'I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 'And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. Deuteronomy 18:18-19
God, not man has appointed in the church of Jesus Christ, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Things which men in their foolishness have denied and have paid the resulting consequences of their choices, decisions and actions. In sickness, premature death’s, poverty, failure, lack, frustrations, dismay, defeat and a wilderness sojourn instead of the promised land.
Those who fail to discern or hear the voice of God from God’s true prophets who speak in His name the Words that God commands them to say will pay dearly for their folly. God Himself will require it of them and He will exact an exact toll for their disobedience and rebellion.
The word of God gives us an excellent example of this in the life of Prophet Elisha. A man who was anointed by Elijah to destroy the enemies of God. For God’s word records:
So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" And he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."
Then the LORD said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. "Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. "It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. "Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."
So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, "Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?" So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen's equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant. 1 Kings 19:13-21
The task of God’s true anointed ones has never changed and that is to destroy the enemies of God including false prophets, and pastors and preachers who have become prostitutes, pimps and perverts. Who worship the god of Baal of prominence, fortune and fame more than God and do no care about His sheep. But there are other enemies that have to be dealt with by God’s true anointed ones also including false teachings, poverty, lack, disobedience, rebellion, unbelief, sickness, stubbornness, immorality and lack of integrity, honesty and financial accountability. These are all enemies of God and His people and Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil in the lives of His people, especially in the house of God.
God’s word records that Jesus as a true prophet drove out money changers from His father’s House:
They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!" And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?" So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee." Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' " Matthew 21:7-13
Unfortunately for the sheep the house of God in America has become a refuge and a bastion of operation for money changers and wolves in sheep’s clothing and that is wrong, evil and wicked. True spiritual progress does not end in the kind of behavior we have seen in the North American church. We have seen large numbers of Christian leaders easily led into adultery, greed and dishonorable behavior affecting both them and their congregations. Their character flaws are many and varied but the result is the same—defamation, dishonor and destruction.
Many seek to say everyone should follow them not recognizing how far they have strayed from the truth. The slightest bent placed upon the truth turns it into a lie very easily. It doesn’t need much to suddenly do nothing of what the Word really says we should be doing. Even when it appears we are doing it right it may not be because it is not done in the right spirit with the right motivations.
Now the enemies of God had surrounded and besieged God’s people so that they were starving and in dire straight. But God’s prophet Elijah stated:
"Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: 'Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.' "So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, "Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" And he said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it." 2 Kings 7:1-2
Rejection of words spoken by God true prophets brings its own unpleasant reward. For God is God and His word will be fulfilled as He as the power to do it. But rebellious, proud and arrogant ones and especially traitors in His ranks will be dealt with by God with methods of God’s own choosing. God’s word records something which hedonistic perverted corrupt faith teachers in America enjoy for it talks about money but not about seeking and doing true justice, righteousness and truth. Things which they hate to do and to preach:
Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die? "If we say, 'We will enter the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die." And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.
For the LORD had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses-the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!" Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact-their tents, their horses, and their donkeys-and they fled for their lives. And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. Then they said to one another, "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king's household."
So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, "We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound-only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact." And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king's household inside. So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, "Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, 'When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.' " 2 Kings 7:3-12
God will and works miracles as He is the God of the impossible. Yet men have not changed down through the years, they are foolish, stubborn, slow to believe and very poor at hearing especially the voice of God. Mind you the four leprous men had not choice and divine providence forced them to go out and see the miracle of God’s deliverance and provision. God’s word records”
And one of his servants answered and said, "Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see."
Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, "Go and see." And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king. Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. 2 Kings 7:13-16
God loves to spoil His people with the plunder of the enemy more than the people are able to believe it. His word has not changed:
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:17-23
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
God has deep desire to bless all of His people which is His Church and His body. They can depend upon Him to do it in due season as they wait on Him and walk in him. But this is not the case with God for those who do not listen to His voice as spoken by His prophets. Those who rejected the words spoken by God’s true prophets shall find themselves rejected, not prospering and in places they never expected to be such as the Lions den. For God’s word records:
Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, "Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria." Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, "Now look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?" And he had said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it." And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died. 2 King 7:17-20
Man pays the price for his foolish and unwise actions and deeds even in the current time of life. Something that many religious ones can not seem to believe even though it is true. Length of service with God does not count. In a moment of anger Moses struck the rock and yelled at God’s people. As a result He never went into the Promised Land. Even though he was one of the greatest men of God, very meek and a very close friend of God. Something that religious ones need to consider even this day. For Paul as a prophet and Apostle wrote:
"For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
"Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. "I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. "Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. "I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " Acts 20:27-35
According to the grace and revelation of God revealed by the Spirit and not by man, Apostle Paul became a minister to preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. He discerned that savage wolves would come among God’s people speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves.
But Paul, himself, coveted no one’s silver or gold and with his own hands provided for his necessities and for those who were with him. As a result in humility and love, not in pride and arrogance, He wrote to the Gentiles as a Jew, a prophet, an apostle, a stranger and an outsider and stated:
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles- If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, Ephesians 3:1-11
To minister to others by the effective working of God’s power is a gift of God and not a vocation chosen by man. Being a pastor or a preacher is more than a job. It is more than a paycheck. It is an obligation to be open to God and obey His Word both written and spoken. Something that many have failed to understand. Because they chose not to listen and hear not God’s voice as He spoke to them through His prophets. They were too proud to receive the reprimand and truth. They chose not to recognize God’s prophets because they were sure it was not God behind their words. They were speaking their own judgments and lies. So ignorance it not bliss even if you are a prominent religious one. For God’s word is true:
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. Psalm 34: 15-22
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