What God Says, Speak!

For our family reading tonight after dinner, we read II Chronicles 18.  King Jehoshaphat of Judah asked King Ahab of Israel to inquire of the LORD before a battle at Ramoth-Gilead.  King Ahab had 400 "prophets" who were "yes" men.  They always encouraged the king to do whatever he wanted.  When Jehoshaphat heard these men speak he said, "Isn't there a real prophet of God we could speak to?"  These men had props to illustrate their points, and were all in agreement.  Could they possibly all be wrong?  King Jehoshaphat was a godly king who sought the LORD and delighted to walk in His ways.  He recognized they operated according to another spirit - a lying spirit who the true prophet Micaiah later revealed.

I admire men like Micaiah.  He was told by King Ahab's messenger in so many words, "Alright Micaiah.  All the prophets - and I mean all 400 of them - are all in agreement and speak well of the king's plans.  Why can't you just agree with them?  Please just go along with whatever they say."  Micaiah's response is found in 2 Chron. 18:13:  "As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak."  This sets the bar very high.  Forget "What Would Jesus Do:"  how about "Say Whatever God Says!"  James says that the tongue is a world of iniquity, full of deadly poison, and is set aflame by the fires of hell.  He says in James 3:2, "...If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body."  Micaiah was not a perfect man, being born into sin.  But he was a man who would speak whatever God spoke.  He didn't just say what he thought needed to be said:  he was a man who knew God and spoke His truth.  Micaiah was not afraid of what King Ahab might think or do.  He served God and sought to please Him.

The man who will speak fearlessly for God will be granted insights into God Himself.  God is not seeking for the most creative, flashy, bold, or eloquent person to speak on His behalf.  Listen to the testimony of Micaiah in 2 Chron. 18:18:  "Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left."  While Zedekiah pranced around with iron horns he had made promising great victory, Micaiah saw a vision of the heavenly realm.  Who would you rather listen to?  From whom would you expect the truth?  After proclaiming the word of the LORD, Micaiah was arrested, placed in a prison, and fed with the food and water of affliction.  I am confident that although he faced dreadful conditions, he was a man who had peace with God.  God comforted Him in way that good food, a soft pillow, and a comfortable spot on the couch never could.  God gave Micaiah rest for his soul.  He was one of those referenced at the end of Hebrews 11 in the "Hall of Faith," a man whom through faith subdued lies, deceit, and wickedness.  Of godly men such as these the world is not worthy, for they have found grace and a good report in God's sight.

As a preacher I must constantly affirm it is for God that I speak.  I do not speak because I have truths hidden from the foundations of the world or I have thoughts which reach from the deepest depths to the highest heaven.  I must never seek the accolades or praise of men.  Instead, I must speak as God speaks, proclaiming boldly the words He has put in my mouth.  I freely confess to you this is something I cannot do.  I am a man:  I want to be liked, I desire to be accepted.  But because of the Holy Spirit who has filled, teaches, and guides me, He gives me strength to speak the truth motivated by love.  It is very easy to say what everyone wants to hear.  I praise God Jesus did not do that!  I'm so thankful He didn't tell me that deep down I'm really a good person, and God wants to make me happy.  I would be headed for hell without hope or knowledge of my certain destruction.  His Word tells me there is none righteous, no not one.  He also says the wages of sin is death.  But if I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.  Jesus has ascended to heaven and is currently preparing a place for me and all who repent and trust in Him.  I will never be separated from Him or His love for me.

Sometimes we have this idea that when we speak the truth we must be hard, gruff, and unfeeling.  This is far from accurate.  Jesus was a man who often spoke with tears in His eyes.  I shouldn't wonder if Micaiah shed many tears over King Ahab and those false prophets, the blind leading the blind.  A man who is close to God is profoundly affected by His love for all people, and that love is seen in every believer.  Jesus has commanded we love others as He has loved us.  Jesus wasn't interested in winning arguments or screaming matches.  His primary focus was not on showing people how right He was and how wrong they were.  He was pleading for the salvation of souls.  He wept over Jerusalem in Luke 19:42 "saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes."  Again He lamented in Matthew 23:37:  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"

If you will make Jesus your LORD and Messiah, a product of this relationship is He will grant you truth to share with the world.  In His strength you will overcome!  May we speak as He speaks and love as He loves.  He is alive and unfailing.  Let us resolve to speak righteously in the right manner.