Revolution Now!

I realized as I was giving that introduction that first some of you thought that we had a special guest, then some of you, so excited about revival and willing to believe anything, thought maybe we were going to have Keith Green here. Matthew chapter 10. Everyone at the school knows that there's been a theme burning in my heart for months, but it's increased in intensity in recent weeks, and that theme summed up in one word is... Thank you.

As the audio people wanted to know what I was speaking on, I always want to be sure that this is the direction we're going to go, but I am sure so we'll come up with a catchy title like Revolution Now. Matthew the 10th chapter. We can get so used to Jesus, so used to the gospel, so used to quote Christianity, so used to church, so used to ministry, that we lose sight of what a radical face this is, what a radical thing God has given us to do, how radically opposed to God this world is without Him, what it really means to follow Him.

And Jesus is sending out His 12 apostles here and giving them counsel and warning. And some of this chapter extends beyond just the 12 and continues to speak to His disciples through the ages. And He's warning them, He says in verse 17, be on your guard against men.

He's about to send them out, and they're preaching mission. And some of this applies beyond those days into the days of the early church, the first believers and continues to speak to us. But picture, He gets this little group together.

They're about to go out on their mission. And He says, OK, now listen to me carefully. Be on your guard against men.

They will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. It's pretty heavy stuff. On my account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.

But when they arrest you, not if they arrest you, when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you'll be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. It's so interesting.

We often have words spoken. The Lord showed me you're going to stand before kings. When Jesus told Him you're going to stand before kings, He meant as a prisoner for the Gospel.

We often quote that verse, look, you prepare and you get up to preach, but it won't be you speaking. When you're in your homiletics class, when you're going to preach in the prisons, when you're preaching on the street corner, it won't be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Amen.

But in the context in which Jesus spoke it, He's talking about when we're being tried for our faith. What are we going to say when we're being accused? Brother will betray brother to death and a father his child. A father is going to betray his own children to death.

Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. This is heavy stuff. Turn to the person next to you, look him in the eyes and say, this is heavy stuff.

All men will hate you because of me. But he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you're persecuted in one place, flee to another.

I tell you the truth, we will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. A student is not above his teacher nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher and the servant like his master.

If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household? How did the world treat Jesus? How should we expect the world to treat us? This is a radical thing that we're involved in. This is a life and death struggle that we're involved in. This is the battle of the ages that we're involved in.

This is not just religion. This is not just attending service. This is not just ministry.

This is not just school. This is not just revival. This is life, death, heaven, hell, the power of God, the power of Satan, God's kingdom, the kingdom of darkness.

And we're right in the middle of this conflict. I was joking last night with some of the folks that are going to be going with us to India. And in fact, no joke, the first trip that we were on, Mr. and Mrs. Calver on that trip, my wife Nancy and I were there, another friend, the first time we went to India some years back.

And we went up into a tribal region. And in this particular region, there was a man-eating tiger that had been on the loose that had killed seven people already. And I was joking a little bit with the folks that were going to be going on the trip, telling them, there probably won't be too many man-eating tigers.

And we won't go in too many areas where people are getting killed for their faith. And some of these people, you have to remember, are pretty young and have never even been on an airplane in their lives. And I'm talking to them about man-eating tigers and martyrdom on the trip.

And I said, I'm just joking in terms of our safety and our situation. But picture if I said, all right, who's going to go on this trip to us? And we get about 20 people, 30 people. And I said, okay, listen, I just want to have a meeting.

Here's what you need to expect. Now, beware of men. Beware of people.

Because once we get over there to India, I want you to understand, on this mission's trip, they're going to flog some of us. Brother, I'm not familiar with the word flog. What does that mean? Does that mean ask for prayer? What does that mean? Does that mean they're going to be praising us and we don't want to tell them? What does flog mean? It means whip you until your back is bloody.

And some of you, you're going, you guys are brothers here. Well, one of you is going to betray the other one and give him over to be killed. And you're going to be hated and persecuted, but it's no problem because India is a big country.

And when they persecute us in one country, in one city, we'll just go to another city. You say, Dr. Brown, I don't mind losing my nonrefundable deposit on this trip. The Lord's really told me that my calling is America and to pray.

Some of you go to the inner cities of America and you're all excited. Oh, praise God, I'm doing this outreach. I am so charged.

I'm going to get to give my testimony. God says, all right, who's going to be giving the first testimony? They're talking to you before you go out. I'm going to be giving the first testimony.

Okay, great. Just want to warn you. Did Buddy get out of the hospital yet? Because they beat him silly when he gave his testimony.

You know, the Lord's really dealing with me about pride. I feel someone else should probably go first. I mean, this stuff seems so wild to us.

But this is just Jesus saying, okay, let me tell you what it's about. Let me tell you about real life. This is what's going to happen.

Remember, the head of our organization, the one that we emulate, the one that we follow. The one who told us that the servant is not going to be greater than his master. It's enough if the servant is like his master.

That master, that leader, the head of our organization was crucified. And we are called to share in his sufferings. He said, I already suffered.

I gave in the offering. Mr. Glantz told me that I was tortured because I gave in the offering. That was not his point.

That was not his point. I thought I bought a page of the Fox's Book of Martyrs because I gave 20 instead of 10. No.

No. And my message tonight is not primarily about suffering, or martyrdom, or torture, or persecution. I just want us to read some verses and think about what we're reading.

Oh, what a novel concept. You ever read the Bible in a translation you never read before? You're so familiar with reading it certain ways. It's happened to me.

I start reading it in another translation. It jumps off the page of me because you became so familiar with the words. That's why I'm taking time to say, look at what the master is saying.

So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight.

What's whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

I wonder if Jesus, as he's saying this, if any of the apostles were looking at each other. You know, whenever somebody's talking and you catch these little glances to like, Yikes, I wasn't expecting that. You didn't tell me.

You just told me he was the neatest teacher you ever heard. You didn't tell me this part. I didn't know he healed my mother.

I thought it was great. I didn't know. I had no idea about all this.

I don't know, but this is like, wow. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your father. Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

So don't be afraid. You're worth more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges me before man, I will also acknowledge him before my father in heaven.

But whoever disowns me before man, I'll disown him before my father in heaven. Do not suppose that I've come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace with a sword.

I've come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.

Anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

As I have been reading on themes about revolution, looking at books that talk about the revolutionary nature of the gospel, and reading about other revolutions that have taken place, I've got a massive library. When I dive into a subject, I order lots of books. And lately, as staff has just come in and put the latest box of books down on my desk, and I'll say to some here, just stand here for a minute while I open it.

Or a faculty member, just stand here for a minute while I open it. And there we pull out, you know, the Communist Manifesto. Put that one down.

Good, I've been waiting for that. Holy Terror on Muslim Fundamentalist Radical Violence. Good, I've been waiting for that.

Take that one out. Different revolutionaries. Reading quotes.

Scott, my assistant, came to me and had been pulling down some quotes on the internet. He really got into checking out some revolutionary ideas and pulled down some quotes. And he said, look at these quotes from Malcolm X. I said, got them already.

What interests me is the type of commitment and dedication to a cause and to a principle and to a purpose and to an ideal. The type of dedication that Jesus calls for here is the type of dedication you find among revolutionaries. It's not what you normally find in the house of God.

You find it in those who've given their souls for communism or to make the world communist. You find it in militant Muslims who believe in what they do so deeply that they will blow themselves up with innocent men, women and children around them. Cry out Allahu Akbar.

God is great. So devoted to their cause. Believing that they're now guaranteed a place in the world to come with special benefits and privileges because they sanctify their lives as martyrs.

I see in those things that bring people into bondage and destruction and slavery and fear tremendous dedication to the cause. In a shorter period of time, in a matter of decades, communism brought more people, really hundreds of millions of people under its power in a matter of decades than the gospel had brought under the power of God in centuries. A bankrupt, empty way of life enslaving more people than the liberating power of the gospel.

And one main reason is people really believed in the cause. They were revolutionaries at heart. I think back even to the days when I was growing up in the 1960s where there was a different type of revolution in America.

We refer to it as a counter-culture revolution. Those of you that went through it know the days, remember it. We started breaking the rules.

Started rebelling against authority. Guys would start to grow their hair long. It wasn't the style then, but it was a breaking with the traditions.

The establishment was no good. In fact, I'll tell you a story. Now maybe I won't.

Okay, I will. I love God-ordained authorities. I respect those who seek to keep and enforce the law.

I had an uncle that was a policeman. My dad was a senior lawyer in the New York Supreme Court for many years. Our students understand that they should have the utmost respect for officers of the law.

As they're witnessing on the streets and do their best to comply with the wishes of those in authority. But see, in those days, in my way of thinking, cops were bad. Because cops were the establishment and cops were the ones that were enforcing the law and I wanted to break the law.

And cops were pigs. It's embarrassing to think about, but that was the term that we used. One particular night in my lost, sinful state, I had been over at a friend's house and had gotten high and then got more high on top of it and I was completely out of it.

I used very high quantities of drugs. They used to call me drug bear, an iron man. I would see how much I could do, get to the limit, get right to the edge without overdose.

This particular night I was totally out of it. Barbiturates and heroin. And a friend was having a party at his house.

I wanted to get over to the party and get even higher. What a life. Oh, I miss it.

What a life. And I couldn't walk straight. I was staggering down the street over to the bus stop and a guy pulls over.

Nice little sports car of some kind. Just remember it's a nice little car and it looked like his girlfriend in the front seat. He says, hey, get in.

He's going to give me a ride. I thought, great, man. I get a ride.

I wasn't even hitchhiking. But I was looking back waiting for the bus. Here I am, real skinny, long hair.

And I get in the back seat. Now, he's with his girlfriend on top of it. And he said to me, were you hitchhiking? I said, no, man.

I was afraid of the pigs. I was stoned. I was out of it.

But I remember this vividly. And he said something about cops, pigs. I said, yeah, man.

Same thing. Cops, pigs. He said, I said, my father is a cop.

At that moment, in the midst of a stoned stupor, I realized I was in trouble. He said to me, get out of the car and start running as fast as you can run. So I got out of the car and just started kind of staggering.

So I said, run. I said, I'm going as fast as I can. Counterculture, man.

The establishment. Pigs. Parents, they were no good.

Break away. Go live on a commune somewhere. Live in a cave somewhere.

Sit and meditate for hours. Break away. But see, here's what's amazing.

People really went and did it. I mean, most of them found out the emptiness of it after a while and left the cave. Let me read you a quote.

1967, 1968. As there was this thing happening in San Francisco. In the Haight-Ashbury district.

And there were these hippies there gathering together and they were all tripping. They had just broken out. I mean, it was a different world they stepped into.

They didn't care about being rejected. Because they thought everybody else was wrong and they were cool. They didn't care about looking different and acting different.

It was an act of counterculture mentality. I mean, it's so interesting to me that the people who get it wrong have the right things that we need to have right. Which is, it doesn't matter what other people think.

It doesn't matter what the prevailing culture is. You give yourself to the cause. But listen to this.

Listen to what was going on there. This is from a hippie writing at that time. He said, the most receptive to the call are from middle class Urbia.

Couldn't call it suburbia. Urbia. Middle class Urbia.

They leave jobs, armies and schools to turn their lives and psyches inside out. All looking for some material to build a life with. All of us started to realize, even in 17 or 20 short years, that the game of life played in school and supermarket university leads only to styrofoam coffins and oblivious servitude.

Most of us have been on the threshold of jumping into the accepted swim. In other words, just going with the American dream and the American lifestyle. But stop and ask for time.

Having already seen enough intellectually, instinctively, if not intellectually. Few have talents or skills developed enough for personal satisfaction or for the marketplace. All are well trained towards indiscriminate consumption.

Hear this sentence now. Yet, the feeling persists. There must be something greater than this.

There's got to be more than just life as we know it. Than just eating and drinking and sleeping and surviving and preserving the human species. There's got to be more.

They understood it. There was a seeking after something. And the devil owned most of it and used most of it.

And most of those people, instead of meeting God, met with Eastern religion. Met with immorality. Met with drugs.

Met with deception. There is a recognition that there's got to be more. Then you get a good education.

Why? So you can get a good job. Why? So you can have a family and support that family. So your kids can get a good education.

Why? So they can get a good job. Why? So they can have a good family. Why? So they can support their kids so their kids can get a good education.

Why? So that they can get a good job. Wait a second, there's got to be more. What's amazing is Christians, people who know God, People who have eternal life we whose our sins are forgiven a lot of us don't realize there's more a lot of us are more trapped by the philosophy of this world and counterculture hippies were in the 60s and Just as an aside, which I won't get off on but the carnal prosperity message plays right into that mentality Everybody say amen Amen Why is it that people seek more why why is it revolutions start What lies at the root of it why what was it that caused many of you to turn to God I Was talking to Nancy one day as I was writing some of this just maybe last week And I said, what's the key word give me one key word.

Why is it that revolution start? Who do they start among? I was thinking of one word. She was thinking of another but they're very similar. I thought of the word Dissatisfaction she thought of the word disillusionment People get dissatisfied people begin to realize something is wrong.

This is not the way it's supposed to be they get disillusioned They lose their hope they lose their faith. They lose their confidence. That's how prayer for revival starts in the church People become dissatisfied in a holy way and Disillusioned in a holy way and say there's got to be more than going to church on Sundays and everybody looking pretty and nice and taking An offer and going home.

What's this? What's this? What are we perpetuating? What are we doing? Where are we going with this? You wake up one morning. So I can't live like this another day Things don't change otherwise I'm about to hit you with some pretty heavy stuff in a moment As opposed to the lightweight stuff so far People have said things have to change and they've been willing to put their lives on the line until things did change I Raised the question I think last week at the revival Can you imagine there was a time in America where women did not have the right to vote?

You Say well how in the world could that be that women would not have the right to vote it's basically inconceivable to us But do you know that before the freeing of the slaves Before that there were women fighting for rights and fighting for the right to vote and on the heels of the emancipation of Slaves in America they began to fight even more and fight even more and be even more outspoken to the most radical Women's rights people of the day even put out a magazine called the revolution But you know with all that fighting with all those efforts it was not until 1920 that the right was granted But I want you to hear this there was a time when women could not vote in America Some women some were believers some of them you'd call just radical feminists but different ones took stands and what seemed impossible and what seemed unlikely and what seemed radical and what seemed Revolutionary seems absolutely normal and regular today We do not have total equality in our system and in our society now But so much of the horrific racism that marked us more in the past and the horrors of whites making black slaves That's behind us But even earlier this century there was a black leader Who stood up and said this?

And he advocated to some degree violence when necessary and others differed with him But the passion of his speech you have to accept He said we will not be satisfied to take one jot or tittle less than our full manhood rights We claim for ourselves every single right that belongs to a freeborn American Political civil and social and until we get these rights We will never cease to protest and assail the ears of America the battle We wage is not for ourselves alone, but for all true Americans It is a fight for ideals lest this our common fatherland False to its founding become in truth the land of the thief and the home of the slave a Byword and a hissing among the nations for its sounding pretensions and pitiful accomplishments passionate words society changed Society changed people said this is not the way it is supposed to be and We will not stop going after change until the change comes Now here's what I want you to grasp tonight.

Here's what I want you to take hold of tonight The way we know things in America as far as church as far as gospel as far as quote Christianity The way we know it the watered-down version that is so prevalent in our day The mentality of believers that this world Orientation the lack of sacrifice the lack of devotion the lack of radicality the lack of moral impact This is not the way it's supposed to be that that is not in harmony with the original version as laid out in the word where the believers were accused of being subversive and threats to the society of turning the world upside down of Subverting the inhabitant world because their message was such a threat to the kingdom of darkness.

I Want you to hear some things And when I give you the perspective from the outside world that may shock you but then you'll understand why I keep talking about revolution Not some armed struggle where all the survivalists finally pull out their shotguns glory He's finally talking our language put your gun down, sir this is not a battle fought with guns and knives and If we turn the end the gun on the enemy, we'd all commit suicide Because the problem in America is us When the church gets right America will turn There are countries in the world European nations where one or two percent of the people would profess to be born-again Evangelical believers there are European nations where less than one half of one percent of the population Would claim to be born-again Evangelicals when you'd ask them a series of questions They would respond in such a way that one percent or one half percent or two percent Which would qualify according to their profession as being born again, but in America, it's 36% That means about 90 million Americans claim to be believers The population of our people going to church is extraordinarily high compared to most of Europe You would think that there would be some type of positive effect No other nation has 24-hour gospel television No other nation is inundated with books and tapes and Christian this and Christian that the way we are I've been to many countries around the world Have many friends working in many countries around the world. We have students from 30 nations We've had business at the revival from 140 nations. We get to interact with lots of people There's some precious Christians from Romania that have been living in the States now for some years and The Sun was telling me young man that The Christians that used to come when Romania was closed and it was difficult to get in the days of communism He said the Christians that came for America were phenomenal saintly people those that worked in the country said they were godly They were they were jewels They were wonderful people and he couldn't wait to come to America because he knew it was a Christian nation We knew even on the coins and said in God we trust Wow America He just assumed even in the the public schools before each class they bow their heads in prayer this was America He was absolutely shocked.

He and his dad a pastor godly fellow They were shocked when they came here, but they were more shocked when they got to church They had a look and look and look and look just to find a group of people that they could worship with where they felt There was some degree of mutual understanding And How does America stack up with the rest of the world With the industrialized developed world. Let me just throw this out if this bums you out. It's a fact.

It's reality Okay, we have the solution. We have the answer We know the key to unlock this door, but let's just be realistic Amen Amen America has the highest percentage of single parent families in the industrialized world America has the highest abortion rate in the industrialized world America has the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases in the industrialized world the rates of syphilis and gonorrhea Transmission are almost five hundred percent higher than the highest rates and the other industrialized nations.

What is going on? We have the highest teenage birth rate in the industrialized world by far We have the highest rate of teenage drug use in the industrialized world Something's not something's not lining up here somehow the picture is not working out We've got so many more believers and so many more Bibles and so much more Christian television and so many more people going to church Massively higher percentage of people going to church than all these other countries Why do we lead these nations in sin and immorality in the in the decay of the family?

Consider that in 1997 over half of all firstborn children That year all children who were first born to their mother in 1970s 1997 for the first time in our nation's history over half were born out of wedlock and Then you add in the massive number that were aborted that would have made that number even higher Born-again Christians in the course of their lives are more likely to divorce than atheists Something's not lining up to your friends Something is funny In 1997 roughly three million teenagers about one in four who are sexually active acquired a sexually transmitted disease By the mid-1990s by the mid-1990s in some cities in America Over 96% of all children born to teenagers were born out of wedlock All you that came in here needing a lift well praise God 1996 8,000 children under six years old Were using one of three commonly prescribed antidepressants Prozac Zoloft or Paxil now listen 8,000 in 1996 had these prescribed antidepressants 1997 it jumped to 40,000 I'd go on and on and on some things have taken some very positive turns in America crime rate Overall abortion rates down in recent years some things have taken some positive turns other things Most of the moral things we look at the condition of the family We're in a state now think of this we're in a state now where you'll see these big signs in the road in some cities Now a number to call for DNA testing to find out who the real father is And if the devil can destroy the family he's got a whole nation How does this look to the outside world I'm going very quickly to a Solution, but I want to just take a few more minutes and hammer this home How does this look to the outside world looking in how does this look to the religious Muslim world?

How does this look in the days of the Soviet Union to the Communist world You know the number one battle according to Islam the number one thing they are fighting against you say well the gospel because the gospel spreading all around the world well They know the gospel is a threat, but let's face it.

There is one full-time Christian worker for every 1 million Muslims That's not the biggest threat Our student body just want to let you know that the focus and thrust of our missions week in March is going to be on the Muslim world this year Do you know what Muslims feel is the great battle the great threat the thing that is their greatest enemy the greatest hindrance to Islam Listen to what they say Islam was defeated by its own rulers who ignored the divine law in the name of Western style secularism the West captured the imagination of large sections of our people our loss of large sections of our youth is to Western ideology dress music and food Western worldly compromised ways Muslims look at us They don't think Christianity is hypocritical. They think it is shallow and worthless based on what they say oh In some parts of the world they see the real thing and they're coming by the power of God and miraculous salvation to Jesus But when they look at the Western world, that's the threat Here are some Islamic terrorists in Egypt listen to what they say Islam is the only answer They look at the immorality of Westerners They cite figures on the divorce rate in the United States they point to crime and drug use they talk about America's preoccupation with sex One of them says you will never find these things where true Islam exists Islam is the only answer not Christianity not Judaism not Buddha without it America's going to hell He says in America your women dressed like harlots. They have no dignity these are Muslims looking on And I tell you if they came to most of our churches they wouldn't be much more impressed They drop their heads in shame at the dress and the attire and when they began to talk to people they'd be stunned about how Much the world had their attention Come on their churches in America Major cities of America that have to end their Sunday service at noon promptly because there's a football game on at one o'clock Churches empty out on Super Bowl Sunday Because I mean it's foot this big game the big I know the bow down It's not a sin to enjoy sports.

It's a sin to be obsessed with it the way we are in America We don't realize how off the mark we are Give you one other illustration Before the fall of the Soviet Union Tony Campola who's a minister in a professor Got a phone call from a friend who was involved with a major Educational organization in the States, and he said listen some Russian Educators are coming to America, and they want to do some interviews to find out what Christianity does in terms of social programs helping people So Tony Campola thought wonderful because he was involved in a number of inner-city ministries wonderful So Among the guests were to have rushed the heads of two of Russia's most prestigious universities and the deputy minister of education So Tony Campola takes them Says with great enthusiasm. I took them to our various programs I showed off our youth clubs and explained how we communicate Christian values to ghetto teenagers finally I took them to a special Christian school that we have established for disadvantaged children Wow, they're gonna be impressed these are communist educators godless atheists. They're gonna be so impressed And everywhere they went they asked all kinds of questions the educators interviewed people ask question after question after question after question They got to the end Now they were gonna have a debriefing and talk about it, so What do you think how do you feel? This is what they said one response those teenagers are so materialistic Another said all that these young people talked about was making money The deputy minister of education his was the most surprising this is what he said reluctantly I'm somewhat disappointed in your children since they are Christians.

I expected they would be concerned about spiritual things Instead they are more materialistic than the Marxist youth in my country They seem to be devoid of any lofty idealistic vision Something is wrong with this picture I Was aware of the degree of addiction to pornography in American? According to statistics Americans spend more than nine billion dollars every year on prog The number of hardcore pornography videos rented increased from 75 million in 1985 to 686 million in 1998 But here was the shocker Americans spent six hundred thirty eight point six billion on legal gambling games 1997 and They lost about 51 billion That's more than the recording video game movie cruise ship spectator sport and theme park business revenues Combined something's wrong with the picture, which is why I say we need a revolution Which is why I say we need to change our whole way of thinking and recognize there's a purpose on us being here and God may bless you with all kinds of material riches or me. He may give you little that's not the issue He may raise you up to a place of prominence in society or call you to follow him and be a martyr The issue is we are here on a divine mission one purpose and one purpose only and every thing else is secondary to that purpose and That purpose is to make disciples for Jesus To shine the light in dark places to declare his name to set the captives free period and We have to look at ourselves as Revolutionaries sent into cities sent into countries sent into schools to subvert the demonic strongholds to pull down The godless structures and to establish the name of Jesus in the hearts and minds of people. It's our mission.

It's our purpose And some of us may be rejected and some may be hated and some may be fogged and some may be killed and some may Be brought before Kings and God, whatever. We got a job. We've got a mission Like let me give you a quote an inspiring martyrdom quote Wonderful quote from a Christian a man of God Thousands upon thousands of martyrs have a right heroically laid down their lives for the people Let us hold their banner high and march ahead along the path crimson with their blood.

Amen. Oh Wait, sorry that wasn't a Christian that was Mao Tse Tung in China Sorry about that, let me let me get you a better Martyr quote from a Christian. Sorry about that.

I got all these quotes here. I just got confused. Sorry.

Here's one I Talk about the gospel ideal It is an ideal and which I hope to live for and achieve but if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die Amen You know who said that what godly Christian leader? I've I've made a mistake again that that was Nelson Mandela at his trial and Before he was sentenced to life in prison. Hang on. Let me I'll get a quote yet.

Be patient with me. I'm sorry. Hang on Ah, I Mean we've been called to set the prisoners free proclaim freedom Liberty.

Here it is. This is a man of God If you're not ready to die for it put the word freedom out of your vocabulary You say amen to that, right It's time for the martyrs now and if I'm to be one it'll be for the cause that's the only thing that can save this country The price of freedom is death Guys I blew it again It's not the martyr Christian martyrs quote, sorry, that was Malcolm X. Sorry. Sorry You know, it's wild that's just a given For the revolutionary mentality, that's just a given What what sparked the American Revolution what did Patrick Henry say We know the end quote give me liberty or give me death He said his life so dear or a piece so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery.

I Owned by fear and depression and drugs greed and lust hatred bound by the enemy What are they living for? Our mission to go set him free His life so dear a piece so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery forbidden Almighty God I know what course others may take but as for me give me liberty or give me death Now hear me I want to encourage you say thank you brother People have given their lives for causes They don't have eternal life they don't have forgiveness of sins, they don't really have an answer that's going to help anyone Communism is collapsed under the weight of its own godlessness The gates of Islam will fall in Jesus name Our Savior was so militantly and radically committed to setting people free and Delivering people from the power of darkness Bringing them into the kingdom of light making them co-heirs. He was so devoted He did the only thing that could save humanity. He died for our sins He shed his blood and our behalf And I've been getting these books coming in the mail lately.

Here's book. I've had for many many years Beautifully bound and produced gold print on the pages gold leafing Changed a lot of the world. It's brought about 1 billion people under its way.

It's called the Quran At three years of classical Arabic and read many pages in the Quran It's book it's changed a good part of the world think of that Just got the other day communist manifesto see how thin this thing is And there's an introduction to it too by another one. See it's a little little book It's changed much of the world Three-quarters through last century it had Well over a third of the world in its way. There's the theme the workers have nothing to lose but their chains Another book here never heard of Mao's little red book.

Here's the little red book Still 1 billion Chinese most of them slaves to communism You go back generation they knew this book very well Hardly anything knew the Bible a little book here destroyed millions and millions and millions of lives I'm just trying to get an understanding of what can happen in a society And how generations can be changed and how mindsets can be changed You ever heard of Uncle Tom's cabin? Harriet Beecher Stowe The influential book that helped spark Emancipation of slaves and the Civil War when Lincoln met her he said to her So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war Now I'm looking at these books I get stacks of them now in my office just stacks of these books We had a faculty meeting the other day, I was just pulling out one after another after another after another Uncle Tom's cabin used for good these other books used for destruction and bondage And then I just I put them all together and I took my Bible when I came in tonight I just started this is the mentality. I have this is the revolutionary manual This is the this is the message People have shed their blood for communism and taken blood Shed their blood for Islam and taken blood and I think man this message the message of the cross the message of Jesus Opening blind eyes setting captives free breaking demon power changing cities changing societies One of the neatest books I've been reading lately is on England before and after John Wesley little John Wesley Five foot four and never more than 120 pounds One of many used by God in the 1700s in England, but the key man that shaped that country Slavery was abolished in England in the wake of the ministry of Wesley Drunkenness went way way down one great story a guy was in an isolated area Just a village one time in England and he went to get a drink and nobody was selling liquor there he couldn't get a drink and he said to somebody what's with this place and The guy said oh about a hundred years ago a man named John Wesley came through this region There was a revolution a Society was changed I'm gonna give a charge in a moment. I'm almost done.

I Want to challenge you to take hold of the true message of the cross and To take hold of our true purpose in this world To begin to see yourself sent by God on a commission Not just to tell people about Jesus But to make disciples of every tribe and every nation every people know the whole world will not be saved but we've been given a mandate from God and You need to see people captive and change when you look at sick people They may love Jesus with all their heart and the smile of God's honor But they want to be free from the sickness captive to be set free You may look at somebody else and you and it's a sin issue. It's not a sickness. It was it's a sin Issue you go in the inner city and you see the family coming apart at the seams You say what can we do? We come with the message of the gospel and the message of life and all those prisoners and darkness around the world that don't know It's our sacred task It's our sacred task The communist manifesto ends by saying this the communists disdain to conceal their views and aims Not ashamed They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing conditions Let the ruling classes tremble at a communistic revolution The proletarians the workers have nothing to lose but their chains they have a world to win working men of all countries unite So I just wrote that out the other day and changed a couple of the words the Christians Disdain to conceal their views and aims They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all devilish conditions Let the ruling demons tremble at a Christian revolution The prisoners of sin have nothing to lose but their chains They have eternal life to win believers of all countries unite I Believe that something is ready to happen in our society.

I Believe we are at the edge. I Believe things could go either way in terms of the immediate future of our nation And it was so striking in Time magazine and the same issue After some of the videos that had been recorded by the Columbine killers before the massacre some of those videotapes were released and There were quotes that came out from there one of the young men one of the murderers said we hope to kick-start a revolution a Revolution of the dispossessed There's a whole culture in America that feels neglected and hated that's been fed lies of the devil That can have everything in this world and yet a seething with rage and anger has been fed on violence and sex And they're ready to explode and in that same issue. There's a quote from Darrell Scott and his family the family of Rachel killed in Columbine Declaring her faith He said we believe that her death is going to ignite a spiritual revolution among the young people And because most of the people here you were students in the school.

There's a radical commitment that you already have. There's a firm solid Planting of your feet to do the will of God, but I'm challenging you To begin to see things through a different light to to burn up the notion of traditional religion I thought all tradition is bad but to burn up the notion of traditional religion to burn up the notion of life just going on the way it's been going on and To say God if it's real revival. It's got to turn into revolution if it's real revival It's got to be something that the secular world has to deal with It's got to be something where you look at it and historians can read and say that was when the gospel Revolution impacted the nation.

That's when the gospel revolution spread from country to country to country That's when millions and millions of captors were set free Something Supernatural demonically supernatural happened in the 60s a whole culture swept up one of the men in those days who had a talk radio show would take calls from people and He'd asked them what woke them up More than a few said getting stoned and hearing the Beatles He said it was an awakening on a mass level and that's what it was about It was like some kind of fairy story people waking up There's a satanic counterfeit that's ready to come again for the sake of my southern brethren it's fixing to explode It's at the door a violent ugly counterculture revolution that throws off Authority and destroys lives and goes into churches and mows people down Beats parents to death shoots up kids in schools Or there's a gospel revolution fixing to explode Then in a year's time can make a dent and in ten years time can change a generation Our missionaries that go out from the school or revolutionaries our workers that go out and youth ministry in America are Revolutionaries visitors here you get touched in the revival and go out of here different You may come home and military fatigued sir, and your wife says what in the world happened to you at that revival? she was afraid come home shaking and jerky instead you're coming home with a green beret military fatigue said I've enlisted in the revolution and The banner that we hold up and I'm going to end here the banner that we hold high is Not workers of all nations unite The Banner that we hold high under the lordship of Jesus our holy motto The banner that we march forward into the world with his holiness to the Lord That's the power We don't sin the way the world sins We don't live the way the world that sin is the curse and the problem that brings them down and we march forward saying holy To the Lord separated to the purposes of God living and dying for Jesus That's what puts the inner cities back together, that's what restores the family That's what sets the captives free holiness to the Lord. I want everyone to stand to your feet I want everyone to stand and here's what we're gonna do Here's what we're gonna do I've told folks that that Ward Simpson executive director at our school has often had a slip of the tongue instead of asking What's our enrollment at the school of ministry? He'll say what's our enlistment? We've had the largest total enlistment in the history of the school 1135 revolutionaries And here's what we're going to do Sin is the problem the blood of Jesus is the solution Everyone who would say there is something in my life that has not yielded to God There are areas in my life that I know are compromised. There's sin.

There's attachment to worldliness. There's lust to the flesh There's bondage to pornography There's drinking there is lying. There's failure to be a godly father godly mother godly husband wife I'm addicted to gambling Addicted to violent movies There's compromise their sin.

I'm a god-denier. I'm ashamed of the gospel I've been following another religion. I don't know Jesus If your life is not completely dedicated to God, I didn't ask if you're perfect I said if your life is not completely dedicated to God When I give this call I want you to come first and deal at this altar with everything You know is wrong in the sight of God everything you know is sinful everything You know is unclean everything.

You know is hateful in the sight of God everything You know is contrary to his holy standards everything You know that Jesus died for and yet you're still holding on to I'm gonna call you to renounce it and lay it down If you've never known Jesus if you've never surrendered your life to him. I'm Jewish I had to go against family traditions to put my faith in Jesus You may be Muslim Hindu atheist you may have been raised in the church, and you don't know God whoever you are Jesus is saying come to me now the door of mercy is open that you can be his and know him and have eternal life And know him so well that the things I'm talking about would bring joy to your heart because he's so wonderful Otherwise the door will be shut on you on that day, and you'll be lost forever Father I pray in Jesus name that you would bring this message home that you would change lives tonight that you'd pour out Repentance and that you'd seal our commitment To take this revolution forward to the streets of America to the streets of the world to the schools to the homes in The name of Jesus before I call everybody else up if there's sin in your life If you're not completely dedicated if there's anything you're holding on to if there's anything unclean I want you to come down from the balcony right now I want you to step out from your seat right now and come and stand in the front and get right with God get on Your knees before the Lord come on God's dealing with you. Just come on right now Come on, surrender get right is there sin in your life? I know the level of dedication that's in this place, and I'm glad for it And I'm glad for it, but I know there are others in here where you're holding on to junk You know it's wrong.

You know it's sin. You've never surrendered to Jesus come on right now come on right now Come on right now Come on right now anybody else This altar is going to be Massively flooded in a moment with each of these folks coming forward if we get a third-year intern or grab that's here Just come over and pray with them Just come over and join him with each one coming forward in the name of Jesus anybody else This is serious. This is life or death Lord Jesus Lord Jesus You Let him talk to God for a moment then afterwards You can ask him what they come up for and pray, but just give him give him some time come on If you got to get right with God if you're not surrendered to Jesus come on We're not going to prolong this the Lord doesn't owe you anything in his mercy and in his grace in his mercy and in his Grace he's willing to pardon you and forgive you Come on All the junk every sin every unclean thing Jesus died to set you free But he must be the master he must be the Lord and the boss Lay it down friends sin will only destroy you sin will only destroy you Jesus anybody else that's coming come on bless your name Lord Bless your name Lord Say boy these guys are really serious here.

We're really serious. That's just normal. That's a biblical mentality Anybody else that's coming You're not right with God.

There's sin. There's something separating you from God. You know it You're holding on to things we had a call during the worship for surrender But not everyone did Are you living a clean life before the Lord are you living a clean life is your lifestyle clean and right with God if not get right step out come down and Repent and receive mercy you put your faith in Jesus.

I'll wash you clean Anybody else that's coming just come on Worship team just lead us before the Lord Everyone that came forward just those that are up our grads and our interns Just ask him what they came up for and talk to him pray with them, and then we're all gonna come in a moment We're all gonna come in a moment And once again pledge our life And ask God to give us fresh vision and fresh anointing and fresh fire This is a message at the beginning of a new century beginning of the year 2000 Beginning of a new semester, and that's why it's been laid out like this