Never Take God For Granted

Whenever God calls, He empowers. He also expects His servants to follow the instructions given very strictly.
There was a man of God who came out of Juda in the days of Jeroboam after the reign of king Solomon. Solomon spent his twilight in the presence of idols set up by his numerous wives. They turned his heart from God. As a punishment, his kingdom was divided and a part given to his servant-jeroboam after the death of king Solomon.

As priviledge as Jeroboam was, he never followed the Lord's precepts. He waxed strong in evil. The man of God was sent to him to warn and prophesy about the future reformation.
Jeroboam was angry and despised the word of God. This lesson is not going to be centred on the wicked king-Jeroboam but on the man of God.

We shall consider the message in the following order:

1. The Message: And he cried against 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'.
The message was direct and true. It was from the mouth of the Lord. The man of God did well there. He said exactly what he was told by God.

2. The Miracle: When God commissions a man, he backs him up. The message infuriated the king and he attempted to smite the man of God. That action denotes pride and disrespect for divine order. No matter what your position is in the church, never despise the ministers of God.
What happened to the king? 'He put forth his hand from the altar saying, lay hold on him. And his hand which he put forth against him dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him'.
That is the miracle. God punished the disrespectful king. If you don't want to be smitten by God, stear clear from deliberately working against his will and word. The instantaneous miracle also speaks volume about the purity of the man of God. There is power in holiness.

3. The Mishap: The man of God has been faithful to his calling and message. At a point, he missed the mark. Partial disobedience is not acceptable to God. He was instructed not to eat anything presented before him but he set that aside when a senior prophet persuaded him to eat contrary to God's direct instruction. He was deceived! But God held him responsible for his disobedience. He ended his life and ministry prematurely. 'And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way and slew him'.
That was the tragic end of a promising ministry.
Never take God for granted in your ministry and life. Be faithful to his words at all times without respect of man. This is the secret of ministerial success.

Text: 1 Kings 13:1-34