I receive many requests for financial help from all over the world. I have prayed about these requests and the Lord had answered. He told me to that I must first take care of our people in my church first. The order is from inside and then out. However, there are times when God tells me to help some.
I even receive many pictures of orphans and hardship. I asked myself if I was in such condition, would I be as desperate in seeking help from those who are able to help from such as in America. People can see from other countries and see the abundance and riches of America. For I had felt guilty and wondered if I needed to do more or if I need to make more of an effort. But as I said, the Lord had answered me and told me to take care of the people in our church first.
But as I thought about it and as I asked myself, if I was born in a difficult country, how would I react? Why are some of us born in well off countries and some in not so well off? As I thought about it and prayed, the Lord impressed this to me. We, Christians, are still too much operating by sight and not by faith. We look at the riches of someone or a country and expect help from them rather than continuing to keep our eyes on God. Yes, it can be said that it is easier for me to say this because I live in America. But God impressed that in such poverty stricken countries, HE CAN BE MORE GLORIFIED. How? When there is less or when it seem the more impossible, it is in such situations God can manifest His power and miracles to be Glorified. In America, there are too much distractions and golden calves.
In the third world countries, there are more spiritual activities. There are more manifestations. There are more deliverance. There are more miracles. There are more witch doctors to have victory over. There are more spiritual battles. There is more of a sensitivity of the spirit realm than in America.
We need to stop looking at what we have and what we don't have. When King David asked for an census of his men, God judged him and 70,000 people died for his mistake (1 Chronicle 21). Who had stirred up David to begin operating in sight rather than faith? It was Satan. It does not matter whether we have a million man army or 300 like Gideon, the victory is the Lord's. All we have to do is move in faith and obey for HE is our victory. But when the Lord tells us to move and we start looking at our bank accounts, the number of people we have, or our resources, we are moving by sight and we can be judged if we should know better than to operate in such a way.
Therefore, for those who are in difficult countries, rather than looking at men to help, we need to be on our knees and pray. We need to spend such time and energy asking God for the help and miracle. God wants to manifest His power and miracles in difficult countries because He will be MORE GLORIFIED!! HE wants to make the impossible possible. It does not matter why some Christians are born into to wealthy countries. As Jesus said to Peter in regards to John, "What is that to you? Just follow ME!"
You want to eat? You need to till the land and plant seeds and wait for the harvest. There is a season we must wait. We must pray and pray accumulating our prayers until our prayers reach His throne. You must cry out to HIM. God told Moses before He was sent back to Egypt, God said, "Their cries have reached my throne" How many years had His people been crying out? We are always thinking of ways to make things work. No, God wants us to PRAY rather than trying to figure things out. But even as we pray, we must learn PATIENCE and wait for HIM. We Christians have been so influenced by the world. We are backwards and we have no patience.
It is so easy for God to grow our churches. God can make a small church grow into a thousand overnight. Is anything too hard for God? But we think we need to be growing our churches because this is how so many of His servants measure success. However, this is the world's way of measuring success. It is the perception of outside and the physical. We are so eager to go here and there. We are so eager to get out of our current difficult situations. We are so eager to do God's work. We are so eager to grow. We are so eager to do big things. We are so eager to do everything but wait for God. What does HE want from us? He wants you to learn patience first before HE grows your church or ministry. He wants us to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Growing a ministry is easy for God. HE needs us to learn patience so we can WAIT FOR HIM. It is HIS ministry. It is HIS plans. It is HIS Work. It is about HIS GLORY. HE may have you in a poor country. He may have you in a rich country. But that is for HIS GLORY and HIS Sovereign right. How can the clay argue with the potter?
Many may feel like they are in impossible situations. Many feel like they need to get out and many begin to think and produce plans to find another comfortable situation. Many are fighting God's Will. Rather trying to run, we need to wait for God. What if Joseph tried to break out of prison? He was in prison for 13 years. Many of us feel like we are in our own prisons. But rather than trying to break out, we need to stay in a prisoner for Jesus Christ. For in our prison, we will learn humility as God breaks us. He needs to do this for HE has great plans and works for us. If we wait for God's time, just as Joseph, from prisoner of Pharaoh, he was now number two man. But this took 13 years in prison. So many of us cannot even wait one year. We pray and we expect the answer right away. When the answer does not come in our time, we attempt to help God by exerting our energy and our natural strength to force it. So many Christians are so spiritually tired. They are tired because they have moved so far ahead or behind God. Where is your joy?
We cannot look at man. We cannot look at the pastors. We cannot look at the building. We cannot look at other things for help except God. I have been called by God but I can do nothing of myself. I am but a vessel. If the vessel is empty, what worth am I to others? When Rachel got mad at Jacob because she could not have a baby, Jacob replied, "Am I God?" Our help comes from the Lord. We must take all things to prayer and wait for HIM. We must pray until our prayers are answered. I may be tending a church but my job is just to point to Jesus for others. I am but a bus driver driving and leading others to God.
On Judgment day, will some of us blame God? Will some of us say, "You did not give me the resources or the finances to do the work?" How will God answer? God may say, "You did not ask!" Yes, we would not have asked it His Way. We can spend hours on Facebook asking people but have we asked hours in prayer to our Father? We tell people we have access to the riches of His throne but then we run off to our golden calves? So many of us have so little patience. We think one time of prayer is suffice. No, we may be required to pray for hours, days, months, or even years. How can we demand anything from God? It is us who must humble ourselves and seek His Face. He will speak and answer at His Time. And if He does not answer, will we blame HIM? No, the blame lies with us. He has given us the authority to bind and loose what is on the heavens and earth. The Apostles in the bible have set the standard. But to reach and excel in such standard, we must put in the time with God. We must return as a people of prayer. We must return as a people set apart consecrated for HIM. We must return to Holiness. We must return with a FULL Whole Heart and Only Serve HIM alone. We must remove the idols in our lives. We must repent and return to our First Love. We must learn to really know what is to Trust and depend in HIM.
Glory to HIM ALONE. May HE get all the GLORY.
Fire of God International Church
Pastor Steve Yong Kim
Thank you for this deep and strong message, May God Almighty continue to bless you!
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