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Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns… (Hos 4:1-3, ESV)
As we read Hosea’s prophesy about the state of affairs in Israel 750 years before Christ came to walk among the people of this earth, it rings a very familiar tone for us today. Over the last two weeks here in America we have seen this prophesy fulfilled once again. As some Bible versions read, people are “casting off all restraint” all in the name of standing up for their rights or to “honor” the black man who was killed by a corrupt policeman. Rebellion against authority is running rampant. Is this God’s way (see Romans 13:1-3)?
In America our major cities are burning, businesses pillaged, police being shot and killed, women raped and beaten, children exposed to violence–all in the name of civil rights. Yes, as Americans we have the right to peaceful protest, but Satan is the master of Judo tactics. He always uses our fleshly forward momentum to throw us to the ground. Are we sure that Jesus and the early apostles behaved this way? Is this the message of the New Testament? Let’s look at a few verses…
When Jesus and the disciples were going to pass through a Samaritan village on their way to Jerusalem, the people there would not let them pass. What did Jesus do? Did He protest and get His rights as the Son of God? After all isn’t it written, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof”? James and John thought that He should have forced the issue.
And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village. (Luke 9:54-56, NKJV)
In their self-righteous Jewish minds, they had a scriptural basis to call fire down from heaven and kill those obstinate Samaritans. But, “the letter of the Law kills, but the Spirit gives life,” and Jesus is all about Life!
Jesus rebuked them because they did not know what spirit they were of. Do we know what spirit we are of in our so called “righteous indignation” against those who abuse authority in the world today? Is that what Jesus taught us or lived out for us as an example to follow as His disciples? I think not. Dear saints, beware of any religious leader who does not follow their examples and seeks to seduce you away from Christ with words that appeal to your fleshly nature.
When Jesus was tortured and crucified on the cross by the policing forces in Jerusalem at the bidding of the Jewish chief priests and elders, what actions did his disciple take? Did they rise up and burn down the Fortress of Antonio or set fire to the Jewish temple or insight others to do so? Yes, one disciple did take out his knife when the temple guards came to arrest Jesus, but He told him to put it away for “they who live by the sword shall die by the sword.”
Just what spirit are we of, my Christian friends? What world is our kingdom of? I was saved out of a background of radical right-wing politics and Satan still tries to draw me back into that in times like these. The more civil unrest I see, the greater the temptation is. I have to keep asking myself, “What kingdom am I of?”
When Jesus was brought by the Jewish leaders to Pontius Pilate to be tried (only the Romans had the authority to carry out capital punishment), Pilate asked Jesus,
“Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?”
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight…” (John 18:35-36, NKJV)
Yes, IF His kingdom was of this world, but it is not. When we fight in the name of civil rights or our version of “justice,” just what kingdom are we of? Whose kingdom is it that we fight for? What kingdom do we manifest with all our demonstrations and rioting? What spirit do we manifest when we block freeways and streets so that others can’t pass; when we throw bottles and bricks at the police when they tell us to disperse and go home; when we deface monuments and buildings with spray paint, set fire to business and churches or plot against the government? Why is it that most of these “peaceful protests” end up in violence and murder? Don’t we know that Satan was a liar and a murderer from the foundation of the world (see John 8:42-44), and when we get into civil disobedience he is not far away, trying to seduce us to be just like him?
Are we living lives that show the world that we are children of our Father in heaven or are we children of the devil?
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven… (Matt 5:43-45, NKJV)
And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8, NKJV)
If you are being abused, dear friend, cry out to God alone and He will hear your prayers. Pray that when Jesus returns after all this tribulation through which we must pass, He will still find faith in Him on this earth.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright. (Ps 20:7-8, NKJV)