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June 8, 2007
WE TEACH WHAT WE KNOW,
WE REPRODUCE WHAT WE ARE (J. Maxwell)
REFLECTIONS:
•
Can one be like Gandhi or Dietrich Bonhoeffer or
Martin Luther King Jr., inspire people to move toward
change and still remain alive?
• If
every Christian could lead from their own position then the Whole body of Christ
would receive uncommon results
•
Our lives begin to end the day we keep silent about the things that matter
(Martin Luther Jr.)
• It
is the alignment between convictions and behavior that
makes a person’s life persuasive and gives it sustained influence (Andy
Stanley)
TEXT:1
Kings 13:7-9, 18, 23-24
7 The king said to the man of
God, "Come home with me and have something to eat, 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.'". . . 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 . . .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 thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and
the lion standing beside it.
Matthew 21:28 "What do you think?
There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and
work today in the vineyard.' 29
"'I will not,' he answered, but
later he changed his mind and went. 30 "Then the father went
to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but
he did not go. 31 "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first,"
they answered. NIV
For decades, many miraculous
cures have been prescribed for the ills of
Think of what a journalist
said regarding the first country to gain independence from colonial rule,
Might there be delayed
obedience or lack of attention by those that God is inspiring with information
that is relevant and applicable to the African economies? What is the balm that
will heal
The bible story is of a God
who is interested in people’s well being and at
times supernaturally intervenes in the affairs of men. One of the major
challenges is when the people that God uses fail to obey his instructions.
People who become indecisive or listen to other instructions in addition to what
God told them endanger their own lives and close themselves up as channels for
God to use. Saying yes and then no is tantamount to saying no as Jesus
illustrated in Matthew 21:28-30. Our Christian faith will be just religious and
oppressive if we do not listen carefully to what God is saying to each one of
us. If Christian faith is authentic, it should lead us to refuse to settle for
presumptions, refuse to follow familiar path unless the Lord has instructed us
to do so and speak that which we have been told to speak irrespective of what is
‘politically correct’. Each one of us comes in this life to be an answer to an
issue or question and ‘Whether you turn to the right or
to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way;
walk in it." (Isaiah 30:21). Can you say that what you are currently
investing your time, intelligence doing is a response to that voice?
There is craze for mentorship
and role models who become standard setters. While mentorship is necessary,
particularly where directional values are unclear, there is need to be very careful of God’s message and the message that
comes from ‘old prophet’. The man from
might, his hand shrivelled. 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 (1 Kings 13:6).
That prophet from
1. The man who had witnessed
God use him to perform a miracle listened to an older prophet. The words of the
old prophet were convincing. 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.) (1 Kings 13:18). Please be careful of using as your compass
people that have been
used of God in the past. It is the
word from the one who shares in many of the things you cherish that you can
accept easily that may bring your downfall. Be more attentive to what is
familiar and obvious because it can trap you. That word from the pastor,
teacher, the Christian union chairperson, the elder, can be a deception that
could sidetrack and
make you ‘disobedient to the vision from
heaven’ (Acts 26:19).
2. The old prophet was still
open for God’s use. ‘While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD
came to the old prophet who had brought him back’ (1 Kings 13:20). How and who
God chooses to use is his prerogative. Our duty is to listen to God’s voice and
check every human voice against it. ‘Dear friends, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see whether they are from God’ . . . (1 John 4:1).
Each one of us has the responsibility of listening to God, reading the written
word and in prayer expressing ourselves to God. However eloquent, logical and
persuasive the messages of ‘good’ people are, they must be filtered through the
message God has spoken to us.
What about the counsel of
godly people? What about accountability? We human beings are social beings
that get security from following the known paths and we tend to work best when
we know there is someone to whom we have to be accountable. However that should
not be an excuse to fail to remain focused to the vision and the mission for
which we came into this world and for which Jesus Christ died. Shielding
ourselves with our history or the current economic and environmental realities
is poor excuse. Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life of the
inhabitants of
Christians are those whose
basic reference is the word of God otherwise ritualistic living is attending to
the word of the old prophet. Failure to follow God’s instructions can bring
death as it happened to the prophet who was not able to discern the lying spirit
in the other prophet. Do not fail to carry out the instructions that have been
given to you while excusing yourself for lacking role models and mentors. Do not
give up the originality of God’s message though you as you attempt to compare it
with other people’s experiences and knowledge. That idea that has been coming
into your mind may be God’s message for the
Do not allow life pass
through you without learning the lessons therein.
(R.
Morrison)