The Jesus Revolution

Ephesians 5:1-2"Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”

At the request of our Pastor, I've spent the last couple days at a Church Conference in Downey, California with four other members of our Congregation and heard a motivating message by the Keynote Speaker Pastor Randy Frazee of Oak Hills Church, San Antonio, Texas. In the study for a book about the rise of Christianity, author Rodney Stark found that in the first few centuries following the ascension of Christ into Heaven, two main factors fueled the growth of “the Way” in the world. First, that women had a devalued position and status in society, but with Christianity valuing women properly, women flocked to the faith, converted their husbands to faith and raised their children in the faith. Secondly, two major out-breaks of diseases (1) Small Pox in 125 A.D. & (2) Measles in 250 A.D. killed approximately ¼ to 1/3 of the population each. As the symptoms appeared on family members, they were put out of the house to not infect the rest of the family, but the Christians wouldn't put their family out and would take in the non-Christians outcasts to care for them despite the risk. Not only did people seeing this act of love start flocking to Christianity, but it was discovered that people being cared for with love had a 33% better chance of recovery from the disease. So the ultimate factor in the rise of Christianity was their doctrine and beliefs taking on flesh in action. God’s presence was central in their lives and that truth moved from their heads to their hearts. There was something different about those Christians. They believed that there were no second class citizens and they lived this out daily because God loved them. They believed it and acted upon it.

Matthew 16:15-18 He (Jesus) said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Like them, we need to take on the Jesus Revolution. Imagine a wheel with the words “Like Jesus” in the middle. At the outer top is the word “think”. Rotating right, one-third around the outside edge is the word “act”. Then rotating right, another one-third of the way around the parameter of this tire is the word “be”. Thinking is the beliefs, acting is the practice of those beliefs, and being is the natural virtues thereof. To complete a revolution of the wheel, we start with “Think like Jesus” and move to “Act like Jesus”, then to “Be like Jesus”. Our Christian beliefs are actively put into practice and these become our virtues lived out daily as we “do life together”. It goes beyond beliefs to a way of life for the students and followers of Jesus Christ (called disciples). And this Jesus Revolution equates to “Belonging” and rotates around to “Growing” then to “Serving” as the indwelling Holy Spirit fuels the revolutionary process going round, in loving God and loving our neighbors with the presence of the Lord. Don't just bring the message, but "be the message" by living out the gospel by faith. This is the “Jesus Revolution”. Join it and get rolling!

Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Hoshaiah, Jehovah God has saved,

In Christ, Brian