TROUBLER

King Ahab reigned in Israel from 876 to 854 BC. He defied God’s prophet Elijah, calling him the great “Troubler of Israel!” Elijah answered, “I have not made trouble for Israel, but you have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands.” Elijah challenged wicked Ahab and his 400 prophets of Baal to meet him on Mount Carmel for a showdown to prove who really was the true God. Elijah asked, “How long will you waver between two opinions?” (I Kings 18:16ff) Elijah’s God was proven to be the true God of heaven by a demonstration of divine power, followed by seizing and slaying all the false prophets of Baal. None escaped.

Later, Jesus defied the false teachers of His day for accusing Him and His disciples of being trouble-makers (Acts 17:6). The Son of God met them for a final showdown when the God of heaven broke the bonds of death, raising Him from the grave never to die again! No other religion has a founder with an empty tomb! The real troublers of the way of God were forever defeated by this great divine demonstration.

Martin Luther, German reformer, was one of the most famous troublers of all time. He challenged the Church of Rome, shaking its foundations when he nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenburg church on October 31, 1517.

Friend, think about these things before you accuse us or write your next anonymous letter to the Paper Pulpit, branding us as trouble makers! “Prove all things!”
(I Thess 5:21)