Holy rebellion

Dr. D. K. Olukoya

Beloved, this week, we are considering a message entitled, “Holy Rebellion.”

Sometime ago, a relative of mine brought a girl who had just arrived from the village to my house. The first night, she talked throughout in her sleep. I got angry in my spirit that day but I had to keep quiet as a matter of courtesy since that was her first night. The following morning, I confronted her and told her that if she dared have any conversation in her sleep again, both herself and her invisible partner would be imprisoned and caged. Behold, that particular night, she did not make a single sound while she slept. But by the following morning, she carried her things and left. My warning destabilized her.

The apostles of old had cause to report some people to God: They said, “O Lord, behold their threatening.” Many of us reading this message have been threatened in the past while some are now living under the threat of their enemies. What a big insult to the children of the living God to be living under such a condition. Therefore, I want you to get angry in your spirit and fire these arrows before you read further:

            I destablise every witch or wizard warring against my life, in the name of Jesus.

            Let every serpent dispatched against me begin to bite itself, in the name of Jesus.

            Every enemy of my breakthrough, become blind, in the name of Jesus.

1 Samuel 17:38-40: “And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the Philistine.”

WHAT ARE THE FORCES OF THE PHILISTINES?

We have modern-day Philistines. They are the forces threatening the people of God, harassing them and vowing to cause tragedies in their lives. They are not hiding their evil intentions. They say it openly just as Goliath was an open enemy. Verses 41-46: “And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take off  thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

What David did at the battlefront could be called holy rebellion. After all, his mission at the war front was to deliver food to his elder brothers. But when he got there and saw someone boasting and threatening the Israelites, he began to ask questions: “Who is this man threatening the armies of the living God?” He carried out a holy rebellion and what happened? Goliath fell. The man had a big head and a big sword too. David therefore took the sword of Goliath and with it cut off the head of Goliath. This means that the weapon that the enemies have fashioned against you shall be used against them, in Jesus’ name.

Difficult circumstances are a fact of life and there is no human being that can ever be useful without passing through some obstacles. Jesus Himself had to pass through the cross to receive glory and honour. The Bible says that He was despised, forsaken and counted unworthy to live. He was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. His face was not an object that anyone would like to look at because it was badly spoilt. They plucked His beard. He passed through agony while on His way to receive glory and honour. Inquire from anointed men of God and talk to people who have achieved something for God and they will tell you stories of what they have passed through.

I can never stop getting amazed at the story of Elisha. Here was a man who followed Elijah and they worked together for sometime. The first thing that would surprise a careful student of the Bible is the fact that there were many students in the school of the prophets, how come at the crucial stage of Elijah’s ministry, the only person he could see was Elisha? There must have been something special about him. He followed his master to the end. When they passed through Gilgal, Elijah asked him to wait there for him but he said, “No. As the Lord lives, where you go, I go. I am not waiting.” As they got to Bethel, Elijah again asked him to wait but he refused;  and on getting to Jericho, when Elijah saw that Elisha was going to carry out a holy rebellion and was not going to let him go, he asked what he wanted from him. If Elisha had turned back in Gilgal, there would  have been no opportunity for Elijah to ask him that question. You may say that he was stubborn  but he knew what he was looking for. When eventually he told his master that he wanted a double-portion of his anointing, his master said, “You have asked for a hard thing. However, if you were able to see me when I was being taken away, it shall be so; otherwise, the request cannot be met.” Elisha’s final examination was to be able to see Elijah on the heavenly chariot physically and he saw him. I am convinced in my spirit that prior to that day, Elisha must have stopped eating for days because he did not want to miss that golden opportunity. He had holy rebellion inside his blood. When the chariot came, he saw it and screamed, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.” He took a further step of rebellion by not sitting by to watch the chariot; rather he held on to his master and got part of his garment. Holy rebellion.

If you are a minister with a compassionate heart, sometimes you find that people are going through unbearable things. When you hear or see the agonies some people are passing through, you will thank God for your own situation. Oftentimes, many would soak ‘gari’ (cassava meal) in water and drink it with some groundnuts and they would not have health problems, yet they would complain of being poor. But there are thousands of people who dare not put one spoon of gari in their mouths, if they do, they will land in a hospital.                        

Beloved, many people have serious problems. What do you make of that man whose wife asked for money for soup and he said he did not have. The next thing the woman did was to take a whip and beat him twice. From that day, he lost his mind and started dancing in the streets. People who did not know the genesis of his problems would not know what he was passing through. There are problems but Psalm 34:19: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”  It did not say few are these afflictions but many, yet the Lord delivers him out of them all. Verse 20 goes further to say, “He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken.” In essence, the Bible is reawakening that consciousness in us again, that there would be opposition and obstacles but at the same time there would be deliverance for God’s children. It does not matter how long the problem has existed or what medical doctors have diagnosed. I read an article in an international magazine in which it is mentioned that scientists have discovered that prayer is a form of medicine. A medical doctor who had one particular patient in the ward with his two lungs already eaten up by cancer, said that by his knowledge, that patient was not supposed to live for more than two weeks but he noticed that everyday, his church members gathered around him to sing and pray.  In his anger, he had suggested to them to start practicing songs for his funeral instead of wasting their time praying.  He said that surprisingly, the man did not die and the way he got out of that sickness beat his medical knowledge.  One year after, when the man paid him a visit, he decided to carry out a research on prayer as medicine. He did the work in a hospital where about 300 patients were on admission. The names of some of them were listed without mentioning their ailments and some were passed to a church for prayers. They picked them at random. After six months, they checked the records and found that only about 20 per cent of those they did not pray for died while 75 per cent of those that were prayed for lived. When the man found out that more people recovered on the prayer list, he was convinced about the power of prayer.

Some people cry everyday because of their problems. They forget that many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him from them all. The only person who can prevent you from being delivered from them all is not the devil, neither is it your pastor, nor your enemies, but yourself. So, whatever circumstance you are facing, the way you respond to it will determine whether you will be delivered or not. If you decide to respond by exercising holy rebellion, you will get out of it.  It may not come quite easily but you will get out.

The circumstances or whatever you face can either make you a better person or a very bitter person. It can either make you or mar you. Nothing can break those who exercise holy rebellion. What the devil wants people to be doing is to be crying everyday while his demons dance to the music of the crying and weeping. Psalms 92:12: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” What does this mean? We shall be able to understand this question by taking a closer look at the life of a palm tree. In the Bible, the palm tree is a symbol for victory.  Revelation 7: 9: “After this, I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.”  John 12:12-13: “On the next day, much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna; Blessed is the king of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” That was a day of victory.

WHY IS THE PALM TREE SO IMPORTANT?

 Scientists tell us that it has a lot of uses. For example, the fruit is the daily food for millions. What people call palm-wine is from the palm tree.  Fresh palm-wine that is dropping from the palm tree is not intoxicating. It becomes intoxicating when it is stored and fermented. It is then that it begins to do the evil work. The fresh palm-wine from the tree does not contain alcohol and is very sweet but when human beings want to destroy themselves they store it to turn it into a chemical. It is the same thing with all God’s creation. Human beings are the ones who turn a useful thing into something harmful. The seed from the palm tree is used to produce animal feed for so many animals. Those who went to traditional schools know that ropes can be made from the palm leaf raffia. Part of it is also used to make brooms. The trunk is a valuable timber. Palm oil, palm kernel and coconut come from the palm tree. The wonderful thing about the tree is that although it stands with its feet inside undrinkable waters and with its head in the sun, yet men can drink the sweetest juice from it, eat the sweet coconut from it and get some other useful products from it. Therefore, the palm tree through its inner life can change the elements in the bad soil so that it can minister growth and strength to it and it will bear fruit.  The righteous is likened unto it.  It means that even though you and I have our feet or root in various unfavourable environments and situations, or come from a family of cannibals or from a place where anybody who builds a house dies, or we come from an environment of bitterness and discouragement, the Bible says we are like the palm tree. In spite of all odds, we should grow and grow strong. We reject the evil and assimilate the good.

Many modern-day Christians are suffering from spiritual diabetes, too much sugar. They prefer the couch to the cross. They want to see the ladder descend from heaven like it did to Jacob but they are not interested in putting their heads on the pillow of stone. They want to put their heads on nice foam pillows and they want the ladder of heaven. So, when they have a problem or encounter an obstacle, they make a big show of it. A lot of parents have pampered their children unto failure because they don’t understand that that which makes a person great is that which hinders him. Psalm 66:9-12: “Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.  For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.”  We have to pass through all these rough roads that the Bible has mentioned before God can put us in a wealthy place.

Before anyone can become anything in life, one way or the other, he or she must have been kicked around, discouraged and oppressed. There is no easy way to winning a crown. Some people say that they want to grow and become powerful but when they are tried, they fail. God  tries you with one problem or the other to see how you stand. If He discovers that you fail or you are  unable to withstand the stress of the test, He may withhold the power.  Therefore, the land of opposition is the land of opportunity.  The food of victory is unfavourable circumstances. So, all the problems you think you are facing now should be seen as an opportunity to grow unto maturity. They should be seen as an opportunity for you to advertise God’s power in your life.

We have a Deliverer who is monitoring our lives and He will not test you beyond what you can carry. The world as it stands, is managed by God who is the greatest designer. He is the great Lord of lords. If you believe that this God is your Father, then you are stronger than any terrible circumstances and obstacles. When you face an obstacle, your purpose as somebody who is reigning like a king should be to make the obstacle your servant. Don’t make your obstacle your master for too long. Unbelief makes many people to be slaves to their obstacles and problems. Always believe that you are the master of your problem.  As you grow older in faith, are you becoming better or are you allowing the enemy to blackmail you? There is the story of Ayo and Ojo who were in the boarding house. They were put in care of a teacher. In those days when you were in the boarding house and they put you in the teacher’s house, you are in trouble because as far as the teacher was concerned, anything short of first position would not do. Ayo and Ojo were supposed to look after the ducks owned by the teacher. One day, Ayo mistakenly killed a duck. He decided to eat the duck as a way of hiding the mistake. His morning work was to sweep the whole of the sitting room, clean the kitchen, wash the plates, warm the soup and dress his master’s children for school before he would get ready for school. The work of Ojo was to make sure that the grasses around the house were well cut and the flowers were all watered.  The first day after Ayo ate the duck, he woke up at 6 a.m. and woke Ojo up. But Ojo told him that he would wake up by 7 a.m. and that Ayo should make sure he helped him with his morning work if not he would tell their master that he killed a duck. From then on, Ojo did nothing. Ayo was doing all the work and was growing lean. Sometimes, when they were served their meals, Ojo would eat all the meat. When the teacher noticed that Ayo was getting lean, he asked him what the problem was. Ayo denied having any problem but one day, he could no longer bear it so he went to confess to his master and asked for forgiveness. The master asked him how long ago he killed the duck and he said, “Nine months ago.” The master said, “Don’t worry. I have forgiven you.” So, Ayo slept happily for the first time in nine months. The following morning, Ojo who did not know that Ayo had sorted himself out woke him up as usual and said, “Have you forgotten that you killed a duck?” Ayo told him to go ahead and report. This is how problem blackmails many people. It just dictates their lives for them. Until you carry out a spiritual rebellion against an obstacle, it will continue to blackmail and harass you.

There is also negative rebellion. One day in my school days, some of my colleagues decided to stage a coup against one student-teacher. My protests did not count as I was voted out. In those days, when student-teachers go for teaching practice, their inspectors sometimes stood by the window to observe how they went about their work. The observer this time was a white man. The mischievous students got ready for this teacher. They were following the lesson and co-operating with the teacher until the white man turned up and they carried out their plan. The  teacher said, “Boys, my boss is by the door, you stand up and greet him.” None of them stood up. He asked, “Are you deaf?” One of them said, “Your father is deaf.” He felt insulted and took a whip and said, “Stand up all of you.” The first boy he tried to beat took the whip  from him, cut it to pieces and ran away. The rest ran out to call the principal. Before the principal came they had started to sing, “We don’t want him, he should go. All we are saying is he must go.” That is what we call demonic rebellion. We are not talking about this type of rebellion but one targeted at satanic works.

When you are constantly getting worried about a particular problem it shows that you are the servant of the problem not his master. If you are feeling that the situation will never come to an end then you become the servant of the problem. If the problem becomes your major pre-occupation and is ordering you around like a military officer it has become the master. If it takes away your happiness then it has become the master. If you are ready to try ungodly things, the problem has become your master. Some people come for prayers and when the desired solution does not come as envisaged, they backslide. The truth is that the problem has become their master and they the servants. When a problem is allowed to dominate the mind, it will paralyse one’s prayer life and make the person an obedient servant for it will then start dictating all sorts of commands to the person.

You have to carry out a spiritual coup today, overthrow the king in charge of the problem by disagreeing with an obstacle you have been agreeing with for long.

THE WAY OUT

Rebel against the obstacle with the word of God and prayer.  Decide that it is not going to push you around any longer; instead you will be pushing it all over. One thing some people don’t know about the devil is how to resist him. The Bible says, “Resist the devil and it shall flee from you.” You will not recognise that the devil is a coward until you resist him and you will be amazed at seeing him run away.

Take your mind completely off the problem; kick the thought of it out of your mind anytime it tries to come back. Replace it with the thoughts of the Scriptures.

Treat the obstacle like a dog without teeth by telling it that the Lord has defeated it on the cross.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Do not let any moment of sadness cross your spirit.

Fill your spirit with the word of God: this is how you can turn the obstacle to your servant now.

Avoid faithless people who talk failure and discouragement because they will drag you further down.

Make positive confessions everyday.

Rebel aggressively against the problem, putting your faith into full use.

            Faith without works, they say is death. So, you must put your faith to work. Faith says I am going to fight this battle and I will return. Faith also says, it is well. So, when you really have faith you would have won the fight before starting. David killed Goliath before he slew him.  How did he do that? He said to him, “You come against me in the name of your gods but I come against you in the name of God of hosts.  He exercised his faith.   

    So, I ask you a question: Are you reigning in life as a king according to Romans 5:17 which says “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”. Or have you allowed your life to be fully overtaken by problems? Wake up and challenge the problem. Say no to its continual existence in your life and carry out a holy rebellion. You will succeed, in Jesus’ name.

PRAYER POINTS

1. I challenge all obstacles before me to be dismantled, in Jesus’ name.

2. All unprofitable trees growing in my life, be uprooted by fire, in the name of Jesus.

3. I breathe in the healing power of God.  (When you say it three times you take a deep breath into your system. Do it in faith and as you are breathing out, infirmities will go back to the sender, in the name of Jesus.)

4. I reject every spirit of error, in the name of Jesus.

5. I refuse to fail in every area of my life, in Jesus' name.

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