(This message was inspired by George Barna and his book, Revolution. I also found Sermon Central contributor, J. Martin’s messages on this topic helpful.)
Are you a Revolutionary? Are you in a close orbit with God? Our Scripture last week and again this week are the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-2.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2
In this portion of Scripture, Paul gives the readers a word of caution. He tells us to not conform, do not be fashioned after this world. Why would Paul caution us like this?
There is a distinction between our world now and the world that is yet to come. It was true when Paul first penned these words and it still holds true today.
The world system of today is an evil one. It is dominated by the god of this world, which is Satan. His greatest desire is to blind the minds of people so they cannot see the things that God has planned for them.
Paul cautions us and admonishes us to be transformed. The Greek word is metamorphoo. It is were we get the word metamorphosis.
This word is also used in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with an ever-increasing glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
George Barna gives an awesome definition of transformation.
He writes, “Spiritual transformation is any significant and lasting transition in your life wherein you switch from one substantial perspective or practice to something wholly different that genuinely alters you at a very basic level. “Transformation,” as Barna uses it, “is a significant spiritual breakthrough in which you seize a new perspective or practice…”
What is supposed to happen when you are transformed by the power of God? You are supposed to be changed and you are supposed to never be the same again.
This is the kind of thing we are called to experience. It is a transformation that it life changing. That is they way our relationship with God is supposed to be.
The other word that is key to this series is the word Revolution.
Last week we started looking at some of Webster’s New World Dictionary’s definitions for the term revolution.
Definition 1 – Movement of a body in an orbit or circle.
This is the definition that we focused on last week. We looked at the planets and how the revolve around the sun. We learned that a planet that is a long way from the sun will be extremely cold and a planed that is close to the sun will be really hot.
Last week I challenged you to be like the planet closet to the sun. That is the hottest planet. We need to be on fire for God and we need to be revolving around God, in a very close orbit with God.
The other definitions are:
Definition 4 – A complete or radical change of any kind.
Definition 5 – Overthrow of a government or social system, with another taking its place.
Barna defines the Revolutionary as a person who will “Do whatever it takes to get closer to God and to help others do the same. Obliterate any obstacle that prevents you from honoring God with every breath you take. Be such an outstanding example of the Christian faith so that no one will question your heart or lifestyle.”
Are you that kind of person? Today we are going to look at another definition and how it relates to us as Christians.
PRAY
Father we ask for Your anointing on us today. Place Your anointing on me as Your messenger today. Make each of us revolutionist.
Open our eyes so that we may see Your Word. Open our ears so that we may hear Your Word. Open our minds so that we may understand Your Word. Open our hearts so that we may receive Your Word today. AMEN
The definition that we are going to look at today is Definition 5 – The overthrow of a government or social system, with another taking its place.
Whether or not we like to admit it, this is what is taking place today in the spiritual lives of many Americans.
The Christian faith is not about going to church. Anyone can go to church but not everyone can be The Church.
The Church, as we described it last week is the people who are actively in participation in the advancement of the kingdom of God.
What is happening today is that The Church is beginning to understand that we have been doing it wrong for the last few hundred years. The result of doing it wrong is that Christians are becoming a minority in the United States.
The transformation that is taking place is many lives is that Christians are returning to a “first-century lifestyle based on faith, goodness, love, generosity, kindness, simplicity, and other values” that many in our world today have given up on.
The people who are thinking this way are the Revolutionaries of today. They have searched for ways to deepen their relationship with God, they have listened to the traditional thoughts of the past and they have found that they are not working.
The Revolutionary is looking for the love of God, they are looking for holiness, they are looking for God’s blessings but they are also looking for something that isn’t going to fizzle out in a few months. They are looking for something that is substantial and real.
They are looking for something that is only found in an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And in order to have that kind of relationship you have to change, you have to transform, and you have to pay the price.
When you become a Revolutionary you are going to be faced with challenges and even opposition. There are going to have to be some tough choices made and they will have to make those choices carefully because each choice we make matters to God.
But when the Revolutionaries make the right choices we find that there is an awesome eternal reward waiting for them.
Remember, a Revolutionary is a person who will “Do whatever it takes to get closer to God and to help others do the same. Obliterate any obstacle that prevents you from honoring God with every breath you take. Be such an outstanding example of the Christian faith so that no one will question your heart or lifestyle.”
Sure, it is easier not be a Revolutionary. Not being a Revolutionary is the comfortable way; it is the wide path and the wide gate that most people will choose to take. Jesus warns us about that path way in Matthew 7:12 when He says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction.”
Being a Revolutionary in the church today means that you are not always going to go with the flow. It means that you are going to seek God first and above all other things. It means that you are going to stand for Jesus and you are going to be the church that He desires for you to be.
Basically, what we are talking about today is a Warlike Revolution.
If you haven’t realized it yet, as Christians we are at war. It may not be the bloody wars that we have seen in the history of our nation or even the war we are currently engaged in against terrorism.
All of the wars throughout history have basically been for the same reason: to overthrow one government and replace it with another. And in every war, from the Revolutionary War against England till now, blood has been shed. There was a cost that had to be paid.
Who are we at war with?
Paul tell us in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
We are at war with the world but not in a physical sense but rather in a moral sense. It is the world’s self-pleasing, selfish, sin loving, spirit and pursuits that lead people away from God instead of to God and that is what we are at war with.
This self-pleasing, selfish, sin loving attitude is a part of the Devils plan to keep us from God. As I have already stated, his greatest desire is to blind the minds of people so they cannot see the things that God has planned for them. And Satan will use ever tool possible to keep us from the great things of God.
He will use anything. He may use things that look good and he may use things that look bad. He may use trials and situations. He may use sickness. There is nothing that Satan won’t try to get you to fall away from God. Nothing.
It is for this very reason that more and more pastors are beginning to preach about total transformation and revolution. It is for this very reason that people like George Barna are writing book after book about this topic.
We need a revolution in our lives today because Satan has been messing around too long. We live in a society in which the power of sin is over taking more and more of God’s children.
Sin has made slaves out of us and it is God’s desire for us to be set free from the yoke of slavery.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burned again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1
This is the talk of warfare. We need to be tenacious, we need to stand and not be moved. I remember that old hymn, I shall not be, I shall not be moved. I shall not be, I shall not be moved. Just like a tree that’s planted by the waters, Lord I shall not be moved.”
This needs to be our position when it comes to being transformed. Not that we shall stand with the world, but that we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds and nothing, absolutely nothing is going to change our minds. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord and we shall do so as Revolutionaries.
God wants us to be free from everything that enslaves us and when we become revolutionaries we will be freed from the sin that tangles us up and the traditions that hold us back and the attitudes that keep us from the things of God.
We will be free from unbelief and a lack of faith. We will be freed from sickness and afflictions. We will be free from lacking any good thing.
What is it in your life that is holding you captive? What are you a slave to?
There is nothing that cannot be overcome through the power of the blood of Christ. Too many people live their lives thinking that a cigarette, or a bottle of liquor, or an illicit sexual relationship or other such things are too powerful to break off.
If we believe that then we are being held in slavery by these things. And if that is the case then we have stopped believing what the Scriptures teach us.
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…” 2 Corinthians 12:9a
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to His service.” 1 Timothy 1:12
“But the Lord stood by my side an gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed…” 2 Timothy 4:17
I am not saying these things to condemn any one. I am telling you this so that we can all understand that God has given each of us the strength to overcome the enemy.
He has given us the power we need to be Revolutionaries.
We don’t have to be slaves to sin, to sickness, to persecution, or to any other bad thing that comes from Satan.
Being a Revolutionary will set us free from these things and it will set us free from the consequences of sin. “The wages of sin us death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:23
Sin always pays a wage and that wage is always a drastic one. One author said that sin always takes you further than you want to go and always cost you more than you want to pay.
If you are sick and tired of the enemy holding you in slavery, if you are tired of his threats and are tired of his abuse, if you are tired of being surrounded by the enemy, and if you are weary of his oppression then you need to become a Revolutionary Christian.
The time for a revolution is now. God has provided everything we need to accomplish the overthrow of the god of this world. All we have to do is keep focused on the course that God has laid out for us.
We cannot be conformed any longer to this wicked world. Let us allow our minds to be transformed by Christ.
Are you willing to be a Revolutionary for God?
Let’s count the cost.
Sometimes Revolutionaries are looked at by their friends, families, and people they go to church with as if they had lost their minds.
Just like the prophets in the Old Testament who were not welcome in their own hometowns you may be scorned or made fun of because you have chosen to be a Revolutionary.
Just like Jesus, who was scorned, persecuted, beaten, and killed, you may meet some rejection with others because you have decided to follow God with all your heart, mind, and soul.
Some will not understand and will make it hard for you because you a returning to a “first-century lifestyle based on faith, goodness, love, generosity, kindness, simplicity, and other values” that many in our world today have given up on.
Some people, even people in the church are going to feel uncomfortable around you. Don’t ask me why because I haven’t figured it out yet.
But if you decide to be a Revolutionary, understand this one thing, like Christ, our role model, you will be a part of reshaping the spiritual legacy of this nation, of this town, and of this church.
You will be a part of something that is bigger than you and something that is life changing for you and life changing for all who embrace it.
Are you willing to be a person who will do whatever it takes to get closer to God and to help others do the same?
Are you willing to obliterate any obstacle that prevents you from honoring God with every breath you take?
Are you willing to be such an outstanding example of the Christian faith so that no one will question your heart or lifestyle?
Are you willing to be a Revolutionary?
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