Many sincere Christians have failed in their attempts to live for God and end
up falling back into old sins because… they rebel against God
by setting up their own ideas of what God's righteousness consists of.
(Romans 10:2-3 deals with
the subject of refusing to submit to the righteousness of God which he gives to us in his son Christ Jesus.)
When we refuse to submit to the righteousness of God through Jesus, this is equal
to rebelling against God.
Refusing to submit to the righteousness
of God, which is freely given, to all his children, through Christ Jesus always leads to the issue of control.
This is very important to understand because...
If God is not in control--who is?
The scriptures tell us we
fight not against flesh and blood…Ephesians 6:12
It is never “just us”
There is a certain spiritual matrix (a place or enveloping
element in which something originates, takes form or develops) which is always
present in a person prone to addiction or other compulsive sinful behavior.
Understand This
There is no such thing as an
“addictive personality.” This is a humanistic, psychological, unscriptural concept
What we are dealing with is the scriptural admonition against sins that easily beset
us.
These sins are always accompanied by a team of predatory devils who attempt to establish new strongholds
and re-establish and further develop any strongholds already existing in our lives.
One of these devils is a spirit of rebellion.
This spirit is always present and active in the lives of all
who struggle with sin of any sort.
How do we know this?
Anytime we attempt to escape and release the pressure in our lives by
any means other than submitting to the pressure and allowing God to
work his righteousness in our lives through the pressure (which may cause us temporary/severe
discomfort), we are rebelling against the will of God.
Where there is rebellion – be assured, there
is a demonic
spirit of rebellion
actively working with its cohorts to strengthen any other strongholds
that may be present in our lives.
But the weapons
of our warfare are…
mighty
through God to
the pulling down of strongholds.
2 Corinthians 10:4
Understanding
the Stronghold of Rebellion is the first step to getting free from sins that easily beset us.
Rebellion is a sin equated in
the scriptures with witchcraft
1 Samuel 15:23
Rebellion=Control=Witchcraft
Anytime we seek to control our own lives (and attempt to manipulate the lives and actions
of other persons or situations) instead of trusting the Lord to accomplish his will, we are entering into...
the dangerous arena of rebellion
which the scriptures tell us is the same as witchcraft.
Powerful spirits are all too available (and willing) to assist us in destroying (at the very
least hindering the work of God in) our lives and the lives of others through this stronghold.
How To Be Free From This Stronghold
· First we must get honest and
agree with God that we have been walking in the sin of rebellion and sincerely repent.
· Renounce and rebuke controlling spirits of rebellion and witchcraft
by the authority all children of God have in Jesus Christ. Request prayer from others who are experienced in spiritual warfare.
Ask them to lay hands on you and pray for you.
· In order to stay free, we must
be vigilant not to allow this sin back into our lives (the devil always attempts to regain access).
Become willing to become accountable for behavior.
Get an accountability partner.
Ask the Holy Spirit's help to continue walking in victory
over this sin
Obedience and submission to God, his righteousness and legitimate
authority is the only way to remain free of the stronghold of rebellion.
This includes not only legal authority and our parents (while we are still in our
minority), but also recognizing and submitting to our spiritual leadership.
Important!
God gives us continued protection from the stronghold
of rebellion only through
submission to all legitimate authority.
Even if that authority is imperfect... selah
