Welcome to this edition of Testimony Tuesday. I’d like to discuss with you a news article about a Pastor from Dallas Texas who stepped down for a bit, taking a sabbatical. What’s the reason? Pride. This is a first for me. Usually the Pastors are forced out by scandal and then reinstated. However, this is a good sight that this Pastor has discussed this with the elders of this Church, seeing that the Lord dealt with him through his frs and the Spirit Himself, and the leadership decided that he would take a sabbatical. He told his congregation to not think this scandalous. I felt today (September 10, 2020), to post this as a Testimony to the fact that pride comes in all forms. His name is Todd Wagner.
A Background Story To The Article
I forgot to mention that Pastor Todd Wagner says that he doesn’t consider himself prideful because “I don’t look in the mirror and clap.” With that, I’d like to give you my background story about pride’s expossure in my own life.
I also never considered myself prideful. Although I never mentioned in words that God was the one that got the glory, I knew it in my heart. I used to tell everyone who I prayed for. I used to post on Messenger messages to different people something like, “I’m an Intercessor. If you need anything, I’m here and would like to pray for you.” I never understood that I should just let the Father in Heaven be the one to promote my gift. I should do what the Father told me to do, but shut my mouth and let the people who I’m tersceede for find me by the Spirit of God. There is so much details I could write here, but I c’t recall them. There would be times when Grandma would hear me praying or acting a certain way and she’d call me on it, saying, “Patelin, I know your heart. However, there will be people out there who don’t and they will be judgmental toward you thinking, She’s acting like the Pharisees in her prayers,” or something along those lines. I’m glad she did. That brought me to ask the Lord to humble me. I’d ask Him to expose any pride in me, because I by no means want pride in my heart. I want the Lord’s glory to be revealed in and through even this blog.
I’m Taking A Sabbatical
Here is the article which I have been discussing. Be open to the Spirit’s conviction about pride in your own heart.
https://www.watermark.org/leadershipupdate
Texas Megachurch Pastor Steps Down Due to Struggling with Sin of Pride
Final Thoughts
Please feel free to post your thoughts on how this Testimony Tuesday blog has helped you. I ask you to take this to the Lord in prayer. Be sure to remind yourself of any times that your family, frs, Church Family (Pastors, Elders, or just laymembers), have said to you. Think of the times that people have asked you like they did Todd, “Are you okay?” Or perhaps, like me, the Lord showed you something and your Grandma says, “You’re still just learning,” so you aren’t as hard on yourself as you should be (she’s only done this one time when the Lord convicted me of judging my Aunt and Uncale after going home from one of my Aunts’ birthday party at a Limozene. I won’t get into the details here, but I came crying back to the bed and Grandma says, “You’re still learning. You don’t act like you know it all!” And then later on during the Quarantine, the Lord showed it to me again, and this time I listened). Todd’s right! Pride is the inability to understand the problem of your fleshly actions and to accept either the rebukes of your Church Family/family and frs, and/or the rebukes of the Lord. This today has opened my eyes as well.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
We bow before You in humility. I ask O Holy Father, that You would expose pride in our hearts. Show us where we have despised the correction of the Lord and refused to listen to You. Show us where we have hardened our hearts toward Your voice and/or the voices of those You’ve put in our path. We pray and prayer of David:
God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares. See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on, and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting ways–the path that brings me back to you (Psalms 139:23-24, TPT).
Father, the Word of God says in Mark 16:20, TPT, “And the apostles went out anouncing the good news everywhere, as the Lord consistently worked with them, validating the message they preached with miracle-signs that accompanied them!” Father, in the name of Jesus, by the power and authority of His Name, by faith in the Word of God, and by the blood of the Lamb, I ask that You would validate what is being spoken in our hearts and lives with signs and wonders. May the world see more of a humble people in their midst as we go out this week. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen!
Songs To Take To Heart
This blog is over. However, I’d like to leave us with some songs to take to heart and memmorize for worshipful purposes this week and beyond. God bless!
Kingdom Advance 