FIRE BY NIGHT
"Reflections Upon Reflections" [of The Father's Heart]
JANUARY 15TH
THE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES OF REBELLION
[Part
3 of 3]
Words of prophecy:
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...."But on the
next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and
Aaron, saying, "You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord's
people." It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled
against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and
behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. Then Moses and
Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, and the Lord spoke to Moses,
saying, "Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them
instantly." Then they fell on their faces. And Moses said to Aaron,
"Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on
it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for
wrath has gone forth from the Lord, the plague has begun!" Then Aaron took
it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the
plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement
for the people. And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that
the plague was checked. But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides
those who died on account of Korah. Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway
of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked"....
Numbers 16:41-50 NASB
THE GRAVE DANGER OF RETAINING
"EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENTS" - WHICH ARE A "CATALYST" TO THE
"FEAR OF MAN"
From the actions
of the people the following day, that is, the grumbling against Moses and
Aaron, accusing them of being the ones who caused the death of the Lord's
people, we can see many things. First of all [once again] we see that the
spirit of rebellion is very "contagious", and that as soon as the
people began to grumble it spread in their midst - and, thus, they quickly
forgot the powerful and all-consuming judgement that had manifested before
their eyes the day before. It is obvious from this portion of scripture that
many of the congregation were still in rebellion against God for they did not
place their importance upon God's words and actions but rather they
"mourned" for their sinful and rebellious former leaders - hence the
grave danger of retaining any "emotional [soulish] attachments". As
we go forth in our daily walks, seeking to avoid the pitfalls of carnality, and
the fear of man which brings a snare [Proverbs 29:25],
we must realize that carnal eyes seek only to lean upon [follow after]
"flesh and blood" and, thus, they do not have the revelation that all
"true" authority comes from God, alone. None who follow after their
"own" physical and mental perceptions can walk in the spiritual [1 Corinthians 2:6-16] because it is above and
beyond the "fallen" nature of man and the five physical senses
inherent within - unless those senses have been "renewed" [by the
power of the Holy Spirit] to the point wherein they are able to discern between
good and evil [righteousness and unrighteousness]
[Hebrews 5:14]. On the surface, it seems surprising that any of those
who had witnessed the absolute and devastating judgements of the day before
could still align themselves against God and His authority, but this is just
another clear portrayal of the foolishness of man's wisdom - and his failure to
realize that God's thoughts are higher than his own [Isaiah
55:6-11]. Thus, as they went forth in their rebellion, exalting
themselves above God and His servants, they brought down the judgements of God
upon themselves. Once again, we see that Moses - empowered by the divine love
of God in his heart - took action on behalf of those who reviled them, and he told
Aaron to make atonement for the people and thus the plague was checked - but
not before 14,700 besides those who died on account of Korah, met their death.
The only way for the child of God to have a clear and true revelation of the
authority of God in this last hour [whether delegated or inherent {the Word of
God} is to be in close fellowship with the Father and His Word in the
"inner chamber" and to pray without ceasing [communicate with God on
an ongoing basis] - seeking only to please God in all that they do [Hebrews 11:6].
SATAN AND REBELLION ARE SYNONYMOUS
In understanding that
rebellion is the "principle" [a consistent law in the same way as
"gravity" is] of Satan, we can certainly see perhaps more clearly why
God can in no way align Himself with rebelliousness - or with anyone who aligns
themselves with it. We know that the first time that rebellion came on the
scene was when Lucifer rebelled against God, was defeated and cast out of
Heaven, as Satan [renamed the "eternal adversary"][Isaiah 14:12-17]. From this we can say that all
rebellion has its beginning in that foolishness which Lucifer displayed when he
rebelled against Almighty God and, thus, we see that anyone who in any way
aligns themselves with the old nature [the mind of Satan] commits an act of
rebellion against God. We need to explode the myth that children of God cannot
be "held captive" by the Evil One to carry out his will [which is
rebellion against God and all of His purposes - lawlessness] [2 Timothy 2:26]! If we are not being obedient to the
voice of the Spirit of God and the Word [Will] of God then we are aligning
ourselves in some way with the lies and schemes of the "Evil One and the
principle of rebellion - and this is precisely the way that God looks at it. We
can look at anything any way we want to but unless we seek to see
"all" things through the eyes of God then our "opinions"
are useless. One can most assuredly think that they are right in their dealings
with God and their idea of how to carry out His will [and even how to please
Him] but the only thing that will stand is the "revelation" of God's
Word [Will] as administered by the Holy Spirit [Who is the Spirit of wisdom and
revelation] to the deepest fibre of one's being [Matthew
7:21-27]. And so, our number one priority must ALWAYS be to spend time
with God as He directs us - KNOWING that as we draw near to Him He will surely
reveal the deepest thoughts and intentions of His heart to our heart. It is
only in our diligence in this matter that we will be found taking a firm hold
of the call to perfect obedience for our lives and, thus, forsake the sin and
rebellion that leads only to corruption and death for the true wages of
righteousness - which are superabundant life [Proverbs
11:30]. As we reflect back on this story of Korah and his rebellion, let
us look at some things that will help us avoid the pitfalls that are still
prevalent today - and which shall continue to exist as long as Satan remains on
the loose.
TRUE AUTHORITY IS NOT A MATTER OF OUTWARD INSTRUCTION BUT OF INWARD REVELATION
The first and foremost
principle which we, as children of God, must adhere to is to be submitted to
God's authority and learn to receive all that which God sends to us for our
edification through His delegated authorities - for these [true] delegated
authorities are not given to us for our harm but for our greatest good. To safeguard
against following after "flesh and blood" rather than God, every
child of God must have this revelation: true authority is not a matter of
outward instruction but of inward revelation. It must also be understood that
none who "adhere" to a "reliance" on the five physical
senses are able to walk on the narrow path of perfect obedience, for they will
be fooled continually by the things they hear and see [and feel and think], and
to them the "narrow path" will seem to be folly [or too hard] while
the "broad" path of destruction shall seem to be the only way to go [Matthew 7:13-14; Proverbs 14:12]. We must understand
that only the "faithful" may enjoy spiritual abundance - those who,
by faith, accept the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit and the [Spirit-guided]
leadership of God's delegated authority. For to whatever degree one holds to
"self- reliance" rather than an absolute reliance upon the Holy
Spirit to lead them into all truth and to teach them all things, it is to that
degree that they will remain in "controversy" with the authority of
God - both delegated and inherent [the Word of God]. Again, let us clearly
understand that rebellion is the principle of death [the principle of Satan]
and that whenever one resists [in rebellion] God's authority, delegated or
otherwise, God's judgement is immediate upon that one. Back-biting [reproach
and slander] and an inward [heart] resistance to God's delegated authority
originate from a rebellious spirit and so therefore let us not fall prey to an "unbridled
tongue" and let us not fail to give God's Word [Will] preeminence in our
lives, for as His love is shed abroad in our hearts [Romans
5:5] it will surely wash us and cleanse us continually of anything
within us that would seek to resist the authority of God. Let us always
remember that the call to submit ourselves to authority is in no way being
subject to a person, but rather being subject to the anointing of God which is
on and in that person - the anointing that came to that person when God
ordained them to be His delegated authority. As we continue on in our service
to God in this final hour, and the story of Korah and his rebellion are brought
to our thinking, let us remember that:
...."these things
happened to them as an example and they were written for our instruction, upon
whom the ends of the ages have come"....
1 Corinthians 10:1-11 NASB