Dear Ones,
We just finished our Macon GA Outreach, which was awesome, and I’m prepared to go to Mobile AL next week on our next house church planting mission. Can you tell me if you have contacts or prophetic words for each of these cities: New Orleans LA, Biloxi MS, Pascagoula MS or Mobile AL? I’ll be landing in ‘N’Awlins’ and driving over to Mobile and passing through these other cities. We are looking for ‘the man of peace’ who can help us plant house churches in these places. As you well know, we are NOT seeking for people to join a ‘network,’ and we provide our services entirely for free. What we seek…is relationship, hearts knit together, mutual faith and edification, and fruit for the Kingdom. We aren’t waiting for revival…like you, we are the revival!
THE MAN OF GOD
…that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:17 NKJV
What is a man of God? How would you describe him? Interestingly, the phrase ‘woman of God’ is not used in the Word of God and yet there are quite a number of strong women leaders, women of great courage and strength, from Genesis to Revelation. Could the term ‘man/men of God’ be inclusive of women as well in practicality? Quite possibly. Eight men are titled ‘men of God’ in the Scriptures, and that list does not include our Lord or the Apostle Paul, both of whom quite certainly were men of God. So, what is a man of God?
The question is most critical because the success of anything hinges on leadership, whether it’s a basketball team or the body of Christ. A TV commercial asked the question, will you lead or be led? A great leader must be both – lead and be led because Jesus said that without Him, you can do nothing. He alone is the Head of His body, from whom every part is nurtured and through whom every part is led. So, what is a man of God? Elijah wrestled with that question.
So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” 2 Kings 1:10 NKJV
A man of God is distinguished by miracles. Elijah established his authority as a man of God by the power of God. Men and women of God, because I believe the term is inclusive, must be able to establish their God given calling by signs and wonders. By their fruits you shall know them. I don’t think you can call someone a man or woman of God until you see the power of God in their lives. Consider the testimony of the widow of Zarephath after Elijah raised her son from the dead.
Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.” 1 Kings 17:24 NKJV
Jesus said that he who believes in Him would do the works that He did. This must be a standard for leadership in the body of Christ. If I can’t do the works, how can anyone call me a man of God? This is why one who seeks to lead God’s people must be come fluent, even to mastery, in the nine gifts of the Spirit from 1 Corinthians Twelve, one of which is the working of miracles. The body of Christ at the very minimum must demand this of their leaders, their men and women of God.
One of the great records of a man of God is recorded in 1 Kings Thirteen. The phrase ‘man of God’ is used fifteen times (3×5 – completeness and grace). Just as wonderfully, the man is never named. I will testify to you that true men of God are never ‘publicity seekers.’ They do their work in the shadows, and sometimes center stage, but only seek to glorify their Master. The best leader’s work is done when his people say, ‘We did it!’
This is a fascinating record. Grab a cup of coffee and let’s get into it!
THE TRIUMPH
And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word (Heb. DABAR, which here would correspond with the Greek word RHEMA) of the Lord, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 1 Kings 13:1 NKJV
‘A man of God,’ who probably had a secular job – it doesn’t say he was a priest – probably had a family, and one day he gets a word from the Lord. Walking by the Spirit is most of the time just living your life in the love of God and being available to Him. People don’t hear from God because they don’t make themselves available to Him daily, moment by moment. Christianity is not just on Sundays…its 24/7/365. A man of God is always available to God…He is his #1 priority.
As king, Jeroboam was a brilliant politician, a scheming manipulator of men. The outrage before God that he was committing at Beth-El (House of God), of all places, fit into his plan to turn Israel from the true God. But God rules and overrules in the kingdoms of men, as he was about to find out, through the ministry of a man of God. A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before ‘great’ men.
Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.'” And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the Lord has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.” 1 Kings 13:1-3 NKJV
When you prophesy, usually you will not know what you will say until you say it. You may have an idea beforehand, but that’s generally how it works. But in this situation, I would not be surprised if the Lord showed him everything that would happen, what he would say, how the king would respond, and how he was to leave, even the night before the confrontation. This was a big situation. Listen – the Lord always prepares you for the situation into which He is leading you. Revelation, especially beforehand, releases faith for victory. The Lord loved the man of God. He was ‘there’ for him.…men and women of God are beloved of God (Daniel 9:23 – Daniel was named as a man of God)!
So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!” Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself.
The Lord fiercely fights for His man who is on His mission. This is a level of protection that every believer can enjoy if they stay in the will of God, and exercise their authority. “Nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19).
The altar also was split apart, 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.
Signs and wonders will always follow the DABAR/RHEMA word, the right word at the right time, anointed of God.
Then the king answered and said to the man of God, “Please entreat the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before.
Notice the mercy that the man of God walked in. Mercy is a refraining from harming or punishing offenders, enemies, etc. The old healing oath was DO NO HARM. Healing ministry is always mercy ministry. When God pours out judgment, plead for mercy.
Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
The scheming politician is seeking to compromise the man of God. Oh, the volumes of stories that could be written of men of God who sold out their ministries for the ‘almighty dollar!’ Have mercy on us, Lord! The Lord Himself is the man of God’s reward.
But the man of God said to the king, “If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.'” So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel. 1 Kings 13:4-10 NKJV
THE TRAGEDY
Another character enters the picture, an old prophet. The man of God was naïve. His basic desire for fellowship, recognition and support, perhaps relief from the stress of dealing with the king, makes him vulnerable. The devil uses an old compromised prophet to bring down the man of God. Jesus said that our enemies would be those of our own household, so to speak (Matthew 10:36). I recently warned ordination candidates about how many friends they were going to lose! The man of God should have tested the old prophets’ words against the witness in his spirit. But instead, he was taken in, and taken down.
Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah. Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it, and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.”
Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” And he said, “I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place. For I have been told by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.'” He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.'” (He was lying to him.) So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. 1 Kings 13:11-19 NKJV
Uh-oh! Now things really get weird.
Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the place of which the Lord said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.'”
The old lying prophet gets a genuine word. But instead of pleading for mercy for him, he goes and saddles the man of God’s donkey, thus ensuring his death. Throughout this record, the old lying prophet never repents for his role in the death of the man of God. In fact, he seems to glory in it that he wants his bones placed next to the man of God’s. Its incredible how blinded people can be…
So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back. When he was gone…
There is also no record of the man of God repenting and pleading for mercy for his own life, like say, Hezekiah did when Isaiah pronounced his doom. Perhaps he was so tired and confused, dehydrated and hungry, that he became extremely vulnerable. This is where prayer support makes the difference. A team of intercessors could have upheld the shield of faith around him (I Th. 5:25 ‘for’ is the Greek PERI, meaning encircle), and made the difference in intercession, sparing the man of God’s life.
So I sought for a man (or team) among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land (or a person, situation, etc), that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Ezek 22:30 NKJV
So, without intercession, which is pleading for mercy…
…a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse. And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
A man of God walks a fine line between God, men and the devil. The Lord makes demands out of love and a desire to protect, not seeking to control, but seeing the overall spiritual situation and the aims and purposes of the enemy. When we purposely walk outside of those demands, even frivolously or in this case, naively, we make ourselves very vulnerable. Without mercy, we can come under judgment.
THE SUMMATION
Was the man of God’s mission accomplished successfully? Yes. Were the words that he prophesied here valid, and did they come to pass? Yes. Did his ministry end in personal tragedy? Yes. (You wonder who told his wife and kids…) For our study, the man of God in 1 Kings Thirteen was called a prophet. Does that mean that only prophets can be called men of God? I don’t think so.
Our study of men of God is crucial because today, more than ever, the Church needs strong, anointed leadership from both men and women of God. If you think you are a man or woman of God, demonstrate it by miracles, signs and wonders (John 14:12). The basic key is to learn to speak by the Spirit of God. It’s as simple as that! If you follow a man or woman of God, you had better make sure they are ‘delivering the goods,’ or else it may be a ‘blind leading the blind’ situation. Forgive me for being so blunt, but the times demand that we be true MEN OF GOD. Love you!
Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…