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Today is Saturday February 20, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Numbers, chapters 16-18. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-february-20

Title: Bible Study: Rebellion
Whether we are Christian's or not, one of the biggest things that can get us into trouble is rebellion. No one wants to be told what they can and can not do from someone else. In fact, the majority of people who do not follow God do it because of that very reason. Rebellion is an act caused by pride, while it is a good thing to feel good about something that we have accomplished, it is a bad thing to lift ourselves up so high that we become arrogant and self absorbed in ourselves. This kind of attitude causes people to want to be the center of attention, which ends up getting them into trouble and sadly bringing many people down with them. Moses and Aaron had a cousin named Korah, he had a problem with Moses and Aaron having so much authority. He managed to gather two-hundred and fifty people together to rebel against his authority and to find someone else to lead the congregation. “Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. ” - Numbers 16:1-5. Okay, can you imagine 253 disgruntled, prideful men coming together as one? Moses had no choice, but to humble himself and pretty much say, if any of you think that you are more righteous than I to do the job than ask God ans He will tell you tomorrow who it is that should be leader. As Christian's, we will face lots of criticism and opposition from other Christian's who think of themselves more highly then others, but the best thing to do is hand it over to God, He will take care of it.

These men were influential leaders themselves, so maybe they assumed that since they were leaders that they were right in what they said, but their pride blinded their view of the truth that it was not Moses who put himself up on a pedestal and appointed himself as leader of the congregation, God Himself appointed him as leader. While we may have questions about some of the things that God does, we should never question His authority. He knows what is going on and He chooses the right people to do the job that He called them to do, whether it is being a preacher or janitor, if one is not willing to clean a window for God, how can He trust you to take on a bigger responsibility. These men knew who God was, yet the wanted to serve Him on their terms, not His. We can not serve God on our own terms, that is rebellion and rebellion leads to destruction every time. Those men that rebelled against God saw their death, “And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.” - Numbers 16:28-32. When we rebel against God, or anyone for that matter, we are literally digging ourselves a hole in which we will be consumed in. Think about it. Have you ever seen anything good come out of rebelling against someone? Rebellion does nothing, but destroy us. If you rebel against an employer you lose your job, if you rebel against a teacher you get kicked out of school, if you rebel against a parent you get grounded. If you rebel against the law you get arrested. Nothing good comes out of rebellion. Jesus Said, “He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.” - John 7:18. We get no where by trying to do everything for ourselves. What satisfaction do we get out of constantly seeking things for ourselves other than wanting more things? The more we seek things for ourselves, the more prideful we become, the more rebellious we become, the more destructive we become. It's a viscous cycle that sadly takes many people down in the pit with us. However, we can break that cycle by letting go of our pride and listening to people. We can learn something from everyone that we get around, even a janitor.

Now, it is one thing to stand up for yourself, we should never allow someone to make us a doormat, it is another thing to make yourself seem more qualified than they are, even if you are qualified in one thing it does not mean that you are qualified in others. We can defend ourselves without stooping to their level. Moses defended himself by not inflating their egos when he humbled himself and went to God about it. The worse thing we can do sometimes is try to get someone to see things on our level. When people confront us they are already consumed with anger and pride, so, it only adds to the fuel if we try to defend ourselves with words they are not willing to hear. Instead, we humble ourselves and find a way to end the conversation without any strife, looking to God for the solution. God knows our hearts and He knows what we are capable of, He is the one that decides our will, but we must put away our pride and be humble before Him, that is if we want to follow Him and expect great things to come out of it. We can all prosper and enjoy great things in life simply by saying, Here I am, God.” Let Him know that you are listening and want Him in your life and He will guide you to wonderful possibilities that you would never expect.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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