September 4, 2020 Living Water CAC Daily Devotional Guide :- TOPIC : THE GREAT ENEMY WITHIN

By | September 4, 2020

September 4, 2020 Living Water CAC Daily Devotional Guide :- TOPIC : THE GREAT ENEMY WITHIN

 

 

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Friday, September 4, 2020

THE GREAT ENEMY WITHIN

Read: 1 Kings 13:1-24

1 Kings 13:1-24 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born 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 burnt upon thee.
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.
And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
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.
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, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
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:
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.
So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
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.
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.
And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
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.
Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
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.
He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
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:
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,
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 carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
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.

MEMORISE:
He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.'” (He was lying to him.) (1 Kings 13:18)

EXPOSITION
There are silencers in life and ministry; those who want to be with you but are actually not with you. They want to show themselves to you as super heroes and heroines. Never trust them so much. They are in politics, offices, communities and churches. The enemy in one’s house is greater and deadlier than those outside. Why? They know in and out of you and kill without drawing sword. No wonder the Bible says “a man’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Mt. 10:36). Many great men and women have died as a result of their spouse’s connivance with the enemies outside.

Even God had to remark “that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Gen. 6:5,6). For the young Prophet in our text today, his initial obedience did not allow the king to be able to persuade him to eat and drink. But it’s a pity that his colleague (his father in the Lord) did convince him to eat against God’s instruction and ruined his life and ministry. Are you a leader that make or mar your subordinates? Aaron and Miriam, though very close to Moses, did try to bring him down. Thank God for His intervention (Num. 12:1-15). Korah, Datan and Abiram were Moses’ associates in ministry but did not mind to topple his government (See. Num. 16). Absalom dealt with his own father like a distant enemy but later ruined his own life (read, 2 Sam. 15-18).

Who is your friend, counsellor or ‘god father’? Pride, envy and over-ambition occasion a great deal of mischief in our churches and nation. Total obedience to God’s words and the Holy Spirit can see us through.

PRAYER POINTS
1. Lord, deliver me from the spirit of deception.
2. Oh Lord, deliver me from the deception of both the enemy within and without.
3. Father, expose ungodly leaders who are out to silence firebrand young ministers.

EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Psalms 106

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