The Man of God Is Not Your Enemy - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
- Pastor Shiflett
- Mar 23
- 8 min read
The Man of God Is Not Your Enemy
1 Kings 22
Intro:
A. The Counsel that was Delayed
They already made their plans and got everyone on board before getting counsel from God.
People don’t want advise; they want approval.
They don’t want counseling; they want your cooperation.
B. The Crowd that was Deceptive
400 prophets all saying the exact same thing.
How can they be so unified and still be so wrong?
God’s Word tell us in vs. 23 that they all had a lying spirit.
They were not interested in truth.
They were not interested in helping anybody.
They were not motivated by the thought of keeping anybody safe.
They had one driving force – a lying spirit.
C. The Confirmation that was Demanded
Jehoshaphat knew something was off.
He asked for one man of God to confirm or deny the consensus of the 400 prophets.
· 7 And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?
How many people are so interested in the truth that they will ignore the words of 400 liars for the confirmation of a man of God?
D. The Contempt that was Disappointing
Ahab said, “I hate him.” It was so wrong that Jehoshaphat said, “Don’t say that!!”
The word “hate” in verse 8 is “enemy; foe”.
Look back at the previous chapter. 1 Kings 21:16-20
Jezebel had just killed Naboth so Ahab could have his vineyard.
Samuel, the man of God, came with a message from God.
Look how Ahab greeted Samuel. “Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?”
Notice how Samuel answered him. “I have found thee.”
Every man of God in Ahab’s life was his enemy.
Samuel was his enemy.
Michaiah was his enemy.
Give Title: The Man of God Is Not Your Enemy!
I have a love for preachers. I grew up a pastor’s kid. My wife did too.
All 5 of my kids are preacher’s kids. My grandsons are preacher’s kids.
My life is the ministry.
One of Satan’s greatest accomplishments is to create a divide between the pulpit and the pew.
He’s convinced a lot of people that God’s man is against them and is out to make their life miserable.
He should be – could be your BEST FRIEND!!
Here are some ways you can know that your pastor is not your enemy.
The Man of God Is Not Your Enemy if he is…
I. Unintimidated In His Preaching
· 13 And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.
· 14 And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.
The messenger that was sent from the king tried to intimidate God’s man.
He tried to manipulate and stipulate the message.
He told him what the other 400 prophets had said, and told him to match it.
I looked up that word OFFICER in verse 9 that was sent to bring the message.
This messenger was a eunuch. He was mistaken for thinking Micaiah was a eunuch too!
The Man of God Is Not Your Enemy if he is…
II. Unfiltered In His Prediction – vs. 17
1 Kings 22
· 15 So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
· 16 And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?
· 17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
The man of God’s prediction was unfiltered.
He didn’t water it down.
He didn’t soften the message.
He bluntly said, I saw Israel as sheep not having a shepherd. In other words, you’re going to die.
If you’ve got a man of God that won’t water down the prediction of your wrong choices, HE’S NOT YOUR ENEMY!
If you ask him about your new job offer, new girlfriend, new boyfriend, your new decision to move to another state.
And he’s bold enough to tell you it’s a bad idea, HE’S NOT YOUR ENEMY!
NOTE: While this eunuch was trying to intimidate the man of God into changing his message, the other 400 were putting on a show for the kings.
They held up horns of iron as confirmation that he would be prosperous.
· 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.
· 12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king’s hand.
The Bible is clear – this PROOF was MAN-MADE! Zedekiah…made him horns of iron
There was nothing real about this proof.
Animals don’t have iron horns.
There was nothing natural or organic about these “divine confirmations.”
They were fabricated; they were deceptive; they were unrealistic; they were fake impressions of the real thing.
They were impressive they were disingenuous.
· With these thou shalt push…
· With these thou shalt consume them…
· With these shalt thou go up and prosper…
· With these shalt the Lord deliver it into thy hand…
But it was all a lie.
They had lying spirits, and they had lying props.
What did Micaiah have? Just God’s word! “…And the Lord said…” (vs. 17)
If you’ve got a man of God that will give you the unfiltered truth about your choices, HE’S NOT YOUR ENEMY!
The Man of God Is Not Your Enemy if he is…
III. Uninterested In His Popularity – vs. 18
· 18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
These were not to flunkies standing out in the parking lot running down the preacher.
These were two kings having a conversation with 400 false prophets standing off to the side.
Ahab looked at Jehoshaphat and said, “…I told you he was NO GOOD!”
He’s a NO GOOD preacher with a NO GOOD message.
The man of God didn’t back down.
If you’ve got a man of God that is uninterested in being popular, HE’S NOT YOUR ENEMY!!
The Man of God Is Not Your Enemy if he is…
IV. Unflinching In His Pain – vs. 24, 25
· 23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
· 24 But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?
·
After revealing to Ahab that the 400 prophets were controlled by lying spirits, something bad happened.
The man that had made the horns of iron walked over to Micaiah and slapped him on the face.
He mocked the man of God and blamed his actions on the Spirit of the Lord.
Notice Micaiah’s response to the insult. He didn’t back down one inch.
· 25 And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
His answer was, “You’ll find out for yourself one day what the Spirit of God has to say to you.”
“One day when you go into your inner chamber to hide yourself, God will find you and show you.”
There’s a lot of people that would say, “I would never slap the preacher in the face.”
There’s about 500 ways you can slap the man of God in the face that hurts worse than actually slapping him.
· The things people say to defend their sin.
· The things people do to defy the Word of God.
· They decisions and choices people make to prop up their ungodly plans.
· Things people say and pretend God told them it was OK.
· Things people do that they try to convince you they prayed and got God’s direction.
· Things they tell other people about how “not good” you are because you oppose their choices.
· There’s hundreds of ways to slap the man of God in the face.
But – if you’ve got a man of God that is unflinching through the pain, HE’S NOT YOUR ENEMY!!
The Man of God Is Not Your Enemy if he is…
V. Uncompromising In His Prison – vs. 26-28
Notice how Ahab treats this preacher that he hated so bad.
He sent him to prison to be eat the bread of affliction and the water of affliction.
NOTE: It was just back in verse 16 that he begged Micaiah to tell him “nothing but that which is true…”
So the man of God did.
And he got sent to prison for it.
Some of the very people that pretend to want a man of God that will tell them the truth are the ones that put him in a straight-jacket.
They put him in handcuffs.
They put him in a prison for doing EXACTLY WHAT THEY SAID THEY WANTED HIM TO DO – preach the truth!!!
As a result, his bread becomes bread of affliction.
He can be eating a T-bone steak at the house, but it is bread of affliction BECAUSE YOU HATE HIM FOR PREACHING!!
He can be drinking sweet tea, but it is water of affliction BECAUSE YOU HAVE MADE HIM YOUR ENEMY!!
But guess what? The man of God did not change his message.
He didn’t renounce his unpopular prediction.
Ahab said,
· 27 And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.
Notice the man of God’s response:
· 28 And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.
As they led him away in chains, he didn’t compromise.
As his face was stinging from the slaps and the embarrassment, he didn’t compromise.
As he was perp-walked to prison in front of the 400 lying prophets standing there holding their fake props, he didn’t compromise.
Facing bread of affliction and water of affliction, he didn’t back down.
He looked at everybody and said, “If you come back at all, I’m not God’s man!!
He looked at the whole crowd and said, “Hearken, O people, every one of you!”
No doubt they laughed at him.
No doubt they rolled their eyes.
No doubt they passed around the horns of iron, but the man of God didn’t compromise.
Conclusion: In verse 29, with the man of God safely tucked away in prison, the two kings went to war.
Ahab even tried to fly under the radar. He disguised himself as a soldier.
But God had his number.
Vs. 34 - A man drew a bow at a venture and shot an arrow into Ahab.
Vs. 35 – he bled out on the battlefield.
Vs. 37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
Vs. 38 And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake.
This was the first man of God’s predition that he called an enemy:
· 1 Kings 21:19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
Both men of God that Ahab called his enemy were right.
God was right. The Word of God is always right.
It would be a horrible mistake to make the man of God your enemy if he’s preaching to you the truth!!
Galatians 4:16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
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