Barak had the word of God come to him previously, telling him to go up against Sisera and defeat him, else Deborah would not have asked him, "Hath not God said," and Barak's response so quick and sure as to give the impression, at the very least, of having been premeditated, " I will not go except thou go with me." When a known prophet spoke to a man in that day saying, "Thus saith the Lord," there was no doubt that the Lord had said it. When the prophet comfirmed an earlier word of the Lord, one could be doubly sure that God was in it. Yet Barak's response was not unlike Moses at the burning bush.
We no longer have such prophets of God. We have preachers who are frequently discounted and who's preaching is often criticised rather than acted upon. Take soul winning for example. There is undoubtedly a Christian today who has not heard Jesus' great commission to the church, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
We have now a more sure word of prophecy: the Bible. The word of the Lord has come to us. To each of us individually. Before i was saved, I had only the natural mind with which I could not comprehend the things that arfe spiritually discerned. Now I have the Holy Spirit, and with Him the mind of Christ so that I am without excuse. The Bible says go, and I tarry. The preacher says, "Thus saith the Lord," and I say, "You first."
Is God really any more with the preacher than with the layman? Is God really anymore with the mature saint than with the baby Christian? Is God anymore willing to execute His word with one person than the other? No. He will use any vessel that is willing. Preach the Gospel to all creatures.
