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Let's read from the Book of Luke 9:51-56,
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"As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem;
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He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him,
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because He was heading for Jerusalem.
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When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven like Elijah did to destroy them?”
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But Jesus turned and rebuked them, "You don't know what spirit is leading you!"
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For the Son of man came not to destroy the souls of men but to save them, and they went into another village.
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We can see from this text, that if John and James were not genuinely following Jesus, for the same purpose and goals as Jesus,
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when this rebuke happened, they would have got offended and even renounced discipleship.
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If they were not honest and sincere with God, this rebuke would have exposed that they wanted power, fire, and do their own things.
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When the Lord rebukes us, He is doing so to remind us of our focus and calling and service that we have to do for Him.
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If your calling now is to do media-projection for the Kingdom then do it in the best way.
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If you are responsible with worship and praise for the Lord, then make sure you prepare yourself some hours, before you do the service,
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because the service is for the Lord not for men!
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The Lord looks and James and John and reminds them the purpose of their calling.
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"We didn't come to destroy men, we didn't come to make the people confused, we didn't come to give them another religion,
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but, we came to seek and find the lost and save them!"
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Why did James and John get offended in the first place and say, "Let us call fire from Heaven"?
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Because their Master was rejected into the villages of the Samaritans.
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What does this mean?
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This means that if James and John had focused on their assignment they would have not looked at rejection and the problem.
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Their focus was on what other were saying or doing towards them.
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When you have the wrong focus you will take a bad attitude; when the attitude is wrong then the prayers are wrong;
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and these expose your misbehavior and acting out of character.
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When you take your eyes from Jesus and from the purpose you have from Him, and give your attention to others thing then you derail.
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Let's also read from Genesis 4:4-6, "And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock,
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The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor,
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So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
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Oh, how patiently God is with us!
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...and his face was downcast".
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Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?"
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If you said, "Yes" to Jesus Christ, if you understood and found your place and received the grace to serve Him,
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then the work that you do for Him, do it as for God, not as for men!
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The sacrifice that you bring in the house of God is wise to be done according to His standard or else don't do it!
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Whether you worship, whether you preach, or whether you do social media make sure is done accordingly!
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God doesn't receive or need any second-hand sacrifices!
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Imagine someone coming at your place, to honour you for your birthday,
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and instead of bringing you something nice on which he spent himself and sacrificed, they bring you something cheap...
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How will your reaction be? It humiliates me you may say...
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Why God is lowered so much today at the standard of the flesh?
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And when a work is to be done for Him is better to not do it than to displease Him and draw a curse on us!
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Please, receive in good heart what I'm telling you, because the Almighty looks at the quality of your work and sacrifice!
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That's why He is rebuking us!
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For God Almighty, we are not called to do what everyone is doing, but what the best do!
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God didn't appreciate the sacrifice and the work of Cain!
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God is correcting and rebuking us to make us partakers of His divine holiness nature,
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by crushing our flesh with its desires!
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The Lord Jesus says in John 15:2, "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes,
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so that it will be even more fruitful.
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How do you think this pruning is being done?
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If we want to see God, we have to love this side of God also and understand that His corrections are not without purpose.
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He does not correct His people in order to humiliate them,
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but to partake them to His glory and holiness; so be ready to embrace the process
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where your character of flesh has to die, and the character of the new man in Christ has to arise! Amen?
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