The
True Prophet and True Preacher
Micah 3:8 “But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.”
Is Micah bragging? Or is he testifying truthfully?
Now, what is Micah all about?
Whatever Micah is about, the people of this world just cannot figure him out.
It is beyond them … way beyond them.
And so it is with all the true ministers of God.
They are “full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might”.
They listen to a different drummer … not according to this old world.
They represent a supernatural God to declare “Thus saith the LORD"!
1. Approved
2. Empowered
3. Enabled
1. Approved
Though there was no answer of God, the true prophet was ready, and he stood in the place of service to God … in spite of the people.
No matter how lonely it was [for Micah] … and no matter how rough it got … Micah pressed on. Amen!
Though there is no answer of God, the true preacher [or pastor] today will still stand ready, and be in the place of service to God … in spite of the people. No matter how lonely it will get … and no matter how rough it will get, he will still press on. Amen! This is the proof of the approval from God.
Now, Micah was approved to be true. What Micah went through to be approved typifies what all true ministers will need to go through in order to be proven true. Now, notice something here; God’s ministers need to APPROVE … themselves … as the Holy Ghost tells us they will [in the book of Second Corinthians chapter six]. They will need to be approved … so that they may be proved TRUE.
In Second Corinthians chapter six, the Apostle Paul lays this whole thing out for us who live in the times of the Gentiles.
Read with me, starting with verse four: “But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;” [2 Corinthians 6:4-8]
The true minister of God is PROVED [over a period of time] to be a true minister of God. He is tried!
Now notice with me in the following Scripture the connection of being “proved” or “tried” with “faith”. What we will see here is not just for the ministers of God, but it is for all of us [who are the true believers in Jesus Christ in the Church Age].
Get ready for this? You must personally make the connection for yourself about yourself. This applies to all who come by faith to Jesus Christ.
• “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,” [Hebrews 11:17].
• “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” [Job 23:10]
• “For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.” [Psalm 66:10]
• “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” [1 Peter 1:7].
2. Empowered
“But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.”
Now, here is my personal observation concerning empowerment [“full of power by the spirit of the Lord”]. This observation is something that has been made from my thirty-seven years of being saved by the blood of the Lamb of God. Here I go.
The slick smooth-speaking pastors and teachers today use man’s wisdom to draw a crowd, or to build a church.
To convince men and women of spiritual things, these Madison Avenue types use the methods of men.
The methods of men are nothing more but the weapons of the flesh.
It is a dry run and void of the Spirit of God. We can run [as preachers] these rabbit-runs with all the “enticing” words of men but in the end … all our efforts to war in the spiritual things using the fleshly wisdom of men will fail to produce in spiritual things.
Now, note this. Micah was “full of power”. Those true prophets were “full of power”.
The true pastor or the true preacher today is “full of power”. Whose power is it? Why it is … the power of God.
This is clearly stated by the Holy Spirit in no uncertain terms in the King James Bible [the A.V. 1611 or any of its editions] in First Corinthians chapter two, verse four and five: “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” [1 Corinthians 2:5]
3. Enabled
“But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.”
Grasp something here! The “ministers of God” are not ministers of men, nor ministers from men. They are ministers to men from God representing God.
Therefore, the people of God do not put men into the ministry. It is God working within a New Testament church that puts men into the ministry. The Apostle Paul recognized this thing as the truth about himself in the book of First Timothy chapter one verse twelve: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;” [1 Timothy 1:12].
God puts men into the ministry.
Furthermore, since men are the ones PUT into the ministry by God, it also follows that these same men [who have been put into the ministry by God] are the very ones who have “received” the ministry of God … according to the word of God shown to us in the book of Colossians chapter four, verse seventeen: “And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.” [Colossians 4:17]
God puts a man into the ministry.
A man receives his ministry from God.
A man needs to fulfill that ministry … without regard to whether, or not, they receive his ministry. The minister of God needs to declare “all the counsel of God.” “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” [Acts 20:27]
No doubt for many of us it may get real lonely.
Remember Jeremiah: “But thou, O Lord, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.” [Jeremiah 12:3]
Christian, TRUST HIM: “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.” [2 Samuel 22:31]
TRUST HIM!