Acts 1:16-18 (TPT)
Fellow believers, the Scripture David prophesied by the Holy Spirit concerning Judas had to be fulfilled. Judas betrayed our Lord Jesus and led the mob to the garden to arrest him. He was one of us, and he was chosen to be an apostle just as we were. He earned the wages of his sin, for he fell headfirst, and his belly split open, spilling his intestines on the ground.
Beloved,
The case of Judas is a very pathetic story for me. Here was a man chosen by Jesus to be an apostle, but he ended up becoming a betrayer by reason of the wrong choices he was constantly making until he became vulnerable to negative prophecies, to the point of actually fulfilling them.
As believers, one area you must pay close attention to is the matter of making a decision that is in direct conflict with decisions being made in the household of God which you belong to. This kind of attitude predisposes you to the kind of labelling that Judas carried: a betrayer. While it is normal to have conflicting views on some matters in the local church, raising opinions that constantly challenge or undermine the authority of the leadership is a strong indicator of a rebellious spirit which we must avoid at all cost.
My counsel over the years is that once a member of a local church notices that he always has contrary opinions to the decisions stated or laid down by the church, he should first seek to examine the reason for that inner struggle. He can take it further by discussing with his pastor to seek clarity so that he can be in full union with the church. If after seeking clarity, he still finds himself not in agreement, then the next best action to take is to leave that church so as not to become vulnerable.
Beloved, as seen in the case of Judas, the end of a betrayer in the kingdom is always brutal. We should avoid it like a plague.
I commend you to God and the word of His grace.
I call you NATIONS. I call you blessed.
