REBELLION!

We all rebel.  

Oh, we cloak it in softer words— 

We resist. 

We avoid.

We individuate.

We differentiate. 

We refuse. 

We run away. 

We talk back.

We protest.

We riot.

We don’t believe.

What is a two-year old’s favorite word?   NO!

During our development as a child we need to define our separateness from our parents.  That’s part of being the individual God made us to be.  But the seed of Sin infiltrates that plan, entangling itself with the God-given design of differentiation and individuation, and begins to twist the strands together until it becomes difficult to see where one leaves off and the next begins.

While we are designed to be an individual who becomes one with God and each other, we start into the sketchy realm of sin when that individuation becomes disconnection and aggression.  Unlike the sinless Lamb of God who gave Himself over to sin for us, we talk about our rights and what we are entitled to.  

And in fact, we were created to live forever in a perfect world, but our fall to Sin destroyed that.  At least for now.

The truth about our sinful side is that it always seems to regress to Original Sin— we want to be in charge, we want to be “like God”.  

If you have ever seen children pretend play "School" or "Mommy and Baby" games, you probably noticed that the one whose idea it was wants to be the Boss.  The "teacher" or "Mommy" wants to tell the children what to do and how to do it.  Unfortunately most of us have that view of how God relates to His creation.  We think God wants to be the Boss of Everybody.  We pay lip service to His loving gift of Free Will, but want Life to recognize that we are in control.

Right now in our country we see examples of all of these things—protests, riots, rebellion.  And truth be told, we will find it in our own hearts if we allow God to show us.  

In order to spread his ideology and global control, Karl Mark said he didn’t need to invade.  He said that if he could infiltrate 1% of the population, he could control the 99%.   And then his followers set out to do it.  The Marxists are always trying to take over somewhere in the world.  They see it as their calling— their bid for global control.

So if Marx can control the 99% by owning the 1%, God is certainly powerful enough to control my heart with the small percentage of it I have truly surrendered to Him (I pray that percentage will increase!).  I also believe that Christ, by "infiltrating" the hearts of His followers, can conquer the rebellion found in the heart of His church.

Jesus’ numbers are the exact opposite of Marx.  If Jesus had 99% of the world, He would still go back to look for the 1%.  His program is "No Sheep Left Behind".

AND I’m pretty sure that God’s plan is for the truly surrendered Church to infiltrate the world with the Light of Christ to more than just the 1% Marx talks about. The true Church will be a beacon of Light to show the way of Christ to those who are in danger of crashing on the rocks.  Much of the country may not be truly of the Darkness, although they live in it.  I believe most of them are looking for a savior, but they have been taught that they need to be their own savior, carrying an ideology that is painful, burdensome, and leaves them on their own in a scary place.  No wonder the world is grouchy!

Jesus gave us a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light-- easy and light because he promises to carry them for us.  When Jesus says to love our neighbor, He means Every Body.   Because we all need the love of God.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t do that.  I really can’t.  

But my Lord can.  

• He will open the doors for us to speak.  
• He will put the willingness in our hearts if we open them to Him.  
• He will put the words in our mouths in the moment we need to speak them.  
• He will show us the person who is ready to hear, and the person who isn’t ready yet but will remember what you said later when they are ready.  

And what a joy it is when God makes us able to illuminate the life of someone who lives in the hopeless, dank, chilly cell of their own darkened heart!

Are you ready?  

Are you awake?  

Is your lamp trimmed?  

Are you listening? 

Is your heart surrendered to God?

Let’s pray fervently that those things will be true of each of us!

This present darkness is all around us.  You never know who needs the Light that is Christ.  

We can't really know what someone else's circumstances are.  It's likely they are depressed or scared to death, and need someone to come alongside.  

In the allegory Hinds Feet On High Places by Hannah Hurnard, The Great Shepherd tells the heroine, Much Afraid, that when she calls Him, He will always answer.  She is on a perilous journey, and has to call Him numerous times.  He never forgets.  And so God is with us, and with all those people out there who are not yet in His fold.

(If you haven’t read this wonderful story, let me encourage you to get a copy.  It’s the hopeful story of our lives.)

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

All we have to do is call.  But we do need to call.  He is always waiting, right at our elbow.  He wants nothing more than for us to want Him as much as He wants us.  And that’s true of every single person we meet every day.  It’s true of all the self-important pundits on the internet, the busy grocery clerk, the cocky teenager, the overly-proud athlete.  It’s true of every Christian as well, because we all forget now and then.  It’s just true of all of us.  

Simply call.

Surrender.  No more Rebellion.

This is the story of our future.

Psalm 106

Praise the Lord!
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord,
Or can show forth all His praise? How blessed are those who keep justice,
Who practice righteousness at all times! Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor toward Your people;
Visit me with Your salvation, That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may glory with Your inheritance. We have sinned like our fathers,
We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;
They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses,
But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name,
That He might make His power known. Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up,
And He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness. So He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left. Then they believed His words;
They sang His praise. They quickly forgot His works;
They did not wait for His counsel, But craved intensely in the wilderness,
And tempted God in the desert. So He gave them their request,
But sent a wasting disease among them. When they became envious of Moses in the camp,
And of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord, The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
And engulfed the company of Abiram. 
And a fire blazed up in their company;
The flame consumed the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb
And worshiped a molten image. Thus they exchanged their glory
For the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior,
Who had done great things in Egypt, Wonders in the land of Ham
And awesome things by the Red Sea. Therefore He said that He would destroy them,
Had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him,
To turn away His wrath from destroying them. Then they despised the pleasant land;
They did not believe in His word, But grumbled in their tents;
They did not listen to the voice of the Lord. Therefore He swore to them
That He would cast them down in the wilderness, And that He would cast their seed among the nations
And scatter them in the lands. They joined themselves also to Baal-peor,
And ate sacrifices offered to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and interposed,
And so the plague was stayed. And it was reckoned to him for righteousness,
To all generations forever. They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah,
So that it went hard with Moses on their account; Because they were rebellious against His Spirit,
He spoke rashly with his lips. They did not destroy the peoples,
As the Lord commanded them, But they mingled with the nations
And learned their practices, And served their idols,
Which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, And shed innocent blood,
The blood of their sons and their daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And the land was polluted with the blood. Thus they became unclean in their practices,
And played the harlot in their deeds. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people
And He abhorred His inheritance. Then He gave them into the hand of the nations,
And those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were subdued under their power. Many times He would deliver them;
They, however, were rebellious in their counsel,
And so sank down in their iniquity. Nevertheless He looked upon their distress
When He heard their cry; And He remembered His covenant for their sake,
And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness. He also made them objects of compassion
In the presence of all their captors. Save us, O Lord our God,
And gather us from among the nations,
To give thanks to Your holy name
And glory in Your praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen.”
Praise the Lord!