Remember Korah? His whole family and all their possessions were swallowed by the Earth as punishment for his accusations against God’s man. Even Miriam was struck with Leprosy because of careless words. God has a temper; and when lines are crossed, the results can be devastating. Hebrews 10:13 tells us, It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. We would do well to ponder this aspect of The Ancient of Days and apply some Godly fear and wisdom to our daily walk.
When things happen in the church that could have been handled better, (in your opinion, at least) and you are tempted to scoff at or demean the decisions and actions of the leadership. Take heed to yourselves and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. We are just too close to Glory for foolish missteps. See what Psalms 105 teaches as it recounts I Chronicles 16:22
He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;
Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
One commentary states: God’s anointed prophets are dearer to him than anointed kings themselves. Jeroboam’s hand was withered when it was stretched out against a prophet.
God has an anointing on the men and women of God that deliver the preached word in our hearing. They are His Prophets of today. Even kings need to be careful how they treat these folks.
How Satan would love to turn us against them! The enemy of our soul knows that when we reach to touch or do harm to one of God’s anointed ministers we have committed a misstep. The principles in God’s Word are eternal. He is the same always and what mattered in the early days, matters today. When the enemy tries to pull a trick on us in this area, choose instead to entreat the ministry in a humble fashion and speak no unkind or critical words with your mouth. Remember Zipporah.
Care is also needed when sharing the Gospel with others because there are certain areas of revelation so precious and so valuable that extreme caution must be used less we lessen their value in the eyes of the unlearned. The Covenant of Baptism for example carries with it deep revelation. In order to fully understand the significance of this portion of doctrine, the student must be carefully taught the Covenant of Circumcision. (Colossians 2:1-15) Also, explanation of shedding blood to cover sins must be foundational. (Hebrews 9) These concepts take time and attention to unwind. If we pass over this too quickly, we could misstep and lose a soul instead of win a soul for Jesus. We are admonished to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, and while sharing the Gospel, careful steps and prayerful steps must be taken.
We are handling the precious Word of God, and the responsibility is great, serious and a little scary. We dare not misstep in word or deed. We must watch and be vigilant to the wiles of the enemy who would love nothing better than to see us in a melt-down in front of someone close to revelation. When you are working with a new person, be evermore watchful! Drink from the brook with only one knee bent, drawing the water up to you while watching for the enemy at the same time. (Judges 7:4-7)
The Spirit of God draws people to repentance; His spirit brings the increase. Then HE expects US to harvest the grain with tenderness, carefulness, wisdom and knowledge.
