1 Corinthians 1:29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
1 Corinthians 1:31 …..He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.
Innate in fallen human nature is the desire to be great. The desire to be admired. The desire to be applauded. We learn to excel at many things to gain the accolades we desire. They become our life’s fuel.
And then….Jesus. When we meet Him it changes everything. In the fervor of first love we would willingly become less than nothing that He might be all. But then we gain spiritual knowledge and step out into some ministry or other…and well meaning people praise us. It is at this point that those old prideful desires make an appearance, and sometimes they become the driving force of our spiritual life.
We want to write the best blog, record the best video, create the most spiritually relevant posts. Our adrenaline level mirrors our “likes”. We begin to live for the praise of men, although we would never admit it (and possibly may not even be aware of it).
Until eventually we find that everything we’ve been giving our life to is wood, hay and stubble and Jesus is in none of it.
It is time to come to another level of being nothing, that Christ may be all.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
I believe that I serve a God of power. Not just 2,000 years ago, but now. Here. Somewhere along the way the church has forgotten this and has lost the faith to believe for it. And so now all our preaching has to be eloquent and clever. The skill of the preacher energizes an otherwise average message. The power of personality is displayed instead of the power of God. And so, men and women trust in the cleverly worded sermons and the artful turn of a phrase and never see a glorious Christ with the power to save.
4 ways to have a happy marriage
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But where is the power of God? Where is the radical transformation of a life that has been touched by fire from heaven? Where are disciples ablaze with an otherworldly love and passion?
These cannot be produced by the thrashings of our fleshly attempts at ministry. We need a move of God. The world is waiting.
The name Haman means “magnificent” and Haman certainly seemed to want to live up to his name. The first mention of Haman is when he was elevated to a position of prominence by King Ahasuerus. In fact, he was elevated above all the other princes in the kingdom and the king commanded that everyone bow and pay homage to Haman. That seems pretty magnificent. But it wasn’t enough for Haman, because there was one man who refused to honor him – Mordecai (whose name means “little man”). Mordecai was no noble personage or prominent dignitary, but Haman was infuriated at Mordecai’s refusal to venerate him. His wrath was so great that he not only wanted to destroy Mordecai, but every single one of the Jews in the kingdom. And so the plotting began.
He formulated and finalized his plan. The date was set for the extermination of the Jews and the elimination of Mordecai. And now he waited.
The plot thickens – what Haman didn’t know was that Queen Esther was also a Jew, and when she was made aware of Haman’s plans she began seeking a way to undo what Haman had done. It started with a private dinner party for the king and Haman, with neither of them yet knowing the purpose, except that Queen Esther asked them to return to another private dinner party the next day. Haman returned to his house that evening and his response to the day is in classic Haman style:
Esther 5:11-13 Then Haman told them of his great riches, the multitude of his children, everything in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king. Moreover Haman said, “Besides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared; and tomorrow I am again invited by her, along with the king. Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”
His desire to be honored by every single person overshadowed all else. He couldn’t rejoice in any good that came to him because there was ONE person in the entire kingdom that didn’t honor him appropriately.
The next day all his plotting was exposed, Haman was hanged on the gallows that he had built to execute Mordecai and the book of Esther ends with the magnificent one being disgraced and the little man being elevated.
Beloved, pride is an ugly beast that will turn on you and tear you to pieces. If we are honest, we have all experienced a little bit (or maybe a lot) of Haman rising up in us at times. We want to be noticed. We want to be important. We want people to think we are special. But Jesus told us this:
But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Mark 10:31
…but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. Matthew 20:26
The servant of Jesus Chris does not seek his own honor and the building of his own kingdom. If everyone else is exalted and given a place of prominence, and you continue to be unnoticed, be assured that your Lord sees and knows. Any rewards, any reputation, any status we receive on earth will pass away. Heaven is the place for real and lasting rewards. You may feel like a “little man” but you are “magnificent” in Jesus. Maybe nobody else sees it. He does. That has to be enough.
Mark 8:36-38 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
I don’t know if this verse has ever hit me as profoundly as it did in my most recent reading of it. I have definitely had experiences of being mocked and ridiculed for believing and preaching God‘s word. That certainly isn’t a pleasant thing to go through, but like many others before me, I survived it 😊.
Things have changed a great deal in recent years. The stakes have gotten higher and as people whose whole lives and value systems have been built upon the word of God, it may cost us more than we ever expected.
There have been times in recent years that we have seen surprising concessions by leaders in the body of Christ as things that God has always called sin have become accepted and applauded not only in secular society, but also within portions of the “church”. Rather than risk seeming unloving, the clear teachings of the Bible have been watered down so that we don’t offend anyone. Some pastors have refused to take a stand for righteousness because if they do they may face retaliation. Tolerance is the new buzzword, except of course when it regards matters of faith. You can believe anything you like in your heart, but if the wrong person hears it coming out of your mouth you could find yourself in serious trouble. The pressure to conform and be silent comes from every direction.
Don’t do it!
The word of God is still true and it is still the power of God unto salvation. Jesus never told us that everybody would love us or His message through us. In fact He told us just the opposite.
John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
John 15:18 If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
I want to encourage you today to stand boldly for Jesus and don’t be ashamed of His words. They are spirit and they are life.
He is my Delight 