WHEN MAN FIGHTS AGAINST GOD

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   Can you imagine this headline for an MMA Cage Fight:  “Man vs. God.”

1.    God, the Creator.  Man, the created.

2.    God, the Almighty.  Man, weak and frail.

3.    God, the Eternal One.  Man, the temporal one.

4.    God, the All-knowing.  Man, one with street smarts.

5.    God, a Spirit.  Man, composed of flesh and spirit.

6.    God, never lost a match.  Man, never won a match against God.

 

B.   What do you see as the outcome of this battle?  The answer is pretty simple.  Why even buy a ticket because all know that God is going to win?

 

C.   In the spiritual realm, we would set up the situation a little differently, but the truth is still the same.

1.    God is going to win every time.

2.    Yet, man continues to fight against God.

 

D.   In this lesson, let’s consider the topic:  “When Man Fights Against God.”

 

I.             MAN DESIRES TO BE RELEASED FROM GOD’S AUTHORITY

 

A.   Man does not like to be told what he must do.

Man longs to be in charge of his own destiny.

Man does not enjoy rules and regulations.

Man refuses to be a servant to anyone, including God.

 

B.   Question:  Why are individuals atheists? 

1.    It isn’t because there is not enough evidence to prove that God exists (Rom. 1:20).

2.    If there is a Creator and we are His creatures, then we are accountable to Him. 

 

C.   David provides us a psalm about man’s rebellion against God’s rule.  In the first section of Psalm 2, “The Rulers Rebel” (Ps. 2:1-3).

 

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

 

1.    Let us break their bands asunder.

2.    Let us cast way their cords from us.

 

II.           MAN DIVORCES HIMSELF FROM GOD

 

A.   A man cannot serve God and oppose him at the same time.

 

B.   Jesus said:  “He that is not with me is against me…” (Matt. 12:30).

 

C.   Away from God is a horrible place to be.

1.    Away from life.

2.    Away from light.

3.    Away from salvation.

4.    Away from peace.

5.    Away from hope.

6.    Away from help.

7.    Away from joy.

8.    Away from heaven.

 

III.         MAN DEMONSTRATES HIS IGNORANCE

 

A.   The word “ignorance” is from the root word “ignore.”

 

B.   When man fights against God, he is ignorant because he ignores important facts and information.

1.    God is the very source of all life.

a.    John 1:4

 

In him was life…

 

b.    If God is life, then He can easily cut off the supply of life to any of His creatures, including man.

2.    God is Almighty.

a.    Job 37:23

 

Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out:  he is excellent in power…

 

b.    If God has all power, man will never muster enough power to overcome him. 

 

IV.         MAN DISPLAYS HIS PRIDE

 

A.   Proverbs 13:10

 

Only by pride cometh contention…

 

B.   Pride is defined in several ways.

1.    Arrogance

2.    An overestimation of one’s knowledge, talents, looks, etc.

3.    Swelling:  Sometimes we refer to a person with a lot pride as having a “big head.”

C.   Pride tells a man that he can defeat God when no one else ever has.

Pride tells a man that he has the ability to outsmart God.

Pride tells a man that he is the one person who is more powerful than God.

 

D.   The Edomites were filled with pride.

1.    Obadiah 3

 

The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground.

 

2.    God’s answer to Edom (Obad. 4)

 

Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set they nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.

 

V.           MAN DOVETAILS WITH SATAN

 

A.   When men rebel against God, they immediately align themselves with Satan.

 

B.   There are only two forces in the world:  God who reigns over all that is good, and Satan who reigns over all that is evil.

 

C.   This picture is clearly seen in the Revelation.

1.    In Revelation 12, we are introduced to “the great red dragon” (Rev. 12:3).

a.    This great dragon is identified as “the Devil, and Satan” (Rev. 12:9).

b.    He opposed the woman who was with child (Rev. 12:4).

c.    He also warred against Michael and his angels (Rev. 12:7).

2.    In the next chapter, two beasts are revealed unto us, the sea beast (Rev. 13:1) and the land beast (Rev. 13:11)

a.    These two beasts exercise power and authority given unto them by the dragon (Rev. 13:2, 12).

b.    These powers fought against the people of God.

1)    “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints” (Rev. 12:7).

2)    “And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth…” (Rev. 12:14)

3.    Man must pick between God and the Dragon.  The two groups were marked in the Apocalypse.

a.    The mark of the beast was 666 (Rev. 13:17-18).

b.    Or, the name of God the Father written upon one’s forehead (Rev. 14:1).

 

VI.         MAN DISCARDS GOD’S FAVOR AND BLESSINGS

 

A.   Only the obedient man is blessed.

1.    Psalm 1:1-4a

 

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also doth not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  The ungodly are not so…

 

2.    Psalm 119:2

 

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

 

B.   God’s general providence continues in this life with the wicked, but His spiritual blessings are not theirs to enjoy.

1.    There is no forgiveness.

2.    There is no answered prayer.

3.    There is no rescue from the grip of the evil one.

 

VII.       MAN DERIVES DEFEAT BY THE HAND OF GOD

 

A.   In our introduction, we noted that when it comes to the battles between God and man, God has won every one of them.  He is undefeated.

 

B.   Examples:

1.    God overcome the rulers and the kings spoken of in Psalm 2 (Ps. 2:4-6).

 

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh:  the Lord shall have them in derision.  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.  Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.

a.    Remember, the people had taken counsel against the Lord’s Anointed (v. 2).

b.    Regardless of man’s actions in opposition to His Anointed One, He still established His throne.

2.    Sadly, a prophet by the name of Jonah set himself in opposition to God when called to prophesy to Nineveh.

a.    He fled from the presence of the Lord and boarded a ship for Tarshish (Jon. 1:3).

b.    Verse 4 of Jonah 1 begins with this word:  “But…”

 

But the Lord sent out a great wind in the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

 

3.    Saul of Tarsus

a.    Saul was bent on the destruction of the Christian religion (Gal. 1:13).

 

For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.

 

b.    The Lord Jesus Christ confronted Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:5b).

 

…And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:  it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

 

1)    To kick against the pricks involves the kicking of the ox against the goad of the herdsman who is steering him.

2)    Barnes:  “The expression “to kick against the prick” is derived from the action of a stubborn and unyielding ox kicking against the goad. And as the ox would injure no one by it but himself; as he would gain nothing, it comes to denote “an obstinate and refractory disposition and course of conduct, resisting the authority of him who has a right to command, and opposing the leadings of Providence, to the injury of him who makes the resistance.” It denotes “rebellion against lawful authority, and thus getting into greater difficulty by attempting to oppose the commands to duty” (e-sword).

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   When man fights against God…

1.    He desires to be released from God’s authority.

2.    He divorces himself from God.

3.    He demonstrates his ignorance.

4.    He displays his pride.

5.    He dovetails with Satan.

6.    He discards God’s favor and blessings.

7.    He derives defeat from the hand of God.

 

B.   Do you need to quit fighting against God and join yourself to Him?