THE LORD WILL GLORIFY HIMSELF, BUT...

Dearly Beloved, THE LORD WILL GLORIFY HIMSELF, BUT... "He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock? Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. But..." (Numbers 20:10-12, NIV). Undoubtedly, there are genuine ministers of God today, and there are people who claim to be ministers of God. All these people are doing the work of God. Some of them are doing it according to the directives and leadership of the Holy Spirit. Some of them are doing it for selfish purposes. (Compare the words of Paul in Philippians 1:15-18.) In either case, what is certain is that God does glorify Himself. He uses all of these people to His own glory. However, He will judge each of these people according to what they have done for Him (see Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14; Romans 14:12; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:10). As a minister of God, I feared God the more recently when I read the incident of "the waters of Meribah" found in Numbers 20. The discontented people of Israel complained again about their situation in the wilderness journey to the Promised Land because they wanted water. Moses and Aaron went to the Lord and the Lord gave them instruction on how they would provide water for the people of Israel. They were simply to speak to a rock, but out of pride, Moses and Aaron abused the people of Israel, ascribed the honor of providing water to themselves and struck the rock twice. In spite of these, God miraculously provided the water for the whole people of Israel and their livestock. But, the Lord immediately gave a verdict for Moses and Aaron: they would not reach the Promised Land. Their labor for almost forty years would be in vain (Numbers 20:12). What a great judgment! This is a great warning to us the ministers of God and even others that God is using in one way or the other. We must beware of how we do the work of God. Whether we do it according to the will of God or not, God will still glorify Himself in the work, but the aftermath of our activities for God may be disastrous if we try to take the glory, misuse our position, or do things contrary to the will of God. Apostle Peter gave similar warning: "To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow-elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away" (1 Peter 5:1-4 NIV). In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). Prayer Point: Pray that you will do the work of God according to the words of God.