Unyielding Revolutionary Faith By: General James Green
There are far too many professed Christians who sleep through life though their eyes remain wide open. Others drowse along until some voice stirs them into wakefulness. Few in this generation possess the acumen to truly understand what is happening around them.
The "thing" called "the Church" today passes through life asleep or half-awake at best, trudging along at the same old pace and over the same road of apathy. The "Church" follows the crowd, measuring its steps by the most dull and average gait of mankind.
People are rebelling against God's way to embrace man's way—all the way! Disrespect for the Lord's authority is one of the "AMBITIONS" of our time. Where the Lord was once respected, He is now rejected, and many souls are satanically drawn to follow the way of disrespect. What we need, dear Christians, is an unyielding revolutionary faith that will overturn this madness.
Of course, revolting against God's Word and Person is not new. No! It goes back to the beginning. Each new generation must either embrace or refrain from the same. Rebellion in itself has a rightful place, but it must be aimed against the right foe... Rebel against evil!
How much better to WAKE UP, SOBER UP, shake the sleep from your eyes, and realize that the usual pace is too slow, too irregular; the common road (the broad way) is well-worn with travel. Do you see that a new revolution, a counter-revolution, is needed, and that you must be an army scout to set the pace and blaze the way for others to follow?
Biblical Wisdom
Proverbs 8:20-21 says, "I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures." The treasures are not the kind that men greedily work for and steal, but they are the eternal blessings that come when a soul fulfills the will of the Father just as Jesus did.
Fighting for Revolutionary Faith
You see, for men and women to count the cost of revolutionary faith, they must first come to know the price paid by our great Savior. The price He paid was ABSOLUTE obedience, total sacrifice, and separation from the kingdom of this world.
As the "Church Universal" becomes more worldly, the revolutionary-faith message continues. It has two parts. First, it reveals how rebellion against God angers Him. Second, it holds out hope that not everyone will succumb to the Devil's power.
Calling the Watchmen to Wake Up
Isaiah describes the leaders, shepherds, and watchmen of his day as BLIND, IGNORANT, DUMB DOGS, GREEDY DOGS, SHEPHERDS THAT CANNOT UNDERSTAND, GREEDY FOR GAIN, DRUNKARDS (56:10-12). No wonder God's wrath was ablaze against those leaders!
Blessed is the church where watchmen are awake and can "bark." Blessed will you be if an awakening voice calls to your drowsy spirit and summons you forth into ACTIVE service—the service of the new day, the new revolution.
God's Revolutionary Army
There is a stirring today among God's so-called people. Some are awakening slowly, reluctant to break the sleepy spell of death; but at last, some have jumped up and marched to boot camp to be soldiers in God's Royal Regiment. Others have already gone to the forward edge of the battlefront.
But wait, this is just the beginning. This revolutionary army has aroused the opposition of tyrannical governments—both natural and spiritual. Still, the truth marches on. Reports sent to Headquarters indicate that Christians around the world are realizing it is no longer necessary to live in the misery and coldness of religion. Many are no longer willing to suffer at the hands of greedy dogs called shepherds, pastors, and priests.
The people feel they have suffered long enough. We say, "Praise the Lord!" God's Noble Army will be both disciplined and efficient.
Marching Toward the Revolution
We must be compelled by the love of Jesus to free all who want freedom. Churchgoers are, as it were, roped together and confined like galley slaves or convicts within religious institutions ruled over by religious hypocrites. People send us letters and beg us to help free them from the "Babylonian" religious systems. "Free us! Free us!" they scream. Thank God, souls are awakening and hungering for a new and fresh relationship with Jesus, their first love.
Pastors of 20-25 years are seeing the difference between righteousness and religiosity. They are awakening to new ACTUALITIES and POSSIBILITIES in Christ Jesus our Lord. God's spiritual revolution cannot and will not be stopped. It will continue until crooked paths are made straight and high places are brought low.
The Cry for Revolution
The cry of REVOLT is sounding louder everywhere. Even the poor, miserable, godless pagans are screaming out for CHANGE. God's revolution cannot and will not be stopped because it takes place within us; it is ever-increasing. This movement, this gust of wind, will eventually rage into a thundering storm of righteousness.
What Must We Do?
The present conditions are such that we must all run. Walking is not enough. Running must be that of Spirit-power, not manpower, for it is manpower we are running away from. We must be running in spirit by the Spirit into spiritual revolution.
An elder in the Christian faith has referred to the "dead faith ministers" as "spiritual quacks" who place a plaster of dead faith over the wounds of sin. This plaster may coat a man on the outside, but he remains unhealed within, and the wounds will be revealed on Judgment Day. We need revolutionary leaders rather than "dead faith ministers." We need revolutionary faith rather than meaningless church membership.
The Secret of God's Revolution
The secret of God's revolution is the torch laid upon our lives by our Lord. Heaven's Fire will burn the HELL out of you. "Fire, fire?" All in unison, "Give us FIRE!!"
Revolution basically means CHANGE. In times of change, men may turn from the old and accept the new. However, we will never turn from God's eternal ways. We must, though, remain open to new methods that He may want us to accept. His methods will never contradict His Person. His methods will never condone sin. But He does not always use the same methods to accomplish His purposes.
True Freedom in Christ
Freedom is only good if it is related to the God who gives freedom. We want freedom so that people may be free in Christ Jesus. It is the work of the Lord when men discover that God intended them to be free to serve Him; such a revelation neither comes from you nor I nor any forced attempts to push a certain idea. The truth comes by the power of God.
The WHOLE ministry of Jesus Christ was and is one of setting the captives free. "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:2). The New Testament affirms that Jesus is the light of the world. It is this "light"—Jesus Christ—that we of His Noble Army must carry to those in darkness.
Revolution: The Light in the Darkness
Radical Christianity shines most brightly when the darkness is at its worst. It is pretty dark these days. Only the devotion of an aggressive faith can carry us through these darkened times. True Christianity is the needed revolutionary movement at hand. By the power of Jesus' name, unto the glory of the Living God, true Christians must now, more than ever, make to roar the mighty waves of change.
