Revival

By Odon Bulamba (summary only - 9th May, 03)

Revival starts by glorifying God in everything...

The Bible says that each Christian needs to have a testimony. Whoever has a testimony is a child of God because what God does in our lives is very great. When you wake up in the morning it’s a testimony because a few people lost their lives during the night. When we meet together at church it’s a testimony because in some countries you cannot meet. When you find something to eat it’s a testimony because you can see on TV that there is famine in the world. When you walk it’s a testimony because there are those in hospital who cannot walk. For everything we do we must have a testimony. I remind you that God our God is a God of glory, He’s a God who wants to be glorified. Many people say how can I glorify God?

The glory of God is a testimony we give for what God has done. I glorify God because my brother got married and found a wife. I glorify God because we live in a time of cold, where I used to live it was 50 degrees, if I find this cold it’s a treasure for me. I glorify God because I can eat whatever I want and I can go anywhere without any problem. There are many countries where you are not free to go out, some people have to stay in their houses for 10 years without moving, without seeing what’s outside, we who are free isn’t it a reason to glorify God. In your country here you speak freely, you can talk to anyone and express your needs and people listen to you, but ask elsewhere and you will be told of a different story. So in everything we have to glorify God, but as Christians we don’t want to give this glory to God, God spreads His arms to receive the glory but we don’t give it to Him, His arms and hands are tired of waiting. So, we are called to give glory to God.

There was a lady who got married, when she got married she loved her husband a lot, she would call him my lord like Sarah used to. She lived a Christian life, which pleased everyone, but the people around her did not like the way she lived with her husband. Why do you act like a beast, you accept your husband to walk on your head, she would say no, my husband is the head of the house, it’s written in the Bible that I have to respect my husband and that’s why my husband loves me so much. Others would say to her you are really crazy, think about feminism, remember human rights, husband and wife are equal so don’t accept that your husband walks all over you. She would say it’s not my husband who walks on me, it’s the Gospel that walks on me, because the Gospel humiliated me and now I’m ready to follow the voice of the Lord.

Blessed are those who humiliate themselves before the Word of God because they will see the glory of God in their lives. If you never humiliate yourself in front of the Word of God, make sure that God will do it by force one day. The day where every knee shall bow you will do it too.

Many counsellors on the earth want their own glory, they will say, if you want success in what you are doing then do this, although it is not true. The measure you use for others will be the same measure He will use for you. You will see people who give advice, they will give advice that will not please God, and in the evening they are there with their Bible saying let’s praise God, how will you glorify God if you don’t glorify Him in your way of acting?

Start to count how many times you glorify God each day; when I wake up in the morning I say thank you God, when I start to stretch my hands I realise that I came from somewhere where I was really tired and I can feel that my hands have found their strength, I open my eyes because I can see the light, I must glorify God for this light. When someone knocks at the door I praise the Lord because my ears can still work.

One day I fell asleep and my nose was blocked, my throat was sore and I said why that, I started thinking why am I sick, how can a little thing like my nose make me sick? God helped me to meditate deeply on that. Close your mouth and your nose for 2 mins. I did it for 30 secs which felt like a long time and my body started fighting. Just to close my mouth and block my nose but my whole body started moving and fighting. I thought that my two nostrils have great value for the rest of the body, the whole body felt sick. God taught me something; the most insignificant thing in your life has such a great value for your life.

How great is the soul of man? A soul is a very small thing and we respect our bodies more than the soul. I can do everything for my body and forget about my soul. I can comb my hair, brush my teeth etc, but I can forget for 3 months that I have a soul. Because I couldn’t breathe I said no I must learn that my life doesn’t depend on me, I must glorify God for the function of my nostrils.

I know many people in Africa who have a problem to go to the toilet, they might eat but to excrete what they ate is a problem, it’s a very serious problem, they cry and shout to the point that they don’t want to eat anymore because they don’t know what’s going to happen. But you and me who are free, why don’t we glorify God? God taught me a lot about glory. From time to time we complain, I need shoes my God, but the one who doesn’t have legs, what will he say? Oh God I need a diamond ring, and the one who doesn’t have fingers what will he say? Aren’t we better than these people, why don’t we glorify God for all what He offers us.

Usually when a Christian wants to praise God, he is dry with his words; “oh, God I praise you because you are good”, oh, what else can I say, they start to look for words, a 3 minute prayer is long for them. We should be able to testify. If you start thinking how you spend your night, how you woke up, you look at your nails and see how they have grown, you will praise God for that because you can put nail polish on them and it will be nice, if I had lost my nails maybe I would have to hide my fingers, it’s something to praise God for.

For myself, my hair never grows longer than 3 centre metres and when I look at Michael’s hair I can ask God why doesn’t Michael glorify God for that? Some one who is bald will spend money to have more hair, and me who has my 3-centre metre hair and is not bald, do I glorify God for that? I don’t wear glasses, I can see people who wear glasses, and do I glorify God for my eyes. And those who wear glasses, if you see a blind person do you glorify God because you can still see? In everything, each minute there are things to glorify God for. When we don’t, God finds us ungrateful, these people I gave everything but they don’t glorify me. “Oh God I glorify you because we are together”, it’s the same prayer every day. It’s been nearly three years we’ve been praying prayed together and when it’s time to give glory to God sometimes it’s like a tape played over and over.

You wear nice trousers; do you glorify God for that? You have light here; there are some people who have never seen that, do you glorify God for that? As we meet here, do you glorify God for the presence of each person here? And if not then what do you glorify God in?

In each thing we must glorify God, if you have children glorify God for them, if you have clothes glorify God. I testified to you one day that there are people who have never seen clothes. If you find food, glorify God for it, at work you can glorify God, if you are beside your children or your wife then glorify God. You will discover that there are lots of things to glorify God for. If you count well you will see that you will be able to glorify God for more than 300 things every day, every day! But how many topics do you glorify God for?

We have to glorify God, God said in his first commandment, which is in Ex 20, you shall have no other gods before me. What does God mean? It is something that you glorify or adore, so don’t adore or worship anything other than me because I am a supreme being. This is in the imperative form. God always waits to see how we will glorify Him. Doesn’t God give us everything? I think what we lack is very little compared to what God has given us, but we don’t even glorify Him

For example, it’s mother’s day coming up, those who are mums please forgive me but I would like to say something, we respect you very much and God created you as our mums and gave you all the responsibilities for your families, but when we open our Bibles we don’t see a mother’s day, excuse me again because I am not against it but I tell you the truth. In some churches today they will say next Sunday is mother’s day so the service will be taken by the ladies in order to celebrate mother’s day, this is how we will glorify this day. God watches, instead of meeting for one day to glorify me they glorify a day that was organised by man, why would we give this day more importance than the day of the Lord?

People keep glorifying human things rather than God’s things. We know the Gospel, we know what the Bible says so why are we confused? Give to Caesar what’s his, but don’t forget to give to God what is His, God’s share is the first, if you forget this one then woe to you.

We are going to pray and our prayer tonight is that we are all going to stand up and glorify God, just that, glorify God as you want, in whatever language. You can glorify Him because your child is small or big, glorify God because you are slim or fat, tall or short, black or white, glorify God for everything, just glorify Him for whoever you are, be proud of what you are because for God you are precious in His eyes, pray your prayer and don’t listen to others, and concentrate on your prayer. Let’s pray.

For the full message please email: littlebethlehem@windowslive.com