DO YOU WANT TO GET BETTER OR JUST FEEL BETTER?
By Michael D. O’Neal
Pastor, Gospel Light Baptist Church
Albany, Georgia
Scripture Reading: 1 Ki. 22:1-14
Text: 1 Kings 22:8
1 Kings 22:8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
Introduction: Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, was shopping for a preacher to predict that God would bless him and give him victory in his coming battle against the Syrians. Around 400 prophets told him that he would win the battle. For some reason he must have had doubts about this great unanimity of prophecy, for he asked, “Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him?”
Ahab, the king of Israel, said, (read the text verse)
From the O’Neal Revised Version, the ORV, he said:
“I paid Micaiah a compliment one time, and he said to me, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’
“Another time I asked him if he could pray for the Lord to make me rich. His answer? ‘And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.’
“When my prophets tried to discuss the Bible with him, he shouted at them, ‘Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?’ ”
Ahab didn’t think it was a good idea because Micaiah usually told him that things were going go BADLY for the king of Israel unless he changed his ways. Of all the preachers in his kingdom, Micaiah was the one that he avoided the most.
You see, Ahab wasn’t wanting to GET better when he went to the prophet; he just wanted to FEEL better.
DO YOU WANT TO GET BETTER OR JUST FEEL BETTER?
I saw a man in the hospital yesterday who has some serious health problems. He was praising his surgeon because he said that even though the man wasn’t all that chatty or friendly, he leveled with him and told him the truth from the beginning. You see, the patient wanted to GET better, not just FEEL better.
Many people today want to go the church that makes them FEEL better. They don’t want to GET better.
Which do YOU want?
I. IN ORDER TO GET BETTER
YOU MUST SEE YOUR NEED
Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
A. How is your pain?
1. A doctor examines a patient
to see where he hurts
2. Holy Spirit conviction
3. Do you enjoy preaching?
B. How is your power?
1. Stress tests
2. Weakness
3. Are you working for the Lord?
4. Are you dependable? How long
can you stick to it?
C. How is your perception?
1. An eye, ear, and IQ test
2. Seeing the truth, vision
for the lost, hearing and
grasping scripture, thinking
on right things and judging
righteous judgment
II. IN ORDER TO GET BETTER
YOU MUST SEEK A DOCTOR
John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
A. A seasoned one, not a novice
B. A sincere one, not a performer
C. A straightforward one, not
ambiguous, liar, or flatterer
III. IN ORDER TO GET BETTER
YOU MUST SUBMIT TO AN EXAMINATION
Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
A. Of the preacher God sent
B. Of the preaching of the
scriptures
C. Of the probing of the
Holy Spirit
IV. IN ORDER TO GET BETTER
YOU MUST STICK TO
THE DOCTOR’S PRESCRIPTION
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Don’t run, don’t quit, don’t pretend you’re all well when you’re not.
A. Endure the pain of the
examination and treatment
B. Engage in the practice prescribed
C. Enjoy the progress you make
Will you resolve to GET better today by making up your mind to do right, rather than just FEEL better?
|
Michael D. O’Neal (Proverbs 11:30), Pastor, |