DANGERS OF REBELLION

MEMORY VERSE: for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king, 1 Samuel 15:23.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 16, Ps 103, Isa 43, Rev 13

BIBLE STUDIES: Jonah 1:1-7

What is rebellion? Rebellion is simply resisting authority or any kind of control. God does not condone rebellion of any kind. He frowns at rebellion to parents (spiritual or physical); rebellion to authority (government, work, church) e.t.c. When a fellow rebels against an authority, the fellow is rebelling against God who is the author of that authority. As hard as it is to believe, do you know that none of the world leaders today or in the past got into power without God’s consent? John 3:27 says a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. No one in the world today got into power without God’s knowledge; this is why instead of complaining about a leader you report him to God.

People rarely get away with rebellion against human authority but the One you cannot afford to rebel against is the Most High. Hebrew 10:31 says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of God. When a fellow rebel against God, everything God created begins to work against such fellow. In Jonah 1:1-7, God told Jonah to go and witness to the people of Nineveh. Jonah refused and boarded a ship to Tarshish. On his way everything God created began to work against him. First it was the great wind on the sea; this wind almost broke the ship into two. When the men on-board found that Jonah was the source of the problem, they bundled him and threw him into the sea. As if that was enough, a big fish swallowed him and tried to digest Jonah. It was while this fish was trying to digest Jonah that he came back to his senses; he repented and asked for mercy.

It does not pay to rebel against God. A popular type of rebellion is refusal to evangelize. Matthew 12:30 says he who is not with is against me. If Jesus says go into the world and preach the good news (Mark 16:15) and you refuse, you are rebelling against God. I feel pity for young boys and girls who rebel against their parents, what they do not know is that they are not rebelling against their parents but God who gave them to their parents. I strongly believe there is someone the Lord wants to show mercy too. Ezekiel 18:23 says He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, rather that they should return from their ways and live. If you have been rebellious against authority or Jesus please go to Him now and ask for the forgiveness of sin.

TO PONDER: Has the Lord given you an instruction that you are yet to carry out?