto the synagogue to read the Scriptures and teach. He said,
“Certainly there were many widows in Israel who needed help in Elijah’s time, when there was no rain for three and a half years and hunger stalked the land. He was sent instead to a widow of Zaraphath- a foreigner in the land of Sidon. Or think of the prophet Elisha, who healed Naaman, a Syrian, rather than the many lepers in Israel who needed help.” Luke 4:25-27
The people were furious and wanted to take Jesus and throw Him off a cliff! Do we really think we get to pick who is worthy?!!
When I was stationed in South Korea I attended a Christian women’s group in the barracks I lived in. The Lord told me to have my friend, Leonard, come to the group. He wanted to heal him of glaucoma. I asked him a couple of times but he didn’t want to. Finally, I said, “Leonard, the Lord wants to heal your eyes, please come.” He did, I prayed for him and Praise Jesus, the glaucoma left! The next week, I went to the meeting and the “leader” told me that I couldn’t come any more. She said I didn’t really love Jesus because I smoked cigarettes and that I was no longer welcome there. I understood by the Spirit that she was fearful. Fearful people freak out.
“Didn’t we tell you never again to teach in this Man’s name?” The high priest demanded. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about Jesus, and you intend to blame us for His death!” But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than human authority. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed Him by crucifying Him. Then God put Him in the place of honor at His right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this to give the people of Israel an opportunity to turn from their sins and turn to God so their sins would be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey Him.” At this. the high council was furious and decided to kill them. Acts 5:28-33
This happened after the apostles were holding regular meetings at Solomon’s Colonnade, and were performing many signs and wonders with people believing on Jesus and getting healed and delivered from evil spirits!! And then Peter went to see Cornelius, a Roman army officer, who was the captain of the Italian Regiment.
As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell to the floor before him in worship. But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being like you!” Acts 10:25-26
Paul and Barnabas were ministering in Lystra and Derbe when they came upon a man crippled in his feet from birth and they healed him and he jumped up and started walking! The people were so excited and said they were gods in men’s bodies and tried worship them and make sacrifices to them.
Paul was beside himself and he said, “Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings like yourselves! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.” Acts 14:15
Then Paul got arrested because he was in the Temple and some Jews from the province of Asia caused a ruckus saying he was telling everyone to disobey Jewish laws and defile the Temple by bringing Gentiles here. Paul was still ministering in jail! The commander had Paul lashed with whips to make him confess his crime and Paul asked if it was legal for them to whip a Roman citizen. The commander was frightened because he’d had a Roman citizen whipped and released him to the high council. Acts 21 and 22
In Acts 23, Paul is before the high council sharing about the resurrection of the dead. The council had both Pharisees and Sadducees. Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection, angels or spirits. Things got wild and both sides were tugging at Paul and the commander ordered his soldiers to bring him back to the fortress before he was torn apart.
That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have told the people about Me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome.” Acts 23:11
Oh man! Paul had the heart of a lion. In verse 12, it says: The next morning a group of Jews got together and bound themselves with an oath to neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul, but Paul’s nephew had heard the scuttlebutt and went to the soldiers, who brought him to the commander. The commander, Claudius Lysias, another lion hearted man, got Paul out of there and gave him a letter to take Governor Felix.
So whose ministry is it guys? Are we one in Spirit, working towards one goal which is to manifest Christ to the lost?
“Give fair judgment to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.” Psalm 82:3-4
I volunteer with some friends at a shelter for the homeless. A couple of weeks ago, we had an amazing spiritual time. We were praying for people in the courtyard and ministering inside, feeding them homemade food and encouraging them in the fact that Jesus loves them and they matter. The tangible Presence of the Lord was there and the people were all sitting in the living room and my friend James was giving his testimony and people were delivered and healed in their hearts and bodies! I had several people come up to me and tell me that no one has ever loved them like this. It was everything my heart longed for…to see people healed and set free! It’s a beautiful thing when you treat someone like an actual human being. At first, people wouldn’t look at me, but the more I spoke to them as a loved person, they began to meet my eyes. Praise Jesus for His precious love flowing through us to others!
The next week, we got the memo that we were only allowed there from 2-5 PM, whereas before, we were there from 10:30 to 5. We agreed that we still have three hours to love on these folks, and we will. Let us let others see Jesus in us. Keep going by the Holy Spirit’s leading and be encouraged beloved ones! He always has more assignments. Keep your eyes on Him, not on what others are or aren’t doing.
My favorite Scripture is John 3:30. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. Father, may people see You in us.
You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness – righteous, holy, and true. Ephesians 4:24
See Jesus in His servants, but recognize the Source is Him.
A final word: Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power. Ephesians 6:10