WILL YOU SURVIVE THE SPIRITUAL RETIREMENTS?
WILL YOU SURVIVE THE SPIRITUAL
RETIREMENTS?
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 flocking have been complaining…
and their cries have ascended up to the throne room of God.
And this is not the
first time He 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….
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
WILL YOU SURVIVE THE SPIRITUAL RETIREMENTS?
Reviewed by Pastor Boachie-Ansah
on
8:49 AM
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Reviewed by Pastor Boachie-Ansah
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8:49 AM
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