When God tells us to do something, we should act on it and do exactly what He says, or there may be consequences. You may be gifted with certain gifts of the Spirit, including the ability to perform miracles, however, this doesn’t matter if you use these gifts for your own selfish purposes. Think of a person who does something out of anger, which goes against what God wants. When this happens, God’s wrath is upon us. For example, Moses was told to speak at the rock and then water would come out, however, this did not happen. It is written, “and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:7-10)
Instead of doing what God says, Moses hit the rock twice with his rod, and then water came out. This was a miracle, but not what God wanted. Therefore, there were consequences. It is written, “and Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.” (Numbers 20:11-13) The consequence is that Moses and the people would not go to the promised land, instead, their children would. Only Joshua and a few others were an exception. This is very sad since Moses is one of God’s greatest prophets and even he could not go to the promised land. For this reason, it is important to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We don’t want to grieve the Spirit in what we do for the flesh. Amen.
Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray that people will begin to take You seriously. So many people grieve the Holy Spirit unknowingly. Because they ignore Your promptings and do what they think is right, You are also not in their lives. Surely, when the Spirit prompts, it is time to change all our plans and begin to do what You say. This is a beautiful thing. I have not gotten into trouble when this has happened. Sure, I have been late a few times to important ministry events like teaching at a nursing home, attending a Bible study, going to church, and other things, but it was all worth it in the long run. Each time I see a homeless person now, I immediately reach for something to give to them in my car. This is becoming more and more natural. What I love the most is when I am going to a store or fast food place and I see them there. I give God thanks for being able to help them even more so with food and drink, along with groceries. If I have been given much, I also have much to give back to people in need. Lord, I pray that more people will also accept Your gospel message and my prayers. I love You, Jesus. I give You praise. Amen.
