After reading another book proclaiming the so-called “Truth” of the Elijah Revolution that is “going” to happen before the second coming of Jesus I figured I should share my 2 cents about why I think this is ridiculous.
1. Jesus said that the least in the Kingdom is greater than all the Old Testament prophets.
All the prophets includes Elijah!
The 5 year old who just gave her life to Jesus is greater than any of the Old Testament prophets because she didn’t receive a miniature Holy Spirit. She got the real deal and because she got the real deal she can make a huge difference!
To say we need an Elijah Revolution is a step backwards, not forward.
What we need to truly finish the Great Commission is a “Kingdom Revolution” that forcefully advances God’s purpose on the planet.
2. They always use the verse that says “Elijah must come first”
And they quote the Old Testament as proof that this is true.
Don’t you remember they asked Jesus when this would happen and he says “it did happen. It was John the Baptist.”
So…why in the world does this need to be fulfilled again?
I get really bothered when I hear people using an Old Obsolete Covenant that Jesus very plainly says has been fulfilled
as proof for their weird End Times Theology.
Now…
I do believe that believers can operate in the same power that Elijah moved in and I do believe that the hearts of the Fathers are being turned to the sons and the sons to the Fathers.
It’s happening!
Really, this is a matter of semantics and doesn’t really make a difference.
After many discussions of the often quoted saying via St.Francis
Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary use words
I decided to explain why I feel this quote is unbiblical.
First of all, lets just switch this quote around a bit. What if I said that we should preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary act right?
Most people would say that is just wrong. It is totally necessary to act according to the Spirit with a life of holiness.
But for some reason when people use the St. Francis quote is doesn’t bother them that by saying it is unnecessary to preach, with words, the Gospel that they are forgetting the times when Jesus himself said over and over again to preach.
Now I went and did some research into the word preach and this is what I discovered:
The greek word for preach, kēryssō, is used 61 times in the New Testament. That’s a whole bunch of times! Just think…if you have one of those Bibles with the words of Jesus is red….take all that out because that is Jesus preaching. It was necessary for him to preach.
The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon gives this definition for the word preach:
1 to be a herald, to officiate as a herald. 1a to proclaim after the manner of a herald.
Could you imagine a herald who is supposed to go into a city and make an announcement just going into the city and acting as if the announcement is true lets say in a place of business?
If a herald did that he would no longer have a job as a herald. The herald is supposed to announce whatever news he has to the city.
Over and over again when I am in this discussion people will say “but just the other day I had someone come up to me in my work and say you’re really nice or (fill in the blank) or whatever. And I get to tell them I’m a Christian.” And they use this as proof that the St.Francis quote is true. Rarely do I hear someone say that the other day their friend submitted their life to the Lordship of Jesus because of their Christ-like actions in their workplace.
Then again….to be Christ-like to be like Christ. And Jesus Christ preached all the time, everywhere!
I mean….in the last 10 years I’ve probably seen around 200,000 people make decisions to follow Jesus and I didn’t know 99.9% of them! They decided to follow him because they heard the good news of Jesus preached.
Now….I know not all them are following Jesus today. That’s a given…but take a conservative estimate of say 25% (Jesus in his parable of the sower & the seeds said that only 1 out of 4 soils produced fruit) that is still 50,000 people somewhere in the world producing fruit for the Kingdom of God!
This is why I think it is necessary to Preach (with words….outloud) the gospel. It’s how the Kingdom of God is spread over the planet.
Jesus commanded us to preach over and over again in the 4 gospels.
Paul said that people can’t get saved unless they hear the message of the gospel.
The apostles were told to no longer preach in the name of Jesus because the Religious people of their day understood the power of preaching and wanted it to stop. So the believers told them they had to obey God and not man and then cried out for God to enable them to speak his word with boldness. (Acts 4)
Now….
I want to address a misconception that I sense when people are discussing this with me.
They begin to argue like it is an either or type of thing. Either you preach the gospel…..Or you Act right in your place of business.
It’s not an either or thing. It’s a Both And thing.
You are suppposed to act right in your place of business and preach the gospel there too!
Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is speak the truth to someone. Because truth that people know will set them free.
In no way do I want to insult St.Francis…the dude could talk to animals and they would listen to him. That’s really cool and it encourages me to continue to command the sharks to swim away from me anytime I’m in the ocean.
I just believe that ideas produce action.
And this idea that it’s not necessary to preach the gospel is in my opinion a “bad idea” that I see produce bad action.
If we’re to finish the great commission we need to stand up and speak the truth in love.
When talking about the Great Commission many people focus on either the Matthew Great Commission or the Mark Great Commission. Rarely do you ever hear someone talk about both being essential to our calling as Christians.
You’ll hear something like “we need to preach to everybody!”
or
“The Great Commission is about making disciples.”
When it’s really about both.
So here are the two:
15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” Mark 16:15-18
18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go andmake disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
So the Mark passage is all about Preaching to Everyone & the Matthew passage is about teaching or discipling all the nations.
Just a quick note on the Matthew Passage. It says to make disciples of nations. For too long we’ve been content to make disciples in nations when Jesus specifically commanded us to make disciples of nations.
Okay…I digress.
I believe the Mark commission is a generational commission whereas the Matthew commission is a multi-generational commission.
Mark says to preach to every creature in the planet. Lets say you finally find the last person on the planet who needs to hear about the Kingdom and you go up to them and begin to tell them how awesome Jesus is. And you’re so excited because this is the “last person” on the planet!
And while you’re sharing the 4 spiritual laws, or whatever method you prefer, a baby is born at that very second. In fact, in 2008 they figured out that 4 babies are born every second in the world.
So even if you have your gospel presentation down to 10 seconds 40 people have been born around the planet that you now need to go find!
Therefore the Mark Commission is every single generation’s responsibility because it is a perpetual work.
Now the Matthew Commission is a Multi-Generational command. Meaning you can do the work now and it will last 3 generations down the line.
I learned about this from non other than the golden arches, McDonald’s.
You can go to a MickeyD’s anywhere in the world and have the same experience nearly every single time. Ever wonder why?
It’s because this guy named Ray Croc got together with the McDonald brothers years ago and saw that they had something going for them. So Ray asked himself “How can I systematize this process so I can hand the system to a 15 year old kid and they can run it?”
And that’s what he did. He created a system that to this day is used all over the world. They basically sell you a business in a box for a million dollars. You put the system to work and it will work for you.
What does this have to do with the Great Commission?
Everything!
Jesus told us in the Matthew Passage that we are supposed to teach the nations to obey his commands. If Ray can do it with hamburgers; If he can teach a system that to this day works around the world if he’s there or not, surely we can teach a way to obey the commands of Jesus that will work in the nations no matter if we’re still alive or not.
And since we’re lining up the nations to the very design of the creator of the universe. It will work!
Just think…what if we taught Government officials & business men how to really obey the command of Jesus to let your yes be yes, and your no be no. That would make an amazing difference in our planet!
I believe in this so much that I write articles on this site about how to obey the commands of Jesus. I’d love your input also! So go visit those posts and leave a comment!
As I was reading through Matthew I came across a verse that I have been pondering for the last couple weeks:
20 Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.
21 Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.
Jesus is rebuking the cities where he did the most miracles because they had not changed their mind (repent) about the Kingdom and what Jesus was doing.
But the thing that I have been pondering is Jesus said that if the miracles that were done in Capernaum had been performed in Sodom they would have repented?!
Sodom is a famous city for their grotesque sin and they would have repented if they would have seen a level of miracles?
No Fire? No Brimstone? No wifey into a pillar of salt?
Why is it that miracles will cause a sinful city to repent?
I don’t know! If you have an answer please leave it as a comment below!
If I had to guess….
Miracles are a demonstration of a higher power. And I would say the miracles Jesus was doing in their city were of a truly high caliber; Probably deaf, blind, paralytics, maybe even dead people being raised. So when Jesus performs these types of miracles it causes an automatic gut check.
God is here…and I don’t know if I want him in my life or not.
And their decision at that moment is what Jesus was rebuking them for. They chose their own selfish ways instead of submitting to the Kingdom that he was demonstrating.
Why would it have cause Sodom to repent?
I don’t know if there was a demonstration of the greatness of God in that city? There probably wasn’t. If there were miracles in that city It would have been a declaration to that city that the One true God is here and he wants you to submit to him. And according to Jesus they would have repented!
Now…if you’re attempting to reach your city without a demonstration of miracles. I would ask why?
Jesus himself says that the way to reach a city, even a horribly sinful city, is to do public miracles.
In Malcom Gladwell’s book called “the Tipping Point.” He shares 3 principles for causing what he calls a Tipping Point.
The nearest thing to a tipping point is what we call an epidemic. It’s when the momentum for change becomes unstoppable. It’s like a disease that is running through a community and can’t be stopped.
He says the 3 things you need to cause a Tipping point are an infected agent, contagiousness & an environment for that thing to grow.
When he’s talking about contagiousness he calls it the stickiness principle. It’s like that song you can’t get out of your head, or that thing pastor Alan said last week about whiskey (huh?) It’s the ability to cause ideas to be remembered well after the Sunday sermon.
So my question is “Can Jesus Be Sticky?” Meaning is there something we can do today that would cause people to not be able to get Jesus out of their head?
The most common things I find in the Bible for causing news about Jesus to spread are healings, deliverance & prophetic words over people’s lives. I mean, if someone is in a wheel chair and you pray for them in the name of Jesus and they get out of that wheel chair. They will probably have Jesus stuck in their minds for a little while.
But if you get down to the nitty gritty. The heart of the matter is to just love people. And as Jesus says (paraphrased in RK language), it’s easy to love those who love you. It takes God to love those who seem unlovable.
Sometimes something as small as buying someone a $1 cheeseburger will mean the world to them. Or what about calling someone you know you hurt in the past and ask them forgiveness? Or why not pray for the guy in the wheel chair?
It all flows from an act of love!
So…lets get to loving people and seeing Jesus become famous in our community!
