The Prophet From Judea — Carter Conlon

A Prayer for Steadfastness and Protection

Would you help us not to turn back or to turn aside or to lead be led down another path. But Lord I'm asking in this last hour of time that as your church as your consecrated Holy Bride Lord we are we are set apart for Christ and for Christ alone.

And I ask that that testimony may be evident upon every life in every home in every family in everyone who's called by your name. Oh Lord God I'm asking for sovereign protection from the wiles of the devil from every influence of the world from every voice that's not of you.

Oh God that you would sovereignly protect us as your church and lead us to that path that leads to life everlasting. Would you keep our feet on that narrow path and our eyes transfixed before us as Christ who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross and despised the shame and is now sat down at the right hand of the Father.

Lord God may we not turn aside in trial and affliction. May we not turn aside looking for passive ease and comfort in this last hour of time but remain faithful to the Commission that you've given to each one of us to lift up and to glorify the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We magnify your holy name. We bless your holy name. We worship and glorify your holy name. Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah. Lord I ask that we would be a bride in this last hour of time that would bring honor to your name that you could point down to from heaven and say look there's my bride there's my body there's my people there's the one that I'm betrothed to.

Hallelujah that we bring honor to your name and glory to your name in our homes in this last hour. Oh Jesus I ask for the anointing of your Holy Spirit upon this message today yea not only this service Oh God but at six o 'clock tonight.

Lord I ask for the anointing of your Holy Spirit that breaks every yoke of hell and darkness and bondage every lie of the enemy sent to snuff out and diminish the testimony of Christ within your church.

Satan. I stand against you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I say unto you the Lord rebuke you. The Lord rebuke your lying spirits. The Lord rebuke your plans and schemes against the testimony of Christ in this last hour of time.

The Lord rebuke you. The Lord stand against you and cause your plans not to prosper in this place and in every other place when the name of Christ is lifted up and exalted. Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah.

I thank you for your strength. I thank you for calling me to preach the gospel. I thank you for looking down years ago into a place and seeing somebody that really needed a savior weak and without knowledge.

Oh God and Lord you touched my life and now by your glorious sovereign divine glory you would allow me to stand and speak your name. Oh Jesus. Man never do violence to your word. Oh God. Man never caused grief to your heart.

I would rather die then bring dishonor to your name Lord God. Father father father would you touch this frail body this day. Oh God. Would you touch this congregation. Would you open every door to the inward man.

Oh God. Lord that we may be wary of the traps of the enemy of God. We may be wary of the schemes that are laid for our feet and never never turn aside from the path that you have called us to walk on.

Oh God. Oh Lord I ask that the softest spoken word this day would be like cannon fire into the ranks of the enemy. I ask that the plans of darkness would be exposed and made visible at high that they could not hide in secret places and destroy those who are called by the name of Christ.

Hallelujah hallelujah. Oh Lord God send your spirit in great measure in these coming days. Lord send your spirit in great measure and lift up and exalt Jesus and make him known in our hearts. So father make him known in our hearts and in our lives.

Oh God set us aflame for the purposes of Christ. Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah. Lord I ask today that you would sow in us a determination a determination to walk your way a determination to walk in obedience and do what's right in your sight.

Oh God a determination not to the listen to the lies of the backslidden not to listen to the lies of men who have lost touch with God. Father that we would walk in your way. That we would walk according to your spirit with a yearning burning love in our hearts for you that compels us to go forward.

Oh God. Lord for your honor and for your namesake. Hallelujah. Jesus. Jesus. Touch this message today. Lord. Touch the service today. Touch every church member every member of your body that's come in to the sanctuary today and everyone who will hear this message in the coming days touch them.

Oh God protect us from the wiles of the enemy. Oh God. Lord give us a straight path before us and strengthen the knees that are weak and lift up the hands that are feeble. But I ask for that kind of an anointing those that are wanting to turn aside and look for an easier path.

Lord God I ask that I may through the spirit pull out the chair from under them father and cause this place of ease to cease and get them back on their feet again moving towards heaven moving towards that only path that brings us to eternal life.

Hallelujah. I thank you for this Lord God. I bless and praise your holy name. I ask Lord that in this last hour of time that we would cherish the cross of Jesus Christ more than anything that this world has got to offer.

We would cherish the suffering. We would cherish the hardship as well as the good times and the blessings. Lord God that you would be able to release everything to us as your people and we would not turn nor cease from following you.

Father. I ask this in the precious and holy name of Jesus. Amen. Thank you. May be seated. First Kings please. Chapter 13. In the Old Testament first Kings chapter 13 this message is called the prophet from Judah.

First Kings chapter 13. I'm going to speak to you today about what is potentially the greatest enemy. We forgot to dismiss the children looks like they're dismissing themselves. Hallelujah. Thank you folks for being understanding today.

All the children that need to go to their classes please feel free to do so. I want to share with you about one of the greatest enemies that you'll ever face in your walk with Christ. And I'm speaking to those who hunger for the Lord.

You want to live for God. You want to serve God with all your heart. That's why you're here. You want to walk with him. You want to bring honor to his name. You want to see souls converted through your life.

If that's the case you're going to have to face an enemy. This enemy is not necessarily a roaring lion that you would. This enemy is a roaring lion but it's not one that you would see with the natural eye.

Jeroboam’s Halfway Altar

First Kings chapter 13. Just while you're finding that the children are going a little bit of background through Solomon's disobedience to the Lord and subsequently losing out with God the kingdom is split in two of Israel between his son the legal heir Rehoboam and a servant called Jeroboam.

And Jeroboam ruled the greater percentage of greater part of the kingdom of Israel. And Rehoboam had that part which is closest to the heart of God which is near Jerusalem. And Jeroboam was concerned or afraid that the people if they went down to Jerusalem to sacrifice and to offer prayers and praises in the temple would they was afraid that their hearts would turn away from him and turn back to Rehoboam.

And so Jeroboam built an altar halfway to Jerusalem. I call it a halfway altar. An altar that he said to the people you don't have to go all the way up to Jerusalem to worship. You can stop right here.

It's far enough. A halfway altar that was there that generation and is still very much with us here today in the nation. First Kings chapter 13. We're beginning at verse 1 a story of victory in a story of tragedy.

And behold there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel. And Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried this is the man of God against the altar and the word of the Lord and said Oh altar altar.

Thus saith the Lord behold a child shall be born unto the house of David Josiah by name and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee and men's bones shall be burned upon thee.

You see God will never sanction a halfway altar to anything. And he gave a sign the same day saying this is the sign which the Lord has spoken behold the altar shall be rent or in other words broken in two and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

And it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God which had cried against the altar in Bethel that he put forth his hand from the altar saying lay hold on him. And his hand which he put forth against him dried up so that he could not pull it again to him.

The altar also was rent and the ashes poured out from the altar according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. And the king answered and said unto the man of God and treat now the face of the Lord thy God and pray for me that my hand may be restored me again.

And the man of God besought the Lord and the king's hand was restored him again and became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God come home with me and refresh thyself and I will give thee a reward.

And the man of God said unto the king if thou will give me half thine house I will not go in with thee neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so it was charged me by the word of the Lord saying eat no bread nor drink water nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.

So the Lord had given this man an instruction you're not to eat in this place you're not to drink in this place that I'm sending you to and you're not to go back by the way you came. So he went another way and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.

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. Then they told also to their father.

And their father said unto them which way went he. For his sons had seen what way the man of God went which came from Judah. And he said unto his son settled me the ass. So they settled him the ass that he rode thereon and went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak.

And he said unto him art down the man of God that came from Judah and he said I am. Then he said unto him come home with me and eat bread. Now the man of God again replies in verse 16 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 it was said to me by the word of the Lord thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.

So that's the second time he repeats the commission that God had given to him. He said unto him now this is the older prophet. I am a prophet also as thou art and an angel spake to 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. So he went back with him and did eat bread in his house and drank water. And it came to pass as they sat at the table that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back.

And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah saying thus saith the Lord for as much as thou has disobeyed the mouth of the Lord and has not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee but came 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 fathers. In other words you will not be buried in a place of honor. You will not go back. You will not continue on the path that you're going. And it came to pass after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk that he saddled for him the ash to it.

For the prophet whom he had brought back. Verse 24 says. And when he was gone a lion met him by the way and slew him and his carcass was cast in the way and the ash stood by it and the lion also by the carcass and behold men passed by and saw the carcass cast in the way and the lion standing by the carcass and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof he said it is the man of God who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord. Therefore the Lord has delivered him unto the lion which has torn him and slain him according to the word of the Lord which he spake unto him.

A story of victory and a story of tragedy. Here we see in this story a man who set apart for God apparently wholeheartedly intent on following and obeying him. This man from Judah. This prophet from Judah is sent by God to curse an abominable halfway altar to Jerusalem that set up by Jeroboam as I said earlier to keep the people from going to sacrifice in Jerusalem.

The Lord is able to cry through this prophet in verse 2 that he is going to destroy this altar and raise up a righteous leadership that will lead the people in the ways of truth. In verse 2 he says he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord and said O altar altar.

Thus sayeth the Lord behold a child shall be born into the house of David Josiah by name and upon thee shall the altar offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee and men's bones shall be burned upon thee.

And so he pronounces a curse. And it must have taken courage because Jeroboam is a king and obviously a king has the power and authority to put this man to death. But God has sent this man for one reason and one reason alone that he has a job to do and God is full control at this point over this man's heart.

And it's a wonderful thing that God can do through any man or any woman or any young person that has decided to give your whole heart to the purposes of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There's nothing that's barred to you.

There's no place you can't go. There's nothing that God won't commission you to do if he knows that your whole heart is set apart for him. This young man obviously had come through trials and difficulties to get to a place of obedience where he's willing to cast his life down literally as a living sacrifice for the purposes of the Lord.

This young man is and I'll call him a young man from this point onward because he's he's set up in contrast to the other prophet who's called an older man or an old prophet and he goes out and he's so set apart for God that God's able to use his life to stand up against an abominable practice that's set up in the nation of Israel causing the people to turn away from the place that God has appointed where they should offer sacrifice and praise unto him.

And so this young man cries against this altar and God moves through his life and destroys this altar. And the ashes are poured out. And even when the king goes to move his hand against him God moves against the king and dries up his hand to the point where he has to ask the young prophet from Judah to pray for mercy.

When the king then sees that he cannot prevail in verse 7 against this this prophet from Judah he offers him a reward. But even in offering a reward. And folks I tell you if you're going to serve God with all your heart once the devil knows that you're not going to stop once he sees that you're willing to lay your life down even unto blood he will try to buy that anointing off your life.

He will try to put a bribe in your hand and cause you to turn from the path that's before you. But this young prophet was so determined to follow the instructions of God. God said don't stop in that place.

Don't eat what those people eat. Don't drink what they drink. And the places you've come from just keep on going. Never turn behind you keep on going forward. That was his instruction. Don't go back by the way you came.

And I tell you young people if you're set apart for God today don't go back by the way you came and don't eat the bread and don't drink the water that the people in this land are drinking lest you die in this place.

Hallelujah. The prophet of Judah remains faithful to his call. And he says unto the king he says the man of God said unto the king in verse 8 even if you give me half your house I will not go in with you.

There's such conviction in this young man. He is there for one purpose just like David he's there for the honor and the glory of God and for no other purpose. He said even if you give me half your house King I won't go in with you.

I won't eat bread and I won't drink water in this place. For God told me verse 9 it was charged me by the Word of the Lord saying eat no bad drink no water. Don't come again turn again by the way that you came.

So he turns down this this offer of a bribe. Come home with me and I'll give you a reward. I challenge you with all of my heart if God begins to use your life watch out for the bribes. Watch out for the devil attempting to buy that anointing from your life and put you in a place of compromise.

Watch out for it. The gospel of Christ is not for sale. It was freely given to us and we're free to give it to others. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The devil's tactics never change. Just like in Matthew 4 let me read it to you.

It says again the devil took him meaning Jesus up into an exceeding high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. And he said unto him all these things will I give thee if you will fall down and worship me.

Then said Jesus unto him get thee. Hence Satan for it is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve. Hallelujah. We're here to serve the Lord and we're here to serve the Lord alone.

Nobody else no money and nothing don't ever let anything or anybody buy that anointing that God puts upon your life. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Such conviction such determination. Hallelujah. I would like to have known this man and I I believe someday hopefully he made it to heaven and we can meet and talk.

The Danger of Halfway Consecration

But such a life that started out with such a zeal ended up in such a tragedy. And so many people today end up in a heap who start out with such a burning drive to live for God. A seal to serve him. A desire to bring honor to his name and to cast down those phony altars that are erected all over the land now halfway altars to holiness and halfway altars to prayer.

And halfway altars to serving God and their very life. If you're set apart for God your very life becomes a testimony against this thing that God has issued a curse against this kind of an altar. He will never sanctify a halfway altar to anything but this young man.

He was ready for the weapons of darkness. He was ready for the king when the king turned and put his bony finger in his face. He was ready for God to defend him. And he was ready when the king offered to bring him into his house and offer him a bribe.

He had probably spent time and and knew what things he was going to be facing in this land that God had brought him to. But he was not ready for the third thing the enemy sent at him. He was not ready for an old prophet living in this place of mixture with its abominable altar.

He comes and lies to the man of God from Judah and convinces him to come to his house and eat bread and drink water. We don't know much about this old prophet other than he was living in this halfway altar place.

And God was not able to use him to curse Jeroboam's altar. It is possible that he had lived there so long in that place that he didn't even see the evil anymore. He didn't know what it was and said well why should the people have to travel so far.

Why can't they just worship here. He had lost touch with God. He's a man that was far far away from God yet probably still very highly respected in the community as a prophet by those who are living in that same place of compromise.

He convinces the man who set apart for God to come under his roof and eat his bread and drink his water. And I challenge you as the bride of Jesus Christ in this last hour of time to beware. Beware of those who claim to know Christ as you do.

But their place of dwelling in him is halfway to the cross. It's halfway to separation from sin halfway to laying down their lives for his eternal purposes. This young prophet of Judah knew his direction.

The king couldn't intimidate him or turn him away with bribes. But confusion set in when he was confronted by a man who claimed to be his peer. That's where he got confused when he was confronted by a man who said I am a prophet just like you are.

I serve the same God that you do. I have the same desires that you do. I'm going to the same place that you're going to. That's where the confusion began to set in brothers and sisters in Christ. If you are wanting to live for God if you're wanting to serve God with all your heart there's no way you're going to get around this this test.

That's where he fell. It's the young Christian who comes into church and get saved and filled with the Holy Ghost like we sing about like we was preached about this morning. It's the young Christian who gets on fire for God and wants to give his or her life for the purposes of God.

And then as they set out to serve God and set out to with such a holy desire to know him it's such a holy desire to bring honor to his name. They run into those that have gone on before. They run into those that have become carnal and cold and lukewarm in their experience with Christ.

And they turn them aside and say listen. You can come in and eat in this place. You can come in and live in my house. You can eat the bread that I'm eating and drink the water that I'm drinking. Look at.

I've been doing it for years and I'm fine. I still love God. I still have the presence of God in my life. Turn in and eat here where I'm eating. It's the one who comes out of this church after sitting here on Sunday morning.

And God's Spirit begins to touch your life. You want to get set apart for God. You want to be holy. You want to do everything that God's Word says to do. You understand the necessity of obedience. Your hearts wide open to live for God.

You go home and you turn on your television set. And there's a gray-haired old prophet telling you lies telling you you can live in the place where he's living in. And you can do the things that he's doing.

And somehow you're still going to know the blessings of God. I'm hardly aware matter of fact. I'm not aware. Maybe I stand to be corrected but other than Billy Graham I'm not aware of an evangelist or preacher.

It's worth listening to on television. And I mean that sincerely. I've yet to run across one. Maybe I haven't seen them all. I don't have a television. But what I have seen is such an abomination. Men living in compromise.

Halfway to the truth halfway to holiness. They're just like they're so smooth. A snake couldn't climb them. You turn on this. I've seen some of these things from time to time and I shiver. I shiver inside my God my covenant God.

What happens to the people that listen to these men. Turn aside from this path that you're on. Young man. Come and sit with me and eat my bread and drink my water. Live where I'm living. But he lied to him.

He told the young man verse 18 he says I'm a prophet just like you are. And an angel spoke to me by the Word of the Lord. How many. It's interesting how many of these people claim to have had visitations from angels.

It's a fact an angel told me by the Word of the Lord saying bring him back with thee into thine house. In other words they've got to stop you from serving God. They've got to stop you from living for God because it's a danger to their kingdom.

Every man or woman every young person that stands up for the Lord who brings the holy of fire of God with them every place they go is a danger to their tinsel kingdom. It can't stand because there's nothing in it.

It's a kingdom of compromise. They're halfway to everything halfway to understanding God halfway to holiness halfway to prayer. He said to the young man you can come back. You don't have to do what God's telling you to do.

You can eat my bread and drink my water. I've been living here for years and look at I'm still a prophet just like you are. But he lied to him and the young man was not prepared for this. And he went back with him and eat bread in his house and drank water.

I asked myself a question as I was preparing this message. What kind of bread was this old prophet eating. I looked up some types of bread in the scriptures and one was the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31 27 speaking of a virtuous woman says that she looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Proverbs 19 15 says that slothfulness cast into a deep sleep and an idle soul shall suffer hunger. We remember David the beloved psalmist of Israel who loved the Lord at a season when he should have been out doing battle he got idle and start eating the bread of idleness.

And it was in that place of idleness that his eyes fell upon something they shouldn't have fallen upon. And he brought great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme against the name of God. Because of it he had a saw a son called Solomon who had a weakness for women and Solomon fell away from the Lord and died.

There's another tragedy died a disastrous spiritual condition in his in the last part of his life the kingdom of Israel is split because of it. And now we're in a situation where Jeroboam has set up this altar and this young prophet comes in and now he's losing out with God.

It all started way back when David was eating the bread of idleness. I often wonder what would have happened and what would have been the scenario had David stayed faithful to God all the way through and perhaps had a son that that would have taken the place of Solomon.

I I know we shouldn't speculate on these things but I I see such tragedy coming because a man chose to eat the bread of idleness. And I challenge you people for your son's sake your daughter's sake for the sake of your church for the sake of your neighborhood and family don't be found eating the bread of idleness in this last hour of time.

We're living in a society that lives for leisure. Everybody lives for leisure. We're so less bound for entertainment. And and there's always continuously conjuring up new forms of entertainment because the whole of society just wants peace without Christ at the center of their lives.

And so we become entertainment bound even in churches now without the Spirit of God. If the preachers don't keep the people entertained they'll leave and go to another church. I was in a church in Canada one time when I was visiting and they were setting up all of these magnificent structures for the Easter cantata.

They called it incredible expense to set up all this stuff. And I I said why do you go to all this trouble. It was just for one night. And the pastor told me says if we don't all of our people will leave that night and go somewhere else where they do think about that for a minute.

What he was saying is if we don't entertain the people they'll go where they're entertained. I challenge you don't eat the bread of idleness. Get into this world like you've never been in this world before.

Don't be afraid of a little bit of pain on your knees if God calls you. And if you're not comfortable kneeling then walk when you pray or sit or do something. But don't be afraid of some communication with God.

Don't eat the bread of idleness. Or you'll wind up at that halfway altar. You'll wind up listening to a voice that you shouldn't listen to. You'll wind up turning to a message that will just bring you to a place where the enemy will get ahold of you and tear you in pieces on the side of the road.

Perhaps this old prophet was eating the bread of hypocrisy. Jesus warned the people in Luke 12 1 he said beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy. Pretending to be set apart for God but giving place to the flesh.

And so many of these ministers will get up and they will look so pious when they you turn on the television or different things like that. And I hope nobody here is doing that. If you are would you shut it off and shut in with God.

Would you get away from these voices. Turn away from them. There's hardly one out there. If there is send me a note. But I'm not aware of anybody that's worth listening out there. So shut it all off and shut yourself in with God.

You stand the danger of embracing a message that's going to pull you out of the place where God called you. He said don't eat in this place. Don't eat the bread that the people eat in this nation right now.

Don't eat the bread of idleness and looking for entertainment and seeking self-awareness and prosperity. Turn from it. Don't be found drinking the water that they drink. Drink the pure water that comes from Christ alone.

There's a spring of everlasting life for those who will turn to him and drink of Jesus and Jesus alone in this last hour of time pretending to be set apart for God but giving place to the flesh. Haven't we seen enough of it in the last decade.

Haven't we as a church seen enough of these men that have stood up and be pretended they were set apart for God that they were living in deep sin. Deep personal sin. It was all hypocrisy. Samson is a classic example of that a young man set apart for God a Nazarite having taken a vow to the Lord to live for him and to bring deliverance to the people of Israel.

But Samson has got a weakness and keeps turning into places. He shouldn't go to eating the bread of the people of the land and drinking their water and eventually it consumes him. And he ends up a blind man going around in circles.

Grinding somebody else's wheat.

This is the end of side one you may now turn the tape over to side two.

Mixture, False Messages, and Spiritual Discernment

Of a drinking for sure I can tell you he was drinking a water of mixture. So many of God's people folks if you're running to this conference in that conference and getting a hold of these tapes and those tapes you're drinking mixture and be careful of it be careful of it.

Aren't you better just if just to go to church and where you know the Word of God is being preached and you can come under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Aren't you better that shut these things off these tapes off and get into the book yourself and ask the Holy Ghost to speak to you and say Lord Jesus would you take this this this this word.

And by the power of your Holy Spirit would you make it an x-ray machine and shine through my heart. Help me to discern by the Holy Ghost the thoughts and intents of my heart as you see me. Oh God I want to see my life that way.

Lord would you speak to me through your word and shut these things off shut them off. People over the years have handed me tapes and most of these things I can't even get about three or four or five minutes into them and you got to shut them off.

It's a water of mixture. One day the back of my farm years ago I was wanting a message for Sunday morning just God to speak to me. And I went to the back of my farm. And at the back of the farm there was a wooded area and there were two streams that I had met.

I always thought there were one. I didn't realize there were two and I was sitting at a place with it on a hill where the two streams intersected and I saw an interesting thing that one stream was coming from from another source and it was pure water as clear as this as clear as this pulpit just like glass was nice fresh pure water.

And the other stream coming was dirty. It was it was muddy. And where the two streams met they eventually met and they flowed together. And when they flowed together they both didn't get clear. They both got dirty and it became one continuous muddy stream when the two met.