Free Will and the Gift Ministries
Take your Bibles tonight and turn to the book of I Kings chapter 13. There are some tremendous truths in the greatness of this chapter that I’d like to share with our people around the nations of the world tonight. But in order to understand chapter 13, because the first word of chapter 13 is the word ‘and’. The word ‘and’ is a conjunction which immediately tells you that that which is following here after the word ’and’ has to be coordinated with that which precedes. Because ‘and’ being this type of conjunction ties together that which follows with that which precedes. And in order to get to the understanding of that 13th chapter, we should perhaps go back to the 12th chapter and verse 28.
Whereupon the king [Jeroboam]
took counsel, and made two calves of gold,
and said unto them, [the people of Israel]
It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; [it is too far - too much
effort you have to put forth to get to Jerusalem so we would just make these
two golden calves] behold thy gods, O Israel, which
brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
– I Kings
And he set the one in
One of those golden calves that they were
to worship as God who had brought them out of
And he made an
house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were
not of the sons of Levi. – I
Kings
He made priests of the copped out ones – the lowest who were just living way below par, the tricked out ones. He made those men priests which were not of the sons of Levi.
And Jeroboam ordained a feast in
the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in
So he offered upon the altar, which
he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own
heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt
incense. – I Kings
And, behold, there came a man of
God out of
Now why in the world would a man of God have to come out of
And he [Jeroboam] cried against the alter in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be borne unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burned upon thee. -- I Kings 13: 2
And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. – I Kings 13: 3
And it came to pass, when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who had cried against the alter in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from [against] the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. [He wanted to have him executed] And his hand, [Jeroboam’s] which he put forth against him, [the man of God] dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. – I Kings 13: 4
That’ll teach that old boy.
The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. -- I Kings 13: 5
And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, [asked for Revelation] and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. [whole] -- I Kings 13: 6
And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. -- I Kings 13: 7
Now he’s going to pay him for all the good things that have happened.
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: -- I Kings 13: 8
Now look at verse 9.
For so it was charged me by the
word of the Lord, [before he ever left
So he went another way, and
returned not by the way that he came to
Now there dwelt an old profit in
Now that complicates the matter. First of all, you remember Jeroboam the king,
what he did, according to the record here.
And then God sent a prophet all the way from
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. – I
Kings
And their father said unto them,
What way went he? [What direction did he go? Where did he go?] For his sons had seen what way the man of God
went, which came from
And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass, So they saddled him the ass: and he
rode thereon. – I Kings
And went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak: (cont. below)[well why didn’t he sit under an apple tree, why didn’t he sit under a spruce or under a willow tree?] Because whenever men sat under oaks in the Bible, they sat there trying to figure things out. That’s what it represents. The oak tree represents a place where you go and think it through. You know what he was thinking through? It doesn’t say this but if you can put the integrity of the Word together, it sets there like a diamond. A younger man of God, an older man of God living in the city, a king, and yet God sending the young fellow up. The King’s hand drying up, God delivering him. That prophet had a pretty good days work in. So as he went back a different route, he got to the place where there was an oak tree and he sat down under the oak and he started to try to figure it out. Why? O God, was I called? Why was I asked to do this? What has happened, God? How come has these things have come to pass?
And this section always reminds me of the section in the
book of Acts where it says He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the
children of
It’s like in the epistles.
God made known the whys and the wherefores of the mysteries of the
greatness of God to Paul, made known the greatness of the revelation that is
written in the book of Revelation by John which Paul was never allowed to
write. For it says it is not permitted
for me to speak it. Reason being that
men of God who are walking have to have information from time to time that the
believers do not require. The believers
only require the signs, the miracles, and the wonders - the acts that are
carried out by believing. But the man of
God has to know the whys and the wherefores from time to time. Because if the man of God does not know the
whys and the wherefores, he walks into too much darkness and there is not
enough light. And he has to know why God
operates like He does and God in His mercy and grace made known His ways unto
Moses, His acts unto the children of
There was the prophet back on his way to
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
Then he said unto him, Come home
with me, and eat bread. – I Kings
And he [the man of God
from
For it was said to me by the
word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again
to go by the way that thou camest. – I Kings
Is he reporting accurately to the older prophet exactly what
God had told him when he was back in
He said unto him, I am a
prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the
Lord, [he was lying] saying, Bring him [the
prophet from
That’s what you call a copped out prophet. Sincere? Who’s the author of lies? So sincerity has nothing to do with it. The most sincere people in the world are the
crookedest because sincerity is no guarantee for truth. The man of God from
So he went back with him and he
ate bread in his house, and drank water. – I Kings
Now we’re going to have a little trouble because a man of God who was walking has now also copped out. Now you got two copped out men of God. And you wonder why the younger man of God copped out. It’s very simple. From a human point of view, the older man said: Look fella, I’ve had more experience. You know. I’ve been at this thing a lot longer - all the rest of it. And an angel said to me, I should just go get you and bring you. And so having respect sense knowledge wise for men, and what men said, he copped out. God doesn’t change His mind. You want to get born again, you do it according to the rules and regulations of the ball game. God does not change His mind. When situations change, the requirements to meet those opportunities in that situation may change. But if the situation has not changed, the mind of the Lord is never changed. And all men are dead in trespasses and sins without God and without hope. So if they’re going to be born again of God spirit, they’re going to have to confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus, believe God raised him from the dead.
Well, he went home with him.
And it came to pass, as they sat
at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the
prophet that brought him back: -- I
Kings
The Word of the Lord came unto the copped out prophet. Why? because the gift of the ministry was still in him. Even though he copped out. Now all at once, there it is. The prophet that brought him back.
And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, -- I Kings 13: 21
But camest back, and hast eaten
bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee,
Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulchre
of thy fathers. – I Kings
And it came to pass, after he
had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddles for him the ass, to wit,
for the prophet whom he had brought back. – I Kings
And when he was gone, a lion met
him by the way, and slew him: and his
carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by
the carcase. – I Kings
And, behold, men passed by, and
saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it to the city where the old prophet
dwelt. – I Kings
And when the prophet that
brought him back from the way heard
thereof, he said, It is the man of
God who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord: therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto
the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the
Lord, which he spake unto him. – I Kings
Now there you have a tremendous opportunity or problem. That phrase, you must understand biblically and I’m going to share it and teach it to you again tonight. And you’ve got to teach this to others, otherwise they will never understand God’s Word.
The phrase “therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the
lion”. As if God, the true God threw him
to the lions. That’s a bunch of
baloney. It’s as simple as this. Let’s say this piece of wood or steel represents
the Word of God. This represents here
what God said. Now a man bucks up
against it, like the prophet. He bucks
up against it. Who gets hurt? The fellow who bucks up
against it. That’s why the Word
of God says it’s an old English -- an old Eastern
custom way of saying that the man killed himself by trying to break the rules
and regulations of God’s ball game. He
bucked his head up against it. Just like
if I’d say to you tonight, well, “Don’t jump too high in the Biblical
And when the prophet that
brought him back from the way heard
thereof, he said, It is the man of
God who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord: therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto
the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the
Lord, which he spake unto him. – I Kings
And he spake to his sons,
saying, Saddle me the ass. And they
saddled him. – I Kings
And he went and found his
carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn
the ass. – I Kings
Now that’s either a stupid lion or a smart ass. I read these great stories to keep you awake, you know. Great record.
And the prophet took up the
carcass of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: And the old profit came to the city, to mourn
and to bury him. – I Kings
Isn’t that just sweet? You talk about sincerity, the rituals, you know, the right protocol. Yet he was totally copped out.
And he lays his carcase in his
own grave; and they mourned over him,
saying, Alas, my brother! – I Kings
And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: -- I Kings 13: 31
For the saying which he cried by
the word of the Lord against the alter in
Even this old copped out prophet knew that if a man of God was right on, it was going to come to pass come hell or high water. It’s thus saith the Lord. And if nobody believes it, it’s still going to come to pass. It’s like the second coming of the Lord. If nobody believes it, he’s coming. If nobody believes it, you still must be born again the way the Word says. If nobody believes it, you still have to speak in tongues according to the way the Word indicates it, not according to senses knowledge.
After this thing Jeroboam
returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people
priests of the high places: whosoever
would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of
the high places. – I Kings
After this Jeroboam had a real change of heart. One would think so. He got healed. One would think Jeroboam would have changed, wouldn’t he? Sense knowledge wise, you’d think so. It reminds me of the Gospels where in the parable of Lazarus or was that it? Well, I’ll tell it to you and then maybe you can read it this week. But he was up there and he said look, my brother is down below and he’s having a rough time. They need someone to go down and tell them how to do the right thing. And the record says they have Moses and the prophets. If they will not believe Moses and the prophets, they will not believe if one rose again from the dead. That’s Lazarus’ trip, isn’t it? Yeah. That’s what it is. Isn’t that wonderful? If they will not believe Moses and the prophets, in other words, if they will not believe God’s Word, they wouldn’t believe if one rose again from the dead. If they will not believe God’s Word, no matter if they get healing, they wouldn’t walk for God anyway. Jeroboam was totally delivered and yet he never walked. Look at it.
After this thing Jeroboam
returned not from his evil way, but made again [did it all over again] of the lowest of the people priests of the high
places: whosoever would,
[whosoever wanted to be ordained] he consecrated
him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
– I Kings
And in the text of this, if you can read it, it says whoever paid him the most, whoever offered King Jeroboam the most, that’s the guy he put in office. He consecrated or ordained him priest of the high places.
Man is prone to always read into. But you can’t do that because the walk is a
walk of knowing awareness of the will of the Lord at the time it’s needed. Like the men, the priests who crossed the
And this thing [of consecrating
priests of the lowest of the people] became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off,
and to destroy it from off the face of the earth. –
I Kings
Of low caste, of low degree, and buying their way into
positions of spiritual authority as priests and that really turned God
off. And because he did this, Satan
destroyed the whole house of Jeroboam. And if you ever want to read a family history of a man that had
everything going for him. He
graduated from all the elite schools on the East Coast, including the
And when he took these so-called men and he made them priests, he went entirely contrary to the Word of God. For those men who were to be priests were to come out of the tribe of Levi. And he acted contrary to God’s Word in all of these many, many different ways. And he totally sold himself to be not a success, but a magnificent failure. And that his whole house was lost because of him blowing it. Likewise, with the man of God, the young man of God, the old man of God.
Well, I want you to see tonight. It’s not a question of whether you have the Word. That’s primary. But it’s a question of whether you continue to walk on that Word. It’s a question of whether we stand fast on that Word. And it becomes doubly significant when God by His mercy and grace has favored you to give you a ministry in the body. A ministry of an apostle, prophet, evangelist, teacher or pastor. Then it becomes just so important that you stand. For the moment you cop out, you are the one that will pay the price. And God of course is the loser because His man is not walking and God is spirit. He has no hands but our hands with which to get a job done. He has no mind, but your mind with which to speak the inherent accuracy of God’s Word. He has no ability but your ability to manifest forth the greatness of His Will and of His Word. And He has no feet but your feet to carry it forth. Therefore, we ought to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel, the good news of the peace of the wonderful Prince of peace, the Lord Jesus Christ.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~