Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Rebel


But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.

1 Samuel 12:15


Rebels have been around for centuries. During biblical times, there were rebels who rebelled against God. We also see in the Scriptures that rebellious, disobedient, ungodly, godless, unrighteous, and unholy are just some of the many terms used to describe one who is not a follower of God’s commands.

Hollywood created the image of a rebel as being cool, smart, and fun to be around, but in all actuality the rebel is nothing more than an angry fool. The rebel gains like-minded friends because he or she has done some unorthodox things to win their approval. The Christian is warned in 1 Timothy 2:16 about talking to ungodly people, “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.”

As you read these lines of text, some of you maybe saying to yourself, “I know that already. I love the Lord. I listen to him.” But do you really? Sometimes God isn’t always speaking directly to you. There are those moments in the day when he is using people, places and things to indirectly speak to you. If we are sincerely honest with ourselves, we aren’t always listening.

I recall a time when God was speaking to me directly, but I got so busy doing what I wanted that I forgot what he told me. When I looked back at a journal where I had written his commands, months later, I was stunned. I found myself doing the very things that he had warned me against. I couldn’t blame anyone but myself. No use in trying to organize a campaign to support my wrong-doing. It wasn’t necessary to call everyone I know and say, “Look I can make this thing right. Let me just manipulate a few scriptures to justify my actions.” You see, that’s what we do when we refuse truth. We start looking for ways to rebel against it. The correct way to react to our own constructive criticism or when someone else calls us out on something wrong is to do like David did in the Bible, “Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it” (Psalm 141:5, NIV).

Others may be saying, “I would love to hear from the Lord, but I just don’t know when he is speaking to me.” God supplies enough hearing aids around us that if we don’t believe we are hearing from him, we can always pick up one of his hearing aids. There is the Holy Bible (King James Version,) audio, print media, and even wise counselors that can help you discipline yourself to hear from the Lord. You must be willing to study the word of God, pray, and fast daily. Most people don’t set aside the time, because they are more concerned about what others are doing and less concerned about what God is doing.

Rebels really are harmless critics in the sense that they really don’t care what you do, because they are often protesting about things they are passionate about. If you are interested in joining the march, the club, the group, or some other function, then by all means, but if you don’t, the ship keeps moving.

There are good rebels, the kind that protest wrong-doing like Jesus when he taught people about his Father and challenged them to look at how they were living. But then, there are bad rebels, the kind that are like the troublemaker looking to start wars without a cause. You heard the phrase, “A rebel without a cause.” Those bad rebels just don’t like the establishment, authority figures, rich people, or anyone that is disturbing their way of life by telling them how to live. These rebels don’t encourage, uplift, rebuild, or do anything to help others. All they want is an audience and a mic. “Let’s take down the establishment…oh by the way, send your payments to XYZ company so that we can do this again next year,” says the organizer. But you have to ask yourself, “Before I spend any money, what progress was made?”

You may have warned family and friends about different work codes, government laws, school rules, and other regulations. You wanted them to understand that their rights may be impacted due to so many changes. You probably tried to get them involved in a march or two. But to no avail, they weren’t buying into it. Then when something they liked became no more, they cried, “Why did they take that away?” Your only response was, “I tried to warn you.”

You may be the type that works hard trying to keep people out of trouble, but your audience may be comprised of many lazy, big mouths who are all talk and no go. You may have wondered, “Why don’t they just listen? Why do they act like that? All they had to do was just sign a paper, interview with the media, stand in the march…” Many people don’t participate in things because they don’t want the inconvenience, they aren’t interested, they didn’t create it, or they found that one’s efforts would be all in vain because there isn’t enough money or power behind one’s group. So what do they do? They rebel, they do what they want, how they want, and when they want, and there is never anything you can do with a made up mind.

In 1 Timothy 1:9-10, God tells us, “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine…”

Rebels who don’t see any good in good will do things to upset our society. They will steal, kill, lie, and more. This is why laws must be put in place to maintain a sense of control over those fools out there who just don’t care about you, me and any other breathing thing! As much as those who don’t love or want a relationship with Christ, they have to at least respect the fact that many laws in our society were founded on biblical principles more specifically the 10 Commandments. If it wasn’t for laws, the atheist, agnostic, homosexual, lesbian, and others who are unsaved and backsliding would not be protected. The Christian, Muslim, Jew, and others who have a faith also would not be safe. Those men, women and children of different skin tones and cultures also wouldn’t be protected if it wasn’t for laws. So while the rebel has issue with someone telling he or she what to do, this person must understand that without the law he or she just couldn’t live comfortably.

I had my share of breaking the rules, but it doesn’t come without a price. People who mean you well never quite look at you the same. They don’t quite trust that you are a child of God despite the evidence that you have stopped many of your wicked ways. Slip up just a little and someone is saying, “I told you she hadn’t changed. She is just doing the devil’s work!”

Satan would love to take a Christian’s freedoms away. He assumes that if a man or woman has no freedom, he can’t do much to better society. Rebels believe that any strides to uplift a community means that someone’s rights will be taken away. This isn’t always the case. Sometimes those who are complaining the loudest about rights being taken away are usually behind the scenes doing something they have no business doing such as: participating in illegal activities like selling drugs, receiving money from shady businesses, and accepting bribes and other things from people running from the law. Most of us know that when certain civil rights are taken away, people will become depressed, stressed or even worse kill themselves or others. Therefore, we will rally to stop certain plans from coming into fruition. But the enemy will encourage people to become rebels. He will use chaos to create so-called order; which ultimately strips people of more of their freedoms while padding the pockets of organizers and most importantly the master minds behind the scenes.

The enemy is a control freak that creates the rules for the masses, but those same rules need not apply to him. He doesn’t mind breaking his own rules to satisfy himself and/or select individuals whom he favors. I learned this young about an enemy. When playing many board games where I read the rules and so did my enemies, I noticed that if the rules were slightly altered during the game that I or my enemy could manipulate an outcome to work in our favor. You can get away with this sort of thing for awhile, but eventually someone is going to get wise to your “game” and expose you.

We are currently living in a time where there are many people who realize that they are being manipulated into buying, investing, supporting, and worshiping things that are not about God’s business, are not well-meaning, and will definitely not get you ahead in life. The so-called American dream isn’t all that it is cracked up to be. Many people refuse to spend a lifetime investing in a home that they may or may not ever own. Others are tired of listening to the media hype about what is the next greatest, best and most wonderful athlete, singer, speaker, movie, food, clothing, and hair style. Many of us are catching on that the TV screen, radio, Internet and more are simply tools to get you to spend more of your hard-earned money to build the income of those at the top. Meanwhile, a child can’t go to college without a parent borrowing money, a woman can’t have a baby without getting on some form of public assistance, a man can’t get a job without sacrificing many hours away from his family, one’s grandparents can’t live worry-free in their golden years, because they didn’t save enough money in their youth and so on and so on. Elitists manufacture a climate that screams, “Recession!” Then what do we do? Rather than rebel against spending more money and doing other wasteful things with our money, we buy more!

Rebels become critics when they can’t get their way. They don’t want anyone telling them anything about how to live, but it is okay for them to create speeches that criticize one’s faith. They believe its okay to mock God’s people. They find all sorts of ways to keep the Christian faith or anything that sounds remotely like Christianity out of public view. When one speaks up about the rebel’s so-called “freedom” speeches, he or she is shut-down and labeled as being everything but a child of God. Rebels want to be free to have sex with whoever whenever, but when they have a disease they want someone to help them. Rebels want to strap on a gun and protect one’s family, but when someone gets shot in their home over a minor dispute they want mercy. Rebels want to travel all over the world and say and do what they want in another country, but when they are jailed or raped in the same country, they want someone to administer justice. Rebels want to run away from home, but when they realize that all that glitters isn’t gold in the world, they want to come back. Thank God for mercy! Thank God that he loves us enough to say, “You can come back home.” But a rebellious critic? He is going to say, “You did it all wrong! You messed up for all of us! Stay right where you are. When you run with us, to each his own! But if you have a little money maybe we can work something out.”

People in the church are rebelling against leadership right now! Some are doing it for the right reasons such as: God blessing them with a higher calling elsewhere, the minister and wife is not living right, the children are running amuck in the church, and the church is going downhill because God isn’t blessing it anymore. However, others are rebelling against the church for the wrong reasons. Some people have been wounded by fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and others simply don’t want to live the Christian life anymore. God doesn’t interfere with man or woman’s free will, but he will protect his sheep from the wolf. What happens is when some leave the church, they become wolves and they are just as guilty as the devil and his demons, they try to make the sheep stray away from the shepherd because they did. God will not allow a man, woman or child to take his sheep from him. You can see evidence of this when these same people end up being exposed by the church, nothing in their lives seem to be working out, they are often crying out to someone for help, and they are frequently being misled by dark forces. “There is no real peace in their lives, no matter how much these wayward sheep smile,” says the Lord as told to me while preparing this book.


Critics are pleasure seekers and fight against anything that prevents them from doing their own thing.


As long as they are left to do what pleases them, a critic will be your best friend, but start telling them why what they are doing is wrong and they don’t want to hear it. Popular phrases critics like to use: “You do your thing and I will do mine…Don’t tell me how to live my life…Did I ask you anything? Don’t start beating me over the head with the Bible…I already know that…You think you know so much…Don’t judge me…” Yet, when the shoe is on the other foot, the critic will do the very thing that they don’t want being done to them—be critical.


Solution:


When the critic objects to your questions or advice, back off. Save your wisdom for someone who will listen or at the very least, debate intelligently.


A look back…

Remember you didn’t always take everyone’s advice given to you and most likely you still don’t know matter how well-meaning.


Scripture Reference
 

Colossians 3:6

Hebrews 4:11

1 Samuel 15

Romans 2:23

Prayer

When I feel tempted to do things that go against your word, remind me to live righteously, Lord. Send your angels to protect me from enemy schemes. Bless me with words of wisdom to help my brother and sister in Christ who is in error in Jesus name.

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