"Building a Church Through Outreach"
Revolt or Revolution?
ELCOG 2/10/08
Text: Gal. 5:1
When King Louis XVI was the leader of France at the beginning of the French revolution the disconnected citizens of Paris raided the Bastille to hunt for weapons and gun powder they needed to protect themselves against the royal army that rumored to take over their crops. At the end of this raid several guards were killed and when the word got to King Louis he asked his top advisor, "Is this a revolt?" to which the advisor answered, "No Sir, this is a revolution."
The thing that I want to ask you this morning is, "Are we in the middle of a revolt or a revolution?" You may ask, what is the difference between the two? First, a revolt is an act of rebellion, in order to have liberty, but the end result is NO change in power. The problem is brought to the attention of the authorities and you protest. You rant and you rave, but no major change takes place. Power might be re-arranged in order to hush you, but the same ruler is in charge. Where as in a revolution, you rebel, but the powers that rule change and the problem is solved and there is a new constitution drawn up and freedom is obtained. Then you press forward as a new country and as new people protecting your new rights.
I wonder today how many people have revolted against the powers that control their lives only to be held captive by them later in their life. How many times have you gathered the troop’s together ready to proclaim liberty and lead a revolt, but later you’re back in the same place, but with more restrictions and more regulations? How many times have you said, "Today, I declare my independence? Today, I receive my freedom. This is the day that I leave free. BUT, for some reason your revolt never leads to a revolution. The powers that control you are rearranged and for a few days you are pacified and it seems that everything is better. However, it’s only a false since of hope because later it seems like the problem is more intense than ever.
Today, I’ve come not just to start another revolt, but today I want to lead a revolution! I want to lead a group of believers who will finally be free from the bondage that keeps them bound. I want to feed you the word of the living God that will enable you to break free from your bondage.
We need the living word, which will bring the spirit of Christ. When the word touches the heart of faith it brings a reaction of the father. The more that we have the word the more we are ushered into His spirit. As a matter of fact, the more we get into the word the more we will praise Him and we are aware that praise ushers in the spirit of God. This leads me to this point:
2 Cor. 3:17
17Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
So here is the process: 1. We come to church bound by chains of captivity.
2. We hear the word that touches our heart of faith
3. That ignites worship
4. Which brings God’s spirit
5. Which sets us free.
Today, a real revolution can take place in your life. You can write your new constitution and you can begin to defend your liberty.
Listen to these 3 keys:
1. Not everybody will build you up. Everyone will not support your revolution. Believe it or not some people will look at you and tell you it can’t be done and you have no options and that it is impossible.
Num. 13:27
27And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
Num. 13:28
28Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
Num. 13:29
29The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
Num. 13:30
30And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
Num. 13:31
31But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
Num. 13:32
32And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
Num. 13:33
33And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Yes, I am aware of what the nay sayers are saying and yes I know what some people think and say, but I really don’t care…
Phil. 4:13
13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Luke 1:37
37For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Matt. 17:20
20And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Matt. 19:26
26But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
People may be against my revolution, But My God is telling me that I can be free! I am on my way to a revolution!
2. Sometimes you come home and have a surprise.
1 Sam. 30:1
1And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
1 Sam. 30:2
2And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
1 Sam. 30:3
3So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
1 Sam. 30:4
4Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
1 Sam. 30:6
6And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
1 Sam. 30:7
7And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
1 Sam. 30:8
8And David inquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
1 Sam. 30:16
16And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
1 Sam. 30:17
17And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.
1 Sam. 30:18
18And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.
1 Sam. 30:19
19And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.
1 Sam. 30:20
20And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.
Sometimes you will come home and find that your house has been raided, don’t let that stop your revolution. Go into your prayer closet and get permission to pursue and get take back what belongs to you!
David was very distressed. He prayed. Too many of us are trying to handle distressing times in life without prayer. You can not handle spiritual battles without prayer.
After David prayed he went to recover what the enemy stole from him. Notice the enemy was doing the victory dance. They were unprepared for the attack. They thought that David would give up, but they misunderstood the power of God. When the enemy attacks, don’t sit their drowning in your tears of sorrow, instead get prayed up and attack!
Zech. 4:6
6Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
2 Cor. 10:4
4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Luke 10:19
19Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Psa. 118:6
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Isa. 40:29
29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Get ready to fight in your revolution. It’s your freedom. Its your liberty. Do you know why the early Americans had a chance when they fought Britain for their Independence? Because they were fighting for their freedom. They had a reason to fight.
Today, you have a right to fight. You deserve to be free. Jesus has paid the price for you to be free. Stand and declare that this is a revolution!
3. Finish the job!
Be like David in 1 Sam 30:20… This is my spoil! Don’t be afraid to destroy the enemy, get back what he stole from you! Go posses your possessions.