The Man and Woman of God (Part 4)

The Man of God - Old Testament
The Man & Woman of God - New Testament (Part 4)

God even protected Paul from the effects of a poisonous snake bite.
"Acts 28:1-5; "1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. 2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. 3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. 5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. 6 Howbeit they
looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.""

MEN OF GOD ARE NOT PERFECT - If YOU are without sin you can start throwing rocks.
Before you start judging a man or a woman by their past, and not by their calling from God and their message, please consider the following Icons of the Christian faith before you make your judgments.

MOSES - Murder & Not giving God the glory.
Killed an Egyptian, "looked this way and that way" (knew what he did was wrong), then performed premeditated murder. Guilty of not giving God the Glory for His act of supplying the children of Israel with water in the desert.
"Exodus 2:11-14; "11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. 13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? 14 And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing
is known."

Guilty of not giving God the Glory for His act of supplying the children of Israel with water in the desert. The result of the way he failed to follow God's instruction on what was to be done in the sight of the children of Israel transferred the glory of the miracle to himself and not to God as the deliverer of the people.
"Deuteronomy 32:48-52; "48 And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, 49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: 50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: 51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel."

Still, after all of Moses' imperfections, God said of him after his death, "Moses my servant is dead." Even though he had imperfections in his walk before God, God still claimed him as His Servant. It was recorded of him that he was a prophet who knew God face to face.
"Deuteronomy 34:10; "10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,"
"Joshua 1:2-3, 5; "2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."

DAVID - Murder & Adultery
David at was guilty of adultery and murder. He took Uriah the Hittite's wife and slept with her getting her pregnant, then has Uriah murdered in battle. Still God says David was a man after His own heart. (Acts 13:22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.)
"2 Samuel 11:2-5, 14-17; "2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. 14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. 16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. 17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also."

SOLOMON - Idol Worship
Turns away from God, and worshiped the false gods of his wives. He started worshiping Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, and Molech instead of the One True God. Even after writing down all of the wisdom and knowledge God had given him by inspiration, "he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five" (1 Kings 4:30-32), he still sinned against God.
"1 Kings 11:3-8; "3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. 7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods."

PAUL - Killed Christians and Threw Christians in Prison
Paul persecuted the Church, throwing Believers into prison an killing Believers...and as stated created havock of the Church. He was even there in total consent when the notable disciple Stephen was stoned to death. After this he had gotten letters of authority to go to Damascus to capture Christians. Note in Acts 9:1 he was "breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the Church....then he got saved and Born Again on the way to do harm to the believers.
"Acts 7:59-8:4;"59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women
committed them to prison. 4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word."
"Acts 9:1-6; "1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and
astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do."

Now from what we have covered here, it is very evident that as Born Again believers, members of the Body of Christ, we all have the ability to stand on God's Word with the authority and power that the Old Testament prophets did. Even more so because we have the Spirit of God within us making it capable for us to be in constant contact with God as we walk the Christian walk and Boldly hold forth the Word of God. We do not need to fear anything as long as we stand fast on God's Word and hold it forth to save the lost. It does not matter to God what your background was before He called you, and other believers should not use things in your past to attack you and discredit the Word of God you speak forth. You are a member in particular in the Body of Christ and you have all the abilities of the prophets of old to use in our spiritual war with the Devil. So, as God told the apostles, "Go stand in the temple and speak all the words of this life" with the confidence that God is at your side, he will fight for you if necessary, and will reveal to you the things you need to know to be victorious in this life.

Iif you have no prophets in your Church or think that God no longer calls individuals in the Body of Christ to any one of the five ministries that are designed to make the Church function effectively...your Church really is a non-prophet organization....and if the only Profit you see at your Church is what is put into the collection plate on Sunday and the money the pastors Book and Sermon Tape sales brings in, maybe you might start looking for a man of God (prophet) to consult.