[1 Kings 13:11-34]
Amazingly, God can send you and give you the Word to speak. After doing that He gives you a sign to perform so that it may be clear to unbelievers that you are sent. That is what the Pharisees said to Jesus that He should give them a sign to show that He is from God as the prophets of old would give a sign.
The king did not want to accept what the man of God had said, he stretched out his hand so that he may be arrested. Right there his hand withered and the alter split. This is a sign that this is a man of God sent by God. Some of us as Christians, want instant answers like that. We want to be proved like that. We want the world to know that we are of the Lord like that. Everything happened as a sign to the king for him to see that this is a man of God, sent by God, and carries the Word of God.
The king was truly convicted that this is truly the man of God and he wanted to honor him. I want to tell you that the minute you have a clear instruction from the Lord on whatever it may be, make sure you obey it. The minute you have a clear understanding of what you must do or say, you must be careful. God knows our hearts and minds. The minute He tells you something, make sure you obey it.
God can come to you in your prayer room. God can speak to you at church through teaching or your conscience. God speaks to us every day of our lives. When He speaks, make sure that you obey. The man of God had clear instructions as to what he must do. It is easy for us Christians to say no to sin because it is not from your Kingdom but we fail to obey instructions from God.
It was simple for the man of God to say no to the king when he said that they should go together to the king’s house. We are quick to identify a wolf and say no to a wolf because we know its characteristics.
The man of God did exactly what he was told and how he was told. The man of God sent a message from God and performed the sign. He was able to carry out the instructions from God.
When you obey the instruction, you become famous in the spiritual realm that God can speak about you. God has entrusted you with not one soul but more souls. You grow when you obey, God can trust you with more. There is a certain level that God can trust you. Because of what the man of God did, he started to be big and well-known.
The minute you have an instruction from God, be careful. Do not be misled by anything or anyone. Do not put your gut down. Many Christians put their gut down because they feel it is at home and this is a voice that they are familiar with. When God has raised you to that standard and has entrusted you with much, there is no room for you to partially obey or delay.
There is no room for partial obedience. Do not be moved or shaken. The man of God was well aware of what God said. God gave him a specific instruction that he must not eat.
The old prophet lied to the man of God that the angel of the Lord came to him and that the prophet must leave with him to eat. There are so many things that God could have done to expose this prophet but He chose not to. If the donkey could deny and say no I am not going there, this shows that God can do anything to expose this prophet but He chose not to do anything.
The man of God was able to say no to the king but because now the person who is speaking is someone who is from the same kingdom and speaks what the man of God speaks, he put his gut down. Prophets or servants of God can lie and say thus says the Lord. That was the ultimate test to the man of God to see which voice was he going to take heed to.
No one must tell you an instruction that is opposite to what God has told you. Once you have clear instructions of what is expected of you, do not be misled. The man of God was misled by the old prophet. Do not conform.
As long as you have instruction from God, do not allow anyone to distract you from that. The old prophet was able to convince the prophet to go with him and he ate. While they were seated at the table, the Spirit of the Lord came to the old prophet. The minute you got the gift to hear from God, cherish that and fight to keep that.
Now the man of God lost that relationship. The old prophet says to the man of God thus says the Lord that you have disobeyed. The same prophet who lied to him now speaks to him that thus says the Lord.
Probably the old prophet was sent by God to test the man of God. Some things are a test to you. when God speaks to you, keep that Word and hide it in your heart. Let no one distract you. You cannot let the devil quote scriptures for you. You cannot let the world tell you what to do.
You who have the Word of God and His instructions, keep it with everything you have. Fight for it with everything you have. You cannot make an excuse that you were misled by your fellow brother. There is no excuse, you are the one who has to obey.
When much is given, much is expected. The lion did not eat that old prophet. The lion was just standing there. It had a clear mission of what it had to do. When God raises you and now you become great that He exposes you to the world, in everything it will be the same. The man of God was known for his signs and wonders and in his death, the same people knew of his disobedience. Let us not be deceived. What God has told you, keep it.
This is a perfect example of destroying what the Lord has done in your life. Everything that the man of God did, where the king repented from his ways. Now when the man of God died from his disobedience, everything went back as if nothing happened. Your disobedience does not only affect you but affects the work of God that you did. It affects everything.
Stay in the position that God has placed you in. Keep the Word of God at all times. The minute God speaks to you, listen and do it. Do not be moved. God’s Word stands.
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