In every generation we have seen violent, bloody revolutions rise up, with a goal to change the political power base and control economic resources. But that’s not the type of revolution God wants us to commit to!

God wants us to commit to a peaceful revolution where the seeds of global change are first planted at the personal level enabling first and foremost profound character transformations that I will call ‘the transfiguration of the heart’.

In this post, let’s open the Scriptures and understand Jesus, The Peaceful Revolutionary. Let’s look at His divine teachings, His style of leadership and His radical views on how to change the world, one soul at a time!

Unlike powerful dictators that bark orders and punish those who don’t follow them, Jesus did not exalt Himself or demand that we follow Him.

If you want to follow Jesus, The Peaceful Revolutionary then…

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11

Jesus was a ‘servant leader’, a humble, peaceful, gentleman, fully human, fully divine, that never caused violence, always helping and never hurting anyone or anything.   Large crowds followed Jesus. Jesus did many miraculous healings, but few understood His true identity as God’s Only Begotten Son.

Jesus fulfilled the words spoken by the Prophet Isaiah,

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.” Matthew 12: 18-21

How do we Stop Injustice?

Consider for a moment a man who walks into an abortion clinic with a gun intent on stopping an abortion. The man approaches the abortionist with a gun and orders  ‘STOP OR I WILL SHOOT YOU’. The abortionist refuses and the gunman kills the abortionist and saves the unborn child temporarily until the woman secures the services of another clinic.

Is this a peaceful revolution?

Is the gunman honouring God?

NO! This is a violent way to attack injustice!

God wants the world to believe in Him and in His Only Son, Jesus Christ who is ONE with the Father and the Holy Spirit. But God does not want faith to come at the point of a sword or gun.

Let’s go back to the abortion clinic and consider a different scenario. The abortionist completes the abortion and his eyes cannot stop looking at the little fetus he has aborted. It is as though the little baby so tiny and fragile speaks to his heart saying: ‘Why didn’t I have the right to live?’

The Holy Spirit touches the heart of the abortionist and he begins to cry silent tears. His heart begins to open in a painful process of transformation. An image of a life that has been taken is seared into his heart causing a ‘transfiguration of his heart’. He goes home that day and tells his wife he will never perform another abortion and he weeps bitterly and asks God if he can hear him to please forgive him!

Personal change is the first step in changing the world.

God wants to empower you with His Truth.

“God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The LORD knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the LORD must turn away from evil.” 2 Timothy 2:19

“For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Psalm 1:6

“You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.'” Mark 10:19

God will avenge all crimes against humanity!

“For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:30-31

Follow the teachings of Jesus:

“Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you.” Matthew 5:44

Remember the story of the abortionist who finally awakens to see the horror of what he is doing and repents. This is exactly what we must pray for, a ‘transfiguration of the heart’ to enable all violent criminals to turn away from evil.

This very day PRAY for all people of violence.  Pray for an end to war. 

Do you remember when Jesus said to His apostles,

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:4-5

The ‘transfiguration of the heart’ is caused by the Holy Spirit entering the heart. In fact the ‘transfiguration of the heart’ is a NEW HEART.

It is the new heart that God spoke about when He said:

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36: 26-27

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

People of God – We are at war with evil! We are in a world where the worst form of slavery is sin. How do we enable the ‘transfiguration of the hearts’ of the most evil people in our world?

BY PRAYING FOR THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!

A peaceful revolution produces sustainable change because it changes the heart and the committed direction of our lives.

A peaceful revolution enables us to see Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour as our guide to eternal happiness. It enables us to acknowledge that without Jesus we cannot accomplish anything. But with Him, with Our Lord, all things are possible.

Jesus CAN CHANGE THE HEARTS OF STONE, THE HEARTS OF EVIL AND BRING THEM TO REPENTANCE.

WE MUST DECIDE DO WE TRULY BELIEVE IN THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD TO TRANSFIGURE THE HEARTS OF HIS PEOPLE?

The love of Jesus is a sacrificial love where He gives EVERYTHING so that we can fulfill our potential.

If you want to follow Jesus, The Peaceful Revolutionary, then you must believe that Jesus can silence the forces of evil that are committing the worst possible atrocities.

Will you commit to praying for all people and will you believe in the power of that prayer even if you don’t see the results immediately?

The day will come when we will meet Jesus face-to-face and on that day of judgment we will understand how we helped bring souls to repentance. We will meet the souls we have helped. We will rejoice in the fruit of our life dedicated to God’s Holy Will which is love and mercy, peace, justice and reconciliation.

Jesus chose to be poor. He could have chosen to be rich. His power was displayed quietly and in secret.  He had a special love for the vulnerable, the little children, the poor and the weak. His views about how to change the world were rooted in the power of His sacrifice to heal and transform our hearts.   Jesus wants our faith and trust in Him. Jesus desires an intimate relationship with each of us that will enable us to draw strength, wisdom and courage from Him.

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

The idea of God’s love and Holy Spirit changing the world is trivialized ONLY by those without faith.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

“Whoever does not love does NOT know God, because God IS LOVE.” 1 John 4:8

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”   1 John 4: 9-11

The Holy Spirit is needed to destroy the force of evil in our world that is preying on the innocent,  destroying lives that could be full of peace and joy.

HERE’S THE BIG QUESTION:

Will you commit to being a peaceful revolutionary that takes the hand of Jesus Christ and obeys the instructions of Our Lord and Saviour:

“LOVE YOUR ENEMIES AND PRAY FOR THOSE THAT PERSECUTE YOU.” Matthew 5:44

Our job as disciples of Jesus Christ is to help God save souls, but salvation is not a gift that is forced on anyone. It is a gift that comes from the grace of God and grace is the ‘life force’ of God that changes our world by first changing our hearts.

Please believe in the omnipotence of God to save His suffering people.

Join The Mercy Movement that is uniting Christians in prayer and in thanksgiving every day at the Time Our Lord Jesus died for us, 3pm, each of us in our local time zones. At this time we remember the Passion of Christ and we pray for our suffering world. Pray for the people committing crimes against humanity. Pray for the mercy of God and for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our world so desperately in need of God’s love and forgiveness.  In this way we will fight a peaceful revolution to end violence and stop the forces of evil using the weapons of prayer and love.