The Sin of Rebellion
Hi Friends,
I hope you will read this post in its entirety, because it has to do with these current times, knowing that we are also in the end times. God wants us to be ready for him to return, so we must choose everyday to live for him, rather than to live for ourselves. In order to live for God it takes love, the Holy Spirit, self-discipline and a desire to please him.
There are seven visions, but the first is not really so much a vision as it is a voice that I hear speak. So I will share just this message today. The others will come in future posts.
A Man Fires his Son
As I am praying in the Spirit, I hear a voice say: “A man fires his son.”
As I thought of this statement, I realized that a father rarely fires his son. A father who owns his own business, will train his children in the skills needed to be able to work in the business. Usually, it is one or two of the children who will carry on the work of their father.
When would someone actually fire his son? It has to be extraordinary circumstances for a father to remove his son from his business. The son must prove himself to be incapable, or disrespectful, showing repeated negligence or gross incompetence for a father to fire his son.
Sometimes an adult son’s private life drains the family business of funds, or places the company at risk. Whatever the reason, there must be a very serious character flaw in the son, or a very serious problem with his work which jeopardizes the business.
Just two days ago it was Father’s Day. A day to celebrate fathers and their relationship to their children. It was 25 years ago on Father’s Day, June 18, 1995, that the Brownsville Revival (also known as the Pensacola Outpouring) began at the Brownsville Assembly of God Church in Pensacola, Florida.
It was such an awesome revival that lasted several years. People from all over the world came to worship, and experience the powerful presence of the Lord. I was able to go several times, and every time, unbelievable things took place. Signs, wonders, healing, deliverance—God moved powerfully among us.
God wants to pour out his Spirit again on our nation. He has asked us to pray for a revival to come right here, to New Jersey. I have been praying for years, and I hope it will happen soon. But what we must see at this very moment is that we are the ones who will prepare the way, through prayer. It is the church that must get ready, for I believe with all my heart that we are in the end times. We are looking for the end-time harvest of souls.
“He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come, strike the land, and utterly destroy it.” Malachi 4:6
We are at a point in our nation when the children are in rebellion. They have been raised to not respect their parents or their elders. Children call their friend’s parents by their first name. There is no distinction between the generations and no recognition of authority. Fathers are either too busy with work, or are out of the picture entirely. Some fathers are only weekend or occasional dads. Divorce is rampant. Couples are living together but are not married. Some women have children from three different fathers in the same home. None of these please God.
In the scripture that I quoted above the “He” was John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus the Messiah. “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to their fathers.” Or what? “Otherwise, I will come, strike the land, and utterly destroy it.”
What is going on in Seattle? Minneapolis? Washington, DC ? Atlanta? Do you see the rebellion in this younger generation? Do you see that the cities are in turmoil? We had the corona virus, and now a potential civil war brewing?
What are we supposed to do? PRAY!
Again, I seem to repeat myself, but I want to state one more time:
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Do you see that it is not the world that must repent, of course that would be great, but it is the church that needs to repent. God will give us peace, healing and provision for our nation if we, the church, turn from OUR wicked ways.
I would like to share a story with you from the Bible, because it is about a man who failed to “fire” his two sons. He failed as a father, and then failed to put God first. The ramifications were devastating.
Eli's Worthless Sons
(Eli is the high priest, and his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas were priests)
Eli’s Wicked Sons
Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord. Now it was the practice of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat was being boiled and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
If the person said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt. 1 Samuel 2:12-17
Eli Rebukes his Sons
Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good. If one person sins against another, God may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death. 1 Samuel 2:22-25
Prophecy Against the House of Eli
Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites. Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’
“Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age, and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age. Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.
“‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day. I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always. Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead, “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.”’” 1 Samuel 2:27-36
Eli failed as a father to discipline his two sons, so as adults and as priests ministering before God, they did not respect their father, nor did they respect the Lord or his law. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
Eli found out that his sons, as priests, were using their positions of influence and authority to take what they wanted from those who came to the temple. They took advantage of the women who served in the temple, sleeping with them, as the pagans did in the pagan temples. This was an abomination to God. Then they took the meat from the sacrifices, that was to be holy unto the Lord and kept it for themselves. The fat portion that was to be burned as a sweet smelling aroma unto the Lord, they took for themselves as well. Such an insult to God!
But Eli only rebuked his sons, and tried to appeal to their sense of what was right before God. Since they were capable of insulting God, there was no persuading them to do what was right. They could not bring themselves to obedience, for it was not in them to do it. Eli should have fired his sons. They had no business serving as priests in this unholy, and rebellious manner. Eli failed to do the right thing - choosing his sons over God. Eli failed God and lost his life. Since Eli did not remove his sons from their positions, The Lord did it instead. He used the Philistines to killed them.
Because of their sin, when the Israelites went to fight the Philistines, they lost the battle. Thirty thousand Israelite men died and the ark of God was captured. The ark, (the very presence of God), was lost because of the sin of rebellion.
Eli died when he heard the news of the ark’s capture. His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife upon hearing the news of her father-in law and her husband’s deaths and the capture of the ark, went immediately into labor and died. But before she died, she named her son Ichabad , which means “no glory.” for her last words were: “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.” 1 Samuel 4:22
Today, we see rioting and destruction in our cities because of our nation’s rebellious sons and daughters. We have failed to train them in God’s ways, and we have given them a socialist education devoid of respect or knowledge of true American history. There is no respect for authority and no respect for God. They have pulled down statues of great men in our country’s past, representing who we are as a nation. They tried a second time to attack the Church near the White House. They attempted to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson but were stopped by the police.
We are seeing the effects of godless behavior. The church is to blame. We have not been obedient to follow God’s word, to protect it and to train our children by it. We have not instilled the fear of God in our children, because we have no fear of God ourselves.
We have given the government authority to teach our children rather than to teach them ourselves, as God commands. We are reaping what we have sowed. The church today is pathetic. There is no power as there was in the early days of the church, because the church has become complacent, apathetic and worthless. It is our fault that our culture is no longer Christian but hedonistic, materialistic, selfish, entitled, and without respect for life, or authority. We deserve judgment. And judgment will come.
The Church has become like Eli. For even though Eli who was the high priest, he was completely out of touch with God. It took a prophet to come and speak to him because he himself had no relationship to God.
There is a remnant of believers that truly love the Lord, and are devoted to him. But it is not universal to the church. There are many who claim to be Christian, but do their actions and decisions validate this? Do they seek God, to know him? Or is it only lip service?
“They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Matthew 15:8
“There is no fear of God in their eyes.” Romans 3:18
This is where we find ourselves now. We find Eli’s, Hophni’s, and Phinehas’ within the walls of our churches. People do as they please with little to no regard for the Lord.
We are coming under the Lord’s judgment for the sins of our nation. The church has been like Eli in other ways. We are commanded in the word of God to persuade church members living in sin to repent and change their ways, or otherwise leave the church. Few churches actually do this. It is even worse when ministry leaders are found in sin, but nothing is done. People who serve in worship, as teachers, as elders, and as ministry leaders have these positions because they have proven themselves to be faithful and true to God and his word. But when there has been compromise with Biblical standards for elders and leaders, then something must be done.
We cannot allow friendships, money, or position to undermine true faith and devotion. Hypocrisy is something that is disdainful to the Lord.
If we want to see our loved ones coming to the Lord, if we want to see healing and revival in our nation, then we must turn to God in repentance. The Lord is allowing the corona virus, the riots, and the corruption in government until we become so grieved by it, that we are willing to do what is necessary - REPENT.
The ball is always in the Church’s court. It is us - the church that needs to repent. When we do not fight against the evils in the world, then we have allowed the devil to prevail. When we do not stand in faith, but fall prey to fear, doubt and unbelief, we give place to the devil.
It is time for the church to take its position on the wall.
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked person will die for his sins, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.
“Again, when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself.” Ezekiel 3:17-21
We the church are the watchmen on the wall. It is our responsibility to speak out to dissuade people from engaging in a lifestyle of sin, or from committing a sinful act. The Christian life is a life of responsibility. It is not a cake walk as some believe it to be. Some believe that nothing is required, that Jesus died on the cross for everyone, so it is like a class action suit. You are already included just by saying that you are a Christian, or that you were raised as a Christian or that your mother was a Christian.
No, it is more than that. If you do not know the Lord, if you do not talk to him, pray with him, spend time with him, consult with him for your decisions, you have no relationship. You have no part in him, or in the promise of eternal life.
The Lord wants love, devotion, obedience and worship from you. We can know him as God, as King, as Lord, and as friend. He wants an intimate relationship—just like close friends. He wants to hear you call him, and he wants you to hear his voice. The relationship you have with the Lord is unique. You are the only you. As I am the only me. He values our love and devotion, just as you might value the love and devotion of a family member.
And if we do not see that he has the power to accept us into heaven, or throw us into hell, then we have no idea what it is to fear God. But now that I am sharing this with you, please understand that God is to be feared.
For those of us who have given ourselves to him, we are grateful for his love, his mercy towards us and his great compassion for all. Thank you Jesus. You are truly wonderful, and I love you with ALL my heart!
I hope you will share this with others. We all need to know that the Lord is simply waiting for us to come to him, asking for forgiveness for our sins, and asking to be accepted into the family of God and his everlasting kingdom.
God bless you! And keep praying for revival. We want the world to be saved. We want our nation to be healed and restored. “In God We Trust!”
