The preacher had finished his sermon. There wasn’t a dry eye in the church that day. The sermon ended and the doors of the church were opened. Some people gave their lives to Christ. Some came down to rededicate their lives to Christ. Some just came down for prayer. They wanted prayer for themselves and for their loved ones.
When the church services were over, the pastor went and stood by the front doors of the church to make sure that he shook everybody’s hand. When it was my turn, to shake his hand, I made the compliment, “Pastor, you sure did preach a mighty powerful message today. You brought the house down!” He smiled and looked at me, with correction, and said, “No , it wasn’t me. I am only the vessel that God used. It was all from God.”
We can’t take any credit away from God. Isaiah 42:8 says, “I am the Lord that is my name and I will not give my glory to another.”
Everyone wants to receive credit for the work that they do. Nothing is as frustrating or painful when someone takes the credit for your work. It has happened to the best of us. Watching someone else take credit for our idea is one of the most infuriating things that can happen. It’s the same for God.
We all, as children of God, have an assignment while we are on earth. How can something that happens to us be so powerful and wonderful, that we are able to keep it to ourselves. We are living, walking, and breathing testimonies of Jesus Christ. Someone needs to hear what we have gone through and how God has brought us over. How when we were down and out, how God lifted us up. How God made a way out of no way, for us. How he turned that mean-spirited person around, so that their frown was turned upside down, into a smile. How he defrosted that cold-hearted person’s heart, to make them loving and caring. How he took what some people thought would be nobody’s and sat them up, and made people take notice, to see that they were somebody. How he can take those that we discard, and sit them in prominence. How he can take Nicky (my mother), with all of those kids, who had been cast-off as nothing, and make them stand tall with the strength of Jesus, and cause them to wonder, who brought them over. How he took two dirt poor children, brought them together, then lifted them up so that they don’t have to want for nothing. How he can take a little boy from south Georgia, one who used to eat out of the trash can, take him all around the world, then bring him back to me. Clean him up and present him to his Holy Father. To God be the glory in all things!
God is the one who deserves credit for every good thing that has happened in our lives. He must receive ALL of the glory and honor. We can’t do anything on our own. When we wake up in the mornings, He should get the glory. When He starts us on our way, He should get the glory. When we are in our sound mind with reasonable strength, He should get the glory. We should glorify Him in ALL things. He deserves the credit!
Our lives are like a motion picture movie. There are movie sets, scripts, actors, actresses, producers and directors.
God is the “Producer” and CEO. He makes the decisions for our life.
Jesus is the “Director”. He makes sure that the production is completed on time. The Film Producer is the Holy Spirit. He handles the different phases or aspects, in our lives. He simply steers us towards our eventual outcome. We are the actors and actresses. The Crew Members are the Heavenly Hosts, the angels.
When the movie production has ended (our life), only Jesus will receive the “Credit”.
ROLL THE CREDITS, PLEASE!