Give God the Glory!
“When pride steps onto the platform, the Holy Spirit steps off.”
I don’t know who made this observation first, but this statement is true. Holy Spirit doesn’t leave or abandon us, but he will step aside and let us see how well things go when we do them in our own strength and power. I never want to try anything in my power and strength.
I would guess that every Pastor, Ministry Leader, and Ministry Team Volunteer have struggled with pride at one time or another. When God does something special, we know it’s not us; rather it’s the Holy Spirit working through us. When people begin to heap praise and adoration upon us though, it’s easy to feel good about ourselves. Dare we say that some Pastors have allowed, what I call, “Pastor Worship.” There are a lot of dangers with this attitude, but the main problem is that if we take God’s Glory, we grieve the Holy Spirit and the work, or the move, of God stops. Pride and taking God’s Glory has shutdown more revivals and moves of God than we are willing to admit.
This is an age-old problem and even something that the Apostles had to guard against.
As the Lord added to the early church daily (Acts 2:47), the believers took no credit, but they praised the God who was doing all things through them. Yes, God used his servants in the work of the Lord, but only as willing vessels for the Holy Spirit to work through.
In his book, Surprised by the Power of The Holy Spirit, Jack Deer notes:
Occasionally the book of Acts may talk about Stephen, Phillip, Peter, or Paul doing miracles, but when it uses that kind of language, it is speaking of them as agents whom God is using. The apostles themselves never took credit for a healing. They always gave glory to God. Luke frequently describes the Lord as healing “through” the apostles (Acts 2:43; 5:12), or simply refers to the apostles’ miracles as “God doing them” (Acts 14:3; 15:12).[1]
People Wanted to Give Peter and John Credit for the Healing of a Crippled Man.
God healed a lame man through the ministry of Peter and John and “all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.” (Vs 11)
Understanding what was about to happen, in Godly wisdom, Peter addressed the excited crowd.
Acts 3:12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?”
Peter wisely chose to take no credit for the miracle, but rather turn the healing into an opportunity to declare Jesus Christ to the people. He stated that the healing was from God and that God, again, was glorifying His Servant Jesus.
Acts 3:16 “And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”
Maybe Peter remembered what Jesus had taught him when he said, “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” John 5:30. Peter knew that he, too, could only do what the father wanted him to do.
Maybe he also remembered that apart from Jesus, he could do nothing. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” John 15:5.
Peter and John could take no glory for the healing; their only glory was in that Jesus would choose to use them as vessels for His Spirit to flow through.
If you want to be used by the Lord in a significant way when you pray for the sick, cultivate a desire to see the Son of God glorified. Wanting only the Son’s glory is the most effective way I know to keep ourselves from being deceived and led into error.
Jack Deere[2]
Paul and John were arrested for this miracle and teaching that Jesus was raised from the dead (Acts 4:1-4), but the Sanhedrin had to let Peter and John go free. Why? They were afraid to punish them because of the excitement of the people who were glorifying God, not Peter or John. The healing of the lame man brought glory to God.
Also remember that the good thing about not taking the credit when God moves, such as in this healing, is that you don’t have to take the blame when people are not healed, or God doesn’t seem to be moving.
Barnabas as Zeus, Paul as Hermes?
In Acts 14 as Paul was preaching the gospel in Lystra he observed a man who had been crippled from birth, and he said that this man had the faith to be healed. Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked.” (Vs 10)
Again, the people who witnessed this miracle tried to give Paul, and this time Barnabas, glory.
Acts 14: 11 Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”
12 And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
They praised Paul and Barnabas as if they were Gods! Even the local priest of Zeus wanted to make sacrifices to them! (Vs 13)
Paul and Barnabas didn’t blow this off, or think, “isn’t it nice that they think of us this way.” They didn’t embrace the praises and certainly didn’t condone the worship of the people. They were alarmed, realizing that this was a huge problem, and took immediate action to stop it.
Acts 14:14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out 15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, 16” who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.
I’m sorry to say that I have witnessed people participate in what is nothing less than Pastor Worship, or Ministry Leader Worship. Pastors, Ministry Leaders, Church Workers, and Ministry Team Volunteers- it is your responsibility to put a stop to that human worship immediately and with the same intensity demonstrated by Paul and Barnabas.
Taking God’s Glory or allowing others to give you God’s Glory is wrong and we must always be on our guard against it.
Make sure that people know that anything that appears to be a result of our own strength, wisdom, or power is nothing more that God working through us to accomplish His work.
Acts 15:12 Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.
Don’t Allow Human Nature to Mix with Grace.
Reporting on some of the great revivals of the past, John Wesley wrote:
…In the beginning of the revival, the manifestations were wholly from God but that over time “nature mixed with grace” with some enthusiasts mimicking the genuine manifestations. He also stated, “Satan likewise mimicked this work of God, in order to discredit the whole work.” Yet, says Wesley, “even this should not make us either deny or undervalue the real work of the Spirit. The shadow is no disparagement of the substance, nor the counterfeit of the real diamond.”[3]
Wesley acknowledged that Satan will also make miracles and manifestations an occasion of pride for those who experience them.
Wesley continued, “We should guard against it [pride]; that we should diligently exhort all to be little in their own eyes, knowing that nothing avails with God but humble love.[4]
One of the deadliest desires is the desire for prominence. This desire can make it impossible to be used by God in a sustainable way. Pride and taking God’s glory has ended many revivals and moves of God.
One of the wisest of men in the world had this to say about praise: “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives” (Proverbs. 27:21). The greater the manifestations of the Holy Spirit among us, the greater the testing that will come from praise. When persecution can’t bring us down, we must be on guard so that praise doesn’t puff us up!
Are We Above Pride and Desire to Take God’s Glory?
Imagine what it would be like if you laid hands on a crippled or blind person and God healed them. What if this began to happen often? Your church attendance increases the next week, or your ministry suddenly gets great reviews and positive coverage. People start giving you a lot of praise and celebrating your leadership and anointing. Could you handle all the attention?
Could you divert the attention off you and make sure that the praise went to God?
He Must Increase, but I Must Decrease.
John the Baptist was a master at giving God glory. He said in John 3:27 …“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 “He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 “He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
God created us to do good works. Jesus enables us by his Holy Spirit who works through us. Christ Jesus invites us to be apart of his purpose on this earth.
We are called to let the light of Jesus shine through us to others. If we do, look at the results…
Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
They see our good deeds and glorify who? Certainly not us. Our heavenly Father gets the glory.
For us to see God supernaturally manifest Himself in our midst, to see signs and wonders, to see repentance and salvations flowing, we must make sure that we don’t take any of God’s glory from Him. Give God the Glory that is due unto Him! Praise Him for what He is doing and watch Him continue to do more than we have ever seen him do before.
Pastor Scott Moore
08-11-23
Believers Church of Statesboro
[1] Jack Deere, Surprised by The Power of The Spirit, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993), p. 269
[2] Jack Deere, Surprised By The Power Of The Spirit, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993), p. 125
[3] Wesley, John. The Works of John Wesley. vol. 2. Grand rapids: Zondervan, n.d.
[4] Wesley, vol. 2 of Works, 519-520.
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