Five points of revolution -by Darren Smith - NCCG.ORG Ning Network Archive 2008-10

NOTE: Darren Smith runs an extensive ministry to the homeless
in Galveston, Texas - and is currently speaking with Andrew
Strom throughout the Southern states.

FIVE POINTS of REVOLUTION
-by Darren Smith.

After much prayer, I have decided to release these points of revolution.
I pray that you will pray over them and let God show you what to
do. Time is short, we must act now.

1. We must return to the pure faith that Christ ordained for us to
follow. Man has complicated faith to the point it is hard to find true
faith on this earth. We have far too many man-made doctrines that
lead us away from true simple faith. We have sought after knowledge
to the point that knowledge has taken place above Christ. From this,
the simple relational Gospel has been lost and replaced by systems
of religion that are only designed to build themselves.

More people are concerned with their doctrine than carrying out the
work of Christ on this earth. We have very educated people who
have a great head knowledge of Christ but lack the heart knowledge
that fruits of the Spirit flow from. These doctors of Theology put on
a show week after week, letting their preaching skills dazzle the
people, but their fruit never shines forth. Let's get real. How many
of these men would preach if their salary was taken away?

From these halls of religion, men echo a self-centered gospel that
really is no gospel at all, it brings forth no fruit. Today's church has
become a business simply put, putting out products to enrich itself.
It has become a Babylonian institution that only a revolution can
change. We must stop feeding the monster.

Pure simple faith is Loving God and Loving our neighbor. Do we
love God if we don't obey His commands? Jesus said that we don't.
If we are not doing the things Christ said, we are not in obedience.
Jesus taught us to live a life of simplicity building relationships
and making disciples, not building lavish buildings and a comfortable
life for our self. Are we loving our neighbor when we overlook his
needs? Would God rather us use our money to build temples and
ministry payrolls or to feed the hungry and take care of widows and
orphans? Would HE rather us buy the system's books and tapes
or spend our money spreading the Gospel to the lost? Shouldn't
our resources go to the work of the ministry? This will anger those
that are changing money in the name of the Lord and making
ministry a business. But it must be said, not only said but shouted.

2. We must examine our life by the Light of the Word. We cannot
examine ourselves by the doctrine of religion - only the Word of
God. Men build doctrines that are to be more accepted by the
world. Take for instance the prosperity message plaguing the
body today. It's designed to make you feel better about yourself
and the life you live. The people who are in leadership prosper by
design, those that follow pay the bill, but worse a false sense of
hope is sent out to people who simply can only be helped by the
simple truth. If you examine yourself by this doctrine or any other
manmade doctrine you cannot get a clear picture of where you
need to be or what you should be doing. Look at this simple
principle in 2 Cor 13:5 - "Test yourself to see if you are in the faith."
See if Christ is in you. That's a simple test so why not so it? Do I
love God? Am I keeping His commands? Do I love my neighbor?
If so, how do I show it through my actions? Am I taking care of
widows and orphans, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked? If
not, am I obeying Christ? Am I forgiving? Without forgiving you
cannot be forgiven. Why is this not taught today?

Am I kind, patient? Or am I full of envy and pride? In 1Cor 13:4-8
you can give yourself a simple test. Take out the word "love" and
place your name there and see if it fits. If Christ is in you, you
have the ability through Him to be all these things. Doctrines of
man give us excuses not to go deeper into relationship with Christ.
They teach us how to put up a facade of holiness, like how we look
or act on the outside, or rituals that we find comfort in - like church
attendance and tithing to the church. Christ asks for childlike
faith, simplicity in loving Him and our neighbor - a daily relationship.
You can't get this from religion, only from relationship. If you're not
passing the test, ask the Lord what you must do to pass and HE
will guide you. Religion will give you a list of things to do and a list
not to do. Christ will give you life and peace.

3. You must become temporary residents or travelers in this world.
We have put our roots down in a world that we are only passing
through, to the point that the culture has overtaken faith. 1 Peter 2:11.
Peter tells us to be aliens to this world and to abstain from fleshly
desires that war against us. What are these things that war against
us? The very culture of self that we live in today - from sexual
perversion to self-centered greed, to the attitude that we deserve
anything we want. This culture has brought down basic values and
destroyed the family in this nation. Just like Lot in Sodom, we have
grown so comfortable with the life it provides us we don't even care
about the sin around us. We have adjusted our religion to fit the
culture. We are at a point where nothing shocks us anymore, but
as long as we can keep our comforts it's OK. We love this world
and the things it affords us so much, we have missed the narrow
path and are trying to turn a deaf ear to the warnings of God for us to repent.

As much as I know this will make a lot of people mad, I must add
this point. Our national pride as Americans has helped us down
this road as well. We feel we are God's own nation even as we
have become more and more against God. Blinded by rhetoric
and blind patriotism we have let this country sink to an all-time low.
From abortion to gay marriage, we flaunt our rebellion before God
and then claim to be God's nation. If anyone dare say anything
about it, you are attacked for being anti-American and an extremist.

Well, I have news for you, Jesus himself was an extremist and views
on religion and government put Him on trial and the cross. Can you
make the point realistically that we are a Godly nation? I think not.
We must be willing to become aliens to this world and its ways.
The American dream is not from God. God wants us to be citizens
of the Kingdom of God and live accordingly. This means that we
are going to have to make some hard choices about what to do in
this world, some that will have very tough consequences to our flesh.

We must come out of Babylon and every one of her systems. This
means letting go of life as we know it and embracing the cross of
Christ. This will cause you to take stands that will be totally
counter-culture and revolutionary and most people in your life will
not understand. Don't forget that Jesus said that he would cause
division. As you pull away from this world, most will question your
actions and critics will tear at your every idea. If you are a traveler
here, it really doesn't matter.

4. Repentance and transparency are a must. We must get real
with ourselves and with others around us. Every time we cover up
sin and shortcomings we give our enemy weapons to use against
us. This is why true relationship in the body of Christ is so important.
We need to be able to minister out of our heart, and if we are not
clean, we become poison instead of healing. Some of the most
unforgiving and meanest people I have ever met I met in church.
I know men who stand and teach God's Word before others, that
are full of hate and unforgiveness. True relationship exposes these
issues and gives a chance for repentance to take place. I know
men that claim to love God but are racist and because of the facade
the modern church has built, they teach Sunday after Sunday with
this hate in their heart.

How can anyone help you if they are not open about their own
struggles? How can a man preach against adultery and have that
very thing in his own heart? We must get clean and open in the
Body to see the fullness of Christ in His Body.

It is from our weakness He is able to use us and we all have our
own areas that we have failed, and only through His love and grace
are we able to gain victory. I believe in being transparent and
sometimes I am told that I am too open about my life and struggles,
but I know if it is hidden, that the enemy will use it to destroy me.
I have preached meetings that when I asked everyone to raise
their hand if they have hidden sin such as porn and adultery in their
life that every man in the place raised their hand. At this I asked
them to come forward and repent and confess before God and man -
so they could be set free.

Hidden sin kills your spirit and robs you of your God-given destiny.
It must be dealt with. We must plant New Testament Fellowships
that teach these truths and put them into action so people can be
free. This level of openness is not comfortable, for we will all have
to admit that we have faults and problems. This will cause us to
have to deal with marital problems instead of running to divorce
court. We will have to be accountable for our actions and live
life without any excuses.

5. Absolute commitment to the cause of Christ. We must be willing
to lay down our life for Christ. This is easy to say but hard to put
in practice. Most believers say that they are willing to die for Christ,
but live a life that says just the opposite. Most will not put off their
self in even the simplest things in life such as giving from their
abundance to further the cause, much less taking time from their
life to serve. Many ask me how we left a comfortable home in the
country to live and serve in the inner city among the addicts and
prostitutes and homeless. I tell them God sent me here, I had
no choice in the matter. I'm not special, I just simply told the Lord,
I give you my life! Many sing these words over and over in songs,
but in reality they don't give Him anything that costs them time or money.

Think about how silly it is to say you would die for Christ but you're
not willing to give up anything of your own for Him. There are very
few people committed to the cause of Christ to the point of giving
their life, even though this is what He requires.

If you can't be faithful in giving in your daily life, you will not give
your life. If you can rest on the excuses of not having time or
enough money to help, you can rest on the excuse that you're not
called to this level. Let's go even deeper. If you can rest with the
condition of this nation and the church, then you are not a
revolutionary and there is no need for you to read any more of this
letter. But, if you can't rest in the excuses or in the condition of
this land, it is time for you to take action even at risk to your life.

In closing, I would like to share a few thoughts with you about
revolutions and revolutionaries. Many people are fascinated with
people who will risk it all for their cause and because of this they
will stay just close enough to watch and take credit for being a part
if anything they think is good happens. But as soon as the battle
gets too hot, they turn and run and deny they had any part. For the
most part it is a lonely road that the revolutionary walks. Most of
the time there is nothing to show that they are winning, the isolation
takes a toll on them and at times they question if the fight is worth
it at all.

In our case, the fight is worth it because it is the Lord's. Many
times, the change that is brought about is long after the revolutionary
has given his life in obscurity on a forgotten battlefield. Then
someone will stumble onto the cause and the passion that he held
for it and stories from his time will inspire the next revolutionary to
pick up the cause and lose his life for it's sake. Many times then,
the man who gave it all and died in a forgotten battle will become
known and many who are not willing to pay the price will sit around
and tell stories of this great man who gave his life. But it is the one
that is inspired to take action that carries the battle forth without
any regard to his own life. We must be willing to die on our own
forgotten battlefield in this revolution for it is not ours, it is the Lord's.
The battle lines are clearly drawn, it's time to choose our side and
commit our life. Are you ready?

-Darren Smith,
www.streetscapeministries.com
www.revivalstreet.com
www.unitethefight.com

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