“(31)And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: (32) And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. (35) And there came out fire from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. (49)Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah. – Numbers 16: 31, 32, 35, 49. (KJV)
The spirit of rebellion is a very terrible and stubborn spirit. It was persistently noticed in the camp of Israel that was led by God Himself, even in the midst of the people who had witnessed divine presence and power severally. As far as human beings make up a congregation, the rebellious spirit must be present. It is foolhardy for any minister to think that his congregation is insulated from it. The camp of Israel was the camp of God Almighty. He led them by the pillar of fire at night and by the pillar of cloud in the day, yet this obnoxious spirit was almost of daily occurrence. Due to pride and inordinate ambition, man’s heart is easily accessed by this evil spirit. Many men of God had had to battle for the survival of their ministry fighting against the spirit of rebellion. Most people got born-again, went into the ministry without adequately dealing with their pride and love for money. Some are driven by the lust for fame, power and titles. They subtly creep into big and existing churches with intention of using an established platform to selfishly launch out. They steal the members and infrastructure of an established ministry to take off in their supposed calling. Most division in churches are caused by greed, pride and inordinate ambition. As in the case above, the earth may not physically be opening up to swallow such perpetuators, but the visitation of God’s wrath will come in diverse forms. Pastors should do well to properly guard their minds against this spiritual cancer so as not to desecrate the exalted altars of our God. The repercussion is grievous. It is my prayer that everyone in the service of the Almighty God should be properly guarded by the Spirit of the fear of the LORD. Moses contended with rebellion throughout his leadership of Israel . As grievous as this evil is, fourteen thousand seven hundred of the families of Korah, Dathan and Abiram all went down alive to the world of the dead, with their possessions, excluding the two hundred and fifty persons consumed by Fire from God. Let every man beware how he conducts himself before God, especially in dealing with a man genuinely on assignment for God.
Prayer: Father give me grace to properly guard my heart against the spirit of rebellion In Jesus Name.
Bro. Joel Ezeugo