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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Make sure they can’t reach you | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 21, 2024 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 6, No. 41

“So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “I am,” he replied.” (1Kings 13:13-14NIV)

The bible text above gives us a little part of the sad story of a man of God that was deceived by an older man of God. As the account goes, the younger man of God had been sent by God on a particular day to prophesy against King Jeroboam and his altar of idolatry. And when he did, great signs accompanied his prophecy, great signs that baffled and, at the same time, impressed that unfaithful king. So, he decided to entertain and reward him. (Cf. 1Kings 13:1-6)

But was that what God wanted? Did He send His prophet to him so that he could entertain and reward him or so that he could repent of his wickedness? Evidently, He sent him to him so that he could turn him away from his wickedness.

In any case, because God had already known the heart of this wicked king, He instructed the prophet He was sending to him not to eat or drink anything in that land or to return by the way he came there. And he obeyed the voice of God. In fact, he told Jeroboam that even if he offered him half of his wealth, he would not take it. So, he left the place without eating or drinking and by another route. (Cf. 1Kings 13:7-10)

However, an older prophet in that city went after him, found him where he was probably resting and brought him back to his house to eat and to drink. How did he do that? How did he make a man than rejected the king’s wealth to accept just a round of meal from him? He lied to him. He told him an angel of God had appeared to him and had told him to bring him back home to refresh himself. But where was this older prophet when God was speaking to the young man? Did God not see him in Bethel before sending this young man from the land of Judah? (Cf. 1Kings 13:11-19)

Surely, God had seen him in Bethel before passing over him to someone else. Why? We are not told. But the fact that he lied to another man of God, one who only showed him respect as an older prophet, says it all. Unfortunately for that poor young prophet, it was still this same old lying prophet that God used in prophesying his immediate death. What a shame! (Cf. 1Kings 13:20-32)

Well, you can see that it is not a new thing for older believers to deliberately deceive or mislead younger and unsuspecting ones. So, even if someone introduces himself to you as an older and more experienced believer, if you do not know what he has been doing with his life, don’t make the mistake following him. And even if you know what people have been doing with their lives, inasmuch as whatever they tell you is not in line with the body of truth given to us in Scriptures, don’t accept or act on it. Follow people only to the degree they follow Christ. Otherwise, you may end up being devoured by the devil, as that young prophet was devoured by a roaring lion.

But here is a thoughtful question for us to consider: Why was that old prophet able to find and deceive the young prophet and bring about his untimely death? The reason was that the man was resting in the wrong place. He was supposed to be long gone before that old prophet would even hear anything about him, especially since he did not personally witness his ministration against King Jeroboam and his altar of idolatry. Why, then, did he choose to relax very close to a place where he had just been tempted with great wealth to disobey God?

Of course, God did not tell him not to relax in Bethel or anywhere close to it. He only told him not to eat or drink there and not to return by the same way he had come there. But common sense should have told him that the longer he stayed in that place or around there, the greater the possibility of his being tempted to sin against God. So, having completed his job, he should have wasted no time in removing himself completely away from the reach of Bethel and her sinful people. And it was because he did not do that but put himself within the reach of temptation that he was found and destroyed by it.

In like manner, God may not have said that you should not live or make friends with certain people. But if the chances are high that your being near them or with them will put you in trouble, make sure they can’t reach you, not to talk of affect or influence you. Yes, be completely unavailable to them and whatever nonsense Satan may want to use them to drag you into. And may you continually be filled with adequate wisdom to know where is not a resting place for you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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One reply on “Make sure they can’t reach you | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 21, 2024 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 6, No. 41”

This is powerful and I quote “Even if you know what people have been doing with their lives, inasmuch as whatever they tell you is not in line with the body of truth given to us in Scriptures, don’t accept or act on it. Follow people only to the degree they follow Christ. Otherwise, you may end up being devoured by the devil”

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