Beware Of The Litany Of Praises
By
The
Man Who Saw God Face To Face
Raphael
Okechukwu Nweze
As misleading as ignorant religious leaders.
Meaning Of Litany
Litany is a repetitive series of
praises, prayers or chants used by religions in their prayers, worship and
ceremonies
The Bad Effect Of Praises
Blessings are for children of God,
but praises belong to the Most High God.
1. It causes pride and pomposity. As you
know, pride leads to downfall. Also pride makes a person to venture into what
he cannot do or master.
2. It creates jealousy and rivalry.
Everybody would like to be praised. In the process, people develop hatred, enmity,
jealousy and wickedness.
3. Praises devalues the spiritual worth
of a person. It is a mark of foolishness to do things simply because you want
people to praise you. A saint performs all his actions as service offering to God,
without expecting thanks, rewards, praises, force or persuasion.
4. Praises boasts the ego (selfishness),
which is a hindrance to spiritual growth.
5. Claiming praises makes a person a
thief, punishable in the hell fire. For all actions are performed by the forces
of nature, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Hence, “Not by power nor by might,
but by my spirit,” says the Lord. For example, in the world today, people
quarrel over lands and seas. The fact is that the lands and seas belong to God
who created them.
How Did Jesus React To Praises?
On
several occasions, Jesus stopped people from praising Him. He even warned some
people to keep silent over His good works silent. Several portions of the bible
confirm these facts:
4 And Jesus said to him, "See that
you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and
offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." Matthew 8:4
13 When Jesus came into the region of
Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I,
the Son of Man, am?"
14 So they said, “Some say John the
Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do
you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him,
"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will
build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not
prevail against it. 19 And I will give
you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven."
20 Then He
commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the
Christ. Matthew 16:13-20
32 Then they brought to Him one who
was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His
hand on him. 33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers
in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then, looking up to heaven,
He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha,"
that is, "Be opened."
35 Immediately his ears were opened,
and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; Mark
7:32-36
9 Now as
they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no
one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10
So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead
meant. Mark 9:9-10
12 And it happened when He was in a
certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell
on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can
make me clean."
13 Then He put out His hand and
touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the
leprosy left him. 14 And He charged him to tell no one,
"But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your
cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."
Luke 5:12-14
54 But He put them all outside, took
her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise." 55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose
immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. 56 And her
parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell
no one what had happened.
Luke 8:54-56
14 "You are
the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under
a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to
all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
A true saint does not love the praise
of men.
42 Nevertheless even among the rulers
many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him,
lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for
they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
John 12:42-43
28 For he is not a Jew who is one
outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew (saint) who is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. Romans
2:28-29
2 Therefore, when you do a charitable
deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory
from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who
sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Matthew 6:2-4
41 "I do not receive honor from men (from ignorant and wicked
generation).
John 5:41-42
Psalm 19 describes what a saint is
like, for a saint works silently, even without expecting rewards, thanks,
praises, force or persuasions.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His
handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals
knowledge.
3 There is
no speech nor language
Where
their voice is not heard.
4 Their line has gone out through all
the earth,
And their words to
the end of the world.
In them He has set a tabernacle (abode)
for the sun (the saint),
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming
out of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run
its race (do his works).
6 Its rising is from one end of
heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its
heat.
Psalms 19:1-6
Why Litany Of The Blessed Virgin Mary Is Wrong
1. It is a man-made doctrine, which is a
personal opinion and collective decision made at meetings, councils, synods and
conferences, introduced by the religious leaders.
2. A mother is no longer a virgin. And a
mother is of more value than a virgin, because a mother is the source of
virgins. Virginity is only a virtue, which should be valued and protected as
long as it is necessary to do so.
3. In
4. Saints prefer to work in silence, unnoticed
by the public.
5. Saints perform all their works as
service offering to God, without expecting rewards, thanks, praises, force or persuasions.
Therefore, praising a saint is an embarrassment to him.
6. Every saint does not claim doership. He knows that all his actions are the good works
of the Almighty. Jesus was a very good example.
8 Philip said to Him, "Lord,
show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been
with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the
Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am
in the Father, and the Father in Me ? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the
works. John 14:8-11
7. It was introduced by ignorant
religious leaders, who do not know the realities of life in spirit.
8. Therefore a saint regards the praises
given to him as an honour due to God. He regards the series
of praises offered to him as the work of ignorant masses.
A wise man
does not accept the praises
from ignorant multitudes.
The Bad Effects Of Praises
The
bad effects of praises are so many. They include:
1. People love praises from men. This is
the work of Satan.
2. Ministers of God, who do not have the
gift of prophecy or vision, go to the idols and shrines to get demonic powers.
3. During funeral, families keep
themselves busy writing and speaking the achievements of their relations,
without knowing that they do wrong.
4. If a rich man does something special during
an occasion, everybody would like to do the same thing, not minding whether
that act is good and necessary or not. The situation is now so bad that poor
families go to borrow money for expensive and impressive funeral ceremonies. Thereby,
creating debt burden for the children and relations.
5. Nowadays, people join others in doing
wrong. They would say, “If you cannot beat them, join them,” which is against the
command of the Almighty. “If a multitude commit sin, do not join them.”
6. Many personalities are always ready
and proud to outline their personality profiles, showcasing their titles and
achievements, whereas the scriptures teach that you should work silently.