The Divine Mandate of Listening to God’s Messengers
1 Chronicles 21:9-10a
And the LORD spake unto Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and tell David…
God still speaks through His men, though some would insist they don’t need it. However, rest assured…if God sends His servant to speak into your life, as He did for King David, you had better heed the call! I could think of several scriptures which highlight the importance of taking God’s spokesmen seriously, both in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. Regardless of the age in which we live, God ALWAYS has a man with a message to deliver from Heaven! However, I need to warn you; there is a counterfeit movement of alleged “prophets” today, which the Bible warns are false prophets, sent by the enemy to deceive. In fact, it is not surprising to find that false prophets are much more widely accessible and acceptable than God’s TRUE messengers.
Consider this; in our text, GOD spoke to Gad, then sent Gad to speak to David. Meanwhile, 2 Tim. 4:3 gives us this warning; “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” So, what is the difference between 1 Chronicles 21:9-10 and 2 Timothy 4:3? Simply, the first passage shows where GOD sent HIS messenger, while the second shows where the AUDIENCE sent for THEIR messenger! Often is the case that when God gets ready to speak to you through another person, it will be a person you will unlikely select for yourself. Let’s face it; if we seek answers, we often seek people who we feel we can relate to, and who often share a lot of the same interests, concerns, and perspectives as we do. In other words, we like for people to affirm what we already believe, who actually agree with us. Seldom do we welcome an opposing viewpoint.
This is why it is not a good idea to pick and choose for ourselves the pastor, teacher, or spiritual advisor that we feel we need for ourselves, as our own viewpoints are skewed by our own blind spots to our truest spiritual needs. Having said that, whether you are an individual, a group, or even a church or entire denomination, be careful to identify whom GOD has sent your way, and accept HIS choice of who it is He wants to use to speak into your life. DO NOT make the mistake of rejecting God’s choice and replacing it with your own!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
And the LORD spake unto Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and tell David…
God still speaks through His men, though some would insist they don’t need it. However, rest assured…if God sends His servant to speak into your life, as He did for King David, you had better heed the call! I could think of several scriptures which highlight the importance of taking God’s spokesmen seriously, both in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. Regardless of the age in which we live, God ALWAYS has a man with a message to deliver from Heaven! However, I need to warn you; there is a counterfeit movement of alleged “prophets” today, which the Bible warns are false prophets, sent by the enemy to deceive. In fact, it is not surprising to find that false prophets are much more widely accessible and acceptable than God’s TRUE messengers.
Consider this; in our text, GOD spoke to Gad, then sent Gad to speak to David. Meanwhile, 2 Tim. 4:3 gives us this warning; “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” So, what is the difference between 1 Chronicles 21:9-10 and 2 Timothy 4:3? Simply, the first passage shows where GOD sent HIS messenger, while the second shows where the AUDIENCE sent for THEIR messenger! Often is the case that when God gets ready to speak to you through another person, it will be a person you will unlikely select for yourself. Let’s face it; if we seek answers, we often seek people who we feel we can relate to, and who often share a lot of the same interests, concerns, and perspectives as we do. In other words, we like for people to affirm what we already believe, who actually agree with us. Seldom do we welcome an opposing viewpoint.
This is why it is not a good idea to pick and choose for ourselves the pastor, teacher, or spiritual advisor that we feel we need for ourselves, as our own viewpoints are skewed by our own blind spots to our truest spiritual needs. Having said that, whether you are an individual, a group, or even a church or entire denomination, be careful to identify whom GOD has sent your way, and accept HIS choice of who it is He wants to use to speak into your life. DO NOT make the mistake of rejecting God’s choice and replacing it with your own!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill