Last week we saw how the word revolution evokes thoughts of wars, conflicts and bloody struggles. But we also learned that a revolution is the action by a celestial body of going around in an orbit. Thus, we established it is time for a revolution in our lives because we have orbited too far away from God.
Today, we continue our study of the word revolution and we concentrate on its second meaning: “A sudden, radical, or complete change.” Though change is something that scares many people or simply makes them extremely uncomfortable, it is part of our nature. Steve Malone declared the following, “During my sermon your body is going to change - about ½ million cells in your body are going to die and be replaced with a half a million new cells during my message. Our skin replaces itself every month. Did you know that 70-80% of the dust in your house is dead skin that has flaked off. Your stomach lining undergoes a complete change every 5 days; your liver every 6 weeks; your skeleton every 3 months; your whole body every 5 years for men & every 7 years for women. So you see, change is natural - to not change is to die.”
It is in this same manner that the apostle Paul called the Roman church to become “formed after the up newing of the mind” of God. In other words, he called the church and us to a revolution. We are no longer called to follow the world and become like it, but we are to demonstrate a very different type of life and attitude. Knowing the definition then, why is it time for a revolution?
I. BECAUSE WE NEED A SUDDEN, RADICAL AND COMPLETE CHANGE FROM GOD
“You did it: You changed wild lament into whirling dance; you ripped off my black mourning band and decked me with wildflowers. I’m about to burst with song; I can’t keep quiet about you. GOD, my God, I can’t thank you enough.” (Psalm 30: 11, 12 – The Message).
A. God wants to do a sudden, radical and complete change in our lives
1. Definition of sudden: Unexpected; surprising; abrupt; rapid
2. Definition of change: To make radically different
3. Definition of radical: Extreme
B. An example of this kind of change is what occurs in an automobile engine
1. The piston starts at the top, the intake valve opens, and the piston moves down to let the engine take in a cylinder-full of air and gasoline. This is the intake stroke. Only the tiniest drop of gasoline needs to be mixed into the air for this to work.
2. Then the piston moves back up to compress this fuel/air mixture. Compression makes the explosion more powerful.
3. When the piston reaches the top of its stroke, the spark plug emits a spark to ignite the gasoline. The gasoline charge in the cylinder explodes, driving the piston down.
4. Once the piston hits the bottom of its stroke, the exhaust valve opens and the exhaust leaves the cylinder to go out the tail pipe.
C. This is the kind of revolution necessary for an engine to change fuel and air into movement
D. God wants to revolutionize us so that we can move forward too
1. It all starts at the top
a. God pours down His salvation upon us to change us
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:11-14)
b. The change is immediate and progressive
i. It is immediate because all our sins are removed
ii. It is progressive because God knows there are many changes that take time to occur
iii. This in no way is an excuse for us to keep our habits and addictions
iv. God will find us right where we are
v. But He will never allow us to stay the way we are
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
2. It is followed by a strong “compression” that unites us all as one body
“’A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’” (John 13:34, 35)
c. This leads to the “spark” caused by the Holy Spirit
i. He comes with an extreme power to change us
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:1-4)
ii. The Holy Spirit causes an explosion in our lives that displays as radical and surprising changes
iii. The example of Peter
iv. He had promised to stand strong no matter the circumstances
v. But during the most difficult times, he denied the Lord
vi. He saw himself as such a great failure that he decided to return to his old lifestyle
vii. But when the Holy Spirit came, he was transformed
E. This will cause this church to move forward in obedience to God’s will
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)
F. There are several things that can cause this process to fail
1. A bad fuel mix
a. No gas in the tank will cause the engine to get nothing but air
b. Air intake is clogged and only fuel reaches the engine
c. There are impurities in the fuel
2. Lack of compression
a. Piston rings are worn
b. Intake/exhaust valves do not seal properly
c. There is a hole in the cylinder
3. Lack of spark
a. Spark plug is worn out
b. Wire is cut or missing or not working properly
c. Spark occurs too early or too late in the cycle
G. So it could fail in our lives
1. If there is no salvation in our hearts and minds
2. If sin clogs our lives
3. If we do not allow God’s love to unite us
4. If we do not allow the Holy Spirit to spark our lives
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15, 16)
5. This would be our terrible end result if the revolution did not continue its normal cycle
H. The time for a revolution is here and God is more than willing and ready to accomplish a sudden, radical and complete change!
