Rebel for THE Cause

‎“I’m in rebellion with Jesus against anything and everything this world tries to throw at me. I will not allow the world to dictate how I look, dress, or eat. I’m an original masterpiece created by my Heavenly Daddy. And it’s time to change the rules.”

I must have repeated those words twenty times last week during the Christian Retreat Centers Teen Camp. I was the speaker for the week and my series was called “Rebel for THE Cause.”

What is a rebel? By its very definition it simply means; to resist or rise against some authority, control, or tradition. So how does that apply to our faith and exposing others to Jesus? Well for starters Jesus was a rebel. Look at the opening words to Lecrae’s song “Rebel.”

“Jesus was a rebel, a renegade, outlaw/ sanctified troublemaker but He never sinned, oh/ and He lived His life by a different set of Rules/ the culture ain’t approve/so you know they had to bruise em/ that’s the way they do/ man”

When Jesus stepped onto the scene and began his ministry he was a rebel in comparison to the religious leaders of his time. He purposely chose to hang with people the Pharisee’s would never dream of getting near. He lived by a different set of rules; “You heard it said, But I say….” And he turned their culture and world upside down as a result of his rebellion. But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant. – Matthew 20:25-26

In John 4 we see his rebellion against culture when he spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well. The Jews and Samaritans hated each other. As a matter fact the Jews would purposely walk out of their way just to avoid even walking through a Samaritan village.

The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” – John 4:9-10

And in John 8 we see his rebellion against the rules of the Pharisee’s.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” – John 8:3-7

And in Matthew 28:19-20 he calls us to be rebels by sharing our faith. By making disciples, who make disciple, who make disciples. Something the religious leaders of his time and even the religious of our time are NOT doing.

So, are you ready to become a rebel with Jesus? Are you ready to shake this culture and world by spending time with the lost, the hurt, the confused, the shunned and the rejects? Are you ready to make disciples that make disciples? Are you ready to change the rules?
A student that attended Teen Camp last week posted this as her Facebook status and I think it fit well as I close my thoughts on last week: “It’s time for our generation to take a stand. It’s time for our elders to look up to us ,its time for us to; turn our churches, houses, community’s, and schools upside down. Are you ready?

Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. – John 14:23