Pastor E.A Adeboye, The General Overseer (RCCG)
Memorise:
For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to
come.
Hebrews 13:14
Read: 1 Kings 13:7-14
7 And the king said
unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give
thee a reward.
8 And the man of God
said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in
with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
9 For so was it
charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor
turn again by the same way that thou camest.
10 So he went another
way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
11 Now there dwelt an
old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the
man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the
king, them they told also to their father.
12 And their father
said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God
went, which came from Judah.
13 And he said unto
his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
14 And went after the
man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou
the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
Message
In today's Bible reading, we have a very sad story of a young
prophet sent by God to the city of Bethel with strict instructions. After he
delivered the message, he took a different route homewards as instructed by
God. But along the way, he felt danger had passed and so he decided to take a
rest. While taking his rest, an old prophet came by, lied to him and convinced
him to return with him. He obeyed this old prophet and eventually met his
death. If only he had delayed his rest, the false prophet would have come
looking for him without finding him. Just as it happened to this young prophet,
resting too soon has terminated the Christian race of so many believers. In
some races, we sometimes see a contestant that is running so fast, leaving
other contestants far behind. For the contestant ahead, there is always the
temptation to relax, reduce speed and to take the rest of the journey easy, due
to a false sense of having won the race already. Many a contestant has yielded
to such temptations and got the shock of a lifetime. You will do yourself a lot
of good to know that on earth, while on our way to Heaven, we have no resting
place. For this reason, Hebrews 4:9 says:
"There remaineth
therefore a rest to the people of God."
What the devil or your flesh is suggesting to you as a rest
is actually meant to activate your spiritual death warrant. Our rest in Heaven
is eternal, and this is partly to compensate us for the no-rest race we have to
run on earth. If you want rest, wait until you get to Heaven.
Sometime ago, I visited Australia. While there, a brother
shared a testimony that made me weep inside. This old man testified that some
time ago, a particular man of God who was highly anointed came to Australia.
People brought their dead and they were raised back to life. Within one week,
there were ambulances bringing in dead people to the crusade. I could recall
this particular man of God. He started very well and was mightily used of God,
but along the line, he began to bring in some strange doctrines. He said all
that was needed now was only faith; there was no more need for fasting,
holiness, etc. He did not end up very well. Beloved, since you have started the
race, focus on it and continue to run. Receive all the grace that you can
muster from the Lord and continue running the race. Refuse any proposal to slow
down or rest, as this is meant to terminate your race.
Prayer Point:
Father, let me never encounter the rest that would terminate
my race to Heaven, in Jesus' Name.
Bible in one year:
Leviticus 17:10-19:18; 1 Corinthians 11:17-12:11
AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE
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