The Man of God

Have you ever seen something with great potential go to great waste?

• A promising life for God given over to the old, sinful life?
• A God-ordained ruler being deceived by his own greed and pride?
• A once-solid Christian sacrificing their purity on the altar of self-indulgence?
• A God-called preacher becoming complacent to his call, and even backslidden?

As tragic as these things are, they happen all around us. Such things took place in the Bible as well. These stories, biblical or experiential, are warnings to us all; they're like those crosses on the side of the road, bidding us stay away from the steep ditches and fatal ends that have destroyed so many. I read one of these accounts in my Bible the other day. It's found in 1 Kings 13:1-30. The scripture never even gives us his name; it simply calls him "the man of God." This term for him is used 15 times in the passage! Quite a guy, wouldn't you think?

The first thing I notice about this man is that he is chosen and commissioned by God.

1 Kings 13:1 "And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense."

1 Peter 2:9 states that we are a "chosen" generation. The call of God on someones life is no guarantee that they will answer that call. If it was, wouldn't there be more sold out Christians, working in the ministry? I hardly believe that there is a lack of God's call! I'm convinced it's a lack of obedience from God's people. This man that I read about is not of that kind, though. He is chosen and commissioned by God.

The next thing I notice is the courage he displays.

1 Kings 13:2 "And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee."

A pronouncement of judgement on sin! Would to God there were more men of this kind; men that would preach against sin and wickedness, within or without the church! Judgemental preaching is becoming a thing of the past, sadly. The preaching of revival fire was preaching of God's hatred and judgement sin, whether modern America is willing to admit that or not!

On a side note, the first thing I hear from people to stop me from public preaching is, "Judge not!" First of all, Jesus finished the verse saying, "lest ye be judged," meaning that I will be judged by the same standard by which I judge, the Bible. 1 Corinthians 2:15 says, "he that is spiritual judgeth all things." Secondly, I'm not judging! I'm only proclaiming the judgements that God has made in his word. I'm a messenger! If you don't like the message, don't attack the mailman! Take it up with the sender! You will, by the way! Maybe their problem isn't me, but God! Lastly, 99 percent of those who squeal, "judge not," couldn't show you the verse in the Bible if their life depended on it. How do I know that? I've asked them! They can't even show you the verse they quote! They're just looking for a way to get the heat of God's word and the conviction of the Holy Ghost off their back! Amen! (My!! What a rabbit trail!) :D

This man of God had courage, though. I've thought of some words here that are synonymous with courage: fearless; aggressive; guts; nerve; gumption. Would to God more men would have this courage!

Then, I see the confidence in God that leads to confirmation from God!

1 Kings 13:4-6
"And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before."

Don't you just love it when God intervenes on your behalf? This man had obeyed God, and here he is out on a limb! Then God just does a miracle and solves the problem. We don't like interruptions--glitches in the plan, but it's through our problems that God can show his power! Our problems set the stage for God's performance. When a great thing is being done for God, sometimes God allows a problem to throw us off track so we'll not get ahead of God and realize our need for him. I heard one man say, "God is rarely in our problems; he's mostly in our interruptions." How true! One day Christ is teaching in a house, and, for all we know, it could have been Sermon on the Mount, Pt. 2! We never know what he was teaching, cause that was the plan, we just read about the interruption! Four men let a sick man on a bed through the roof of the house, so he could get to Jesus. By the way, there was a Jewish girl who got interrupted as well...with news from an angel! I'll be writing on her real soon! :) So next time you have those interruptions, don't get mad; just look for God in the interruptions! :) Sounds easy, right? Trust me, it's not. But like this man of God saw in front of king Jereboam, God will come through.

Next, I see a conflict.

1 Kings 13:11-19 "Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water."

He allowed someone to dissuade him--to talk him out of what God had told him. Listen, focus on what God has told you, not what God has told someone else! It does not matter what someone else thinks about what you should do unless it lines up with what God thinks! God will tell you what you should do if you'll seek him on your decisions. Don't trust the arm of flesh! I don't even trust myself, and what I think, let alone what someone else thinks they know about God's will for me! Vain is the help of man! If God be for us, who can be against us!

Terrible mistake this man of God had made! He had failed his mission as God had told him to do it.

It is just a little compromise, isn't it? I mean, after all, didn't this wise, old man have some wisdom? Should I just disregard this advice? He says it's from God!

Compromise is rampant! If you don't think so, just look at the difference between the 1980's and the 2000's. That's only two decades! How did we get from "Amazing Grace" to D.C. Talk. Where did my Hymn book go as I sit it modern Independent Baptist churches, and what demonic hell hole did MercyMe and Jars of Clay come from? If you don't know who I'm talking about, stop reading for just a second and thank God!!! You wouldn't know they claimed to be Christian if you did hear them. They're demon possessed and filthy, and because they're sold in the "Christian" bookstore, church kids are listening to them! Contemporary rock music, "christian" or not, will damn the soul of any young person! I say this not because I believe it alone, but because I've seen it, with kids I grew up with and sang at meetings with. They now have their myspace (hellspace) accounts and their filthy friends, filthy music, filthy pictures, etc. And the only difference between the campmeeting pictures I still can go look at, and that myspace account is..... just a "little" compromise!

See how dangerous that is? The man of God--compromised!

Lastly, I see a carcase of testimony!

1 Kings 13:24 "And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase."

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"Do you smell that? It's awful!" the young boy said. The father, knowing what was around that next bend, decided to bring him here to teach his son a great lesson. "Be careful son; stay beside me." "What is it, father? Is something the matter?" The query continues..."Just be careful, son..." The fathers voice now shakes. The carefulness the loving father speaks of is not just concerning the sight the boy will soon see, but the decisions he will make in life.

"Ohhh! Father, is that the man of God, the preacher, the one who rebuked the king earlier?" The boy asked, already knowing the answer. "Yes. Look carefully son! The lion is the devil! He want's you! He wants us all! He wants us to make the same mistake this preacher made in not obeying God. That ass represents your rebellion. You don't have to search for rebellion, you only have to allow it. And the devil waits for you to ride your rebellion out of God's protective will so he can leave you for dead. Never give him that chance, son! Never!"

Let us never give him that chance.

Don't run outside the walls of God's hand of protection on the ass of your stubborn self-will!

The devil has over 6,000 years of experience deceiving and destroying humans. Only God has the ablilty to keep your from that.

Lord, I see potential; but what is potential without patience and protection? I see confidence; but what is confidence without character and collectivity? I see decisions; but what are decisions without devotion and direction?