Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 259

September 15;   Luke 3:16;   47/260(II);   ‘Humility’

Luke 3:16 John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.       NIV

John the Baptist was at the region around the Jordan River and was preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  He powerfully ministered to the multitudes that came to him to be baptized.  Tax collectors, soldiers were among those who he preached to concerning their conduct.  Because of his very powerful ministry and fearlessness, all of the multitude wondered if John the Baptist was the Christ.  In verse 16, John the Baptist vigorously denies being the Christ and tells everyone he is not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals.  That humility kept him useable for the kingdom of God.  The ministry of Kenneth E. Hagin spanned 62 years.  Due to the longevity of his ministry, the call of God on his life, his knowledge of the Word of God and his intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit, Rev. Hagin knew things about the Lord and ministry that very few other ministers knew.  Rev. Hagin taught that pride, a minister being deceived into thinking that he was ‘special,’ because of the anointing on that minister’s life, was an incredibly dangerous place to be in.  Rev. Hagin knew several ministers that died prematurely because of their deceived reasoning that they were more important than they were.  We are all important to the Lord and all of us have the privilege to play a significant role in what the Lord Jesus Christ does on the earth.  The degree of success of your ministry, is commitment to doing the things you know that you have been called to do faithfully.  We must never forget that our ministry is the ministry of Jesus and He gets all of the glory.  Humility keeps you save and useable.