As the lives and legacy of kings begin to degenerate irrecoverably, prophets come to the front line. Christ’s disciples are very similar to prophets with great power and a great price tag.
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Snapshot
- Who is a prophet?
- The first prophets
- Prophets in the frontline
- Popularity Prophets
Who is a prophet?
- “Some people have something to say, others have to say something. A prophet is one who has something to say and has to say it.”
- The test of a prophet – prophecies come true
God’s Touchpoints
- The patriarchs, judges, priests and even some kings played a prophetic role.
- Focus will be on prophets who came to the frontline during and after the kings came into power.
Their Role
- They had one purpose – to be God’s mouthpiece
- They had high influence – access to kings and leaders
- They had to sacrifice their personal lives for the cause
- They were most often unpopular
They often had to suffer bad consequences for:
- Speaking God’s truth
- Smallest deviation to disobeying God
God used even the heathen as his mouthpieces
The Price Tag
Great power comes with a great price tag
On the flip side:
“You don’t pay the price for success, you pay the price for failure. You enjoy the benefits of success.”- Zig Ziglar
Jeraboam and the Man of God
God instructs the man of God on his mission to the king and tells him not to eat or drink till he gets back home.
1 Kings 13:2 By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’”
Jeraboam and the Man of God- Great Power
1 Kings 13:3 That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.” 4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.
Price Tag for Disobedience
An old prophet tells him to eat saying that it was on God’s instructions, but he is lying. The man of God succumbs to disobeying God and pays with his life.
1 Kings 13:18 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.20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back.
1 Kings 13:21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have defied the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. 22 You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.’”………….
Price Tag for Disobedience
1 Kings 13:24 But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
Prophets and Kings
- Good Kings took heed to the prophets and corrected their ways.
- Evil Kings disregarded the voice of prophets and headed to the path of downfall.
Prophet Condemns Ahab - He had to say it..
Another prophets is told by God to give a message to Ahab. He dramatizes it by getting himself struck and telling a story to the king. When his companion did not strike him, he is condemned to death by a lion.
1 Kings 20:35 By the word of the Lord one of the company of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me with your weapon,” but he refused.36 So the prophet said, “Because you have not obeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.” And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him.
37 The prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” So the man struck him and wounded him..’
Prophet Condemns Ahab - He had to say it..
1 Kings 20:39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, ‘Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent of silver.’
Prophet Condemns Ahab - He had to say it..
The prophet, after getting the king’s attention, prophesies God’s judgment upon him – death for disobedience
1 Kings 20: 40 While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”
“That is your sentence,” the king of Israel said. “You have pronounced it yourself.”
41 Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 He said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have set free a man (Benhadad) I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.’” 43 Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria.
God puts a Lying Spirit in Prophets
I Kings 22: 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’
“One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’
God puts a Lying Spirit in Prophets
I Kings 22:22 “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.
“‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.
“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’
Why did God put a lying spirit in the mouths of the prophets?
Ahab rejected the truth God gave him lies
The prophets neglected speaking the truth God filled their mouth with falsehood
Popularity Prophets
- For every true prophet there are several false prophets
- False prophets preach what they know people will like
- They are popularity prophets
Signs of a Popularity Prophet
- Their prophecies prove to be false
- They do not keep or advocate God’s commands
- They are wolves in sheep’s clothing
False Prophets
Matthew 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
Why?
Signs - False Prophesy
Deuteronomy 18:22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. (NKJV)
Signs - Disobedience
Deuteronomy 13:1″If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods‘ — which you have not known — ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you
A Disciple’s Role (similar to prophet)
- One purpose – to be God’s mouthpiece
- High influence – access to kings and leaders
- Sacrifice their personal lives for the cause
- Most often unpopular
- Suffer bad consequences of speaking God’s truth
- Face terrible consequences for deviation
- God used even the heathen
The Price Tag
“You don’t pay the price for success, you pay the price for failure. You enjoy the benefits of success.”- Zig Ziglar
Discussion - Prophet vs. Disciple
1.Who are the “false prophets” of today’s age?
2.What are the “other gods of today”?
3.What do we learn from the following verse?
2 Tim 4: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
