1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
-Counterfeit-
Can = Ability May = Permission
James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
1 Kings 13:1-30
(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.
The Priest not the King is to burn incense!
(2) And he cried against (negative preaching) 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.
(3) And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
(4) 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. (unrepentant towards the Word of the Lord) And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
(5) 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.
(6) And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again.
He knew the man of God was right, just though he could get away with it!
And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
(7) And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
(8) And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
(9) For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
(a commandment for God…to be obeyed!)
(10) So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
(11) 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.
(12) 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.
(13) And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
(14) 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.
(15) Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
(16) 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:
(17) 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.
Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
(18) He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke 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.
2 Peter 1:16-21
(16) For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
(17) For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
(18) And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
(19) We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
(20) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.
(21) For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Acts 17:11 … they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
(19) So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
It’s just bread? It’s just water?
(Genesis 3:6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
It’s the heart issue towards obedience!! Not just the act!
(20) And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
(21) And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
(22) But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulcher of thy fathers.
He was the deceiver, he lied, he led the Man of God astray…but when he tells the truth, its still the truth!!!
(23) And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
(24) And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcass.
If he obeyed, the lion would have left him alone!
He slew him because he had permission to, he disobeyed God.
Bad advice?
Poor example?
(25) And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcass cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
(26) And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke unto him.
(27) And he spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
(28) And he went and found his carcass cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten the carcass, nor torn the ass.
Weird isn’t it?
The lion destroyed the Man but couldn’t eat him!
1 Corinthians 5:5 To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Why didn’t the old prophet die for this?
Payday Someday!
Galatians 6:7-8
(7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
(8) For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Numbers 32:23
…ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
(29) And the prophet took up the carcass of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.
(30) And he laid his carcass in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
At the funeral, look in their face…you traded your life for this?
Closing!
II Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
WE HAVE HIS WORD IN WRITING!! DON’T FORSAKE IT FOR SOMEBODY ELSE’S WORDS!
Galatians 1:6-9
(6) I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
(7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
(8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
(9) As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
