WHO YOU LISTENING TO AND WHY?

 

If the Word of God says in John 10:4 – 5 that God’s people know His voice and a stranger they will not follow, matter a fact it says that not only will they not follow him they will flee from him, then why are some of our brothers and sisters listening and following the stranger (the enemy)?

 

In 2 Chronicles 18:1- 7 (NIV) you read:

 Now Jehoshaphat enjoyed great riches and high esteem, and he arranged for his son to marry the daughter of King Ahab of Israel. ² A few years later, he went to Samaria to visit Ahab, who prepared a great banquet for him and his officials. They butchered great numbers of sheep and oxen for the feast. Then Ahab enticed Jehoshaphat to join forces with him to attack Ramoth-gilead. ³ “Will you join me in fighting against Ramoth-gilead?” Ahab asked. And Jehoshaphat replied, “Why, of course! You and I are brothers, and my troops are yours to command. We will certainly join you in battle.” ⁴ Then Jehoshaphat added, “But first let’s find out what the LORD says.”⁵ So King Ahab summoned his prophets, four hundred of them, and asked them, “Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead or not?” They all replied, “Go ahead, for God will give you a great victory!”⁶ But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the LORD around, too? I would like to ask him the same question.”⁷ King Ahab replied, “There is still one prophet of the LORD, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “You shouldn’t talk like that,” Jehoshaphat said. “Let’s hear what he has to say.”

As I was reading this, the following came to mind:

  1. How can you arrange your son (Jehoram) who worships the true and living God to marry someone (Athaliah – whose mother was Jezebel) who worships Baal? 

·                           We in the Body of Christ need to assist our brothers and sisters to stop marrying (joining themselves to) things and or people that do not worship God!

How many of us are guilty in letting our friends join things that are not of God? (Whether that party, that group of people, that relationship)

Not saying you have the power to stop them, but at least SPEAK up about it! Their lives are worth it!

 2. Why am I putting my TRUE friends and family in danger to help someone fight a battle that I have not asked God whether or not I should? 

Jehoshaphat compromised those that were dear to him because he didn’t ask God for instruction FIRST.

Ahab requested that Jehoshaphat help out in a war. It was a war that almost cost him his life. The Bible tells us Jehoshaphat’s kingdom had been peaceful up to this point (2 Chronicles 17:10). Judah was blessed and prospered abundantly, and nobody dared come against them. But after Jehoshaphat developed a friendship with Ahab, he found himself involved in a war that God had no part of.Be careful that you don’t connect to someone who just wants you to assist them in their fight or their sin! When Jehoshaphat joined Ahab’s war, he was only taking his friend along the path of destruction.

 3. Why is it that people only want to hear from people who are telling them what they want to hear?

Ahab had 400 “prophets” around him – he had surrounded himself into a false sense of security, believing that he had the Word of the Lord and the approval of wise counselors.

He asked them should we go to war and they all said YES!

 You are in a dangerous place when you surround yourself with people who are always telling you YES! 

Now what blows my mind is even after they all said yes…..Jehoshaphat asked is there a prophet from the LORD! And Ahab said yes there is one but I HATE him because he never prophesies anything but bad news for me! (he never prophesies good concerning me)

You see that out of all the prophets Micaiah was the ONLY prophet who had to be gotten! The YES prophets Ahab kept close but the one who gave him the TRUTH he kept away from him!

We need to check out who we listen to. Surround yourself around people who will tell you what God has said and is saying. Stop looking for people who will ALWAYS agree with you.

Stop looking for the “YES” prophets. Find someone who will tell you “NO”

No you don’t need to be in that relationship, No you don’t need to go there, No you don’t need to give up now…….

Start surrounding yourself with people who will give you a message that will make you uncomfortable and demand a decision to LIVE in righteousness, holiness and purity! People who will challenge your sin not encourage it!

 The advice you are getting should ALL line up with the WORD of God! No matter how good it sounds, it MUST line up with the WORD of God and if it doesn’t, it must be REJECTED! Wise people listen to GODLY counsel, even though it may never contain new cars, houses, money and a whole lot of stuff, often Godly counsel is often hard and requires us to CHANGE something about US! 

Who you listening to and why?