A Prophet's Ministry

I was sitting in my hotel room in Odessa, TX soaking in God’s word. It was a lovely time of savoring Christ along with preaching a revival for a friend. My hunger for God’s word was insatiable and I found myself literally getting lost in reading it. Whole mornings seemed to fly by while I devoured verse after verse, chapter after chapter, and book after book.
While reading through the book of II Chronicles I received one of those life transforming words from the Lord. [II Chron 18:1-27]
In this passage the king of Israel (Ahab) and the king of Judah (Jehoshaphat) allied themselves together to fight against Ramoth-gilead. They sought counsel from the prophets and four hundred of them were assembled.
When asked if they should proceed in battle, in unison the prophets said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” [II Chron 18:5] Jehoshaphat’s response is very intriguing. He says, “Is there not yet a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him?”
Four hundred prophets had told the kings what they wanted to hear and yet there was no confidence in their message. I see the same thing in this day. People really need to hear a word from the Lord and what they get far too often is as one pastor put it, “advice talks with a religious twist.”
People have and continue to need hear a word from the Lord. In these last days, our pulpits are filled with ear tickling and Bible neglecting speech makers who hold their thumbs to the prevailing winds of the day before addressing their packed pews. In an effort to remain popular with the rich and influential, declaring truth without compromise gets put on the back burner in order to spew six steps to success and how to become happy and healthy pep talks.
What happened to the prophets who lock themselves up with God until God burns a message in his heart? He has been replaced with Brother Browser who gets all his messages off the internet and Pastor Pep who gives pep rally talks week after week. Are there still prophets of the Lord who will swim against the morale current of this day and boldly declare the word of the Lord?
Praise God there was one prophet in Israel who was not silenced by success nor swayed by popularity in his preaching. His name was Micaiah. The king hated him because of his bold prophesying.
When approached to give the kings a word from the Lord, he was urged to go along with the other prophets. This is still happening today. Preachers are urged by many denominational leaders to fall into the mold of seeker sensitive preaching who major on entertainment and creativity but often minor in truth telling.
Micaiah was a different sort of preacher. Read his bold declaration, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” [II Chron 18:13] He could not be bought, intimidated, silenced, nor influenced as to what to preach.
How this day needs such a preachers again. Our nation needs men who would confidently stride to the pulpit with volcano hearts and thunderous voices who hear from God. We need men educated in the prayer closet just as much or more than in the seminary class rooms. We need men who will proclaim truth even when it is not politically correct but because it is eternally correct! We need preachers who believe the Bible and bleed the Bible when they preach or write for His glory. We need men more interested in favor with God than networking and gaining favor with men for career advancement.
As I read about Micaiah I was stunned. Right on the heels of reading this passage, God instructed me to preach the hardest and most difficult sermon I have ever had to preach. I knew it was going to be controversial, against the grain of what people wanted to hear, and yet over and over again in my head all I could hear were the words of Micaiah, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.”
I was nervous that night before going into the pulpit. I was extremely emotional when I climbed the steps up on the stage and placed my hands on the pulpit. For the longest time, I was silent. I could not even find the words to pray. Finally the words of a desperate prayer formed at the same time the pained burdened in my soul manifested itself in the form of tears. I wept through the first third of the message continually calling those people to God’s word. Verse after verse, minute after minute I sought to deliver God’s message both boldly and yet tenderly, courageously and yet sensitively, truth driven but mixed with love. It was a night I will not forget.
Just like on the day Micaiah delivered his word from the Lord, my word from the Lord was also rejected. It was a grievous night. I was sickened and wanted to flee back to the refuge of my hotel room and the presence of God.
I remember praying earlier that morning about how sad it was to be a prophet much of the time. I have preached numerous times and been avoided, rejected, and ridiculed while ministering as one of God’s prophets.
Even as I write this, I am once again being called to deliver a prophetic word to my flock which will prove to be hard and divisive. Once again I am not looking forward to the task but as a man of God I have no other choice. I pray for empowering and anointing. I pray for a desire to be a God pleaser always over being a man pleaser.
Preacher if you find your eyes skimming these words, I pray the Lord would burn the words of Micaiah deep into your soul and brand them on your heart until you are consumed by them. “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.”