Rebellion

“My name is Sabrina, and I am 15 years old.  I am not sure what happened to me, but a series of events changed my entire life. I am here in the correctional facilities isolation ward where I spend 23 hours a day in a 6’ X 8’ cell. They let me walk around in the sunlight for an hour a day.

My family life was bad. My mom and my stepdad are alcoholics and drug addicts. I had always looked beyond that by attending church and girls Bible study every week. I started out doing little things wrong. I got caught stealing, and then I got caught going into this elder women’s home stealing her jewelry. I did things that I knew were wrong and really to this day I can’t explain to you why I did them. I know that I wasn’t happy at home, but I am certainly worse off now.

One day I just snapped. I don’t know if it was too much television or just boredom. Two of my schoolmates and I went into a restaurant with a bb pistol and robbed them. We ran out of the restaurant with the money and highjacked a car from an elderly woman. I am just so thankful now that the lady is all right, because we really put a scare into her. I jumped behind the wheel and drove like a banshee out of the parking lot. We didn’t get a block down the street before the cops were all over us. They chased us at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour for 5 miles,  until I wrecked the car into a light pole. Fortunately none of us were seriously injured.

The authorities released me from jail and put me under house arrest. I wore an ankle strap that  tracked  my whereabouts. For some reason, I would just walk off from home, from school, it didn’t matter. The police would pick me up and take me back to jail. I would go to court the judge would put me back under house arrest, and I would walk off again.

During this time I found out my mother had cancer. She was constantly in and out of the hospital to the point that she couldn’t be responsible for me anymore. The authorities placed me in a group foster home for kids with behavior problems. I absolutely hated it. Every chance I had I would escape and go stay with a friend for a couple of days until they would find me. That’s how I ended up here. Alone, depressed and confused as to how all this happened. I just can not explain to you why.”

Every one of us has a story of rebellion in our lives. It may be something in our past, or we  may be rebelling against our God, our parents, or even the world.  All of us do things we regret and when we are older most of us try to forget the pain we caused our loved ones.

Rebellion did not find it’s origins on earth. Before God created us, He created a race of spiritual beings called angels. One day a very high ranking angel decided he would ascend to heaven and raise his throne above the stars of God. He would make himself like the Most High. He convinced one third of the angels to follow him. He led a great revolt and there was war in heaven. The root of rebellion is found in Revelation 12:7-9.

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world— he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. ESV

It is important that we understand why satan rebelled against God. Through his own vanity he placed his ability above that of his Creator. He put his will above the will of God. In Isaiah 14:12,

How you are fallen from heaven,
O shining star, son of the morning!
You have been thrown down to the earth,
you who destroyed the nations of the world. NLT

We do the same thing every time we place our own desires above the desires of God, our parents, or even the police for that matter.   And in Ezekiel 28:12-15 we read,

Son of man, sing this funeral song for the king of Tyre. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord:

“You were the model of perfection,
full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty.
 You were in Eden,
the garden of God.
Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone—
red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone,
blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper,
blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald—
all beautifully crafted for you
and set in the finest gold.
They were given to you
on the day you were created.
 I ordained and anointed you
as the mighty angelic guardian.
You had access to the holy mountain of God
and walked among the stones of fire.

Most people believe God created the earth to be without sin. However Satan somehow sneaked past God and caused Eve, then Adam to sin, spoiling Gods perfect creation. If this were true then God would not be the all –  knowing God that He is and would not be infallible which we know that is not true. God is perfect in every way. Satan, the serpent, was placed in the garden of Eden because God wanted him there. The tree of good and evil was also placed into the center of the garden of Eden to test man and his new mate. The fruit of the tree did not contain good and evil, it could have been any ordinary fruit tree. The sin came into place when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit because God knew their intentions even though they could have used their own free will and chosen not to. The design of this world was in God’s mind before He ever created the first speck of dirt. God determines every event that is necessary to complete His eternal purpose in Christ.

So we know from these Bible verses that sin  and rebellion began with satan, and when we rebel we have fallen into satan’s trap. Therefore rebellion is self destructive behavior and will only lead us further away from our relationship with God.  Just as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow there is an invisible war going on around you as we speak, a battle that has been waged for eons.  The ultimate goal for victory is your soul.  This diabolical warfare is conducted on a daily basis in your mind between your Heavenly Father and your arch enemy, satan. This invisible war is waged in your home, your car and in your bed at night while you are asleep.

Satan is aware of your weaknesses and all your dark secrets. He uses your desires to make you rebel so you will stumble and fall from God’s grace. He enjoys watching you suffer and will lie, steal, cheat and kill if he has to so he can  scurry your soul off to hell. His tools of the day include drugs, alcohol and sexual addition.  His eternal ambition is for you to wind up dead in a garbage can because he hates you with all the power that is within him.

We see evil on the news everyday. People are butchered, raped and killed at an alarming rate in our society, but that doesn’t even compare to the damage done to the inside of us because of moral decay. It eats at us until there  is nothing left. We end up spiritually hollow until all that is left is the animal part of our being.  A part of us that does not have a conscious.

God is often looked upon as someone who denies human freedom. Often people base their religious beliefs on how they feel. When we rebel against God we have incurred the same sin that got satan cast out of heaven. Rebelling against God is what brought down Adam and Eve. The penalty for this sin is infinite and the problem with humans are finite beings. It is impossible for us to overcome sin by ourselves. We could never provide the payment necessary that justice demands. However, since we were led to rebellion by satan, God offers us salvation or, the deliverance from the punishment of sin. By His grace we are saved.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10

He provides us this salvation through faith,  faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We grow in faith through daily Bible study and prayer. We live by faith, and we walk by faith. Jesus Christ is fully God, and when He was crucified on the cross it satisfied the ransom for our sin. He redeemed or released us from the bondage of sin, so through His suffering and death He brought us together again in a relationship with God.

When a baby is trying to learn how to walk, we hold him by the hands and swing him gently to and fro. We are virtually walking for him. We are all babies to God, so He takes us by the hand and he teaches us to walk along the right path in life. That is what God’s grace does for us. The most amazing thing is when we let God lead us it causes us to change.  This kind of change doesn’t result in any loss of ourselves.  We actually become more of who we really are because God is the one who created us in the first place. The only thing God wants to eliminate are the human traits that enslave us and keep us from becoming all that we can be. We receive this change by turning away from sin and turning toward God. We change through a personal relationship with God through Bible study and prayer. It is the most powerful force there is on earth. You obtain this power by surrendering your life to Jesus Christ. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we receive a new nature.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:23-24 NLT

Unfortunately this new nature has no power. When I became a Christian I thought I could completely eliminate my old rebellions nature . For example my rebellious nature is still there and as long as I live it will continue to haunt me. Even Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, who healed the sick, cast out demons, and wrote 16 books of the Bible still committed sin. Paul wrote in Romans 7:21-25, “I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.  For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.  O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Our human existence entails daily battles with satan and evil. Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.  I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT

It is a daily marathon and, when you first decide to fight, it is all out war, and the victory is a lifetime away. As time goes on it does get easier, but you can never let your guard down.

 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.  In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.   Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.  Ephesians 6:14-18 NLT

Amazing grace how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost , but know am found,

Was blind , but now I see.