Be Careful Who You Listen To

This morning I was reading in 1 Kings 13 a very interesting story. There was a "man of God" who spoke a word of prophesy which immediately proved true. When things happened exactly as he said they would, the King invited him home for dinner and a reward. He refused, however, because God had told him not to eat or drink in that place and to return home a different way. Up to this point, he was obedient. Later and "old prophet" pursued, caught up with him, and invited him home for dinner. Once again, the man of God told what God had instructed him to do. The old prophet then said, "An angel appeared to me by the word of God and told me to bring you home." At this point, the man of God was persuaded to forget what God had told him directly and assume that He had sent a new message through the old prophet. Bad decision!!! The end result was his death by mauling by a lion because of his disobedience. Too bad he didn't have the benefit of the Apostle Paul's wisdom when he told the Galatians "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you that what we have preached among you, let him be accursed." (Gal 1:8)
Bottom line; if you have a word from God delivered by His Spirit through His Word, don't disobey even if the most convincing preacher or teacher around tells you otherwise. I often hear preachers & teachers say, " What God meant here was..." and I'm always leery of what comes next. We are no longer reliant on a few "prophets" to tell us what God is saying. The writer of Hebrews starts out by reminding us, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son...". Wow! God has spoken to us by His Son! Pay attention to all that Jesus said and did. Read it for yourself in the gospels. Ask Holy Spirit to guide you into truth (that's one of His jobs). Then apply it in your life regardless of what someone else may say.