The Bible Speaks - God Always Provides Prophetic Voices

God raises up people to call His people back to truth. He never leaves His children without a witness, without someone willing to speak difficult truths with love and courage.

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  Welcome to The Bible Speaks with your host, Elgin Kerelock. The Bible Speaks is a daily podcast dedicated to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, rightly dividing the Word of Truth, and learning how to apply it to our daily lives. You may contact Elgin at the address given at the end of the broadcast. And now, here's Elgin.

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  Brothers and sisters, I welcome you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, to another edition of The Bible Speaks. And today, we're finishing our study in the book of First Kings. Our episode is titled, "God Always Provides Prophetic Voices." Think about the darkest periods in biblical history. When Israel was worshiping false gods under King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, God raised up Elijah. When the nation had forgotten God's law during King Josiah's reign, God provided the prophet

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  Huldah to confirm His word. When the people returned from exile and grew complacent in rebuilding the temple, God sent Haggai and Zechariah to stir their hearts. Here's the pattern we see throughout Scripture. Even in the darkest periods, God raises up people to call His people back to truth. He never leaves His children without a witness, without someone willing to speak difficult truths with love and courage.

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  Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you never leave your people without guidance. Even in the dark times, you raise up voices to call us back to truth when we've wandered astray. Open our hearts today to hear your voice, whether it comes through your word, through others, or through staring of your Spirit within us. Help us to be both responsive and prophetic voices, and willing to be those voices for others. In Jesus Christ's name we pray, amen.

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  Consider Elijah's story in 1 Kings 18. Israel had been in spiritual darkness for years, led astray by leaders who promoted idol worship and rejected God's ways. The people were confused, trying to serve both the Lord and false gods. But God didn't abandon them in their confusion. He raised up Elijah to protect and provide clarity. On Mount Carmel, when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal, he posed a crucial question in verse 21. "How long will you waver between two opinions?

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  If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." This is what prophetic voices do. They cut through confusion and call people to make clear choices about truth. As Jeremiah 1:10 reminds us, God's prophetic voices are appointed to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.

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  They expose what is false so that what is true can take root and flourish. But here's what I want you to understand. Prophetic voices aren't just for biblical times. God continues to raise up people today who will speak truth in a world that often prefers comfortable lies.

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  These voices may come through pastors who preach difficult truths, friends who lovingly confront us about destructive patterns, or even children who ask innocent questions that expose our inconsistencies. The question is, are we responsive to such voices? When someone speaks truth into your life, even when it's uncomfortable, do we listen with humble hearts? Or do we resist because the message challenges our preferences?

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  Remember how King Ahab responded to Elijah in First King, Chapter 21, Verse 20. "So you have found me, my enemy." Ahab saw the prophet as an enemy rather than a gift from God. He confused the messenger with the message, rejecting truth because he didn't like how it made him feel. We can make the same mistake today. When someone challenges us to align our lives more closely with God's will, when they point out areas where we've compromised truth for convenience, our natural tendency is to get defensive or dismiss them as judgmental. But Proverbs 27, Verses 5 through 6 tells us,

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  "Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses."

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  God uses prophetic voices not to condemn us, but to redirect us toward His best for our lives. As Hebrews 12:6 reminds us, "The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chases everyone He accepts as His Son."

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  But being responsive to prophetic voices is only half of our calling. We must also be willing to be such voices ourselves. This doesn't mean being harsh, judgmental, or self-righteous. True prophetic voices speak from broken hearts, not proud spirits. They weep over sin rather than celebrating its exposure.

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  Look at Jesus, the ultimate prophetic voice. In Matthew twenty-three, when he pronounced woes upon the religious leaders, he concluded in verses thirty-seven by saying, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who killed the prophets and stoned those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hand gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing." His heart was broken over their rebellion, even as he spoke truth about it. When God calls us to be prophetic voices, he's asking us to love people enough to speak different truths.

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  As Ephesians four and fifteen instructs us, "We must speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more," like Christ. This might mean having difficult conversations with family members who are making destructive choices. It might mean standing up for biblical values in workplaces or communities that are drifting from truth. It might mean lovingly confronting friends who are compromising their faith for temporary pleasures. But remember, as Galatians six and one teaches us, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently,

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  but watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted." The goal of prophetic voices is always restoration, not destruction. We speak truth not to tear people down, but to build them up in God's love and righteousness. In our current cultural moment, we desperately need both responsive hearts and prophetic courage. We live in times when truth is often considered relative, when moral standards are dismissed as outdated, and when speaking biblical truth can result in ridicule or rejection.

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  Yet God continues to raise up voices calling His people back to His ways. The question is, will we listen when He speaks through others? And will we speak when He calls us to be His voice? As Isaiah heard God asking in chapter six, verse eight, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" Isaiah responded, "Here am I. Send me." May we have the same willingness to be used by God as His prophetic voice in our generation. Father God, thank you for never leaving us without prophetic voices to guide us back to truth.

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  Help us to have responsive hearts when you speak through others, even when the message is difficult to hear. Give us courage to be prophetic voices ourselves, speaking truth and love, motivated by broken hearts rather than proud spirits. Use us to call others back to you, just as you've used others to call us back when we've wandered. May we be faithful, both in hearing and speaking your truth. In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen.

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  I thank you for spending time with me on today, and I look forward to our time together on tomorrow. Until then, God bless.

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  The Bible Speaks is sponsored by C Squared Realty and New Gen Construction Group to help spread the gospel to the corners of the earth. If anything you've heard poured into your life, please share it with someone. You can find The Bible Speaks on Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, and many more. Follow us on YouTube at The Bible Speaks Online. You may contact Elgin at PO Box 5582, Ocala, Florida 34478, or by email at [email protected].