"The Perils of Rebellion: Understanding Korah's Downfall"

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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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I'm your host, Connie Morris, and I'm so excited to continue our series,

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The Games We Play With God.

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Today's episode is called Rebellion Against God's Order.

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Rebellion is a dangerous game to play with God. It often begins very subtly,

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but it can lead to spiritual, emotional, and relational chaos.

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So today we're going to explore the story of Korah's rebellion in Numbers 16

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and how God and how rejecting God's authority impacts our lives and even the people around us.

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You know, when I first read this Korah story, Korah, if you read it, read the whole story.

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It's in Numbers 16, verses 1 through 35.

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You can see giving you a little heads up before I get into it because I won't

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be able to read the whole story.

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But you see here in Numbers 16 that God gave Korah and his crew.

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I call it in his crew because a lot of times we don't rebel alone.

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We rebel in a crew. We get some people who listen to our story or our sad story about a leader.

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It could be a leader in a church. It could be a leader in the nation.

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It could be a friend or a foe. And we'll get a crew together.

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And then what happens is we just get things started and it can roll out of control sometimes.

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But we have to check that that's a leader.

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God may have put him in control, put him in that position over you.

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And so you might want to pray to God for him about what's going on,

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because maybe he's trying to do something in your life to get some of that pride

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and jealousy, some of the things

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we spoke about in the earlier series from series one, two, and three.

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So on series this year in our fourth episode here, let's go check on and see

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what Korah, what God has to say about the rebellion of Korah.

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So it says our focus today is number 16, 1 through 35, like I said.

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So here's a quick summary.

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Korah along with Datham, Abram, and 250 other leaders.

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So Korah was a leader, Datham, Abram, and Abram, not Abraham,

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Abram, A-B-I-R-A-M, and 250 other leaders.

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They already had a job in this kingdom, in this Israelite kingdom.

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They were Levites. So they had something powerful to do, but they were so focused

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on Moses. Let's keep reading.

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Challenged Moses and Aaron's leadership. They accused Moses of exalting himself

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above the assembly of the Lord. But Moses made it clear.

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That it wasn't about him, that it was divine order, God's divine order.

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Korah's rebellion wasn't just against Moses. It was against God himself.

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The consequences were severe. The earth opened up and swallowed Korah,

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his followers, and their families.

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And so this is an interesting story. Korah thought Moses was thinking of himself too highly.

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He did not want, he thought that maybe he should be the ruler.

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But we find out here that God said, no, no, no, you are stepping out of line.

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And God judged them all.

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And so, like I said, sometimes you have to be careful who you're listening to,

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who you're hanging with. because when you read the story, you find out that

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there was time for them to repent.

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God gave them another day to get their stuff together. That's how patient God is.

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He told Moses, he said, Moses told Korah, you know what, come back tomorrow and bring the incense.

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If God really honors your word and if I was wrong, then he's going to light

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that incense. And lo and behold, nothing got lit, and it was a terrible story.

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But a lot of times our rebellion doesn't just affect just us.

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It affects our families.

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So we see here in this quick summary that the followers and their families were killed.

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The earth opened up, swaddled them.

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So they were pretty much buried alive because of their rebellion.

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Let's go to Numbers 16, verse 11.

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It says, It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together.

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Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?

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Rebellion isn't just defiance against human authority. is defiance against God-established authority.

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When we reject God's order, we invite chaos into our lives and relationships.

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You always have to be careful who you're talking about and who you're gathering

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around as your audience.

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You can ask the Holy Ghost, Holy Ghost, God, my lips.

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And even if you don't, you can feel that feeling in your belly,

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your gut that you are coughing up or you're getting ready to go down some unholy

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trails, so you might want to just check yourself.

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Reflection question, where in your life are you resisting God's authority or

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the leaders he's placed over you?

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Before I came on to do the recording, I was just asking myself the same question

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because a lot of times you have your way, you want to do things,

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and then the leader has his way of doing things.

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So you quietly rebel by not showing up at the meetings because,

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you know, I don't want to show up at the meeting. You're not even doing it my way.

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Is that kind of a rebellion that you're doing?

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Are you resisting God's authority because they're not following your way?

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Something to ask yourself. So we have to always check ourselves on our rebellion.

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And it's like a little kid.

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When you're two years old, when they're two years old, they rebel out loud.

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But as adults, we rebel quietly.

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Some of us do. We just don't do things. We don't do it the way we used to. We just stop.

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You stop going to church. You stop attending meetings.

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You stop speaking up. You just totally just stop. You just disappear into the woodwork.

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It's a quiet rebellion. Everybody's asking, where's Connie? Where she ain't been around?

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Connie's over here rebelling quietly. Not fussing, just quietly rebelling.

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Rebelling, right? And so that's not what you want to do. You want to invite

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God into your life, not chaos, right?

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And so what is the root of rebellion?

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Rebellion often starts with pride, jealousy, or dissatisfaction.

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Korah and his followers felt entitled to positions of power that God hasn't assigned to them.

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James 3.16 reads, for where you have envy and selfish ambition,

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there you will find disorder and evil practices.

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So whenever there's envy and selfishness happening, you will find disorder in every evil practice.

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So take a look around in your job or your workplace, your church,

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your groups that you're in.

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Whenever there's this fight for the top, whenever there's envy and selfishness

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happening, there's always this thread of disorder and evil practice.

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Rebellion isn't just about outward actions. I just mentioned this.

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It's about the condition of our hearts.

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It reveals a lack of trust in God's plan and a desire to take control on our

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own terms. Isn't that interesting?

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That we're not going to make a big deal about it, but we are making a big deal

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about it secretly in our hearts.

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Our heart has sat down and we decided that we're going to rebel quietly.

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And secretly all attention does go to you because you decided not to attend

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a meeting and maybe they wanted to award you with something,

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but you won't be there because you're secretly rebelling, right?

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And so you're just, I'm not going because it's not happening the way I want it to happen.

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I'm preaching to myself here. Hello.

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All right. And so what are the dangers of rebellion? Rebellion has far-reaching

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consequences. So let's break it down. Number one, it disrupts the community.

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Coral rebellion caused division among the Israelites.

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Rebellion doesn't just affect us. It creates chaos in families,

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churches, and communities.

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So you always find that one person, maybe there's two, sometimes there's two,

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that are always complaining, saying sidestep underneath their breath, and just something.

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And so if you gather with them, you can kind of moan and complain with them.

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Or you can say, what did you say? Why are you saying that?

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You know, I mean, you don't have to even be here with that attitude.

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You can be kind of that bold person because it's disrupting.

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You're sitting there in church, and you got this person. I don't even like the

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way they saw it. And you brought that into the church, right?

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You brought that into the meeting. You brought that into the workplace.

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So it disrupt the unity that was already happening because you're sitting there

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with your little attitude coming in there to disrupt this peace.

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Number two, it leads to judgment.

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God's response to choral rebellion was swift and severe.

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While we live under the grace through Christ, rebellion still carries spiritual

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and practical consequences.

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We talked about that in another episode, that even though you may repent for

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your sins, there are still some consequences for your rebellion.

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But you see, God gave Korah and his crew extra time to get it right, but they didn't.

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And it cost their lives and the lives of their family. And if you read the story,

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some of the Israelites were like that, so it was hard.

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And some of them, who even though they weren't in the crew, they secretly sided

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with the crew, and they died also.

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And so there was a plague among them. So you really have to be careful,

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because a lot of times we kind of vicariously kind of rebel,

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because we're not in the crew,

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but we were bearing with them, secretly watching, seeing where they get away with it.

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And then all of a sudden we shift over there.

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Our hearts are already there and it takes just one little shift and they might

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leave the church and boom, you're right there with them, agreeing with them.

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Number three, it blocks blessings. When we rebel, we distance ourselves from

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God's provision and protection.

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Submission in his order positions us to receive his blessings.

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So how do we, what are the dangers of rebellion?

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It disrupts the community. It leads to judgment and it blocks blessings.

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So when we rebel, when it blocks blessings, we're no longer protected by God

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and we're no longer allowing God's provision to assist us.

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So we have to just be very careful with that. James 4, 7 reads.

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So submission happens first pretty much in our hearts. And as we submit to God,

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then we have that power to resist the devil. And then and only then does the devil flee from you.

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Submission to God's authority protects us from the enemy's schemes.

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So how do you overcome the spirit of rebellion?

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How do we stop playing this dangerous game of rebellion?

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There's three practical steps. Number one, recognizing God's sovereignty.

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Trust that God knows best, even when you don't understand his plans.

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For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,

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declares the Lord. Lord, that's in Isaiah 55, 8.

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Number two, pray for a submissive heart. Ask God to soften your heart and align

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your desires with his will.

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Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

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So when you have a hard heart, you got, Lord, help me unsoften my heart.

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Help my heart be submissive. And that can be just from some damage that's done

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from other things, right?

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I don't want to kind of hold on to this stubbornness, this rebellion,

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because it feels good for one, but it doesn't look good to God.

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And so number three, honor God's established authority.

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Remember, they were put in that place for a reason, whether you like them or not.

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We have all kinds of excuses why I don't want to go because I don't like him or her.

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We all said that. But we got to realize that God has put these people in these positions.

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Whether it's in your family, your workplace, or church, honor the leaders God has placed over you.

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Submission isn't about weakness. It's about trusting God's wisdom.

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So how do we stop playing the game of rebellion? We recognize God's sovereignty that he knows best.

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We ask God to soften our heart.

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Create in me a pure heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me was

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a prayer that David prayed.

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So ask God to help you with your heart. And a lot of times he'll let you know.

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Or I need help with this one. Just ask, I need help with this.

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This is not going to be an easy one. I need some help with this.

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That's Psalms 51.10. And number three, honor God's established order.

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Whoever God puts above you, that's the order he wants you to humble yourself to.

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He didn't put you in that position, so that means you're not the one in charge.

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All right, let's do some decrees to break free from rebellion.

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So let's declare some truth together to break free from rebellion.

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I decree that I will submit to God's authority and trust his plans for my life.

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I decree that I will honor the leaders God has placed over me.

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I decree that my heart is free from pride, envy, and selfish abvention.

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I don't know if I can't say that word. So what are we going to learn this week?

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Or just to stay. I encourage you to reflect on areas where you might be resisting God's authority.

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Ask yourself, am I trusting God's timing and leadership in my life?

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How can I better honor the people God has placed in position of authority?

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Practical challenge that you can do to test that.

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Identify one area where you have been resistant to submission,

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whether it's in a relationship, a task, or a calling.

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And commit to surrendering it to God this week. Wow, what is that thing that you've been resisting?

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God said, submit to it that week.

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You don't have to do it alone. He said, you can ask for help.

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Lord, help me to resist to that thing that I have been resisting.

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That's keeping my provisions and my protection from you.

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Holding you hostage until I get my act together, to get my humility together.

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So let's just pray. Heavenly Father, I just thank you for your divine order and wisdom.

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Forgive us for the times we have resisted your authority or the leaders you've placed over us.

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Teach us to trust you fully and

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to walk in submission, knowing that your plans are always for our good.

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Remove pride, envy, and rebellion from our hearts. And fill us with peace and humility.

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In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

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I want to thank you all for joining me on this episode of The Games We Play With God.

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If today's message has encouraged you, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

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And subscribe so you don't miss the next episode where we will discuss testing God's patience.

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So until next time, stay humble, stay submitted, and be blessed.