Go for GodBible Reading: 1 KINGS 22:3-28And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king's hand. And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak. So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persude him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you. Ahab had already decided what he wanted to do: 1Kings 22:3: And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? He wanted to go take back Ramoth-Giliead from the Syrians. Ahab just needed somebody to agree with him so his conscience would feel better. We do not normally embrace things that are opposite from our desires. In fact, we usually tend to shun or ignore ideas and concepts that do not correspond with our wants. Consequently we wear concepts that go along with our self-imposed values like a badge of valor. Let’s face it, we like things that match our wants and dislike things that do not. Ideas that differ from our own can cause anger. They can cause us close ourselves off from truth. We hear an idea that conflicts with what we have already decided to do and we in a sense throw out the baby with the bath water. We refuse to allow anything to conflict with our desires. We want to do something or we ARE doing something and Come Hell or High water we are not going to change. Even if the inerrant infallible Holy Word of God tells us differently. Ahab was ready to go to battle! He wanted to whoop up on some Syrians! Then along came Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah. Jehoshaphat was a Godly man. He had through obedience to God’s direction transformed Judah into a powerful nation. 2 Chronicles 17:10: And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. The problem was Jehoshaphat was related through marriage to Ahab. Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son, married Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah. Jehoshaphat put a Holy fly in Ahab’s ungodly ointment. 1Kings 22:5: And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. There are times when people come to us and offer unsolicited advice. How do we react? Do we shut them off? Or do we listen and follow blindly to their direction? Both actions are extremely dangerous! RULE OF THUMB DO NOT FOLLOW ANYONE BLINDLY!! DO NOT SHUT OFF ANYONE TOTALLY! God may use an unsaved person to offer advice on occasion. Balaam’s life was saved because God chose to use his ass to communicate with him. My bible does not say whether the ass was a Christian donkey or a pagan donkey. If God wants to get advice to you and there is no saved person in your life he will use whatever methods he deems necessary. But by all means seek God in every instance! When a person comes to you with advice: 1. Listen – give them an audience 2. Do not at first judge the fruits of their motivation. 3. Very important: After listening, examine the circumstances such as: a) does this person have an interest in the situation b) why would they want to offer advice c) whether you agree or not, is the guidance given “in love”? 4. Pray or ask God before you commit to anything. 5. Seek his will. 6. Unsure?? Pray again! 7. Examine what the Word of God says about this issue. 8. IN EVERY INSTANCE GO WITH GOD. It is okay to give advice as long as it is given in LOVE! Before you offer advice: 1. Examine your motives – such as is it really because you care or is it because you are there? 2. Examine what the bible says about the issue. You will then have scriptural support if you are correct in your opinion OR the Bible might lead you to remain silent. 3. Pray as God how do I approach this person, ask for guidance, allow the Holy Spirit to speak for you, and ask whether God wants you to “help”. 4. Unsure?? pray again!! 5. Go to this person with LOVE! 6. Listen do not judge 1 Kings 22:6: Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. Ahab did not like Micaiah . In fact, Ahab said he HATED Micaiah! Why? Because he did not tell the King what he wanted to hear. Hated for telling it like it is about sin. Man hates to be called a sinner. a. I'm not too bad, (Don't drink, run around, etc.). b. I was born in a Christian home, fine parents. c. I don't really see any need of a Savior. d. Example of the fellow who got upset over the biblical term drunkard…he had a disease. What is the truth about man? a. Born in sin. b. Corrupt in his ways. c. Evil in his. heart. d. Man is totally depraved Hated for telling,it like it is about salvation. Because man is a sinner, he wants to help with salvation. It is not of works lest any man should boast. (It is the gift of God.) Titus 3:5: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Salvation is through Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Jesus did not lose his life but He gave it that you and I might have life. Some people hate this teaching, they talk about many ways to get to Heaven. But, there is only one way to be cleansed. Proverbs 20:9: Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? Jeremiah 2:22: For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD. Hated for telling it like it is about separation. Many would love to be saved if they could live in sin. The Bible teaches separation from sin. If a church is to grow, must stand for separation from sin. If a believer is to be effective, they must practice separation from sin. Notice the Bible says... We are to walk honestly 1 Thessalonians 4:12: That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. We are to put away sin. 1 Corinthians 5:7: Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: We are to shun evil 2 Thessalonians 3:6: Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. Hated for telling it like it is about tithing. Some say, "It's my money, I work for it." or “All that preacher talks about is money.” Proverbs 3:9-10: Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. Go back to 1 Kings 22:9-28 from the Bible reading. Micaiah was thrown into a prison cell AHab later was killed in battle. A true prophet of God is accurate 100% - who were these 400? Prophets of a lying spirit? There are preachers today who claim to be from God just like these 400 did. They will even challenge you over it just like Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah did to Micaiah. But they are of another Being – Satan. A lot of people will go to Hell because they have been blinded by the Benny Hinns of the world. Hated for telling it like it is about Hell. Man does not want to believe in Hell. Some say, "Hell is the grave." Others say, "God is too good to put man in Hell." Jesus taught the doctrine of Hell. Jesus was the kindest man that ever lived, yet He preached hell. He had more love than any man, yet preached hell. If you say there is no hell, you impeach and discredit Christ. Jesus said that there was an eternal hell and all unsaved persons would go there. Have you heard that truth but have not listened? Are you unsaved and have heard that voice calling you to accept Jesus but you have sought after the familiar voice that tells you what you like to hear? Are you hearing it today? Have you accepted Jesus but are living the life of a sinner? Have you heard that voice but sent it to prison? Ahab believed in God. Back to Hope Chapel
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