Do you ever get this sense that as a Christian, you are part of something revolutionary? Something that is radical, innovative, ground-breaking, or even world-shattering? I think our church, and many of us, have largely tamed the cause of Christ.
Our Christian faith isn’t radical, it isn’t innovative, it isn’t world-shattering or any of those things. Our faith is status quo. It is predictable. It is boring. It is asleep. Our pews are comfortable. Our commitments to Christ are soft and sentimental. Our sacrifices are safe and calculated. Our fellowship is lukewarm. Our witness is diluted. There is so little evidence of conviction. We lack conviction about Christ’s identity, conviction about Christ’s work on the cross, conviction about the resurrection, conviction about God’s holiness, and conviction about being witnesses for Christ to our world. There is so little fire and passion. Instead, there is complacency, even apathy. We are not taking the revolutionary cause of Christ seriously. We are soft-peddling our message, hoping others will take it more seriously than we do. We are not rising up to advance the kingdom of Christ. We're waiting on God to raise someone else up.
What is so radical about your Christian faith?
Now that I have your attention, what’s so revolutionary about the life you’re living in Christ? What is so radical about your Christian faith? So counter-culture? So world-shattering? Where is the evidence of your convictions concerning Jesus Christ and eternal life? Where is the evidence of your fire and passion? What isn’t predictable about your Christian lifestyle? What isn’t safe and calculated? Is there this overwhelming belief that the Church can change the world and that you are God’s instrument? That God wants to accomplish something extraordinary and lasting in your life and through your life?
When push comes to shove, we must all answer these questions for ourselves. We must assess whether we are becoming part of the revolution or are just being passive bystanders. And if we are just passive bystanders, what should we do about it?
The first Christians answered the call for revolution.
In the aftermath of Easter, the first Christians had to wrestle with these very same issues. Christ had just been executed on the cross, buried in a tomb, and raised on the third day. They had been charged to go into the whole world, making disciples of Christ, baptizing people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They were to teach people to obey everything Christ commanded.
Christ had promised them the Holy Spirit to empower their revolutionary mission into the world. Christ had also promised his continued presence with them, that he would be with them always to the end of the ages, and that he would one day return in power and glory. They were guaranteed victory! All the pieces were in place for something extraordinary and revolutionary to happen.
But one question remained. Would they answer their call? Would they, being the plain ordinary folks they were, rise up and advance the cause of Christ in their world? Fortunately for us, the answer was yes. The early church began with just one hundred twenty believers, fewer than attend Lakeside. But the one hundred twenty multiplied into millions within a few generations. Why were they able to accomplish so much in so short a time span? From a survey of Acts 1and Acts 2 we discover that there are three critical ingredients in this and in every lasting revolution.
The first ingredient for revolution- Revolution is born out of conviction.
Deep convictions fuel revolution. Without conviction there can be no revolution. There can be no boldness, no risk-taking, and no sacrifice without deep conviction. In Acts 1:1-3 (NIV) the author of Acts writes to his friend Theophilus, telling him about the deep convictions that gave rise to our common Christian faith. It says, "In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God."
In Acts 2:14-36 (NIV) Peter stands in the midst of the hostile crowds that had just crucified Jesus. We're told that he raised his voice and addressed the crowd. Down in Acts 2:22he speaks with great conviction about Jesus Christ. The passage says, "Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: 'Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' "
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him: 'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.' "
"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, 'The Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
I wonder what kind of convictions you hold about Jesus Christ? Was he truly the Son of God? Was he truly God in the flesh? Did he really die for our sins? Was he really raised from the dead on the third day? Did Christ really ascend to the right hand of the Father? Did God make Jesus Lord and Christ? Will our bodies really not see decay if we trust in Christ? Without conviction, there can never be revolution. Not here and not even in our world. It takes guts to live for Christ. It takes guts to talk to people about Christ. You will not impact your world for Christ until you deepen your convictions.
The second ingredient for revolution- Revolution is born out of power.
As we speak, we are in the midst of a cultural revolution. There are political revolutions afoot. There are scientific, ecological, religious, moral, and spiritual revolutions. These revolutions are driven by the power of personalities. They are driven by fear. They are driven by the coercive power of money. They are driven by legislation, lawsuits, political maneuvering, activist courts and judges, and demonstrations. They say that information is power. Whoever controls the flow of information has the most power. The mass media is one of the most powerful instruments of revolution. The media defines truth. The media can inform the masses or keep them ignorant. Every revolution predictably trusts in some or all of these things to gain momentum.
But not the cause of Christ. The cause of Christ is not driven by personalities. It is not driven by fear, money, legislation, politics, or the mass media. In Acts 1:8 (NIV) Jesus tells his disciples, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
There is a power that transcends the powers and authorities of this world. A power that fuels the revolutionary cause of Christ in our lives, in our church, and in our world. There is nothing mystical or mysterious about this power. This power is God’s Holy Spirit, and he is available to every man and woman of conviction. There are infinitely more things we can achieve in and through the power of God’s Holy Spirit than we could ever hope to achieve politically, financially, legally, or educationally.
Jesus told his disciples to wait on God’s power instead of operating in their own power. In Acts 1 they patiently gather in Jerusalem and wait to receive God’s power. In Acts 1:14 (NIV) we're told, "They joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." In Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, that power finally arrived. Acts 2:1-4 tells 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."
In that moment, according to Acts 2:11 God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven heard the wonders of God being proclaimed in their own native tongue. The revolution of Christ was born out of the power of the Holy Spirit. The cause of Christ cannot be advanced with human strength. Christ builds his Church. God’s Spirit convicts the world in regard to sin and righteousness. Our place is to wait constantly in prayer, asking God to fill us with his power and to open doors of opportunity for us to witness for him.
The third ingredient for revolution- Revolution is born out of promise.
A revolution must offer a promise of a new and better life. Very few people are interested in religion today, and that’s a good thing. No one is interested in being condemned, in having more guilt and shame heaped on him, or in being berated over his past sins and shortcomings. And no one is interested in the empty self-help gospel of our times that says, "Trust in yourself. Trust in your own intuitions and wisdom and in the power of the human spirit." People are interested in a faith that moves them beyond their past and which takes them where their own power and strength cannot.
In Christ, we have the promise of forgiveness and the power of the Holy Spirit. When the crowds first heard Peter preach Acts 2:37 (NIV) says, "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?" They had just crucified the Christ. They had just realized they were dead in their sins. In Acts 2:38-41 (NIV) Peter replies, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
What is revolutionary about the cause of Christ? It’s the promise of forgiveness that washes away our past and our sins forever. Divorce. Adultery. Swearing. Stealing. Lying. Cheating. Abortion. Anger. Lust. Pornography. Addictive behavior. Selfishness. Injustice. Jealousy. Covetousness. Dishonoring parents. Taking God’s name in vain. Worry. Evil thoughts. FORGIVEN! That is Christ's promise!
What else is revolutionary about the cause of Christ? It’s the promise of power that breaks the power of sin so we can live for God. God’s Holy Spirit provides that power. Galatians 6:22 (NIV) says, "...the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Wouldn’t these be a welcome change to the patterns of sin that have reigned in our lives for years, even decades?
All the ingredients were present for revolution: deep conviction and belief, power to live, and the promise of forgiveness and renewal. Thousands were baptized and immediately joined the revolution.
How can we spark a revolution here at Lakeside?
What ingredients are necessary to spark a revolution at Lakeside? Is it that we need deeper conviction? Is it that we need to wait on God in prayer, seeking for his power to fill us? Is it that we need the promise of new and better life? It’s all of these things. What actions should we take? One, deepen convictions through God’s word. Two, pray and wait for power. Three, repent and embrace God's promise of forgiveness and renewal.