I healed the sick
I filled men with the Holy Ghost
I baptized men with the Holy Ghost
I cast out demons
I raised the dead
You know I can rewrite those statements above like:
The sick were healed
Men were filled with the Holy Ghost
Demons were cast out
The dead were raised
Or, write it this way:
God healed the sick.
God filled men with the Holy Ghost
God raised the dead
There’s nothing wrong with the first statement. What is wrong is our traditional belief and perception of humility.
I can choose to write using the second or third statements but I intentionally use the first in some of my speeches just to CHALLENGE and CHARGE you to come up higher. We must KNOW our stand in God and be able to proclaim it unashamedly. It may seem like pride or taking God’s glory but GOD is proud of you when you realize your true position as a joint heir.
Some things we call “humility” appears before God as “filthy rag” and some things men see as “pride” God sees as “glory”. That’s why the Bible says we are made for show- to show forth the GLORY of God.
What Glory?
Jesus says the Glory which the Father has given me, I have given them!
When Jesus equates Himself with the Father, some people rushed to stone Him thinking they were defending God but they were wrong, very wrong.
Jesus sending out His disciples said-
YOU go heal the sick
YOU go raise the dead
YOU go cleanse the lepers.
Freely YOU have received, freely, YOU should give.
When the writer of Mark was reporting what happened, guess what he said:
They healed the sick
They cast out demons
And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. Mark 6:13
When they returned, they told Jesus- demons were subjected to US. The Bible didn’t say Jesus scolded them. The Bible says JESUS REJOICED.
Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said.
So, when I see people who condemn my statements, I just smile. Some even feel like slapping or cursing me. I am used to it. Jesus was almost stoned- isn’t it?
That demon said Jesus I know (comma), and PAUL I know. See class! Even demons know this truth! The class is called JOINT HEIR.
BALANCE
To every truth, there’s an extreme. To avoid the extreme I always ensure that I return all the glory to God in every of my speech or testimony. In the last write-up, I said GOOD TOOK ALL THE GLORY BECAUSE HE DID ALL THE WORK. Peter told the lame man- “look unto us, we have something for you”. Same Peter told the people that were applauding them “We didn’t do this by our power”. The disciples said: “Demons were subjected to us THROUGH YOUR NAME” (returning the glory to whom it is due). I am also careful not to over-flog or overuse the word. At most, you’ll see me write it just once.
Concerning Baptizing people in the Holy Ghost, I baptized 10 people yesterday. While 7 people prophesied. Some of them spoke in tongues the first time and prophesied the first time.
Jesus said, “BAPTIZE THESE NEW DISCIPLES in my Name”. It’s not just about water baptism. Paul talked about the “doctrine of Baptisms”. Note plural. Meaning, there’s more than one kind of baptism. If you asked me, the one Jesus was emphasising is HOLY GHOST BAPTISM. In short, He said to me- Baptize people in the Holy Ghost. Just as He said- HEAL THE SICK!