Sermon by Pastor William Boachie-Ansah
TEXTS: Ezek 34:1-10, 1KINGS 19:1-16
'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I WILL REQUIRE MY FLOCK AT THEIR HAND; I WILL CAUSE THEM TO CEASE FEEDING THE SHEEP, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I WILL DELIVER MY FLOCK FROM THEIR MOUTHS, that they may no longer be food for them." (Ezek 34:10)
¶ And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "IT IS ENOUGH! NOW, LORD, TAKE MY LIFE, FOR I AM NO BETTER THAN MY FATHERS!" 5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you." 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 ¶ And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10 So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life." 11 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14 And he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life." 15 Then the LORD said to him: "GO, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 "Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. AND ELISHA the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah YOU SHALL ANOINT AS PROPHET IN YOUR PLACE.
INTRODUCTION
God is now in the business of compulsorily retiring unfaithful workers!! Why? After warning people through personal convictions, prophecies, teachings and exhortations, some church leaders such as Apostles, prophets, Bishops, catechists, elders, deacons, Deaconesses as well as their wives and children are still recalcitrant and insensitive to the plight of the Holy One they are working for…. Church leaders have constantly been abusing their Offices with impunity…. And the flock have been complaining… and their cries have ascended up to the throne room of God.
And this is not the first time God is doing that. He did it to the shepherds of old, the priests by replacing them with prophets. He did it to both the priests and the prophets through captivity and foreign rule. He did it to the Pharisees and the other religious leaders by replacing them with the Apostles and other disciples..
Contrary to what Jesus stated about the hired shepherds of his time whose main motivation was their wages, (John 10:11-13) Ezekiel’s warning was to real shepherds who were deliberately veering off their duties to seek personal gains from the flock. God therefore had to warn them severally and finally decided to put an end to their dispensation. In the same way, if church leaders of today specialize in taking advantage over God’s church, He will not sit down unconcerned…
Today, I want us to discuss what happened to a very powerful man of God who was unfortunately retired at a time when his ministry was expected to be given a big boost. This man of God is Elijah. It must be noted carefully that Elijah was not among the bad nuts. He was a very good, responsible man of God who faced some difficult tasks and worked tirelessly to deliver God’s people from the oppression of Ahab and his wife Jezebel. But God retired him when nobody, including himself, was expecting it! I have chosen the case of Elijah to make us know that if God did not spare a good man when he went wrong, He may equally not spare any of us if we keep on disregarding his warnings.
Elijah’s retirement was premature because it occurred immediately after God had used him tremendously in the performance of great miracles. He was not willing to retire at that time, but God retired him!
WHY SHOULD GOD RETIRE HIM?
1. For running away when he saw the ‘wolf’. Will the God who was able to lead Elijah to kill the Baal prophets not capable of helping him to overcome Jezebel? But Jezebel couldn’t face Elijah; she only sent her ‘word’ to the one with the Word of God. Most Church leaders of today don’t want to face the wolves. If we ran away from the wolves, we make God disappointed.
2. For showing gross unfaithfulness through a negative confession. Take my life… I’m no better than my ancestors… Man of God, beware of every word that comes out of your mouth, for ‘you are what you say.’ If you don’t see yourself as a better man, God will appoint a better man for Himself, (1Sam 13:14) just as he did to Saul.
3. For refusing to go back when God strengthened him……why did God send angels to feed Elijah? He just wanted him to know that He was still with him. That is why God had to ask him (twice) what he was doing at Mt. Horeb.
No matter what God would use you to accomplish, He demands that you show constant and unwavering faithfulness in all matters to the end. What signs could be seen when God is about to compulsorily retire a leader? We shall talk about that next week.
CONTACTS: PASTOR WILLIAM BOACHIE-ANSAH
THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST (ADOAGYIRI DISTRICT)
P.O. BOX 203 NSAWAM
Boachieansah@gmail.com
copadoagyiri@gmail.com
http://boachieansah.webs.com
DID THE 1ST CENTURY CHURCH HAVE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES? BY STEVE FINNELL
ReplyDeleteThe prevailing thought of many is that since the Bible was not canonized until sometime between 300 and 400 A.D. that the church of Christ did not have New Covenant Scriptures as their guide for faith and practice. That is simply factually incorrect.
The Lord's church of the first 400 years did not rely on the man-made traditions of men for New Testament guidance.
Jesus gave the terms for pardon 33 A.D. after His death and resurrecting. (Mark 16:16) All the words of Jesus were Scripture.Jesus did not have to wait for canonization of the New Testament in order for His word to be authorized.
The terms for pardon were repeated by the apostle Peter 33 A.D. on the Day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:22-42) The teachings of the apostles were Scripture. The words of the apostles were Scripture before they were canonized.
The apostle Peter said the apostle Paul's words were Scripture. (2 Peter 3:15-16...just as also our beloved brother Paul , according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand,which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures...
The apostle Paul's letters and words were Scriptures when he wrote and spoke them. Paul did not have to wait for canonization to authorize his doctrine.
John 14:25-26 'These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to you remembrance all that I said to you.
The words and writings of the apostles were Scripture and they did not have to wait for canonization to be deemed authoritative. The apostle did not use man-made creed books of the church or man-made oral traditions to teach the gospel of the New Covenant.
Did the early church have written New testament Scriptures? Yes, and they were shared among the different congregations. (Colossians 4:16 When the letter is read among you, have it read in the church of the Laodiceans and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodica.) Paul's letters were Scripture and they were read in different churches.
They were New Testament Scriptures long before they were canonized.
WRITTEN
Matthew A.D. 70
Mark A.D. 55
Luke between A.D. 59 and 63
John A.D. 85
Acts A.D. 63
Romans A.D. 57
1 Corinthians A.D. 55
2 Corinthians A.D. 55
Galatians A.D. 50
Ephesians A.D. 60
Philippians A.D. 61
Colossians A. D. 60
1 Thessalonians A.D. 51
2 Thessalonians A.D. 51 or 52
1 Timothy A.D. 64
2 Timothy A.D. 66
Titus A.D. 64
Philemon A.D. 64
Hebrews A.D. 70
James A.D. 50
1 Peter A.D. 64
2 Peter A.D. 66
1 John A.D. 90
2 John A.d. 90
3 John A.D. 90
Jude A.D. 65
Revelation A.D. 95
All 27 books of the New Testament were Scripture when they were written. They did not have wait until they were canonized before they became God's word to mankind.
Jesus told the eleven disciples make disciples and teach them all that He commanded. (Matthew 28:16-19) That was A.D. 33, They were teaching New Covenant Scripture from A.D. 33 forward. The apostles did not wait to preach the gospel until canonization occurred 300 to 400 years later.
THE WORDS OF JESUS AND THE APOSTLES WERE SCRIPTURE WHEN THEY WERE SPOKEN AND WRITTEN. THEY DID NOT HAVE TO WAIT FOR CANONIZATION TO BE THE AUTHORIZED WORD OF GOD.
MAN-MADE CREED BOOKS AND MAN-MADE ORAL TRADITION WAS AND IS NOT SCRIPTURE.
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