Becoming A Heavenly Rebel
Introduction: The word "Rebel" is defined as "to rise in opposition or armed resistance to an established government or ruler." The ultimate rebellion is to rise up against the ultimate authority, which is God. And those who do, will pay the ultimate price, which is eternal damnation. So the title of our message may seem bizaare or at least a major contradiction, but we as Christians are a contradiction! We must be a contradiction! To rise up in opposition against the devils work upon the earth means that we are going to be a very visible and annoying contradiction to it. Salt is different than the dirt, light is a contradiction to the darkness and we are called to be both salt and light. Once we understand the authority that we are in rebellion against, we will understand what it means to be a heavenly rebel.
In 2 Cor. 4:4 Paul writes: "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." In John 14:30 we read that Satan is "the prince of this world" and Ephesians 2:2 describes the devil as "the prince of the power of the air." We read that he is the "god of this age" and the "prince of this world." At first it sounds like blasphemy, but looking around today at the culture and the increasing wickedness can anyone doubt it? The phrase “god of this age" indicates that Satan is the primary influence on the ideals, opinions, education, and philosophies of the majority of people of this age, which has been every age since the ascension of Jesus.
Jesus is the prince of peace but this world is not peaceful. Jehovah is the God of creation but this age worships the creation rather than the creator, deifying the devil as a result. As Christians the age is against us and we are against it. As Born again Christians, we are sent to be a heavenly rebel that is rising up against the prince of darkness who wants to rule the earth with evil!
Transition: The question is how do we overcome the devil who wants to corrupt us and convince us to become a part of his demonic kingdom? I want to share with you from three different scriptures of the ways we are called to be heavenly rebels.
Heavenly Rebels obey God rather than man
"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men." Acts 5:29
When a sin infested world is trying to work the refs against the saints of God, we must do as God says regardless of what man says. We disregard what man says is allowable, acceptable when it is against the word of God. The way to overcome the evil of the age that is orchestrated by the prince of the air is to refuse to play by his rules and refuse to play his game. Let him take his ball and go home out of frustration. When the devil is behind men's laws that are designed to undermine God we must obey God rather than man. When Satan's agents were scheming for a way to get Daniel, they devised a law to have whoever prayed to any other god than king Darius they were to be thrown into the Lion's den, the King signed it into law and we read what Daniel did when he found out about this law in Daniel 6:10:
"Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, (which was illegal) giving thanks to his God, (which was illegal) just as he had done before."
I'm astonished of how many spineless so called Christians we have that refuse to pray for fear of ridicule. I wish there were more people that would stand up and pray in a place that doesn't allow it. A heavenly rebel should disregard the rules that say we can't pray in this place or that place, it is not a matter of spite, it is a matter of obedience! I Thess. 5:17 - "Pray without ceasing" Regardless of the thoughts, words, and laws of men- WE WILL OBEY GOD. If the laws of God offend you, I am sorry you are offended, but I would rather offend you than my God! I won't have to answer to you when I leave this world.
What mankind deems good will always be at odds with what God says is good. Am I saying that we shold go out and jaywalk because there is nothing in the Bible that says we shouldn't or disregard the speed limit for the same reason. Absolutely not, we should be law abiding citizens. To be a heavenly Rebel, simply means that you are determined to live by the law of God rather than the law of man when the two are at odds.
We saw Hobby Lobby take a stand against a law that would force them to provide abortion pills to their employees and they refused to obey men's law that contradicted God's law "tou shalt not kill" and by faith in the end they won! But in a more dramatic example, In Iraq there are Christians who refuse to live according to Sharia Law and are being tortured, abused, hated, and driven out of their homes and towns and leaving their churches to burn at the bloody hands of ISIS. These courageous Christians' only form of retaliation is to obey and please the Lord. One woman was being beaten and was told to deny Jesus and admit that Mohommed was God's only prophet and she refused. One punch after another with the same demand as her blood and tears were streaming down her face she refused to deny her Lord and give glory to a false God and a false prophet. SHE was a Heavenly Rebel!
I don't think there is any doubt that we are living amongst reprobates. The enemy has sown tares amongst God's wheat. Satan calls evil good and good evil and those without the Holy Spirit will do the same. But when has this not been the case? I can only imagine Satan has been doing this from the beginning. If Satan would have his way, evil would devour the whole land. It's only the dam of Christ and his church that holds back the flood of evil, that would overtake this land if you and I weren't being Heavenly rebels living it!
Transition: The heavenly Rebel must overcome evil or evil will overcome him, which brings us to the next point:
Heavenly Rebels overcome evil with good
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Rm. 12:21
The devil is constantly tempting us to do his will & God convicts us to do his will! This verse speaks to the internal struggle we all have with good and evil and makes it clear that we are commanded to obey the better option and overcome evil desires by choosing to replace them with good ones. So it explains the word 'heavenly' part of our title this morning. When Satan provokes you to fight, Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek. When Satan provokes us to hate, Jesus tells us to love our enemies, When Satan uses meaness and hatefulness to provoke us to get revenge, God says vengence is mine and Jesus tell us to pray for those who mistreat us. When the devil successfully tempts his pawns to curse us, Jesus tells us to "bless them who curse you". When we are tempted to retaliate We are told in 1 Thess. 5:15 - "Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." By doing this we are rebelling against the evil nature of sin; thus we are heavenly rebels.
Ill. I once read a story about how an Eagle defeats a venomous cobra. He refuses to fight the serpent on the ground, where it has the advantage instead the eagle clutches the snake with his talons and flies him up into the air, changing the battle ground, and then releases the snake in the air. The cobra has no balance, no familiarity being totally out of its environment. It is useless, weak and vulnerable rather than on the ground where it is stealthy, camoflaged, and deadly.
Once we take the fight into the spiritual realm to God, the enemy no longer has control over the outcome of the battle and will guarantee us victory.
Judging by their venomous words, there are all kinds of serpent hearted men today. They call the Lord's servants and disciples: haters. Why? It's because this world despises and suppresses the truth, and those who hate the truth will call the truth hatred. The Truth is such a contradiction to the flesh they feel as if it is hatred, and in some ways they are right. Christ's truth hates Satan's lies, God's law rebukes sin in every way, and even though we all sin, Jesus forgives us of our sin if we would only put our faith and trust in him. But Satan works night and day to convince everyone that lies are truth and truths are a lie. If we overcome evil with good then we must overcome lies with the truth.
Fighting the good fight of faith is not fun. Fighting any fight includes pain, it involves a whole lot of sweat and blood, there will be tears, there will be weariness, and we take as many blows as we give, and sometimes it feels that we are taking the beating rather than giving it. How do we attack? How do we fight? The only weapon we need is the one that is given to us from the scabbard of truth: "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." -Eph. 6:17
I would offer everyone to be cautious how you use this most dangerous weapon. There may be enemies that can use it better than you. Satan tempted Jesus by using the word, even though his intentions were evil. Jesus countered, by using it correctly. Use the word of God correctly by letting your intentions be pure. We must be careful in how we use it or we may do more harm than good. Many Christians use the word to shame or to get revenge on those who disagree with them, and they will succeed. After all, the truth is the truth and the sword does not care who yields it or who it cuts or for what reason. I have made the mistake in the past of winning the argument, but losing the person. I encourage you not to make the same mistake. If our intention is to convert and enlighten, then we must use this sword like an expert warrior, by speaking the truth WITH LOVE. The apostle Paul wrote "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ" -Eph. 4:15
If you were to pierce an artery with a syringe filled with nothing but air it would lead to death. Piercing someone with the word with the no motivation of love in it may do more harm than good.
The word slices through our presumptions and pretenses and pierces the conscience and it can be most unpleasant. When we use his word, we can be like the good doctor using the scapel blade to heal or like the mad scientist using it to torture. We must remember than man is not the enemy, sin is! And armed with the word of God, sin, and Satan's schemes are what we aim to destroy. If it is God's will that no man should perish then how can it be our own? We have to resist the error of Jonah who felt the Ninevites were not worth redemption and deserved their fate. No, we can't sink to the level of our enemy: overcome evil with good! Love them, pray for them, and bless them in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Transition: The last point I want to make is that to be a heavenly rebel you must be Holy and that Heavenly Rebels do not belong to this world:
Heavenly Rebels do not belong to this world
"If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." -Jn. 15:19
Just as those who are worldly belong to the world, those who are heavenly belong to heaven. Those who are worldly rebel against the kingdom of heaven and those who are heavenly rebel against the kingdom of man who rebels against their God.
Christians are not called to participate in the rules of men, especially those that attempt to supercede the ordinances of Christ himself for the church
"Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:" -Colossians 2:20
As Heavenly rebels we live must heavenly. Ask yourself would I act in heaven the way I act on earth? Do I try to suppress the good or do I try to suppress sin? In public, Do you deny the flesh or do you deny the Lord? Litsten, as I read Colossians 3:5-10
"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."
It is our duty to kill, deny, and suppress all those evil desires that try to grow within us like weeds overtaking the garden of our souls. We must kill those desires because if we do not kill them, they will kill us. It is the duty of every Christian to be holy. As we studied one of the five love languages Wednesday we noted that Christ used different 'acts of service' to express and communicate his love for us on several occasions. When we do things for Christ, it is not an attempt to earn a ticket to heaven (this is impossible), it is a way that we express and communicate our love for him. Part of expressing that love is denying ourselves to give him what he desires. He desires us to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him.
Conclusion:
There is no time to be caught sleeping like the foolish virgins. It is time to take off our pajamas and night robes and put on your armour and go to battle. Go to the mission fields and the highways and byways not letting anything or anyone hinder our mission for the Lord, because the day of our deliverance is at hand. The age that Satan has had in his grasp is about to be taken over by our Lord forever.
"The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." -Romans 13:12
As we walk by faith, we have to struggle for every step. We need the fight, we need the battle we need the conflict, in order to understand Christian progress. There will always be antagonism outside the church, just as there are traitors within it. I rather deal with the former than the later. Just like reluctant horses that wont pull the plow, they need to be whipped, and sometimes dragged forward, and we sometimes have to deal with the shy ones that need to be violently dealt with to get their attention. Because of the fierceness and determination of our enemy to force evil upon us, we must be heavenly rebels, that are shrewd as vipers and yet innocent as doves because the time of the Lord's return is near.
Amen.
