The Dangers of Pride in Ministry — Jim Cymbala

God's Presence Interrupts the Service

But I want to go back a number of years if I could. Emma's I wasn't the first nor the last man who wouldn't listen. I guess it was 20 years ago. For more you'll pick up the date some of you better. You'll know the story.

We have a Sunday night service at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. It was an unusual service the presence of God Came down in that building. We were supposed to take communion that night. We had two singers from Nashville, Tennessee who were supposed to sing.

I was supposed to preach. Nobody preached we couldn't take communion nobody got to sing. When God came down the glory of God came down and we began to worship God and weep and wait and Just I can't even describe what happened.

It's the only meeting Since Carol and I have been at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. I couldn't interrupt it to take the offering. Now, you know God is moving when you don't take an offering, right. That's right, I realized I I realized if I stop this for any reason that'll be it'll be a sin.

I just got to let this go God and I was lost in it and the meeting started back in those days at what? Seven seven thirty we left Carol and I about ten to eleven people were still praying in the church.

It was just pure pure spirit of the Living God. No offering no sermon nothing, but trust me God did some heavy-duty business with all of us. We got home that night and my wife's habit in those days Was to turn on the television Late on Sunday night and world and watch the world's at that time the world's most famous Televangelist and that's what she did.

A Televangelist's Violent Rhetoric

We came home from this meeting. She flipped on the television. I was washing up in the bathroom and I remember coming to the door of the bedroom. The TV was on she was already in the bed. I had a towel over my shoulder and the televangelist the most famous of them all Was preaching a message and I had been troubled and so had Carol been over the last few months because his messages Weren't so much biblical anymore.

They were just storytelling and and he was getting a very harsh tone. Very harsh tone making fun of other Christians. You Know when you're filled with the love of God, you don't make fun of other Christians.

But I wasn't ready for what happened that night. And I stood in the doorway the televangelist was preaching and he brought up some example. About someone who molested a child and it must have been in the news it was a crusade of his in an auditorium that seated about 10 ,000 people and The televangelist said I'll tell you what I would do with a guy who molested a child like that.

I would line him up against a tree and open a shotgun into his chest and When he said that 10 ,000 people as God is my with 10 ,000 people jumped to their feet and started applauding. And my wife and I had just been in the presence of God for hours.

My wife yet let out a scream and she just said turn it off. Tears jumped to my eyes. I was groaning. I mean, I've been around church since a little kid, even though I wasn't always serving God. I backslid a lot, but I've been around Enough.

I've never seen a meeting where you're cheering somebody getting killed that's a long way from Calvary and if he was pacing back and forth and Whipping the crowd into a frenzy my wife and I flipped the TV off and she began to weep and I I had the tears Rolling down my eyes because we had seen this man really used of God.

This man had been really used of God at least I felt so and My wife said to me because we had just made a new friend in the last year or two. But a well-known ministry himself a national ministry. She said to me Jim Why don't you call brother so-and-so and talk to him?

He knows this televangelist. Somebody's got to get to this guy. Something's really wrong. And I said, you know, what was this 1980 81? I don't know. I can't remember the years now, but but You know who was I to call this new friend that I had had who had had had shown favor to me and preaching my church now and It and I've been out to his house in Texas and who was I to call him to talk about the world's most famous Televangelist, you know, that was beyond me, but I was troubled all week long.

A Burden to Warn a Compromising Minister

There was a heavy gloom in my spirit I couldn't shake it. My wife would tell me that every day Jim aren't you gonna do something? This guy is gonna self-destruct and he's gonna hurt a lot of Christians.

I said Carol. I know I mean we had just been in the presence of God, you know, God's Spirit is pure love. God is love. When you're in God's presence you get you get immersed in love. So when that man said that it was like somebody stick a sword in my spirit.

Eight days went by and on that next Monday night for some reason I couldn't bring myself to call and who was I anybody anyway, I mean what was what's going on? But on that Monday night I was sitting in the bedroom Next to the phone and my wife looked at me and she said Jim, you know, we've got to do something.

We're nobody but we got to talk to somebody Jim. Can't somebody reach this man? He's gonna hurt himself. Something's wrong. I picked up the phone. I hit my friend's number and I got him on the phone. Right directly right through to a study at his home.

I said hi brother. He said oh, hi. I said I Don't know how to tell you Why I'm calling and I hemmed and I was nervous. I said look. It's like this. We were in this meeting. The presence of God came down.

We nobody could do anything but worship and wait. And we came home and this televangelist said this crazy remark and the crowd cheered the thought of a murder and Nobody's saying yes on the other end of the phone.

So I went excuse me brother, are you there? He goes keep talking. So I said well, okay, I will so we came home and this is so troubling my wife and I and we're nobody. But we know you know him. You preach in his Bible school brother, I Don't have all the answers, but that's way off.

And then I'm sure that I hear my friend cry. He's crying on the phone. So I thought I had called at the wrong time and it's the Lord is my witness. I Said to him am I calling at a bad time? He said no you're calling at the exact time.

He said God had you call. I Said he did he said yes. I was at that Bible school two weeks ago, and he said that televangelist is out of the loop. He has built such an empire he has so many TV obligations.

Crusades. He's got so much on top of him that he has no time to pray no time for the Word of God. No time to listen no time to be with his wife. And My wife and I would we're just there for a couple days and we came home and we've been burdened and burdened.

We've been weeping, but he said that's not all. Two nights ago. He said I was praying for him and God gave me a prophecy for him. Three letters three-page letter a prophetic word for this brother and and the message in the letter was this shut it down.

Shut it all down shut everything down get back to the word get back to prayer get back to waiting on God get back to your wife get back to seeking the Lord and Don't say I can't afford to shut it down because if you don't shut it down God will shut it down and My friend is trembling and he's crying on the phone, and I'm crying my wife doesn't understand What's going on and my heart is pounding and he said I wrote this letter, but I didn't send it.

And today's Monday, and I finished had my secretary type it. But I told her don't send it out and it's sitting on the desk Jim. But I went to prayer tonight, and I said God if this is really you. Because this could cost me my friendship with my with this televangelist if this is really you.

Give me a sign have somebody call me have something happen that I'll know this is you and as I was praying it the phone Rang and there you were we both cried. He sent the letter the response wasn't very good.

Pride Rejects a Direct Word from God

It was basically you don't understand the anointing that I have on me and You don't understand what God has raised me up to accomplish in the earth. Shut it down. I'm taking in almost a million dollars a day.

How could I shut it down? If I'm in the trouble you think I'm in why is the money coming in? So I'm not shutting anything down, and I want you to know. Your word from the Lord is way out in left field.

But it wasn't very long. Before the televangelist wished he had shut it down. Because when you stop listening Bad things begin to happen and now his word is an adjective. Imagine he's sleeping somewhere tonight, and his name is an adjective in New York City it is if you want to talk about somebody fraudulent and immoral and not real.

His name is now an Adjective in the English language, and it could have been spirited if he just would have listened. Isn't God persistent? Isn't I was just a lot younger than a young minister. Just learning a lot of things, but I thought to myself God.

You're amazing you're following this guy and making people call each other and write letters and prophecies. But what can God do when nobody's listening in other words God is speaking, but nobody was listening on the other end.

Pastors Must Hear from the Holy Spirit

That's what happened to Amaziah. That's what happens to pastors who run churches by computers instead of hearing from the Holy Ghost. Listen that's what happens when we read church growth journals instead of seeking the Lord's Pastors look look at me everybody.

That's here. You do understand that every single one of you is going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ. Brother cask, I know understands us so does Brother Crabtree you you do understand that you're going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ.

Carol and I are going to stand there to give an answer for the quality of the work that we do not the quantity the quality of our work. You won't be judged by the church growth journals or by denominational headquarters.

You're going to be judged by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords whose eyes are like fire and. Won't it be just horrific in that day if we find out that God was calling and trying to get through and talk to us.

Preaching the Word Instead of Human Strategies

But nobody was listening. That he gave us his word, but instead of preaching it we preach some insipid nonsense. Because the world says you've been with sinners. Why would God give us the gospel if he didn't want us to preach it?

Sure, some people are going to get bad and walk out, but I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. How many are with me say amen? I'm not ashamed of the gospel. We got a pre Paul told Timothy preach the word don't preach your vision.

Preach the word preach the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Don't preach current events preach the Word of God. Listen to it. Let's get it in our hearts brothers and sisters because when you honor the Word of God God will honor you.

You know how God Answers prayer and why some people are powerful in prayer. You read the story of the inbounds or Andrew Murray or some of these great men and women of God? And here's the way God looks at it if you listen to me when I talk I'll listen to you when you talk.

But if we're not listening to God what right would we have to come into his presence and say I need this and I want This of course. I'm not listening to what you need. And it makes no sense at all the future of my church and your church is.

Hearing Christ's Message to the Churches

Based on this very fact. Why do you think all the seven letters are different in the book of Revelation that Jesus wrote? But why would all they all have the same ending he that hath an Ear let him when we stop listening and hearing what God is saying to us.

Through his word and by his spirit, I don't care how many you're running. It's not a Christian church. You can juggle numbers and steal people from other churches, but that's not a Christian church. A Christian church is where God's Word is honored and people are listening for the voice of the Spirit.

They believe in thus sayeth the Lord. This is Almighty God talking to us. It's not a place for charlatans and personalities and Flippant behavior. This is serious business. Just the other day. This last Sunday. We learned that a man a godly couple in our church Came to one of my associate pastors and said I've invited my neighbor twice.

Ministry Must Be Led by the Spirit in Critical Moments

He's come twice to the church. He's not a Christian. He's a wild man, but he had got him in there twice. He fights like a cat and a dog with his wife. Pastor Combs, would you see this couple even though they don't come to this church, even though they're not Christians?

Would you take time to see him pastor Combs said I'll see him on Tuesday a week ago yesterday a Couple days ago this past Tuesday a week ago from that. I'll see him at six o 'clock six o 'clock. They don't show at the end of the prayer meeting this godly couple from our church comes with their head down to pastor Combs.

And says you know why they didn't come. He killed her yesterday. Strangled her and Then took an overdose of barbiturates and fell on top of her dead. The detectives found him laying on her any any. And he actually taped her last sound so the police have the last sounds of her screaming as he took her life some.

You know what brothers and sisters meetings are important. I kicked myself that the man was twice in the church and we could. Maybe my message wasn't right or something wasn't right. But but brothers and sisters, you know momentous things are happening when we have our church services.

We got to preach the Word of God and we got to be listening for the Spirit of God. To lead us and direct us. We can't have these little program meetings that have no life in them. We got to be led by the Holy Ghost.

How many are with me say amen? Listen. If God could lead the Israelites for 40 years. Can he lead you through one service program down to the minute with no opportunity for the Holy Ghost to come down and talk to us?

Ministers getting their sermons out of books instead of waiting on the Lord and hearing what God wants to say to the church. Plastic sermons. It's not going to cut it today. There's too much evil. The devil has a satanic anointing on the people who are serving him.

We've got to have the anointing of the one that's greater than the evil one. But we're not going to do it. Listen with smoke and mirrors. We're going to do it by listening to God and it's not always hoop and holler.

There's a time for hoop and holler. I'm all for hoop and holler.