I was reading
this chapter of 1 Kings 13, and I find it so sad, not because of what happened to the prophet
who disobeyed God, but because I know it is happening on a daily basis in today’s
Church. We are like the unbelievers, we
want everything, we want it now and we do not want to work for it. Worse of
all, we want titles at any cost. So, short of getting things from God, we go on
making our own. So, instead of investing
the time to get to know Christ through the furnace of fellowship, we have a
group of people who are like the good for nothing prophet we find in verse 1Kings
13:18 . It is sad because
it is rampant in the Church. We have more people out there calling themselves “prophet”
when in reality they do not even know God personally. Anyone who has a
relationship with the Spirit of God can see right through them.
It is sad to see
the amount of online courses available on the internet today, to teach people
how to speak in tongue or to teach them how to become prophets. A true Godly person
would know, since these things are gifts from God, those selling those courses,
no matter how beautiful and professional their websites look, should not be buying into their hype.
I find that every
time I talk to someone, if they do not run away from me, in the end they always
advise me to do what it takes to become a pastor or some offered to help me
develop my gift of prophecy. It is funny to see how God used to show me how
those comments are made by people who know nothing about nothing. And yes, I even had a Pastor of a big Church offering to groom me for leadership in His Church.
Now, God does not even have to tell me not to listen to them anymore since I know. Why
do I know? Because my heart is devoted to Him alone and my body is to be used
by Him as His vessel. I would rather be known by the chorus of angels above for
being someone devoted to do His will and delight in the menial tasks He
allocates to me. I have also learned to put myself at His service, knowing
fully that greatness in His service is not required, but meekness is required
if I want to be used by Him. I also know if this time comes (though I doubt it) the Holy Spirit that I communicate with on a daily basis, would not leave me hanging there in complete ignorance.
When I realized
the temptations out there, to be great, to make a name for ourselves and to
enjoy the ease of religion, I knew with the boldness, knowledge and wisdom that
God has given to me, my heart could be easily led away from God with thousands
of excuses. So I have prayed and still praying daily for God to keep me where I
am, at His feet and to give me strength not to ever be tempted and get out of
His will for my life. Because once we go away from God and try to make a name
for ourselves, all that is left is living some kind of pretense of holiness and
in the eyes of God we become good for nothing.
Even though my
heart is totally devoted to Him to do His will alone, I am always, on a daily
basis revising my thoughts, examining myself honestly in the light of God. I do
that because I know as long as I am in the flesh, Satan could tempt me and
before I know it, I could find myself in a pickle too much for me to handle, in
the same way king David messed up with Bathsheba.
In those verses
below, (1Kings 13:1-24) it seems that the wicked prophet has not been dealt
with. No one knows why God left it this way. Since we know that no sin will
remain unpunished by God, then we know in due time God will deal with the wicked
prophet. I guess, we are told about the disobedience of the good prophet and
how God dealt with it, to teach us a lesson. No matter what we have done for God
while being used by Him, and no matter how faithful, we have been in the past in
His service, we have to count it all dung as we move forward with Him. God will
never use our nearness to Him or how He was able to use us in the past, as
excuses to any act of willful disobedience.
I would advise
you to be honest with yourself and God. Sure, it looks good when you can put a
title next to your name like an Apostle, Prophet, Pastor etc. Pay attention to
that little bit of pride that is in your heart when you read the title next to
your name, that is a good indication of who you are deep inside. Ask yourself if
God has indeed said this is how He wants to use you. Even if He said so, did you
go ahead of Him or did you wait for Him to instruct you, prepared you and
anoint you? If you claim to be a prophet, are you just regurgitating what is
already in the Bible? Are you led by emotions or a real knowledge of God?
I know some of
you will hate me for speaking to you so truthfully. But, understand that it is
coming from a place of love. I know for a fact because the Holy Spirit showed
me that most of you are not real and do not seem to be aware of it because you
have been deceived by Satan. I am speaking from personal experiences and know
how hard it is when the need to be recognized overpowers us. I know it is hard
to be in the background, but if you allow God to help you, there is fulfillment,
satisfaction and joy in being used by Him without being known. If you hate me
for telling you point blank what I see, know that you are talking to someone
who was really P..O at God when I found out I could not make a name for myself.
Ask yourself one
thing, is it better to gather empty recognition to satisfy the ego now, or to
be approved by God? Choose wisely!
Mathew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.”
1Kings 13:1-24
By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2 By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”
4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5 Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.
6 Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.
7 The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.”
8 But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. 9 For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.
DISOBEDIENCE
11 Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12 Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13 So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14 and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”
“I am,” he replied.
15 So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.”
16 The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 I have been told by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”
18 The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (But he was lying to him.) 19 So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.
20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have defied the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. 22 You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.’”
23 When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24 As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
