Text: “…Jesus did not commit himself unto them … he knew all men … needed not that any should testify of man… he knew what was in man.”- John 2:24-25
There was a study carried out years ago which buttresses the assertion that we are in a world where very few individuals are straight, principled, disciplined, reliable, dependable and responsible. The study showed that among 10 people around, three will stand by you, three will stand against you while four are consistently indecisive and are ready to jump to any side of the divide that suits them best.
It is grossly unfortunate that majority of the people in offices, places of worship and the political space, are moved by, and can do anything for money, power and position, and are very quick to alter ‘loyalty’ as regularly as they change underwear. A lot of people can do anything, even if in their pursuit to eat ‘meat’, can ‘prostrate to cows’ and destroy other people with their mouths and schemes. It is, therefore, little wonder when God said ‘the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?’ (Jeremiah 17:9)
From our text, the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ was flagged off with the miracle in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-10), and it was this that opened the floodgate to other signs and wonders. Against the backdrop of the miracles which the people saw, they thronged around Him in Jerusalem at the Passover festival and believed His name. Jesus, however, knew that they were not worthy of being trusted as He knew they believed Him, not because they intended to accept His Lordship, but for the benefits that were accruable to them if they were in His favour. Jesus refused to entrust Himself to them because He knew what was inside each person. Jesus knew that talk is cheap. He knew that people habitually keep ‘blood in the belly and spit out white saliva’ (Matthew 15:8)
At the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus fed thousands of people with bread and fish, they ate to their fill so much that there was a left over of 12 baskets of fragments. As a result of this largesse, the people chorused that he was indeed a prophet. When the people were routing to make him their king, he took off to the mountain and the people who ate bread and fish started to look for Him all over until they caught up with Him at Capernaum. When they saw Him eventually, He told them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, You seek me, not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled’ (John 6:26). Human beings!
It is commonplace for people in our national, and quite unfortunately our spiritual space, to invest in undeserved platitudes, with the aim to send people in positions of authority to dreamland, all in a bid to harvest recognition, be rewarded with big positions in the polity and recompensed with power. Politicians are probably worse off as they are daily moved without any political ideology but financial indemnification – the only song they are good at singing are lies about the political party in power and the politicians in contention. This ugly attitude many times bring the praise singers, and chiefly the people enjoying the deceit of human praises, at collision with the Holy Spirit because His glory He will never share with anyone, no matter how highly placed or His praise with any idol (Isaiah 42:8).
King Herod was slapped by an angel and worms finished him off because he refused to give glory to God as people appropriated to him the glory due to God. They told him after his oration that ‘…It is the voice of a god, and not of a man’ (Acts 12:22). He died unsung like a flower plucked in its bloom.
Beloved in Christ, there are lots of people within and around us that have been positioned in a fighting match with the Holy Spirit through high sounding titles, adjectives poured on them which are due to the Holy Spirit, lofty words which are often times lies from the pit of hell and appropriation of God’s deeds to them etc. It is very dangerous to be at collision with the Holy Spirit. When Nebuchadnezzar tried it, he walked out of the palace as an animal. May this not be your portion. You shall fulfil divine destiny and get to where God had destined for you in the name of Jesus Christ.
There was a highly reverred man of God who the people wanted to destroy like Herod but he was sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He was invited to a programme that had posters of his pictures everywhere in the town and the very massive drawback of the rostrum where he was to preach. When the man got to the stage and saw his imposing picture, he was enraged, called the organisers and asked that his picture must be removed urgently because he was nothing and could do nothing without the Holy Spirit (John 15:5b).
Brethren, God is calling us at this time of Lent to consider our ways, to retrace our steps, to discountenance human praises and not allow anyone set us against the Holy Spirit and to walk in humility. The only person who deserves our praises is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the Ancient of days. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is Omnipotent. He is Omniscient. He is Omnipresent. He is the Jehovah El-Shaddai. He is the One that can kill and make alive. He is the One with the keys of David with capacity to open and no mortal can shut, and when He shuts, no power can open. When you give Him praise, He would raise you and do greater things in your life. I pray that the false praises of psychophants will not bring you down in the name of Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Lord, deliver me from self destruction and make grace available to me to give only you the praise that is due to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
Leave a Reply