Which side of God are you on?

Are You on the Wrong Side of God?
Acts 5:33-39
When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

When I first read this passage, I was impressed with the arguments of Gamaliel's. He is reminding this group of recent happenings along similar lines. He is giving them sound advice about the emotional action they are considering. These "men of Israel" had heard and experienced many accounts of being on the wrong side of God. These were bible scholars and knew about the history of what happens when people get on the wrong side of God. My mind immediately went to the Book of Jonah. Jonah, as you probably know, was told by God to go to the city of Ninevah and preach repentance to the Ninevites. The people of Ninevah were enemies of Jonah and his people. The last thing Jona wanted to do was go preach a revival in Ninevah. He not only was fearful for his own life, but he also did not want them to repent -- instead he wanted God to just kill them all and put them out of his misery. So he ran away. He jumped on a boat going the opposite direction of Ninevah. You are familiar with the outcome: God sent a great storm, then a big fish that swallowed Jonah and vomited him on the shore. During this experience Jonah finally agreed to do God's will -- although without joy. He went to Ninevah and preached one of the best sermons of all time -- so good in fact that the people of Ninevah repented. Jonah's story ends on a hill outside of town, as he waits and watches for the Lord to destroy the Ninevites. Jonah was ultimately angry and disappointed because the Lord chose to spare Ninevah.

I see the Sanhedrin in this same place -- deciding to take a wait and see approach with the expectation that God will punish the followers of Jesus, believing that the Christian movement will turn to nothing, it will fail. Unfortunately, like Jonah, the Sanhedrin are so committed to their own agenda they are unwilling to allow God to lead in their lives. As a result they don't experience the joy of salvation. Instead they are left with the harshness of the lesson without the benefit God intended. Ritual and tradition had blinded them to the truth God was trying to show. I see the same thing happening in the religious world today. Satan has blinded many to God’s truth with false belief and incorrect teachings.

Jonah sat on the rocky ground and baked in the sun, angry at God for His forgiving nature. The Sanhedrin wanted to punish the apostles, in fact they wanted to put them to death -- but they were on the wrong side of God as well -- doing in great error what they thought was God's will. As we will see some were ultimately transformed, but many were not. Which will you be? Transformed by the experience or stubbornly stuck in your expectation or tradition?
Are you on the wrong side of God? What change of thought will it take to correct your thinking? Have you had an experience in which you resisted God's will? What do you think He was trying to tell you or get you to change?