The Artist & His Instrument: Pointing Praise Towards God
Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. Acts 3:11
Dangerous Territory
Although being used as an instrument of God is always a thrilling experience, it is also a potentially dangerous one since people often tend to exalt the person through whom God works rather than God Himself. Jesus cautioned us in Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Notice, the glory must go to God alone, not to any of us.
The glory of man is such a powerful motivator. Many football players willingly allow their bodies to be maimed for the rest of their lives just to hear the cheers of the crowd in an instant of time. Just as Satan rebelled against God because of his desire for personal recognition, our own sinful natures crave recognition and glory.
When God answers a man’s prayer, people often seek to elevate that man who prayed, as if he had anything at all to do with the results of the prayer. Countless healing ministries all over the United States have turned into big businesses because of the response of the masses. Many so-called healers are nothing more than frauds looking to become wealthy off the gullibility of naïve people.
The Instrument of God
Several years ago, I met a Christian woman whose husband had resisted coming to the Lord. This man was a prominent psychiatrist and neurosurgeon in the area, and his wife confided in me that while her husband’s practice was quite successful, he took his patients’ issues so much to heart that he routinely lost sleep at night. His profound concern for the welfare of his patients was literally destroying his health. Although his careful analysis would reveal to him the precise problem of a given patient, he was tormented by the fact that he was often powerless to actually affect a cure.
This man’s wife approached me one day and asked if my wife, Kay, and I would come over for dinner. The plan was that after dinner, she and Kay would disappear into the kitchen, thus leaving the two of us men to talk alone. After talking with him for several hours over a couple of occasions, I finally confronted him.
“You and I have been sitting here sharing ideas with each other for quite awhile,” I said. “I would like your professional analysis of me. I have tried to be as open as possible, and you know that I have a strong faith in Jesus Christ. I believe that the Bible is completely inspired by God and that every word of it is true. Now, what do you believe I have lost because of my faith in Christ?”
He looked at me and said, “Not a thing. I wish I were as happy as you are. I would love to have the peace and confidence that you have.”
Then I added, “What if there really was no God after all, and the Bible was completely false? What have I lost then?”
The answer came back once again, “Nothing. You are about as well-adjusted as anyone I have ever met.”
So my next question was this: “Okay, then what if the Bible is true? What have you lost by not believing in Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” With that, he surrendered, and we knelt together as he invited Jesus into his heart.
Bright and early the next morning, his wife appeared in my office with a gift for me. She gushed, “Oh Chuck, oh Chuck! I knew you could do it! You are so wonderful!”
I quickly stopped her. “Wait a minute!” I said. “Your husband is one of the top neurosurgeons in the area. Imagine if he had performed an operation where he successfully clipped an aneurysm and saved a man’s life. How would he feel if the patient later returned to the hospital, picked up the scalpel used in his operation, and exclaimed, ‘Oh what a wonderful scalpel you are! You are the sharpest blade I have ever seen! You are the most glorious piece of steel in the entire world!’?”
We are not supposed to praise the instrument, but rather the One who skillfully uses it to accomplish His purposes. When God uses you and someone wants to give you the glory, the best thing to do is point them to the One who did the job.
As Peter continued to say in Acts 3:12: “Why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?”
Peter was not about to take any credit for what God had done that day. Likewise, the man God uses seeks no glory for himself, but seeks to bring glory to God.
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Stay tuned for more teachings from Pastor Chuck’s 10-Part series: “The Man God Uses”. Click below for previous teachings in this series.
Part 1: How Does God’s Word Teach Us to Pray? Part 2: What is the Key to an Effective Prayer Life?
SPONSOR MESSAGE: Learn about a Christian discipleship all-encompassing re-entry ministry for men and women trapped in the deceptive, never-ending cycle of addiction. U-Turn for Christ
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