1 Kings 13

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.)
(1Ki 13:18)

You have a mysterious man of God in this chapter. He had been sent with a specific command to rebuke Jeroboam and tell of the upcoming king, Josiah. This man of God was successful in delivering his message. The Lord protected him from any danger that Jeroboam might have caused. Finally, he starts to head home, being given a specific command from the Lord not to turn a different direction or even stop for food.

Here comes the old prophet. He had forfeited a part of his ministry by living in the very center of the false system of worship. He was probably convicted when he heard of the man of God, and probably intrigued as well. He goes after him, and uses his position to command the man to come with him. Unfortunately, this prophet was lying. Unfortunately, this man of God heeded his words rather than the Lord’s command.

Follow the Lord’s commands for your life. Learn the Lord’s voice now when you guys are growing up. John 10 tells us that His sheep know the master’s voice. There will come a day when you feel God is calling you to do something. When that day comes you cannot expect other people to make the decision for you. In fact, in good nature these people may try to lead you a different direction. This can be extremely difficult when these are people you look up to. Nonetheless, I think this story makes it very clear, listen to God and Him only.

For most of you, God has you at a place where He has placed your parents in your life to make or help make many decisions for you. What does this mean? This means that you have more time to learn His voice! One day, you will have decisions to make on your own. The only way you can be sure you are heading the right direction is if you learn your master’s voice and obey it.