Continued from yesterday’s blog. This is the last part of the “Seven Revolutions” teaching from Tom Sipling:
VI. Sixth Revolution: Possessions
The seventh revolution is persecution. In Acts 7:59, 60; 8:1-4, it says, “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church…”
What happens next is “tragic” in the human sense of the word, but glorious in the kingdom sense. Stephen is stoned to death by the religious group, but this is all part of God’s plan and works toward the furthering of his kingdom.
Revelation 12:11 says, “They overcame him [the accuser] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” The blood of the martyrs has advanced the kingdom of God throughout much of church history.
At this point, the church is now under intense persecution, a by-product of revival. Satan is losing territory, and the followers of Christ continue to preach the word of God everywhere they go.
There is a lesson to be learned here: Revolutionaries are ready to pay whatever price is required. A “Saul” is born out of the revolution – a man who holds the coats of the persecutors at one moment and is bowing down to the one whom he is persecuting the next.
The American Declaration of Independences begins with, “When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary…” You must come to a point in your life where you realize that being a revolutionary for Christ and his kingdom is necessary.
That same declaration closes with, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
So, my challenge and invitation to you is to join the revolution. This is not a decision based on emotions, but one based on obedience and passion. It isn’t for everyone! For the students I invite to join the revolution, this is a daily commitment to receiving persecution from their peers, prayer-walking their campus and reaching out with compassion to the lost in the community.
I ask them to drop on their knees if they are ready to join the revolution, and I encourage those who aren’t yet ready that they may join the revolution later. One hundred and twenty people started a revolution in a seemingly insignificant room in Jerusalem, but many others joined the revolution in the days ahead. Then, I let them sign their own Declaration!
