Truth to Power

In 2024, God has prepared for manifold miracles. It is important to be focused and aligned with God's timing. God has chosen this year to recalibrate things since 2020. To know God's next move, we must listen to His prophets. Meekness is a fruit of the Spirit that should be cultivated daily. It brings peace and affects those around us. However, wisdom is also important. We should not elevate the voice of man above the Word of God. Meekness and wisdom should go hand in hand. Praise the Lord! People of God, praise the Lord! We give glory to God tonight for another Sunday of meeting. It's a brand new year, 2024, a year of God's promise, a year of covenant. In this year, God has gone ahead. Like we said last Sunday, God took his time to prepare for this year, 2024. God came ahead of us into 2024. God set up 2024 in 2023 for the manifold miracles that God is going to unfold this year. I tell you, brothers and sisters, our God came ahead of us into 2024. This is why it is imperative that in this year we are so mindful. This is why it is imperative that this year our eyes must be set on God like a flint. Because God has been ready. Imagine if God has been ready and we are not ready. What that means is that the flow of God's grace is going to keep moving. And anyone who isn't ready and who isn't on time and who isn't focused on what the Lord is doing now is going to be left behind. This is the reason why, like I said before, it's almost as if this year God has been waiting to recalibrate the last four years. Everything that happened since 2020, almost like God has chosen this year, 2024, to recalibrate some things. So God is ready. God, like I said last week, God was waiting for the hour of 2024 to strike. Because you see, our Father lives in eternity. But He controls time. God created time for man to regulate the affairs of man. God created time, but He Himself isn't limited by time. However, when the Lord does something in His time, in order for what God has done in His time to manifest in our time, there must be alignment. The timing of God, the eternal timing of God, must align with the limited timing of man. This is why everything that God set in motion for 2024 had to wait till the stroke of midnight of January 1, 2024. I say all this to say this. Be ready. Be focused. Set your eyes. Tune your antenna, your spiritual antenna. Let your wavelength be aligned with the wavelength of heaven so that when He moves, you move. So that when He moves, you move. And so, our subject for this evening is very closely tied to focus and alignment with what the Lord is saying as He moves. Because in order to know what the Lord is going to do, you must know what the Lord is saying to you. God said in Amos 3, 7, it is written in the Word, Surely the Lord will do nothing unless He reveals His secrets to His servants, the prophets. And who is a prophet? A prophet is someone whose antenna is tuned to heaven and can hear from the Lord. So when God is moving, God doesn't move until He has said what He intends to do to His prophets, people who are listening to His voice, people who are ascending in the Spirit and are able to tune in, to tap in to that spiritual wavelength to know the next move of Almighty God. And once God has spoken to you, what God has said to you is what you must hold on to. Because what God says to you is His move concerning you. This is why I am so particular about my interactions this year, 2024, because I am privileged to have heard from heaven. The Lord spoke to me personally before 2023, before the end of 2023, October, the Lord spoke to me about 2024. 2024, the Lord said, is the year of covenant, the year of promise. 2024 is a year when God is going to, it's like a gift basket. Everything that God has promised you, God is going to give to you in 2024, only if you are able to move as He moves. Amen? So today we are going to talk about a subject I have titled, Truth to Power. Truth to Power. Our text, our anchor text comes today from the book of 1 Kings. 1 Kings chapter 13, it's a long read from verse 1 to 31. It's a long read but very interesting and very pertinent read. Now let's pray. Our Father, we worship You, we honor You, we reverence You. We thank You for life, we thank You for Your Son Jesus whom You have sent to give His life for us to enter into eternal relationship with You. We thank You for Your Word which is our lamp through life, so that the enemy will not lead us astray. We thank You for the light of Your Word to navigate the darkness of this world. And so Father, tonight we are here again at Your feet, in Your Word, in Your light. We pray Father, because You dwell in unapproachable light, we ask that You will release such an abundant light, that Your wisdom will be released tonight onto us, to transform us, breathe upon us by Your Word tonight. We know not what to say, we know not what to do, we only know what You say to us. So speak Lord tonight for Your servant here. Blessed be the name of Jesus, Amen. So, meekness is my starting point this evening. Meekness is a good thing. Meekness is a wonderful thing. Meekness is a fruit, a fruit of the Spirit. Meekness is one of the fruits of the Spirit. And when we cultivate meekness daily, daily, because the fruit of the Spirit we must cultivate, it's a gift, it's a fruit from the Spirit of God, but we are required to cultivate the fruit, we are required to practice, we are required to covet, we are required to, because you see, when you live a life submitted to the Spirit of God, cultivating the fruit of the Spirit, peace, joy, faith, meekness, gentleness, tolerance, goodness, when we cultivate those fruits, our lives are so unique, our lives are so unique, unique in the sense that we embody the Holy Spirit. When we are in the midst of chaos, we bring the presence of the Holy Spirit, and our presence begins to affect everybody around us. If you haven't noticed, I encourage you, I invite you now to notice if you are someone, a Christian, a believer, who actively cultivates the fruit of the Spirit, particularly the fruits of peace, gentleness, meekness, it becomes a part of you. When you move, everywhere you go, if there is chaos, if there are people who are chaotic, you find that as long as you are wrapped up in the Spirit, you begin to affect them. Meekness, when we cultivate meekness daily, we become more agreeable, we become more fruitful, we refrain from arguments, because what you practice, you perfect. So when you practice meekness, you begin to be perfect at meekness, meaning you no longer are interested in anything that removes your peace, that brings you out of the realm of meekness, the realm of the Spirit. Anything that prevents you from being meek, anyone that draws you away from meekness, and seems to always instigate arguments, seems to exhibit traits that are contrary to the fruit of the Spirit, contrary to meekness, you try to avoid them, because you are daily cultivating, it's like a plant, when you plant something, when you have a flower in your house, and you love it so much, everyday you are checking on it, everyday you are making sure it has enough water, you are making sure that it's growing, you are paying attention to this plant, such is meekness, such is the fruit of the Spirit, you are tending to it everyday, giving it what it needs, making a conscious effort to be quiet, a conscious effort not to argue, a conscious effort to be obedient, to do as you are told, that is meekness. And every good believer must everyday cultivate the fruit of meekness, you must do it everyday, because it's not easy, and it is living, it's a living fruit, if you don't do it, it's going to shrivel up and die, and in your life, the fruit of meekness, the fruit of the Spirit will no longer grow, it's not as if the Spirit of God is no longer there, it's not as if the fruit of the Spirit is no longer alive, but in your life, the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of meekness is no longer living, because you are not feeding the fruit of the Spirit for it to grow and flourish in your life. Now also, there is wisdom, on one side, we have meekness as a fruit of the Spirit, it is imperative for every believer to live a righteous life, to live a fulfilling life, and to be pleasing to our God, to whom we are accountable. On the other hand, is wisdom, wisdom is a gift of the Spirit, meekness is a fruit of the Spirit, wisdom is a gift of the Spirit, what is wisdom? Wisdom teaches us how to apply knowledge accurately, and so, if you are a wise person, you apply in every situation, you seek to apply the knowledge you have, to apply it correctly, so that the outcome is a desired outcome. It's one thing to know something, it's another thing to know how to apply that knowledge in each and every situation for the best outcome. Now, in the Kingdom of God, meekness is of great price, and meekness is of great price because of the result. If you have ever seen anyone who is not meek, or who isn't actively seeking to be meek, you will find that there isn't much attractive about people who are not actively trying to be meek. You're going to find a lot of pride, you're going to find a lot of ego, and you're going to find a lot of contention, because that's what happens in an environment where there is no meekness. The opposite of meekness is ego, is arrogance, is chaos, is insubordination. So in God's Kingdom, meekness is highly priced, because it allows for a holy and righteous atmosphere. Even as Christians, we must never allow meekness, as wonderful as meekness is, which means you are, if you are meek, you are obedient, you do as you're told, you don't argue. But, wisdom dictates that even in the body of Christ, even while you seek meekness, even while you practice meekness and cultivate meekness as the fruit of the Spirit, wisdom dictates that you must never, in your meekness, you must never elevate the voice of man above the Word of God. Meek as you may be, you must have the wisdom, the requisite wisdom, to know that what the Lord says to you, is what the Lord wants for you. So your meekness must never make you so obedient to man, that you elevate the voice of man above the voice of God. Now, in the Kingdom of God, and I say this with every sense of humility and respect, and I say this because it's been my personal experience, and I know that there are many who are listening to me now, who have had this experience. Unfortunately, whether we like to admit it or not, we have older Christians, even older family members, who very often are dealing with a controlling spirit. Many of our family members, many of our older Christians, many, we all have our issues, we all have our thorns in the flesh, many of us, many of them are dealing with controlling spirits, Jezebel spirits. And because of this, very often, they expect the younger believer to obey any counsel that they give, just because it's coming from an older person. Especially in our African setting, I am African originally, many of our African churches, because of our culture, many of us, we are raised to be very obedient to our elders, which is a wonderful thing. But today's word is about wisdom. We must never be so obedient, be so meek, that we allow the voice of man, the counsel of man, to be elevated above the counsel of God. Just because an older person gave you counsel, when the Lord has spoken to you something and He has been specifically clear to you, you must never allow the counsel of the older person or anyone, ever, to rise above what does sayeth the Lord to you. Old age doesn't always translate to wisdom anyway. Regardless of your situation, regardless of who has given you counsel, you, it's your responsibility to check out that counsel against God's word, God's written word, God's revealed word, God's spoken word to you. What did God tell you? What God said to you is what you must do. You must! It's imperative. Regardless of who has given you counsel, as long as he's breathing, he's a man, you must respectfully decline their counsel and obey God, once God has spoken clearly to you regarding that situation. Otherwise, there will be catastrophic consequences. There will be judgment if you, knowingly, with your eyes wide open, you disregard the counsel of God and you elevate the counsel of man above the word of God, there will be judgment. This takes us to our text. We are now in the book of 1 Kings, chapter 1, verse 13. The Bible says, verse 1. We are in 1 Kings, chapter 13, verse 1. The Bible says, By the word of the Lord, a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar making an offering. He cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord. O altar, altar, this is what the Lord says. A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places, who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you. Verse 3. That same day the man of God gave a sign. This is the sign the Lord has declared. The altar will be split apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out. When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, Seize him. But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. Verse 5. Also the altar was split apart, and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God, by the word of God. Then the king said to the man of God, Intercede with the Lord your God, and pray for me that my hand may be restored. So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king's hand was restored, and became as it was before. Verse 7. The king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift. But the man of God answered the king, Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. For I was commanded by the word of the Lord, You must not eat bread, or drink water, or return by the way you came. Verse 10. So he took another road, and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel. Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came, and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. Their father said, Which way did he go? And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. Verse 13. So he said to his sons, Saddle the donkey for me. And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it, and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree, and asked, Are you the man of God who came from Judah? I am, he replied. So the prophet said to him, Come home with me and eat. Verse 16. The man of God said, I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. I have been told by the Lord. I have been told by the word of the Lord. You must not eat bread or drink water there, by the way you came. The old prophet answered, I too am a prophet as you are. And an angel said to me, By the word of the Lord, bring him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water. But he was lying to him. Verse 19. So the man of God returned with him, and ate and drank in his house. While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet, who had brought him back. He cried out to the man of God, who had come from Judah, This is what the Lord says, You have defied the word of the Lord, and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place, where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore, your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers. Verse 23. When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back, saddled his donkey for him. And he went on his way. As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road, and killed him. And his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. Some people who passed by, saw the body thrown down there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city, where the old prophet lived. Verse 26. When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey, heard of it, he said, It is the man of God who defied the word of the Lord. The Lord has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the Lord had warned him. The prophet said to his sons, Saddle the donkey for me. And they did so. Then he went out, and found the body thrown down on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body, nor mauled the donkey. So the prophet picked up the body of the man, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city, to mourn for him, and bury him. Then he said, Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him, and said, Oh my brother. Verse 31, last verse. After burying him, he said to his sons, When I die, bury me in the grave, where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. Amen. Again, this is a long read. But I find it very instructive, the word of God. Because this young prophet is like many of us, many believers, who are blessed to hear God's voice, but also conflicted when it comes to authority, when it comes to submission, when it comes to wisdom. In our text, we see a young prophet, whose mouth is like an oracle of God. The word of God in his mouth never failed. As the Lord said it, so it was. In verse 2, we find that the young prophet cried against the altar. He gave a sign concerning the altar. He said, The altar will be split apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out. In verse 4, we find the king, King Jeroboam, who is offended by the word of the Lord through the mouth of this prophet. And the Bible says, that the king stretched out his hand from the altar, and he said, seized him, trying to arrest the prophet. But the hand of the king, not his servant, the king, the hand of the king, as he stretched out his hand, his hand shriveled up. His hand immediately shriveled up. It's so shriveled up, that he can't retract his hand. And as this is happening, the altar immediately splits apart, and the ashes, they are poured out, just like the man of God had said. Just like the word of God in the mouth, just like the word of the Lord in the mouth of the prophet. This is the kind of power, that God had given this young prophet. In fact, the king, recognizing now, that he was in uncharted territories. The king now realizing, that he was way in above his head, he was punching above his weight. This prophet isn't the type of prophet, that you seize, you arrest, and you treat anyhow. This is a man of God, who has power with God, and power with man. And so the king recognizes this, and the king asks the same prophet, intercede for me. Because the king realized, that the power, that got his hand shriveled, was the same power, that was going to get him well. And the prophet, the Bible says, interceded for him. Verse 6, Then the king said to the man of God, intercede with the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored. So the man did intercede, and the king's hand was restored. The king now so impressed, by what he sees, wants to affiliate with the man of God. He says, come home with me, have something to eat. I will give you a gift, trying to bribe him. Maybe wanting to recruit him, so he can work for him. But the man of God said no. He said no to the king. He said, even if you were to give me half your possessions, I will not go with you, I will not eat with you, I will not drink with you. The Lord has said to me, you must not eat or drink water, or return by the way that you came. This prophet said no to the king. Now in any land, the king is the highest authority. If a prophet could say no to a king, because he said, the Lord has commanded me, the word of the Lord to me, supersedes you, oh king. I can't come to your house, I can't take anything from you, I can't eat your food, I can't drink your water, I can't even return by the way that I came. Why? Because the Lord has spoken. The Lord has commanded me, commanded me. So verse 10, the Bible says, he took another road, and he didn't return by the way that he came to Bethel. Verse 11, now things are getting interesting. In verse 11, the Bible says, there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel. This was an old prophet. This was someone who was subject to the king and the king in his own land. But he was an old prophet. A spiritual father. A father in the Lord. He lived in Bethel. And his sons came to him and said to him, a man of God came to town today. You had to see what he did. The hand of the king shriveled up because of his power. This is a true man of God. Their father, the old prophet, was so intrigued and said, which way did he go? And so the old prophet saddles his donkey and begins to pursue this man of God. Then he finds him. He finds him under the oak tree. All this time, the young prophet is still in obedience to the word of God to him. He didn't stay in that town. He didn't eat there. He didn't drink there. He had even defied the word of the king because he was operating under a superior command, the word of God. By this point, under the oak tree, the young prophet was still walking in strict obedience to the command of his God. But now this old prophet finds him on the road, heading back home, having fulfilled his assignment. And he says to him, are you the man of God who came from Judah? The young prophet says, I am. And then the old prophet now tells him, come home with me and eat with me. But the man of God says, still walking in obedience, I'm sorry, old man. I can't do that. I can't turn back. I can't go with you. I can't eat your bread. I can't drink your water. In this place, I can do nothing but leave. And I can't even go back the way I came. I must go by another road. That's why I am here, under this oak tree. Now, the old man says, I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me, now, at this point, ladies and gentlemen, we can see that this old prophet, if he ever was a prophet, by this time he was no longer a prophet of God. Because if he was a true prophet of God, at this point he should have said, young man, I respect your choice. I respect your view. I respect the fact that you are walking in obedience to God. If God has said it, then that's okay. I'll come to your town. I'll meet you another time. But if you feel that this is the word of the Lord to you, I also respect the word of the Lord. We see that this old prophet is a man who has no reverence for the word of the Lord. This is probably why he was so activated by what he heard from his sons that the Lord had done by the hand of this prophet. Because probably he no longer had this intimacy with God that created miracles. He no longer had this power with God. That's why he saddled his horse, his donkey, and went in pursuit of the young prophet having heard the miracles done by the Lord by the hand of this prophet. This is a man, an old prophet who had no reverence for the word of the Lord, had no reverence for the servant of the Lord. He said, I myself, I am a man of God. He had moved the focus from God to himself. The young prophet said to him, I can't do that. I have been told by the word of the Lord, don't eat, don't drink, don't go there. The Lord said to me, so the Lord said to me, don't do this, therefore I can't do it. The old prophet says, I moved the attention from the Lord, from the word of the Lord, from the mouth of the Lord to himself. He didn't stop there. He says, an angel. He feared God too much to say God said to him. If you look at the young prophet, the young prophet says, the Lord said I have been told by the word of the Lord. That's the young prophet. But the old prophet says, an angel came to me and said to me, by the word of the Lord. He still feared God too much to say that the word of the Lord said, because the word of the Lord didn't say anything to him. But an angel, he put an angel between himself and the Lord. So he lied about the angel, so that the word of the Lord said something to the angel, and the angel said something to him. But the whole thing was a lie. The old prophet lied to the young prophet, because he wanted the young prophet to come to his house. He wanted the power that the young prophet was carrying. And he wanted that power in his house. And he was going to do whatever it took, to get the young prophet and his power into his house. So he lied. There are people like this. There are older men and women, spiritual fathers, father in the Lord, members of the family, who will tell a lie, who will deceive you this year, in order to be in the presence of what God is doing in your life. There are many who are going to pursue you, because in the spirit they see you. They see the power that God has given you this year. They see the plans that God has mapped out for you this year. And they want to be in the environment of that power. There is a grace that God is releasing this year, on the life of those who will tap in, into the higher things of the spirit. As many as will seek the face of the Lord, pray, meditate, press in this year. There is a promise that God has made. God is not holding back anything this year. God isn't reserving any miracles this year. God isn't reserving any gifts this year. Everything that you desire from the Lord this year, God is going to give to you. If you will pay the price, press in. As you do this, there are people who are going to see you in the spirit. These people are veterans of the gospel. So when they see power, when they see a new move of God, something that God used to do in their life that isn't happening anymore, because they no longer pay the price, like the old prophet, they are looking for the young prophet who has power, who has access, and they want to tag on to the grace of God in the life of the younger. So they will do anything. They will lie. They will manipulate you. And because you are trained to be meek, you are trained to be humble, you are trained to obey your elders, you will make, you may make the mistake such as this young prophet did. The Bible says, verse 19, So the man of God returned with the old prophet. He ate and he drank in his house. He ate and he drank in his house. This is a man of God who defied a king. He obeyed God and defied a king, because he knew what the Lord said to him. But when he was confronted with an old prophet, a spiritual father, an elder in the faith, he capitulated. He crumbled. And he honored the voice of the man above the voice of God. And he paid a price for that. He paid the ultimate price. God spoke to him, the young prophet. But an angel spoke to the old prophet. Yet he exalted the voice of the angel by the voice of a man above God's voice. Be careful this year. Be careful whom you obey. Be careful whom you listen to. This year, any counsel, contrary to the counsel of God this year, you must respectfully decline. You must respectfully decline, because God has spoken. Once God has said it, what God says is what must be done. You must do nothing else. Don't eat. Don't drink. Don't go there. Don't say that. Don't mix with them. Don't do anything contrary to the counsel of God to you. Rise up respectfully. Speak truth to power this year. The spiritual father, the elder in the church, when they come to you with counsel that you know is totally against what the Lord said to you, no matter how wise it may seem. Speak truth to power. Respectfully decline and do as the Lord has commanded you. Many of them are coming to you, not because they love you so much. Many of them are coming to you, because they are used to the control, the authority. They are used to being obeyed by all means necessary. They are used to being obeyed at any cost. And sometimes, when people are used to being obeyed, they cross over from love and compassion. They cross over to control and manipulation. So when they ask you to do something, sometimes it's about control. It's about the ability to get someone to do what they want them to do, when they want them to do it, how they want them to do it. It becomes ego. And that's no longer godly. In closing, I want to take us to the last verse of our text. Verse 31. This is the old prophet now saying to his family about the young prophet who has now died because of disobedience which he caused. God judged this old prophet, this young prophet, because of the deception of the old prophet. But in the end, when God gives counsel, you are responsible to obey. God isn't interested in any interference. God will deal with them separately. But as for you, the obedience to the word of God lies with you. The responsibility for obedience to God's word lies squarely with you. God isn't interested in the one who lied to you, the one who interfered, the one who made you move away from where he told you to stay. As long as you hear from God, you're not a child, as long as you hear from God this year, what God said to do is what you must do. If you move from where God placed you, there is going to be consequences. If you do contrary to what God has said clearly for you to do, there is going to be consequences. You are responsible for obedience, full and total obedience to God's word to you this year. Because where he told you to stay is where he's going to come meet you. The word of God says, I will send my presence ahead of you and lead you to the place I have prepared for you. God has prepared a place for you. So when he tells you to go there, when he's coming and bringing to you what he promised you, he's going to come and look for you where he prepared for you. So when he gets there and you're not there, there's going to be consequences. Any old prophet, any elder who moves you away from where God has prepared for you is going to be judged. But you also will be judged because you heard the Lord. Because he told you clearly, you heard him clearly. If you choose to elevate the voice of man above God's voice this year and you don't go where he sent you, you don't do what he told you to do, there is going to be consequences. And some of them may be dire. So when anyone comes to you and tells you anything that God didn't say to you, anything that contradicts what God said to you, speak truth to power. Verse 31 of 1 Kings chapter 13. The Bible said, After burying him, that is after burying the young prophet, the old prophet said to his sons, When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. So you see, what the old prophet wanted was to be in proximity of the young prophet's power. He wanted to align himself with the power, the ministry of this young prophet at all costs. This is why he lied to him in the first place. This is why he saddled his donkey as an old man, saddled his donkey and went in pursuit of a younger man, a younger prophet because he had heard of the manifestation of God's power in his life. He went in pursuit of the gift of God in his life, of the glory of God in his life, of the power that God has given him. He went in pursuit. Now, this younger prophet maybe was flattered and was in awe, maybe the old prophet had a reputation, maybe in his younger days he was a man of great power. But now, as an old prophet, he was no longer a man of power. He was now a lying prophet. But the young prophet didn't have the discernment, the wisdom, or the astuteness to know who he was in God at that moment. At that moment, God had elevated the younger above the older, but the older was still stuck in tradition and couldn't tell that in that moment there was a change of guard. The younger had stepped up above the older and it was God's will. And the reason was clear. This old prophet was a liar. This old prophet had ulterior motives. He wanted to be in proximity of the power of God in the life of the young prophet. This is why, by any means, he needed him to come back to his house. And he did it. He brought him back to his house. Even at death, he wanted to be in the presence of the young prophet, even in the grave. So this is to say that some people who will come to you this year, they are doing so for their own need. They may come to you appearing to care about you. They may come with counsel that seems to be to your benefit. But I pray that God will give us all the eyes of wisdom. God will flood our eyes with light so that we can see everyone clearly this year, including ourselves. Some people, their motives are selfish. They are coming in pursuit of you because of what they need, they want from you. It has nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with your advancement. It has nothing to do with the work of the kingdom. It's for their selfish need. But they are going to decorate what they are doing to make it look like it's for your benefit, but it's for their benefit. And if we don't have enough wisdom, enough discernment to know, to see through what they are doing, we are going to fall into their devices. And we are going to be judged for what they do. We are going to be judged for what they have made us do. Because God isn't interested, like I said, in their interference. God has given us enough wisdom. God has given us enough self-will to govern ourselves and to know right from wrong. So this year I pray, as we journey into this year of the miraculous, this year of power and this year of covenant, my prayer is that we have the eyes of Elijah to see that our eyes are flooded with light and we see those people, young or old, especially in the faith, who are coming at us with selfish motives, with ulterior motives, so that we can stand firm and we can say, No, this isn't what the Lord said to me. I am under authority. I am under the command of God to do this, this way. So I'm sorry. I appreciate your help. I appreciate your advice. But respectfully, I must decline. Speak truth to power. Let God's Word stand. What the Lord has said to you, let that stand. The counsel that God has given to you, let that stand. Because that is the bridge upon which you will cross from where you were to where God intends you to be in this year. So in Jesus' name tonight I pray that anyone who comes to us with ulterior motives, any counsel that is contrary to the counsel of God in our lives this year shall be like that of Ahithophel. It shall fail. Only the counsel of God concerning us this year shall stand. We will not hear the voice of another. We will only hear the voice of our God and we will receive illumination and direction to move as God intends for us to move. In Jesus' name, Amen. Brethren, thank you once again for listening. Until next week, Jesus tarries. I wish you well. Stay blessed. Stay safe. And keep praying. Amen.