Fatal attractions...~Pastor's message~

Hi ...

This is a message our Pastor Willie Soans preached one Sunday in April 2007, from the Book of 1 KINGS 13:1-25. (Please..take time and read this interesting incident).

Here are the notes I took down, I may have missed out some things but tried to get down the main points.

Here we read about a man of God who had a Word from God against the alter in Bethel.

This message so...blessed me..

"Thank you pastor for this message"

I just want to share something that I learnt from this message...

God sent out a 'man of God with His Word on a Mission.

1 KINGS 13: 1 By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2 He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD : "O 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 now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.' " 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."

The King was angry with the 'Man of God'

1 KINGS 13:4 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.

The King asked the man of God to intercede for his hand that shriveled up & when he was healed he told the man of God...

 1 KINGS13: 6 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.
 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."

  But the man of God refused because the Lord had asked him to speak HIS WORD & leave Bethel immediately, without staying back to eat food.  

1 KINGS 13: 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.' " 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

  But instead of leaving immediately..we find this man of God sitting under an Oak tree. This is where an old prophet comes to him & say's he had a word from an angel of God (he was lying & this man of God believed him.)

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.

  He went to his house and ate food and God was angry and spoke through this old prophet to him.

1 Kings 12: 20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 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 fathers.' "

And he died because he disobeyed God. It was a judgement from God for disobeying HIM.

1 KINGS 13: 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. 25 Some people who passed by saw the body thrown down there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

What a sad ending to a man who had a mission and call on his life from God!!! Satan knows our weakness and strikes there. This man of God's weakness was food and got him to easily disobey God. And if he had left immediately he could have escaped the enemy's snare.

  When we are on a mission let's do it and leave and not linger around for the enemy will come as an 'angel of light' most of the time to deceive the people of God. We need to avoid fatal attractions  and be focused on God's call on our life. When we loose focus, the enemy strikes and then judgement comes suddenly.

If we are here on-line with a mission let's not forget what we are called to do and get caught up in fatal attractions. Let's not stay longer than we are supposed to and fall into the enemy's trap. He has all sorts of distractions on-line so let's be careful we do not wander away from our mission on-line.

Let's look into our lives today and ask God to examine our hearts and minds. If there's any wicked way or thought let's ask God to remove it.

 God will catch up with us if we carry on in secret sin. HIS WORD will come and split the private alters in our life. The work of the evil one cannot stand against the WORD OF GOD. 

1 KINGS 13:4 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. 5 Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD. 

O LORD, take a burning coal from your alter and purge my heart, my lips, my mind,  purge out the desires of my flesh. Give me a new desire, a new hunger, to walk Holy and blameless before you.
Don't allow anything to remain in my life that is displeasing and unholy in your sight,
I give myself to you in total dedication and consecration of all that I am and all that I have.
Take me Lord, make me into a vessel worthy to serve you.

Create in me a clean heart O Lord..

Renew the right spirit within me.
In JESUS Name,
AMEN

  Be Blessed,

Julia