 In the aftermath of
the recent events that have not only occupied media headlines and the constant
crawls on various 24-hour news feeds, but even more so resonating from the
human heart of society, the query looms -- "Why"? It is also followed
by the often complex and even more elusive query -- "what to do about
it". It is now becoming clear that
for those of us who have been prepared for a time such as now to emerge from the
shadows of obscurity to rise and put legs on our love-walk and take up our holy armor and arms (
Ephesians 6:13 - 18) to be a part of the
revolution. This report shall offer clarity to the assignment that has been
given to us as true and practicing believers who have been called to rise up
and carry out our Lord King Christ's call to unite, promote and expand His
kingdom here on Earth.Revolution noun rev·o·lu·tion \ˌre-və-ˈlü-shən\ is generally defined as "the usually
violent attempt by many people to end the rule of one government and start a
new one" , or "a radical and pervasive change in society and the social
structure, especially one made suddenly and often accompanied by
violence". This revolution shall be defined in a different way. "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as
the world does. The weapons we fight
with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power
to demolish strongholds." 2 Corinthians
10: 3 - 4 NIV. The only violence will be enacted against the true enemy
of humankind. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
Ephesians 6:12. Revelation
Within A Revelation In the early
chapters of the book of Revelation, the Apostle John had a vision near the end
of his life and ministry while being exiled on the isle of Patmos (Revelation
1:9), which ultimately was of seven
churches. Some have debated that the ones mentioned were just the literal
churches of that time located in Asia. Others have said this is a metaphoric
parable of types of churches. While still others say the seven represent time
periods by which the church would evolve. The three of these interpretations
can be used to make clear the state of the church then and now and why this
current revolution is necessary. At the time of
John's exile (approximately 96 A.D.) he saw a vision of the glorified Christ
(Revelation 1:13 -15) who revealed to
him that the he was to send a message to seven churches in Asia. The one of
significance as it pertains to this report is the church of Laodicea. For each
of the six previous churches that were mentioned the Lord spoke of something
that he liked about them, then admonished them on something that they could do
to improve. This seventh church Laodicea he gave a scathing admonition and did
not have anything good to say about them. It
is necessary to know a little about this actual church and it's
surrounding area and circumstances. Laodicea was a coastal city, which by it's
location, made it very wealthy. It was known for having a thriving economy with
a sophisticated banking, medical community. It also was known to have an
advanced (at the time) water system, which featured hot and cold running water.
Hence, this is why Christ referred to
these such charateristics concerning them: their wealth (Revelation 3:17); the
significant characteristic of their water system (Revelation 3:15). The revelation
within the revelation occurs in the 15th verse of this 3rd chapter, when The
Lord indicates His preference by saying (NIV), "I know your deeds, that
you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So,
because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my
mouth. " It is here, that, if we were to take the three phases of
water - at it's hottest-steam; at room temperature or warm liquified water;
and in it's frozen state - ice, we then can get a clearer view of this
revelation. Note how the Lord said in the 15th verse that He preferred that
they be hot OR cold versus the lukewarm state mentioned in the 16th verse.
Using the examples of these three phases of water contrasted to types of
churches is where the revelation unfolds. The characteristic
of the cold church is as ice, staid, solid and it takes on the form of it's
container, ie brick and mortar churches with established traditions and
distinctive denominational traits, remember, a characteristic Christ prefers.
The characteristics of the hot church are as steam, somewhat ubiquitous, not
easily contained, also Christ's preference. It is also necessary to note the
state that Christ rejected and why. Lukewarm water, when stagnate tends to
breed bacteria and can even stink and neither offers the cleansing
characteristic of very hot water nor the refreshment that ice cold water can
provide. An example of this can also be seen at the churches inception in the
book of Acts. In the 2nd chapter of Acts on the day of Pentecost, you see the example of Christ's preference.
When the 120 disciples of Christ, including the 12 Apostles, were gathered
together in that upper room and were on one accord (cold), "They saw what
seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of
them." Acts 2:3. It was then that the state of those believers began to
affect those that were near and even outside of the four walls that they were
contained, so much so that those that were in the streets heard them. As a
result, "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three
thousand were added to their number that day." Acts 2:41 NIV. This is an example of the church morphing from cold to hot and the results are evident, a body of believers still vibrant and viable today. The cold, staid, solid, traditional church is all around us and THANK GOD FOR THEM! Some have become lukewarm, may GOD have mercy on them, because The Lord's words and intentions are clear of what their fate is. With that said it is time for the HOT church to emerge with a edict to revolt IN LOVE and WITH LOVE! As Ambassadors of Kingdom United Ministries Network we have been given an assignment to "Unite, promote and expand Christ's kingdom for the sake of souls" and we mean to unite and build bridges with all fellow believers in christ who are willing to link elbows and hearts to overcome this swell of hatred with love. Will you rise with us? Let us know and stay tuned for more updates. |
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