"Lucifer's Rebellion"
Ezekiel 28:12-17
Sunday, May 6, 2007

Introduction: EVIL. It exists. But why? Today’s sermon is about why evil exists in our world. It is a topic most people want to ignore, or pretend it isn’t true. They think that if they don’t believe in Satan, then Satan isn’t real. But it is important to talk about Satan, both for the fact that we need to acknowledge Satan’s presence so we can stand firm against him, and so we can learn from Satan’s mistakes; mistakes which we ourselves can easily make. As we are told in 1 Peter 5:8- “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” It is also important to understand that if we can stand firm against Satan, then we can fight against the evil that is in the world. As Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 16:13- “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage…”

I. Rebellion- (Ezekiel 28:12-17; 2 Peter 2:4)

a. Lucifer- Hear again from Ezekiel 28, ¹² "Son of man, take up a

lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. ¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you:… ¹⁴ You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you…¹⁵ You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you…” What an amazing description of Lucifer- “model of perfection;” “full of wisdom;” “perfect in beauty;” “every precious stone adorned you:” “you were anointed as a guardian cherub.”

You hear these characteristics, and find it hard to believe that this amazing angel could bring anything evil into the world. But the angels have the ability to sin, as 2 Peter 2:4 tells us, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment.” Lucifer, who we know better as Satan, sinned, and was defiant against God, and he and 1/3 of the angels rebelled against God.

This was really the greatest catastrophe in history, because through this wickedness, evil was brought into the world. Unfortunately, Satan has started a war that will rage on until the battle of Armageddon.

In Satan’s rebellion, he wanted a kingdom of his own. But because he was a created being, he could not create beings himself. So the only way he has to fill his kingdom is to corrupt the beings God has created. This corruption began in the garden of Eden, with Eve and Adam, and continues to this day. Satan wants us to rebel against God just as he did. He deceives us into his kingdom. God does not stop Satan from testing and tempting us, but promises to be there for us if we call.

b. Our rebellion- EX. Mutiny on the Bounty

The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny aboard a Royal Navy ship on April 28, 1789, that has been made famous by several books, films. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian, against the captain, William Bligh. Bligh was then cast adrift in a small open boat with 18 loyal men. Bligh and his crew had spent five months in Tahiti. Bligh allowed the crew to live ashore and care for the potted breadfruit plants they had brought to the island. After a while the men became socialized to the customs and culture of the Tahitians. Many of the seamen and some of the "young gentlemen" had themselves tattooed in native fashion. Fletcher Christian went so far as to marry Maimiti, a Tahitian woman. Others formed "connections" with native women.

This is an example of how we can become rebellious. One of the keys to a rebellious spirit is becoming “accustomed” to the culture. When we become accustomed to our culture, we start to forget the ways of God and the call by God to be obedient to His ways. We start to think that we have a better way than God does, and therefore we stop listening to what God calls us to do. We don’t think we need to go to church and worship God every week. We don’t think we need to live a Christian life in action and principle. We don’t think we need to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” And on and on our thinking goes, until we are in full rebellion!

The definition of rebellion is “opposition to authority or refusal to accept some authority or code or convention.” Rebellion is about creating our own kingdom apart from God. Rebellion is about wanting to be in charge, and not having to answer to God. Rebellion is about seeking freedom from any authority or rules except that which we feel like setting up and following. Rebellion is about doing things our own way.

And this is just what Satan wants; he wants to lead us into that desire to break away from God. But in breaking away, we really aren’t free. Satan becomes our lord without us even knowing it. That is the evil of Satan.

II. Pride- (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:17; Philippians 4:12)

a. The five “I wills…”- As Ezekiel told us, wickedness came into

Lucifer’s heart. And the wickedness stemmed from “pride.” Lucifer desired to be more than he was created to be. Thus pride entered his heart and led him away to seek after that which God had. We see this in Isaiah 14:12-14, “¹² How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! ¹³ You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. ¹⁴ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Here we see what Isaiah terms as the 5 “I wills.” Let’s look at each one of these…

1. I will ascend into heaven. Lucifer desires to be the highest of heaven.

2. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. It was

believed that in heaven some stars were set higher than others to mark the position of various thrones. The throne of God was the highest of them all.

3. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation. This

was believed to be the place of the gods. To sit upon this throne was to be over all people and all gods.

4. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. The

description “above the clouds” again brings reference to being above all things, including the nature and the heavens themselves.

5. I will be like the most high. As the most high, Lucifer

would rule over all and would be worshipped by all. In this he would have the position of eminence; he would be above God Himself.

I….I…..I…. For Lucifer, it is all about him, and not about God. Lucifer could only think about and could only desire to be the most high, the most powerful, beloved by all. Lucifer, in his pride, completely lost sight that he was a created being, created to know and love and worship God. This is where we too make our mistake!

b. Overcoming the 5 “I wills”- How often do we get jealous over that

which we don’t have? We want to be better looking, richer, more talented, more intelligent, more liked… Our pride tells us that we cannot accept who we are created to be. And in not accepting our place, we do not accept God. How can we accept God, if we are not willing to become all that God created us to be? In our not accepting, we are seeking to forge our own way, just as Lucifer did. In our not accepting, we are in essence creating our own list of “I wills.”

What might be on your list:

· I will seek to become richer so that I can own more things.

· I will seek to gain position so that I will be more respected.

· I will seek to be more successful so that I can have more power.

· I will seek to be independent so that I can survive on my own, even apart from God.

· I will seek more control so that I won’t be told what to do.

The truth is, if we were to get what we sought after in this way, it would just add to our pride. As Ezekiel 28:17 reminds us of where Lucifer’s pride came from,

¹⁷ Your heart became proud on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.

The key to overcoming the “I wills” is to learn how to be content. As Paul says in Philippians 4:12- “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” By being content, we learn to accept our place in creation. We understand that God is the creator, and we are the created. We understand that God has given us all that we need to make a difference in this world and to enjoy the life God has given us. We keep ourselves from being cast off of our false throne. We allow ourselves to be in a place where we can worship God for who He is, and for who He made us to be; His beloved.

III. Anger- (Ezekiel 28:18; 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 2:2)

But there is one last quality that Lucifer allowed in his heart that led to his

sin and destruction, and that was his anger. Ezekiel 28:16 tells us, ¹⁶ “Through your widespread tirade you were filled with violence, and you sinned.” In not thinking that he had all that he deserved, Lucifer became angry at God. Lucifer believed God was holding him back. I want to show you a film clip from “Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith.” In this clip, Anakin Skywalker is led to the dark side by

FILM CLIP- Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (scene where Anakin is

tempted by Lord Sidious to turn to the dark side and achieve the power he deserves; CHAPTER 23- 1:01:58 to 1:04:58)

In this clip we see the Dark Lord Sidious trying to turn Anakin to the dark side. He uses phrases like: “Don’t let the council use you like a pawn;” “ever since I have known you, you have been searching for a life greater than that of an ordinary Jedi;” “I can feel your anger, it makes you stronger.” And it is this anger that finally leads Anakin to the dark side, and how he becomes Darth Vadar.

After the fall, Lucifer’s anger with God changed, and the thrust of his anger

was then focused onto God’s people. Again, 1 Peter 5:8 “…Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” And Ephesians 2:2 which says “in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” Satan wants us to be disobedient to God. And one of the best ways to turn us is to use our anger and the thinking that we aren’t getting what we deserve and that God is holding us back.

Conclusion: I have focused my sermon on Satan, but only to make sure that we know he is real, and that he is trying to turn us from God so that he can fill his kingdom. He doesn’t come right out and ask us to join his side. He tries to deceive us into it, just as he deceived Eve into eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But God makes it know to us in Matthew 16:24-26, “²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ²⁶What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Let us choose to follow Jesus Christ, subjecting ourselves to His will. Let us seek to avoid the pride and anger that can lead to rebellion. Let us be content with who God made us to be, and the life that God gives us to live. Amen.