Wheel Wing Meeting General September 2026
In order to be a faithful soldier to our Master Jesus Christ in establishing His Kingdom we have to imitate and follow Him closely. Let’s meditate about one of His important teachings today.
Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.”
Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
True prophets were hated, false prophets were praised.
Blessed when they hate you for Jesus, woe when all praise you.
1. PRAISE OF MEN vs GOD
John 12:43 “for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
Pharisees believed in Jesus secretly but didn’t confess – because they loved stage, position.
John 5:44 – Jesus “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?”
Galatians 1:10 – Paul “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”
You cannot be both man-pleaser and Christ’s servant. Can serve only one master.
2. DANGER OF PEOPLE’S PRAISE
Proverbs 27:2 “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.”
Don’t self-promote. Let God lift you.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time;
Proverbs 27:21 ” “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.”
You put metal in fire. Heat reveals impurities. Dross comes up. Pure metal remains.
1 Peter 1:7 Faith is tested by fire like gold.
Psalm 12:6 “The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace”
Purpose: Fire doesn’t destroy gold. It reveals and purifies it.
PART 2: “BUT A MAN IS TESTED BY HIS PRAISE
This is the shock.
How do you test a person? Not by criticism. But by *praise*.
Two meanings, both true:
3. MEANING 1: HOW YOU HANDLE PRAISE TESTS YOU
What happens when people praise you?
| Gold/Silver | Man |
| Put in furnace, impurity comes out | Put in praise, real character comes out |
Hebrew says praise tests you – furnace reveals impurity. When people praise you, your heart is tested – will you become proud?
Proverbs 25:27 “It is not good to eat much honey; So to seek one’s own glory is not glory.”
Too much honey (praise) makes you sick.
4. JESUS AVOIDED PEOPLE’S PRAISE
John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover… many believed in His name when they saw signs… But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men”
He knew their praise was shallow – same crowd shouting Hosanna will shout Crucify.
John 6:15 “Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.”
When they tried to praise Him and make Him king before cross, He ran away.
Acts 12:21-23 – Herod accepted praise:
“So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.”
When you take praise that belongs to God, it kills you.
5. WHAT GOD WANTS
1 Corinthians 4:5 “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”
Don’t seek praise now from men. Wait – Father Himself will praise you at end.
Matthew 6:1-4 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father…”
Promotion by God Psalm 75:6-7 For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor yet from the south, comes exaltation. But God is the judge. He puts down one, and lifts up another.
1 Peter 5:6 God lifts you in due time. The test between humble time and promotion time is PRAISE.
MEANING 2: WHAT YOU PRAISE TESTS YOU*
Second meaning from Hebrew: A man is tested by *what he praises*.
What you clap for shows who you are.
If you praise money, fame, flesh *John 3:6* – you are worldly
If you praise godliness, Word *2 Tim 3:16*, faithfulness *Titus 1:1* – you are spiritual *John 3:8*
*Matthew 6:21* “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”
*Proverbs 27:19* previous verse “As in water face reflects face, So a man’s heart reveals the man.” v21 continues
3 TESTS OF PRAISE*
1. *When people praise you – Do you get proud?* *Prov 16:18* “Pride goes before destruction”
2. *When people praise you – Do you give glory to God?* *1 Cor 10:31*, *Acts 12:23*
3. *What do you praise in others?* *Psalm 15:4* Honors those who fear Lord.
From life of John the Baptist *John 3:30 “He must increase, I must decrease”?*
John the Baptist the best teacher – Jesus said he was greatest prophet Matt 11:11 yet he never fell by praise. Everyone praised him, crowd thought he was Messiah Luke 3:15.
His secret – John 3:30
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Here are 5 practical ways from his life:
1. REMEMBER YOU ARE VOICE, NOT WORD
John 1:23
“He said: ‘I am The voice of one crying in the wilderness'”
Priests asked: Who are you? Messiah? Elijah? Prophet?
He said: I am just a voice.
2. SEND YOUR DISCIPLES TO JESUS, NOT KEEP THEM
John 1:35-37
“Again… John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.”
John’s own church members left him to follow Jesus. And John celebrated.
Most leaders get jealous when their followers go to better preacher. John said:
John 3:26-27
“Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan… is baptizing, and all are coming to Him! John answered… ‘A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.'”
If your ministry is to make disciples of yourself, it will die with you. If it makes disciples of Jesus, it will live.
3. GIVE GLORY QUICKLY – WITHIN 3 SECONDS
John 1:27
“It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
When crowd said “Are you Christ?” John 1:20 He said immediately: “I am not the Christ”
4. LIVE FOR AUDIENCE OF ONE – WILDERNESS LIFE
Luke 1:80
“So the child grew… And was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation”
Matthew 3:4
“Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt… and his food was locusts and wild honey”
Why wilderness? No audience there to praise. He learned to preach to God alone before preaching to men.
Prophet feels joy when alone with God in prayer room.
John 5:35 Jesus about John: “He was the burning and shining lamp” – Lamp burns alone in private before it shines in public.
Keep a secret prayer life no one sees. Matthew 6:6 closet.
John ate locusts – no good food, no comfort. Keep one area of life where you deliberately choose hiddenness.
5. ACCEPT THAT DECREASE IS SUCCESS
John 3:30 full verse:
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Most people think success = increase. John says my success = I become less visible, Jesus becomes more visible.
Look at John’s end:
Mark 6:27 Herod cut his head off in prison. No big conference, no retirement. Last picture: head on platter.
From world’s view: Failure. He decreased until zero.
From Jesus’ view: Matthew 11:11 “Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John”
John 3:31
“He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.”
In order to bring His Kingdom on earth
2 Ti 2:3 You therefore must endure hardship, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
2 Ti 2:4 No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.