All right, well, we're there in 1 Kings chapter number 13. And of course, we're making our way through the book of 1 Kings. And there's a lot of stories in this book and a lot of things. So we covered chapter 13 on Sunday morning, if you remember. We saw the first 10 verses there of 1 Kings chapter 13. And we saw the marks of the man of God. And we saw, if you remember from Sunday morning, that an unnamed man of God from Jerusalem goes up to the northern kingdom of Israel, goes to Bethel, and he confronts Jeroboam. If you remember, Jeroboam had made this false religion. He'd made these idols, and people were worshiping it. And of course, the man of God shows up. He prophesies judgment on the altar, and he gives a confirming sign. He actually prophesies about the prophets, the false prophets that are sacrificing on the altar, how their bones are going to be burned on that altar. And he prophesies about Josiah by name, which Josiah will come 300 some odd years after this. And then, of course, we know that we have that whole episode with Jeroboam. Jeroboam puts out his hand and tells the guards to grab him, to seize him. and his hand is not able to go back and we saw that the man of God prayed for him and then of course Jeroboam tried to give him a reward and the man of God was not allowed to go, he was told by the word of God to not eat in that place, to not drink in that place, to not fellowship with anyone so he refused the reward, he refused to go with Jeroboam and we saw all of that on Sunday morning we saw the man of God, but if you remember we talked about the fact that in this chapter there are two main characters. The first one is the man of God which we talked about, we'll still talk about tonight, but then there's a second character in this chapter and that is the old prophet and that's who were introduced there in verse number 11. If you notice there in 1 Kings 13 and verse number 11, the Bible says this, now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel, the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father." So we're introduced to this old prophet. He's got these sons. They hear about all of the things that happened in verses 1 through 10 of this chapter, about the man of God, about him showing up, about the miracle, the altar breaking and the ashes, all of that. They tell him about this, and I think I said this on Sunday morning, but just one thing that I think about when I read this is about this old prophet that God sent this man of God from the southern kingdom of Israel. If you remember just earlier, it hasn't been that long that the kingdom has split. The United Kingdom of Israel has become two kingdoms. The northern kingdom of Israel under the leadership of Jeroboam with ten tribes, and then the southern kingdom of Israel with Judah and Benjamin. So the man of God goes from the southern kingdom into the northern kingdom to preach against the altar, to preach against the idolatry. But that whole time this old prophet is there in Bethel, in the exact place where God needed someone to preach. God did not use this old prophet. I think that tells us something about this old prophet. We're going to see in the story that he's compromised and he's not a good preacher, he's a bad preacher. But we just notice right up front that there's an old prophet there in Bethel, but he's not used of the Lord. In fact, he's told about what the man of God is doing by his sons. The last part of verse 11 there says, they told also to their father. So we're introduced to this old prophet. Notice verse 12. And their father said unto them, what way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. And he said unto his sons, saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass, and he rode thereon, and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak." So he goes to find the man of God. The man of God is sitting under an oak, and I think that I'm sure he's tired. We saw earlier in the chapter, and we're going to see it later on, even in this passage, but in verse 8 we're told that he was not allowed to eat bread nor drink water in that place. So he left. uh... the southern kingdom he drank whatever water he's gonna drink hydrated he ate and then he goes to the northern kingdom he does all these things he's gonna do and then he has to come back he's not allowed to eat or drink so I'm sure he was tired uh... he's resting there he finds him the old prophet finds the man of God sitting under an oak uh... verse fourteen and he said unto him art thou the man of God that came from Judah and he said I am Notice verse 15. So here we have this old prophet and he's giving the exact same request to the man of God that we saw Jeroboam give. Jeroboam said, come home with me, I'm going to give you a reward, come eat with me, be refreshed. Now this old prophet finds the man of God sitting under an oak tree and he says, come home with me and eat bread. Now before we go further, So, in this chapter, let me just give you some context about how we're going to look at this passage and how we're going to perceive it. Keep it placed there in 1 Kings chapter 13, that's our text for tonight. But if you don't mind, go with me to the New Testament book of 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 11. In the New Testament, of course, you've got Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1st Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians. Do me a favor, when you get to 2nd Corinthians, put a ribbon or bookmark or something there because we're going to leave it, we're going to come back to it. I'd like for you to get to it quickly. But go ahead and find 2nd Corinthians chapter 11. And let me just say this. This old prophet is not a good man. That's going to become clear from the passage. We've already read it. But of course, just the fact that God doesn't use him, he's in Bethel. God needs a man of God to deliver a message in Bethel. This old prophet is in Bethel and God bypasses him and sends a man of God from Judah, that tells us something. And this man of God, this prophet is coming to the man of God, and he's inviting him to come home and eat bread. And I feel like from this story, this prophet is not a good man. Maybe he was at one point, but he's an old prophet now, and he's a bad prophet. And in many ways, I believe this story, and I think you'll see it when we go through it, this story pictures the devil. And it pictures the work of the devil in the life of a believer and the destroying work of the devil in the life of a believer. And we can see some characteristics of the devil from this old prophet. Now, you might think, you know, are we really going to see characteristics of the devil from a preacher, from someone that the Bible calls a prophet, an old prophet? But I want you to notice in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, In verse number 13, we're told something about false prophets, false teachers, and about the devil. 2 Corinthians 11, verse 13, notice what the Bible says. It says, Now apostles, of course, were in the New Testament, but this would be the equivalent of a false prophet, a false preacher. For such are false apostles. Notice what it says about these false apostles. It says they're deceitful workers. And we're going to see how this old prophet was a deceitful worker here in a minute, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And then in verse 14, so Paul says there in verse 13 to the Corinthian church, he says, look, you gotta be aware that there are false teachers out there, there are false prophets out there, there are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. He says, don't let that surprise you, verse 14. He says, and no marvel. The word marvel means to wonder at, to be amazed at. He said, don't marvel at it, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, and by the way, just remember that, that this passage here tells us that Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, It is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. So here the Bible is telling us that there are ministers that are not ministers of God, but ministers of the devil. They're ministers of unrighteousness. They are deceitful workers. And we should not marvel of that. We should not be surprised by that. We should not be surprised that there are some men who call themselves men of God, but really they're men of the devil. And I think that this old prophet signifies, he resembles the work that the devil does in the life of believers. And it's through this prophet because oftentimes the work of the devil, unfortunately, is done through so-called preachers, prophets, and so-called men of God. Now you're there in 2 Corinthians 11. Flip back to chapter 2 just real quickly. Let me show you one more verse and then we'll get into our story. 2 Corinthians 2, look at verse 11. 2 Corinthians 2, verse 11. We're going to learn about the devil and about how he uses old prophet and it's important for us to learn about the devil because in 2 Corinthians 2.11 Paul said to the church at Corinth, he said, less Satan should get an advantage of us for we are not ignorant of his devices. We need to know our enemy. We need to know how the devil works and how he operates. so that he would not get an advantage of us. We are in a battle whether we realize it or not, whether we like it or not. We're in a battle, in a spiritual battle, and the devil is our adversary. So we're going to see how this man of God was attacked by the devil using this old prophet, and we're going to see some characteristics of the devil. So keep your place here in 2 Corinthians, we're going to come back to it. Go back to 1 Kings chapter 13 if you don't mind. Let me give you just three thoughts quickly about the devil and using this old prophet and then I've got some applications as well as we finish up. Notice 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 16. So remember the old prophet finds the man of God. He's sitting under a tree, he's resting and he invites him. He says, come home with me and eat with me and be refreshed. Notice verse 16, and he the man of God, said, so he responds to him similarly how he responded to Jeroboam the king. He said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place for, now notice, he says here's, look, he said I couldn't hang out with Jeroboam and go have lunch with him and I can't go with you and here's why, verse 17. For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, thou shalt not eat bread, So, the invitation is given just like Jeroboam. He declines it, just like with Jeroboam. But here's the difference, verse 18. He... This is the old prophet said unto him, the man of God, I am a prophet also, as thou art. And notice what he tells him. He tells him an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. And notice the last part of verse number 18, the last part of verse 18 tells us about this old prophet. But he lied unto him. He lied unto him. So the man of God, he has his directions from the word of God. The word of the Lord told him clearly before he left. He said, I want you to go there. I want you to preach. Here's the message. Here's what you're going to say. Here's what you're going to do. He says, don't eat bread. Don't drink water. Don't go back the same way you came. Don't fellowship with anybody. Those are the instructions. And the man of God is following those instructions. Jeroboam invites him. He says, no. This old prophet invites him and he says no. But the old prophet then lies to him and says, no, no. I've been given new instructions. I'm a prophet also and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord. And he told me to bring you back that you may eat bread and drink water. And the Bible, the narrator tells us there, but he lied unto him. And here we see the first the first way that the devil attacks us. We read there in 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 11 that we should not let Satan get an advantage over us for we're not ignorant of his devices. And one of the devices of the devil is this. The devil, like this old prophet, lies. The devil will lie to us. The devil will tell us. And look, here's what's interesting about this old prophet is that he is saying, no, what you know the Word of God to be is actually different. The word of the Lord said, don't eat bread, don't drink. But I'm telling you that the word of the Lord said the opposite thing. It said that you're supposed to come eat bread and drink water. This is what the devil's been doing from the beginning. All the way from the Garden of Eden, the devil shows up at the Garden of Eden with Eve and he says, hath God said? You know, did he say that you shouldn't eat? Did he say? He questions the Word of God. He changes the Word of God. And this is what the devil does. He lies. In Genesis 3 and verse 13, the Bible says, you don't have to turn there, but Eve said that the serpent beguiled me and I did eat. He deceived her. He tricked her. He lied to her. And here, we see that this old man is going to do the same thing to the man of God. He lied to him. He deceived him. And this is what the devil does. This is what the devil is known for. In John chapter 8 and verse 44, you don't have to turn there, but if you want to jot it down for your notes, John 8, 44, here's what Jesus said about the devil. He said, ye, talking to some religious leaders, he said, ye are of your father the devil. The lust of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it. When the Bible says here that the devil is the father of it, of lying, what the Bible is saying is that the devil is the one that came up with the idea of lying. It was his idea to say, hey, let's go tell Eve something that's not true. Let's go change the word of God. And that's what the devil's known for. He's known for lots of things. One of the things he's known for is for being a liar. The Bible says that he was a murderer from the beginning, but it also says that he abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. And look, this is what the devil does. The devil comes alongside believers and he'll lie to you. And he'll say, no, I know that's what the Bible says, but it doesn't apply to you. I know that's what the Bible says, but that's being taken out of context. Or I know that's what the Bible says, but that's just the man of God misunderstanding it. That's just the preacher's misunderstanding. He'll come alongside you and he'll say, no, I know the Bible says not to, but actually what it means is that they'll add to the word of God. They'll begin to preach things that aren't even in the Bible. The devil we see is a liar. But what we also know about the devil's preachers is that they also lie. And look, this is why we need to be careful. In 2 Timothy chapter 4, you don't have to turn there, I'll just read this for you, but in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 3, Paul wrote these words, he says, for the time will come, referring to the end times, and I think they're here. He says, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. It's interesting to me that the Bible says, and I found this to be true, is that Paul said there's coming a day when people are going to want to be lied to. They don't want to endure sound doctrine. They're going to find themselves, heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they're going to turn away their ears from the truth. And it's just interesting to me because to me it just seems so silly or just, I don't know, like just such a waste of time. You know, my idea is this. If I was going to get backslidden, like if I just wanted to go live in the world, drink alcohol, whatever, you know, just go live in the world, I just do it, you know what I mean? Like, I would just do it and say, well, I'm backslidden and praise the Lord for eternal security, right? But it's just interesting to me that people can't do that. You know what they do is they find a preacher that tells them it's okay to get drunk. It's okay to commit adultery. It's okay to fornicate. It's all, you know, it's just grace, and it's just love, and there's no judgment. People, and it's like, you've got to be smarter than that, right? Like, you know you're being lied to, but, Paul said, the time will come when they will not endorse hound doctrine. They're gonna heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they're gonna turn away their ears from the truth. And this is why you should be thankful that you have a church that's gonna tell you the truth. This is why the Apostle Paul said to the Galatian church, he said, am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? So we see that the devil, like this old prophet, lies. And the devil often times uses prophets to lie. Here's what's interesting about this story. Look at verse number 18 again. 1 Kings 13 and verse 18. The Bible says, he, this is the old prophet, said unto him, I am a prophet also. as thou art, and notice what he says here, he says, an angel spake unto me. by the word of the Lord, saying, bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. Now he completely lied. But this is how he deceived the man of God. He said, look, you don't have to worry about it. There's been a change of plans. An angel appeared to me, and an angel told me something different than what the word of God says. And here's what we need to understand. I think that God puts this in the Bible because it's actually a very common thing. where people will claim that an angel told them something that's different than what the Bible says, that's different than what the word of God says, but then they'll just receive the word of the angel. And we just read, you don't have to go back there, but in 2 Corinthians 11, 14, remember the Bible says, and nor marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Look, if an angel appears to you, you need to consider this may not be an angel. This may be the devil or it just may be the drugs you're on or whatever, you know, but the devil himself, Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. And if an angel shows up, look, if an angel shows up to you in the middle of night and he begins to tell you things that are not in the Bible or that go against the Bible, you need to have enough discernment to realize this is not an angel. This is the devil, the devil himself. If an angel even appears, because I don't think an angel appeared to this old man, he just lied about it, that's what the Bible says. But if an angel actually appears to someone, then you know what it was, it wasn't an angel, it was a devil that appeared to them. And this man, he is claiming that an angel spoke to him, the Bible tells us he lied to him. But it's just interesting to me because this is very common. For example, Muhammad, the founder of Islam, who was illiterate by the way, claims that he got revelations from the angel Gabriel beginning around AD 610 and those supposed revelations became the Quran. Now the Quran goes against the word of God, it goes against everything the Bible teaches. The Quran does not believe, does not teach, Muhammad did not teach that Jesus was the son of God, that Jesus was God in the flesh, does not teach that salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ. It goes against the teaching of Jesus, I am the way, the truth, and the life. But Muhammad claimed that an angel appeared to him. Now you say, well then which one is it? Well, here's the thing. It's one of two things. Either Muhammad lied, or maybe a devil did appear to him, pretending to be an angel, and he was deceived by it. But it's just interesting that this is a common thing. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, founded Islam supposedly because an angel appeared to him. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, who was a con artist, said, claimed that an angel named Moroni, which has just that I, adding that I just changes the word from moron to Moroni, appeared to him. He says that this angel Moroni appeared to him and showed him golden plates that became the Book of Mormon. So he says, an angel appeared, showed me his golden plates. The golden plates got lost. Nobody ever saw the golden plates except for Joseph Smith. And there's no proof that any of this actually happened. The guy was a known con artist who was just thrown out of state after state after state for having all these deceitful things that he did. But Joseph Smith created this false religion of Mormonism and he claims an angel appeared to me. Mohammed created this false religion of Islam and he claims an angel appeared to me. Ellen G. White, the founder of the Seventh-day Adventists. She claims that numerous visions and that she was given numerous visions and supernatural guidance and angelic instructions that revealed to her things that were not in the Bible or further than the Bible. So it's just an interesting thing that the Bible says no marvel Because Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light, then this old prophet claims that an angel, he's lying, but he claims that an angel came and told him something that goes against the word of God. And then just through history we have these major religions, Islam, Mormonism, the Seventh-day Adventists, and we've got there which are all cults, they all teach anti the word of God, but they all claim an angel appeared. and told me. Now, if you get to a place there in 2 Corinthians, go to Galatians, if you don't mind, just one book over, Galatians chapter number 1. I want you to notice what the Apostle Paul says in Galatians chapter 1 and verse 8. If you're in 2 Corinthians, just one book over to Galatians. Galatians chapter 1 and verse 8, the Bible says this. Here's what Paul said. He said, but though we, I think that's interesting, he says, I don't care, Paul says, I don't care if I appear to you. He says, but though we, but then he says this, are an angel from heaven. It's like he knew that Muhammad would come around. He knew that Joseph Smith would come around. He knew that Ellen G. White would come around. He did know about the old prophet, I'm sure. But he says, though we are an angel from heaven, notice what he says, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. And here's what the Bible is teaching. The Bible is teaching that even if an angel shows up, if an angel shows up and tells you something that goes against the Word of God, we stick with the Word of God. And this is where the old man, this old prophet, he deceived the man of God. He lied to him. But here's how he got him. He deceived him. He said, no, no, the Word of God has changed because an angel spoke to me. and told me something different than the word of God. Go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 13. So we saw the first thing, that the devil like this old prophet lies, or maybe we should say it this way, this old prophet like the devil lies. This is how the devil, his devices often work. Now I want you to notice the second thing from this passage, this story. Not only do we see that the devil like this old prophet lies, But I want you to notice a second thing in this story, and it's this, that the devil, like this old prophet, or maybe I should say it this way, this old prophet, like the devil, not only does he lie, but he accuses. I think this is one of the most interesting things about this story. And when I say interesting, I don't mean that in a positive way. To me, it's one of the most irritating things. There's several irritating things about this story, but this is definitely one of them. Notice what happens in the story in verse 19. So he, the man of God, went back with him, the old prophet. and they'd eat bread in his house and drink water. Remember, the man of God was told, don't eat bread, don't drink water, don't stop, go one way, come back another way, and don't go home with anyone. Jeroboam says, hey, come hang out with me, come be refreshed at my house, come eat and drink at my house. And the man of God says, no, the word of God told me not to do that. Then this old prophet finds him, same offer. He says, no, the word of God told me not to do it. But then he's lied to. Then he's deceived. He's told an angel appeared and said, change the word of God, said something different. And he falls for it. So he, verse 19, went back with him. And he did eat bread in his house and drank water. Because he's thinking, well, if an angel lord appeared to this prophet, then it must be so. And by the way, this is why the Bible says that we need to try every spirit. whether it be of God. Why? Because there are many false prophets gone into the world. You cannot just listen to just anybody on YouTube who calls himself a preacher or anyone on the radio who calls himself a preacher or anyone that shows up to your house calling themselves a preacher and just assume that they're telling you the truth. The devil uses his ministers to lie. But I want you to notice the second thing the devil does. And he uses this minister to do. The man of God goes back, he eats bread, he drank water, verse 20, and it came to pass as they sat at the table that the word of the Lord came. But notice, unto the prophet. So when God needed a man to go preach the Jeroboam in Bethel, the old prophet was in Bethel and God didn't use him. He used the man of God. But now that the man of God has been deceived and has disobeyed, They're eating at the table and they're having lunch and he's drinking water and they're fellowshipping. Now, the word of the Lord actually comes to this old prophet. Verse 20, the Bible says, And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the old prophet, and that brought him back. So the word Lord comes to the old prophet that brought him, the man of God, back, verse 21. And he, the old prophet, cried unto the man of God. So now he's preaching a sermon to him. And here's the sermon. He says, the Bible says that he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, thus saith the Lord. So now he's preaching the word of God. He says, thus saith the Lord. He says, for as much And that word for as much means in light of the fact, in view of the fact. He says, for as much as thou has disobeyed the mouth of the Lord. Now get the picture here. The old prophet lied to the man of God and said, no, you're saying God said don't eat bread and drink water? No, no, an angel appeared to me and told me that it was okay for you to eat bread and drink water. He lied to him. Now they're sitting there, he's eating bread, drinking water, and now this old prophet gets up and says, thus saith the Lord God? He cried unto him, he said, Thus saith the Lord, forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandments which the Lord thy God commanded thee, but camest back, and hast eaten bread, and drunk water in this place, of which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, nor drink no water, thy carcass, and that's not a good sign, because a carcass means you're dead, thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulcher of thy fathers. Now this is irritating to me because it's the old prophet that lied to him and deceived him and brought him back. And now this old prophet that lied to him and deceived him and tricked him and beguiled him and brought him back and now caused him, he deceived him and he disobeyed. Isn't that exactly what happened to Eve? She was deceived and then she disobeyed. Now this man of God stands there and accuses him. And he says, because you disobeyed the word of the Lord, because you disobeyed the mouth of the Lord. And it's not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God had commanded thee, verse 22, but came as back and has eaten bread and drunk water in the place of the which the Lord did say to thee, eat no bread and drink no water. Thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulcher of thy father. And here we see another of the devices of the devil is that he lies to us. But you know, once we fall in for his lie, then he accuses us. You know what the Bible calls the devil in Revelation chapter 12 and verse 10? He's called the accuser of the brethren. We're told that he accuses them, the brethren, before God day and night. That's what he does. And we see him doing this. Another story, I won't have to turn there, but a story we talk a lot about is the story of Amnon. Remember Amnon? In 2 Samuel 13, the Bible tells us that Amnon was vexed for his half-sister Tamar. He was lusting after his half-sister Tamar. He called it love, but it was lust. But the Bible says that he thought it hard to do anything to her. So though he was vexed for her, he wasn't going to act on that. But then the Bible tells us this, but Amnon had a friend. And he had a bad friend. And the name of his friend was Jonadab. And here's what's interesting. The Bible says about Jonadab that he was a very subtle man. And that's what the Bible says about the serpent in garden. That the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field. These are all pictures of how Satan works and how Satan uses individuals. And what does Jonadab do? He gives Amnon a plan. He tells, because Amnon was vexed. He wanted to do something that was ungodly, but he wasn't going to do it. He wasn't going to act on it until Jonadab showed up and said, no, I think you should do it. He encouraged him. He gave him a plan. He told Amnon, pretend like you're sick. Then ask David, your father, to send you Tamar. And then when Tamar comes, ask all the men to get out. And then you can force her. And of course, Jonadab rapes his half-sister Tamar. And I won't go through the whole story. Amnon follows the plan. The sin happens. Tamar's life is shattered. Absalom ends up killing Amnon out of vengeance because David refuses to do anything about it. Amnon invites all of the brethren to a special gathering. Absalom has Amnon put to death. When he dies, everyone panics. Rumors are saying that Amnon killed all of David's children. David thinks that Absalom has killed all of his sons. And it's interesting to me because in the story what happens is that Jonadab is the first to speak up. And in verse 32, you don't have to turn there, but in 2 Samuel 13, 32, he says, this is what Jonadab says to David, he says, let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men, the king's son. For Amnon only is dead. For by the appointment of Absalom, this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. Here's what's interesting to me, is that Jonadab goes to David and accuses Amnon. He says, oh no, only Amnon is dead, because remember David, Amnon forced his sister Tamar. What's interesting to me is that Jonadab leaves out the part that he was the one that engineered the whole thing. He was the one that orchestrated the whole thing. He's the one that tempted Amnon to do it, and gave him a plan, and gave him encouragement. See, what Jonadab does was that he tempted him, and then once Amnon did it, then he accused him. This old prophet lies to the man of God, and then once the man of God is deceived, and once he's disobedient, then he accuses him. And this is what the devil does, he's the accuser of the brethren. So when he lies to you, he seems like a friend. When he lies to you, he seems like he has your best interests at mind. When he lies to you, he says, oh, you deserve that. No, that's okay for you. You should go ahead with that. He'll tempt you and give you a plan. He acts like he's your friend, but then once you do it, then he stands back and says, look, look everybody, look what he did. Look what she did. Look, God, look what your child did. And here this old man of God is standing up at the dinner table, at the lunch table, pointing at this man of God and saying, look what you did. And we see that the devil will lie. This old prophet, like the devil, lies. And we see that this old prophet, like the devil, accuses. I want you to notice a third thing from the story. Look at verse 23. And it came to pass after he, this is the man of God, had eaten bread, and after he, the man of God, had drunk, that he, this is the old prophet, saddled for him, the man of God, the ass, to wit for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, notice what the Bible says, a lion met him by the way, and slew him. and his carcass was cast into the way, and the ass stood by it, and the lion also stood by the carcass. And here I think we find the third similarity to the devil. This old prophet, like the devil, lies, and this old prophet, like the devil, accuses. I want you to notice thirdly tonight that this old prophet, like the devil, destroys. I think it's interesting that when the man of God leaves The Bible says that a lion met him by the way and slew him. It's interesting because I believe that this old prophet is a picture of or a resemblance of the devil. We see he's doing what the devil does. He tempts, he deceives, he causes to disobey, he tempts them to do wrong, and then he accuses them. But then we see that a lion comes and destroys him. A lion comes and destroys him. I don't think it's a coincidence that Peter in the New Testament would say to us, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, has a roaring lion. walketh about seeking whom he may devour." I think this lion that met him by the way is just telling us that this is the devices of the devil. A lion met him by the way and slew him and his carcass was cast in the way and the ass stood by it. The lion also stood by the carcass. There's an emphasis made in this chapter about the fact that the lion slew the man but not the ass. And then both, the donkey and the lion, stood by the carcass. It's emphasized later in the chapter as well. And I think there's a reason for that, because all of that is not natural. It's natural for a lion to attack a man or an individual, but it's not natural for a lion to just kill the man and then not eat the carcass. The carcass was left there. And it's not natural for a donkey to watch a lion kill someone and to just stand there. I think most animals are going to run away from that. The lion stands there and the donkey stands there. They both stay there. The man of God's body is left. And I think there's a picture here because, remember, the man of God disobeyed. And I think what it shows for us is that the lion did not attack. the ass, only the man of God. And the lion and the ass stood there next to each other, not afraid of each other, not attacking each other. And it shows God's power over nature and how it's often easier for God to get nature to obey him. Balaam's story tells us that it's often easier for God to get a donkey to obey than to get us to obey. It reminds me of Isaiah chapter 1, you have to turn there, I'll just read this for you. But Isaiah chapter 1 verse 3 says this, the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib, but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. And I think there's an illustration here, that nature, if you've been reading 9 chapters today, you've read that Jesus calms the storm, he calms the wind, he calms the nature. He can stop a storm, But he often can't stop us. Of course, that's because of free will. Obviously, he could stop us, he could kill us if he wanted to, but you understand that nature obeys God more closely than often we do. So we see from the story that the old prophet, like the devil, lies. The old prophet, like the devil, accuses. The old prophet, like the devil, destroys. This lion met him by the way and slew him. and when we allow the devil to lie to us and we allow the devil to accuse us then the lion destroys us too because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour so when Satan shows up looking like an angel of light looking nice and saying nice things and saying no Eve you should eat of that that's not what God meant Don't fall. Don't be ignorant of his devices. He's not your friend. He's not trying to help you. As soon as you do what he's tempting you to do, he's going to point at you and say, look, God, look what the man of God did. And then it destroyed his life. Now, let me just say a couple of things. And I've got some applications, three applications from the story. But before I get into the applications, let me just deal with some unsettling things about this story. I like this story in the sense that it's an interesting story in the Bible. But to be honest with you, and we already talked a little bit about it, there's some unsettling things about this story. There's some things I don't like about this story. And I think that's for a reason. I think sometimes God just kind of gives us these things that just kind of don't sit well. You know what I mean? And this is, we see this in the Bible, like for example, I don't like how the book of Jonah ends, right? It just kind of ends, you know, Jonah's mad and he's mad that people are getting saved and he's not, and then it just kind of ends abruptly. And I don't like that, right? Because I want there to be a resolution. I want God to either kill Jonah, or Jonah gets right with God, or whatever. It just kind of ends abruptly. I remember when I was preaching through the book of Jonah, I had this thought about just kind of preaching through that chapter, and then just abruptly just like walking off. Because that's just kind of how the book ends. And that bothers me. But you know, I realize that that's how a lot of Christians' life goes. They're just kind of here, and then they're not. It just kind of abruptly comes to an end as far as them serving God and whatever. So I think God sometimes puts these things in the Bible. They're not, for those of us that teach and preach it, and it's kind of unsettling, but it's just how life is. And I think there's some things in this story that are a little unsettling. Maybe you haven't noticed them, but they're unsettling for me. Notice verse 25. So the man of God dies. A lion meets him and kills him, verse 25. The Bible says, and behold, men passed by. So keep in mind, this guy just earlier, not that long ago, showed up at the king's court, preached to Jeroboam, preached against the altar, said this, and the altar broke, and the ashes fell, and Jeroboam's hand was stuck, and he prayed for, I mean, all of this just happened not too long ago. And then the Bible says here in verse 25, behold the men passed by and saw the carcass and cast it in the way. And not only Do people see this? It's almost like God wants to make sure that it's seen, because the reason they saw it, I mean, they probably would have seen the dead carcass, but just in case they weren't paying attention, one thing that would grab their attention is this, and the lion standing by the carcass, and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. I think everyone's gonna notice a lion standing there. And then this carcass, and then this donkey, and the lion's not moving, and the donkey's not moving, and this is the man of God! And we see that as the men pass by, and they saw the carcass. This bothers me. It's unsettling. Because, you know, it upsets me because I think to myself, you know, people saw the man of God's carcass, but they didn't see the old prophet deceiving him. They didn't see the old prophet lying to him. They didn't see the devil working in the background and doing certain things to not force, because he can't force. We have free will. The man of God chose to go. He knew what the word of God said, and he chose to disobey. But here's what's interesting to me, is that they see the man of God, but they don't see the old prophet. And in some ways, to me, it kind of seems unfair about this man of God. Like, shouldn't someone tell people, look, yeah, he's lying there and he's dead, but the old man lied to him. You say it's not fair. But here's the thing, sin's not fair. And it's unsettling. But I think it's supposed to be unsettling. There's another thing I don't like about this story. I don't know if I should say it that way, but it's just unsettling to me. And it's this, look at verse 26. It's emphasized in the story, verse 26. And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof. So people came back and said, hey, the man of God, there's a lion and there's a donkey and the man of God is, that man of God, he's lying there dead. And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, it is the man of God. Look at what he says, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord. And you're going to leave out the fact that that was your fault. You're not going to mention the fact that you lied to him and you deceived him. This is how the devil works. Who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord. He says, therefore, meaning for this reason, the Lord had delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake unto him. Here's another thing that's unsettling for me about how this story goes down is that the man of God dies. Notice verse 27. But the old man, the old prophet, and he, the old prophet, spake to his son, saying, saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. And he went and found his carcass cast in the way. And the ass and the lion standing by the carcass, the lion had not eaten the carcass nor torn the ass. And the prophet took up the carcass of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back. And the old prophet came to the city to mourn and to bury him, and he laid his carcass in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he, this is the old prophet, spake to his son, saying, Notice what he says. He says, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulcher wherein the man of God is buried. lay my bones beside his bones. It's almost like God is highlighting something that's unsettling to me. And what's unsettling to me is this, that the man of God died while the old prophet stayed alive. And it seems unfair. It seems like What's that about? Because, you know, if I wrote the story, the man of God, he disobeyed, and he should not have, and he should not have listened to the lies. All of that is true, and God judges, and God's always right. But, you know, I would want the story to end this way. The old prophet goes to get the carcass, and then the lion eats him too, you know, kills him too, right? Like, that's how we would want it to end. But that's not how it ends. And I think that God just does that because here's the thing, you know, sometimes it seems like the world and the devil and the bad guys, although we're all bad guys, we're all sinners, but sometimes it seems like they just get away with it, right? I mean, isn't that what Asa's whole psalm was about? The world prospers, they lie and they cheat and they steal and they prosper. But I think this is something that God wants us to understand. Here's what Peter said in 1 Peter 4, 17. He says, for the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it first begin at us, what shall the end of them that obey not the gospel of God? And I think the idea is this, that look, we're children of God, so God comes down on his children sometimes quicker or harsher than This prophet wasn't his prophet. This was a prophet of the devil. So we see that the man of God dies while the old prophet stays alive. But don't let that bother you too much, because though the old man emphasizes the fact that he's still alive, he emphasizes the fact that he's still alive, but he's going to die, right? He says, I'm still alive, this guy's dead, I'm still alive, but when I die. And here's the story, and I think this is what you and I need to understand, is that God is eternal. And we see it, we see the story like the man of God died and the old man stayed alive. Here's how God sees the story, they both died. The old prophet died eventually. And here's the thing, in heaven, If this guy was saved, maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. If he wasn't, he definitely got what was coming to him. And if he was saved, you know, this man of God still received rewards. I'm sure he received. Here's the thing, he prophesied about Josiah. Here's the thing, he ended bad. Josiah was still born. Josiah still became king. Josiah still brought revival. Josiah still brought those bones out and burned them upon that altar that the man of God, we saw it on Sunday morning, had prophesied about. So we look at things from a temporary standpoint, and we say, it's not fair, it's not right. That's what Asaph did. He said, it's not fair, it's not right. Why do they succeed? We're over here struggling or whatever. But God sees things from a perspective of heaven. And I look at the story, and I say, the old man died, and the better God died, and the old man, he stayed alive. God says, no, they both died. And I judge them both. So those are some unsettling things. Let me get quickly, because I'm out of time, give you some applications from the story. And if you want to jot these down, then maybe we can just, I'll just read, I'll just give them to you and read some verses. You don't have to turn to anything. One application from the story, one overarching lesson, I think, for us is this. Number one, spiritual experiences must be filtered through God's word. Spiritual experiences must be filtered through God's Word. So what do you mean by that? Here's what I mean by that. If your Pentecostal loved one says, no, I know what I felt, and I know, you know, I just started speaking in tongues, and I just, it was an experience, and it's real, and it's true. Look, here's what I'm saying to you. Spiritual experiences must be filtered through God's Word. No, I know that an angel appeared to me, Muhammad would say, and he told me. And Paul would say, hey, I don't care if I appear to you. Though we are an angel from heaven, if they're preaching something else, if they're saying something else, let them be accursed. It's interesting to me because Peter says this in 2 Peter 1.17. You don't have to turn there. He says, he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son in whom I am all pleased. Peter in 2nd Peter chapter 1 is referring back to an experience that he had on the Mount of Transfiguration when he heard the audible voice of God saying about Jesus, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. He said in this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the Holy Mount. But then he says this in verse 19. He says, we also have a more sure word of prophecy. And what he means by that is this, he says, I had an experience, I heard God's audible voice. But he said, you know what, the Word of God, the written Word of God, if my experience goes against the Word of God, we go with God's Word first. Spiritual experiences must be filtered through God's Word. So I don't care what somebody says, well, I know I really, I really was crippled and Benny Hinn really did heal me. Okay. But you know what? Spiritual experiences must be filtered through God's Word. And you know what God's Word tells us is that Benny Hinn is a liar, and he's a devil, and he's preaching a false gospel. And we have a more sure word of prophecy. So number one, spiritual experiences must be filtered through God's Word. And look, your experience. I just feel like God. No, no, no. It doesn't matter what you feel like God would. What does the Bible say? That's all that matters. So spiritual experiences must be filtered through God's Word. Scriptural blessings must be attained by hearing and obeying God's Word. Hosea chapter 4 verse 6, you don't have to turn there. The prophet Hosea said this, my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee. that thou shalt not be priest to me, seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. See, not only must spiritual experiences be filtered through God's word, but scriptural blessings must be attained by hearing and obeying God's word. Look, I think the man of God was a good man. I think this old prophet was a bad man. But the man of God suffered consequences because he chose not to obey God's word. And here's application point number three. Serious consequences will result from disobeying God's word. You say he was lied to. I know. It stinks, doesn't it? He was deceived. My heart goes out for Eve. You know, Eve says she was beguiled, but that's not her making excuse. The Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul tells us in Romans that she really was deceived. She was tricked. but all of humanity is still damned. Serious consequences will result from disobeying God's word. Jesus said it this way, and everyone that heareth these things of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell. And then Jesus says this, and great was the fall of it. So we learn from the story that spiritual experiences must be filtered through God's word, scriptural blessings must be attained by hearing and obeying God's word, and serious consequences will result from disobeying God's word. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for these stories in the Bible. And they're great stories. There's no greater stories in all of human history than the ones in the Bible. But sometimes they're unsettling. Sometimes we don't like the outcome. We want to see that old man get what's coming to him. And Lord, I pray you'd help us just realize that they're unsettling for a reason, because sin is unsettling. We can say it's not fair, but sin's not fair. It's how it works. So I pray you'd help us to do what I think you left chapters like this in the Bible for us to do, is to learn from them. is to not be ignorant of the devil's devices, is to learn from these mistakes and try to keep them out of our lives. We love you. In the matchless name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. We're going to have Brother Moses come up and lead us