Micaiah Speaks, Mission Statement

            I don't know if anyone will ever read anything that I've posted on this website but on the off chance that they do I suppose it's only proper that I answer some of the most obvious questions right up front.

            Who is this guy?  Why is he writing this stuff?  What are his credentials? Etc.

WHO AM I?  

            I am less than nobody.  I am a 50+ year old guy who was saved over 30 years ago and hasn't done much for the Lord in that time.

            I spent the first 21 years of my life knowing about God and Jesus without actually "knowing" them, I was a church going Methodist.  (Up until about 17 years old anyway)  It wasn't till I was led to the Lord by a guy named Roosevelt Smith while in boot camp in San Diego Ca. that I started to understand what life was all about.

            My Christian walk had been somewhat unique in that there seems to be a force out there working against me at every turn.

            When I tried to join one church my wife and I stood at the alter and the Pastor asked if anyone opposed our joining and in thirty plus years I am the only person I've ever seen experience that opposing vote.  What added insult to injury was the fact that the man had only one arm, you would have thought that he would have something better to do with it than embarrassing me.  As it turned out it was a misunderstanding but it didn't lessen the embarrassment of the moment.  We were allowed to join the next week.

            I have been baptized a number a number of times and once by some name other than my own.  When I heard what the preacher said I tried to correct him and received a mouth full of water for the effort.  Good thing I didn't drown or I would have buried under the wrong name.  (Or maybe been able to sneak into heaven under it)

            I've preached on a cable television show, a sermon I entitled 5 seconds in Hell.  The results were that those I didn't scare laughingly told me that I was too harsh.

            I preached one mother's day at a Congregational Christian church, at the recommendation of my pastor, and had the misfortune to preach a sermon that beat "sister-better-than-thou" over the head by outlining everything she had done wrong.  I didn't know her, never met her.  But when she stormed into her pastor's office on Monday morning ranting about the mean message she had heard the day before.  He decided, rather than confront her with her relationship with Jesus to drag me over the coals.  I subsequently decided to stop preaching for many years.  (BTW: My pastor, who had recommended me, didn't do anything to console or defend me.)

            While a member of the Southern Baptist's I felt the call again and presented myself a candidate for licensing in the SBC.  I didn't know this was possible or necessary until the week before when they licensed someone else.  It was rather like joining the Congregation, the pastor asked if anyone had a reason not to, and usually no one does, then by the power vested in the pastor by the convention you are licensed.  Well, guess what...

            One of the deacons didn't think I had what it takes.  He wasn't sure I was grounded in the faith etc, so the Pastor set up an inquisition of sorts.  The next Sunday, after service I stood behind the sacred desk (the only time I did in that church) while the deacons sat in the front pew with the congregation behind them, and grilled me for the better part of an hour.  I was granted the license in the end.

            Some 20 years later, on the occasion of my father's death, the man who had opposed me cornered me and begged my forgiveness.  He told me it had bothered him all those years that he had challenged me.  He was stunned at the way I'd answered the questions posed to me.  "You took me to Sunday school." he said.  I never held a grudge toward the man and now that he came to me asking forgiveness for something I'd never considered an offense my respect for him grew. 

            I've taught in Sunday School from time to time but I've never been asked to preach again.  I wouldn't even offer a guess as to why.  I've shown preachers things they never saw before in scripture, things they would use in their sermons, and while they have been well aware of my standing with Jesus have never offered me the opportunity to share with the congregation.

            I have been an attendee, if not a member, of a number of denominations and churches over the years and I find THAT aspect of my Christian walk to be soul wrenching.

            It pains me to my very heart to see the fractionation of something that could be a juggernaut of Spiritual truth on Earth.

            We fuss with each other over the veracity of speaking in tongues, miracles, the belief in pre, post, or mid "tribulation" rapture, and other such things while the world slides quietly into Hell.  The Christian community has become the Spiritual embodiment of the Emperor Nero who "fiddled while Rome burned."

           

WHAT DO I BELEIVE?

Personally, I don't accept any moniker other than "Christian" but if you want to know where I stand doctrinally I guess I can give it a shot.

1          GOD:  I believe in one God.  The CREATOR of the universe.  (Evolution is bunk.  God didn't use it at all, so don't talk to me about the "Gap theory", you're wrong.)

2.         MAN:  Man was created a little below God and fell, thru sin, to a place a little below the Angels.  I do not believe, as some do, that people are basically good with a capacity for bad.  That was Adam, and he made a wrong CHOICE.  By making that choice man has become basically evil with a capacity for good, and that is the result of a personal choice, to choose Jesus.  Sin is a part of our nature and can only be overcome with the power of God.

3.         SALVATION: Salvation, (the way that man can recover his first estate, and more) is thru the work of Jesus Christ.  It is a gift that can not be earned or bought.  God is not impressed with your "works", ie: how often you go to church, how loud you sing in the choir, how long you've been a church member, how much money you give, how much time you give, how nice you are.... are you getting the picture?  ALL our righteousness is as filthy rags to God.

4.         JESUS: JESUS IS GOD!   We can sit and argue the minutia of Jesus' relationship to God and the Holy Ghost but it's something we will never fully understand in this plain of existence.  So if you want to thwart the mission of the Church (universal) by fussing about "Jesus only", or should we baptize in the name of "the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" or in the name of "Jesus," or any of a hundred doctrinal differences count me out.  I have better things to do.

5.         SCRIPTURE:  I believe the Bible!  Now note, I didn't say BIBLES.  I believe there is only one Bible in the English language and that is the King James 1611 translation.  I will not argue this point.  The law of non-contradiction tells us that if something is true anything that disagrees is false.  All the translations disagree with each other SOMEWHERE, they must.  They are all copyrighted, with the exception of the King James.  In order to get something copy righted it must differ significantly from other similar writings.  So I've made my choice.

            Let God be true, but every man a liar.  Rom 3:4

6.         BAPTISM: I've been water than most Mormons. (They believe in baptism for the dead so they can be "dipped" a number of times.)  I have been sprinkled by the Methodists, I was baptized into an independent Baptist church, and then because that wasn't good enough for the Southern Baptist I was dipped again, and the preacher called me by the wrong name...does that one count?   (There's some fodder for a doctrinal scuffle).  And I was dunked by a full gospel, charismatic bunch.

I happen to like swimming etc but I'm not getting baptized again unless I convert to Judaism.

7          RESURRECTION: If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, then we are a bunch of silly, frightened, children whistling in the dark.  Without the resurrection death will be the final toll of the bell.  But because Jesus DID rise from the dead we know that death isn't the final power.  We know that living beyond the passing or our flesh is possible.  And we can put our faith in a God who cannot lie when he says our trust in Jesus will take us thru death to everlasting victory.

8.         RAPTURE: I believe that Jesus will one day come to catch away his people but it is in order to save us from the wrath of GOD.  I do not believe in a pre-tribulation rapture of the church.  I believe this is wishful thinking, and I hope I'm wrong about this.  God gives us the strength to endure the wrath of man; we are not to run from it.  I think the greatest blow the Church of Jesus is going to suffer will be when the Anti-Christ is revealed to begin his reign of terror and we find ourselves still here.  Many will turn from God thinking his promises to be false.

            I find that I have no problem fellowshipping with anyone who believes in the basics:

                        Virgin birth, Blood atonement, and the resurrection of Jesus.  Etc.  Most doctrinal differences I can wink at.

            I am presently not attending any one church on a regular basis but rather go where the Lord leads.  I know a lot of pastors don't hold with that practice.  They think that a person should pick a church and join it, be faithful to it, attend it regularly, and support it with your time and money.  That all sounds well and good but I get the feeling that most of that is a reflection of a numbers game, and a pastor's need to feel secure.

            I've found that if I do all of the above for a number of weeks or months then stop showing up the phone calls inquiring as to the reason for my absence are few and far between.

            Why do I have a problem with a group of people who will shake your hand, and hug you on Sunday, calling you "brother" and preaching about the "family" of God and never think of you till next Sunday?  How many times have you heard about the person who dies in their house and is found by their concerned Christian brothers and sisters who came to see why the person hadn't been heard of in days (weeks?)  Can you say "never"?

            I'm not a total cynic, and I haven't given up on God's people but I am somewhat discouraged by our self-centeredness. 

WHAT ARE MY CREDENTIALS?

            The answer to that depends upon what you consider credentials I suppose.  Do I have a degree from some University or Bible College where I was taught to think and believe what someone "more knowledgeable" than I thinks and believes?  No, I don't.

            Not to say that these institutions are bad but I think we put a little too much stock in them. One day, on the rare occasion when I found a preacher that was willing to surrender his pulpit to someone other than one of the deacons, I stood at the door shaking hands with the congregation as they exited and one dear Saint stopped and said "Son, that was wonderful.  Don't ever go to Bible college, they'll ruin you."  Maybe I shouldn't have listened to that advice but I've found that my lack of formal education hasn't hindered me in my relationship with God.  In fact I've found myself looking into the eyes of a preacher who had gone slack jawed and gained a thousand yard stare after hearing something I had learned on a number of occasions.

            I believe that some of these institutions could serve to refine me or my methods, but I would never want to find myself in a position where I'd have to compromise what I felt I'd learned from God in order to get a passing grade.       

            So what are my credentials?  Outside an open heart, a willing ear, and an obedient spirit (I try) I lay hold to none.

WHY DID I START THIS PAGE?

            Well, I sorta didn't...  Micaiah Speaks is the result of people who believe in the things I've taught pushing me to widen my sphere of influence.

            What you will find on the Micaiah Speaks website are a few things that I believe God has shown me as I study his word. 

            After a number of years of talking to preachers and brothers and sisters in Christ, and getting a similar reaction from each I've resigned myself to the notion that I am a Prophet.

            Now I take that moniker very seriously.  Most people define "prophet" as some kind of hoo doo soothsayer that predicts the future.   That ain't me.  Everything that God has to say about the future is written in his Word.  I believe a prophet is a person who, thru the teaching and leading of the Holy Spirit sees in the Word those things that are hidden from the World.

            My sole purpose is to present what I believe God has shown me in a down to Earth, common man way.

            I expect there will be things that people will disagree with.  I don't care.  I'm simply sharing what I think God has shown me.  "Eat the meat, and spit out the bones."  I will seek to tell the truth as I understand it.

WHERE DOES THE NAME COME FROM?

            In I Kings 22 we read a history of what happened when the evil King of Israel (Ahab) decided it was time to attack his neighbor Ramoth in Gilead.  He turned to the good King of Judah (Jehoshaphat) for help in fighting his war.

            Jehoshaphat, being a Godly man, knew that it would be foolhardy to go to war without the presence of God so he asked Ahab to enquire of the Lord on the matter. (Vs 5)

            Ahab gathered his lying prophets together and asked them what God's position on this was.  If we jump ahead to vs 19 -23 we see that the prophets of Ahab had a lying spirit in their mouths in order to convince him to go to his death.

            So here we have some 400 "prophets" telling Jehoshaphat and Ahab that victory would be theirs if they attacked Ramothgilead, but the king of Judah was a good man and knew something wasn't right.  (My father used to tell me that when two men agree on everything only one of them is thinking.  Maybe Jehoshaphat was taught the same thing.)  So he asked Ahab if there was anyone else in the kingdom that was considered a prophet of God.  (Vs 7)

            Knowing that Jehoshaphat was no fool he had to admit that there was one more, a guy named Micaiah.  Ahab also told Jehoshaphat that he didn't put much stock in what Micaiah had to say because he never spoke well of the king.  (Vs 8)(What did he expect?  He was an evil king and God was against him...go figure.)

            King Ahab called an officer and ordered that Micaiah be brought to the king's court.  While the officer was out fetching Micaiah the prophets of Israel were dancing, screaming, and putting on a show to convince Jehoshaphat that Ahab was right in what he was about to do.  (Vs 10 -12

            When the officer finally came to Micaiah he tried to talk the prophet into going along with the program.  He begged Micaiah not to make waves but rather just agree with the other prophets.  Micaiah's response was "I'll tell him what God has told me."  (Vs 13 &14) I can just hear what the messenger was thinking "Oh great.  This guy NEVER says anything good about Ahab."

            In vs 15 we see Micaiah before the kings.  I have to believe that the prophet's answer to Ahab was somewhat sarcastic in tone, when Micaiah answered "Go ahead, prosper.  God will give you the victory."

            In vs 16 we see the Kings response, he wasn't buying it.  "How many times do I have to tell you to tell me nothing but the truth?"

            With that Micaiah tells the truth, the direct opposite of what the 400 prophets had been saying.  "You do this and you're going to get your butt kicked, and you are going to die." (Vs 17)

To which the king of Israel turned to the good king of Judah and said "I told you so." (Vs 18)

            Then Micaiah even goes as far as to reveal what happened in Heaven to lead up to this point, but Ahab refused to believe it and ordered Micaiah to be imprisoned until he returned in peace from the battle. (Vs 26 - 27)

            Then Micaiah said to him and the people "...if you return at all in peace everyone will know that I do not speak for God."

            That's the last we hear of Micaiah.  We know that Ahab died in that battle and everything that Micaiah said came true but we never learn of the prophet's fate.  It is a question that I intend to ask him when I get to heaven.

            So I write these essays in the spirit of that prophet of God.  I will tell you what I believe God has revealed to me.  Take it or leave it.   I neither expect nor seek any notoriety from what I do, but rather seek to spread the truth of God.

            Often in my writing I will refer to the writings of Josephus.  He was a Jewish Pharisee that lived about the time of Jesus.  He was adopted by the Emperor Flavius and after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD wrote the history of the Jewish people.

            He was a historian.  His writings are not scripture; they are not inspired of God.  His histories do tend to support what the Bible says about the Jewish nation prior to the advent of Jesus.  This helps in deflecting the charge that the Bible is a book of fairy tales.

            His writings help with insight into the motivation of some of the people of the Old Testament.  I believe that if we can understand the "why" quite often everything else falls into place.  I hope it goes without saying that should Josephus ever contradict the Bible I will go with the Bible.

            I believe I may have made this too lengthy so I'll end it here.  I hope this answers some questions about me and my website, but more importantly I hope it motivates you to read, learn, and teach others.

            Remember, no one is totally right so "eat the meat and spit out the bones."  Your comments are always welcome but if you want to be nasty or confrontational don't bother.  (Unless you want me to pray for you)