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"a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, 'The Holy Spirit says, "In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles."’” (Acts 21:10-11 NIV).
If you were to have a prophet of God come to you and say these things to you, how would you react?
Personally I would quickly make some changes to my plans!
And this warning was repeated:"We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem." (Acts 21:4 NIV). We all know that when God repeats Himself, we are to pay close attention! Yup, I'd be cancelling my reservations and heading in the opposite direction!
But not Paul. In fact, those who warned Paul, speaking in the Holy Spirit, received a rebuke: “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:13 NIV)
Why would Paul so blatantly ignore the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
We know that Paul often did heed the advice of other Spirit-led believers. Just a few chapters earlier we see him, upon the advice of Spirit-led believers, fleeing! "But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast..." (Acts 17: 13-14 NIV). Why then would he continue on to Jerusalem, ignoring the God-given advice of prophets of God?
It was because God had directly told Paul to go to Jerusalem... "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem..." (Acts 20:22a NIV). Paul knew something bad was waiting for him: "...not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." (Acts 20:22b-24 NIV) -- yet he obeyed!
Wait. Why would God contradict Himself by telling Paul to go and then using prophets to tell him not to go?
Some would say that Paul made a mistake, that he wasn't compelled by the Spirit, that after long years in ministry, he had developed a martyr syndrome; and that the Holy Spirit tried multiple times to change his mind. All we know is what the Bible records, and the Bible doesn't use the words, 'the Holy Spirit told Paul to go to Jerusalem.' It only says, in Paul's words, "compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem." The point of this devotional isn't to debate whether or not Paul heard from the Holy Spirit correctly, because there is another very interesting story, in the Old Testament this time, where it seems that God contradicts Himself...
There is a story in the book of 1 Kings that is similar in nature. A man of God came to Bethel, where the Israelite king Jeroboam was worshipping at the false altars he had created, and prophesied against the altars, even naming the future king who would destroy them. This man had specifically been commanded by the word of the Lord, to "...not eat bread or drink water or return by the way [he] came." (1 Kings 13: 9 NIV). On his way back to Jerusalem, the prophet was visited by another prophet of God who claimed to have heard from the Holy Spirit that the prophet should come and dine with him. The prophet turned aside and went with the second prophet. In the end, he was ripped to pieces by a lion (See full story in 1 Kings 13).
In this Old Testament story, we are told that the second prophet was lying to the first one; yet the first prophet fell into the trap.
I believe the point of these two stories is three-fold:
1. When we hear a message from God, we must verify that it is of Him. We can do this through the scripture (God's Spirit will never contradict His written Word), through the fellowship of believers, through the peace that God gives us when we follow His direction, and through circumstancial evidence.
2. When it seems like God may be contridicting Himself, we need to take the whole thing back to God for verification. Who knows it if might be a test of our obedience, or if God is truly trying to get your attention!
And perhaps the most important:
3. When God convicts us of what we should do, we must let nothing stop us! Even if it is a word that is "from God"!
What do you feel God is calling you to do? Verify it is of Him, and then don't let anything stop you!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
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