HOW DID YOU DIE?

This is kind of a running joke for me because when I was working with some guys, some of them would do something dumb or dangerous or just plain stupid, I would just say, “Oh, how did you die?”

I can’t remember the exact scenario that started it, but it went something like this:

A guy does something stupid and ends up killing himself, when he gets to the pearly gates, then good ole st Peter (why does it always have to be Peter? Who knows) meets him at the gates and looks at him, then Peter just shakes his head and says, “So… how did you die?”

And so it began, my new favorite line. Whenever someone did something stupid, I would just say, “So… how did you die?”

But now that’s out of the way, I wanted to tell y’all a story God laid on my heart to share with y’all.

Once upon a time, a crazy man was on a mission sent by God to a random place. He seen a king doing something God specifically said not to do, so this crazy guy called the king out for it, then proceeded to tell him and his folks that were around exactly what was going to happen 300 years in the future, just because the king was disobeying God.

Not only did he specifically say what was going to happen, but he then dropped the name of the guy that was going to do it, almost 300 years before this guy was even born. To top it all off, this king he called out was so angry at all these accusations, he went to point at this crazy man to have all his men grab and kill him, but right then God actually froze the kings hand in place so he couldn’t move his arm. Then this king was so panicked, instead of killing this crazy guy for accusing him of disobeying, the king asked him to pray to God and ask God to unfreeze him!

Well, of course God did what He does best, and He listened to the prayer of the righteous and unfroze the king. Then the king was so grateful he actually asked this crazy man to come back to his palace to eat and drink with him and said he would even give him gifts!

But this crazy man was on a mission, remember. Yes, God told him where to go and how to get there. God also told him not to stop or stay anywhere along the journey and to come home a different way.

And he was determined to do it and follow the path God laid out for him, so he told the king, “Thank you, but I have to listen to God, not man. Even if you offered half of everything you owned, I would have to obey God!”

(What a man! He could not be bribed, not even by a king!)

So this crazy man headed out. He stopped for a quick breather under a tree, and what do you know, here comes a preacher. He stopped and seen this crazy guy sitting there tired, so he said, “Man, you look tired and hungry. Come on to my house and I’ll feed you and get you something to eat before you get back on the road.”

But this crazy guy said, “No thank you. God told me not to eat or drink or stay anywhere on this mission.”

But the preacher spoke right up and said, “Brother, that’s just what you think God told you. What He actually meant to say was, after you did that name drop and prayed for the king, then your mission was complete, and now you can eat and drink all you want and hang out with me. In fact, while I was out here dodging potholes, an angel from God came and spoke to me and told me to come feed you and give you something to drink and let you rest at my house, so stop leaning on your own understanding of what God wants and listen to me. I been doing this a long time, and trust me, I know when God speaks, so come on, I know you’re hungry!”

Well, this crazy man was tired and hungry, and he thought, “this preacher has got to be closer to God than me. He’s a leader, probably been leading people longer than I’ve been alive, and really, I’m just a man. I definitely don’t have no title like this guy, so let’s go eat and drink and rest. This will be great! I fulfilled my mission. I don’t have to wait and listen for God’s voice. I can now just follow this guy and chill. What a relief!”

So they went and ate and drank and was doing good. He just about was finished with his second sandwich and 3rd glass of sweet tea, and the preacher interrupted and hollered at him, “How dare you actually disobey God!”

The crazy man hurried and tried to finish his bite and was like, “What are you talking about? You said I fulfilled my mission and was good to go?”

Then the preacher said, “Yeah, I lied to you. Sorry about that. Don’t you know better than listening to a man over God? How dumb are you? But hey, take my donkey and a sandwich and good luck out there, because now God’s gonna kill you!”

So this crazy man rode off confused and still tired and now a little stressed, wondering how he got it so wrong right when everything was going great. He thought the preacher had his back. Now the preacher left him hanging, and now God won’t speak to him. Now what?

So he’s just slowly riding down this dusty road, finishing his last sandwich, and boom! A hungry lion jumps off a rock, taking this guy off the donkey, breaking his neck as he lands on this hard, dusty ground. But the lion didn’t eat him or the donkey, not even his sandwich. The lion just sat there purring while the donkey looked at him with horror, while folks walked by on the road amazed that the donkey didn’t run away, and they were shocked that the lion didn’t eat the donkey or the man or his tasty sandwich. What in the world is this?

Well, at least the preacher came and buried him. That was nice because it was getting a little too much traffic building up on the road. So many people stopped to marvel at the sight it was starting to be a problem. But the preacher took this crazy man’s body, put it in his own grave, and told his sons that when he dies, put my bones with this guy’s, because I don’t want to get eaten by a lion.

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Okay, well, some folks might have that story figured out right away, but most folks will say, “What kind of crap is that? How did you make up a random story like that?”

But believe it or not, it’s actually found in 1 Kings 13. Now I might have reimagined it just a little bit.

But that’s the fun of storytelling, right? But here is what really gets me about this whole thing…

This crazy man knew for a fact what God told him! He had enough faith to stand up to a KING! He then refused the king’s food. He refused the king’s drink, and he even refused his reward and gifts. He watched the king’s hand freeze in place. He also predicted and then watched the altar split apart. He even prayed and watched God restore the king’s hand.

This crazy guy knew exactly what God said! The king couldn’t talk him out of it. Money couldn’t talk him out of it. Not even the king’s delicious food could talk him out of it.

But then here comes a religious man saying: “Yeah, but what God actually meant was this…”

And that, my friend, got him! Hook line and sinker!

He believed what another man said God meant, instead of sticking with what God actually had already said. And it cost him his life! Man, if that ain’t a warning for us today, I don’t know what is!

How many times have we heard:

“Well, the Bible says that, BUT…”

“Well, you gotta understand what God actually meant…”

“Well, my preacher says…”

“Well, my church teaches…”

“Well, that’s not really what that means…”

Just hold on, folks! Lets stop and think about it, WHAT DID GOD SAY? Because this crazy man’s problem wasn’t that God wasn’t clear. God was VERY clear!

His problem started when he let another man interpret what God actually meant as something different than what God had already said.

Just like the snake did in the garden with Adam and Eve, the very first religion ever made by the devil himself! “Did God really say that? No, no, what He meant was that you will know good and evil and you will find your spiritual awakening!”

It’s the oldest trick in the book, folks, literally! Please don’t fall for it!

But here’s the even more scary part:

The man who deceived him WAS A PROPHET! Just because somebody has a title, or because they stand behind a pulpit, just because they know Scripture, or because they tell you, “God told me…”

Doesn’t mean God told them anything! You have to know what God said for yourself! Especially what He’s telling you!

Because if you don’t know what God said, there will always be somebody standing around ready to tell you what God “actually said or what He actually meant.”

Don’t believe me? Well, Go read this crazy story for yourself. (1 Kings 13).

Then when you get finished, jump over to (2 Kings 23:15–18) and read what happened generations later with Josiah, the one the crazy man prophesied about 300 years before! Actually while you’re at it, just start in Genesis and read all the way to Revelation, then start over again!

It’s always been about a relationship, not religion. It’s always been about following Jesus, not a man. It’s always been about obedience, not sacrifice.

I don’t know how to say it any more clearly than this folks. God gives us a mission. Each one of us has a purpose. Each one may be different. Every part of the body has a different function, but we are all here to work for one goal, and that’s to glorify our Father in heaven. That’s by loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Folks asked Jesus, what works do you want from us? Jesus said, believe I AM who I say I AM. Then the disciples asked, how can we increase our faith? Jesus said, do what I tell you to do!

It’s not complicated, folks. It’s so simple, so many folks overlook it and let it slip away. But we have to stay focused on Jesus. That’s the only way to stay out of the devil’s trap!

But I read this story the other day, then I had a dream about writing this story, and all this popped in my head. If you don’t know me, then I don’t expect you to get this, but all I could think of was this crazy man getting to the pearly gates and Peter meets him at the gate and asks, “Aren’t you the guy that God sent to prophesy about Josiah 300 years in the future? Aren’t you the guy that prayed and healed the king’s hand? Aren’t you the guy that the king tried to bribe with gifts and food, and you turned it all down because you were so dedicated to God’s mission?

So…. how did you die?”

The guy could say, “I was killed by a lion,” which would be true, but then he would have to answer why the lion didn’t eat him. Which would then lead into telling the full story, which would end up coming back to the only real answer, and that would be: “Because I listened to what a man said over what God told me.”

And I pray each and every one that reads this will never have to answer that question with that same answer, because that’s a scary place to be!

Bottom line, folks:

Keep your eyes on Jesus and walk with Him every day. When He speaks to you, listen and obey. Don’t take anyone’s word over Jesus. You can always learn from others, especially what not to do, and we are supposed to learn and encourage and build each other up, but you have to know God’s Word for yourself. You have to know what Jesus actually says to back up what you hear and feel and see, because no matter what you see or who you hear it from, not even Paul, or James, or John, or even the pearly gate greeter himself.

Just like Paul wrote that even if someone says they have a letter from them, even if they say they had a revelation from an angel, if what they say goes against what Jesus said, then you know for a fact that it’s a lie, because Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. No one can get to the Father except through Jesus!

Until next time and from now on, folks, may the good Lord bless you!

~ Joe Lester ~

Note: Always remember to read your whole bible from Genesis - Revelation, not just the verses I laid out here, and please do not take my word for any of this, the last thing we need is “The Joe Lester religion” but please don’t take any man or woman’s word for it, instead take the Word of God, Jesus words without prejudice and surrender your all to HIM!