Focus: Revolutionary Faith

Text: Heb.11:33

"Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions."

Faith in Christ is a mighty force. It is a catalyst for change. No one remains the same after casting his lot with God and believing in Christ. The Christian faith is not for personal consumption; it is a transformative force in the world. The writer of Hebrews tells us of men who through their faith toppled kingdoms, installed righteousness, claimed God's promises, and stopped the mouth of lions.

Paul is one man whose faith impacted the world around him. His faith worked miracles and produced changes in people's hearts and lives. I said somewhere that real success is not about being able to make something out of your life, and it is about others trying to make something out of you. 

Real success in life is about letting God make something out of your life. By means of our faith God uses us to advance His cause on earth.

In the city of Macedonia, God used Paul to deliver a demon-possessed slave girl. She functioned under the controlling influence of a python spirit. Her masters took advantage of her divining spirit. They used her for monetary gain. They saw her only as a business venture - a means to an end. Luke reports that "when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers" (Act.16:19). Paul brought to a close an evil business empire by the power of his faith. He dealt a terrible blow to Satan and his agents. The people even raised alarm, and said, "These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city…" (Act.16:20). Ahab called Elijah, "The troubler of Israel." Here too, these evil men saw Paul as a trouble maker.

In another place, the people raised alarm, saying, "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also" (Act.17:6). Paul's faith and gospel upset the status quo everywhere he went. His faith served as a catalyst for effecting a new order. He subdued kingdoms and systems by his faith. He would let things remain as they were. Crises erupted when and where Christ was introduced. In the presence of Jesus Christ the old order begins to show cracks and eventually crumbles. Dagon will always fall flat on its face before the ark of God's presence.

A similar thing happened in the city of Ephesus. Those running the cartel business in the area complained and said, "Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth… So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth" (Act.19:25,27). Paul's faith and gospel ruined things for the dealers of idols. The market dropped, and they were at the verge of losing their trade. The cartel fought back to keep their business afloat.

The Christian faith is a counterculture faith. It cannot bow down to the culture of any place or society, and it cannot accept or tolerate the place of a subculture.

For the normal believer in Christ, the subnormal is abnormal. No Christian who knows the onus of his faith can buy into life as it is; he subscribes to life as it ought to be. He lives to make a difference in the world by his faith. He alters the status quo and plants heaven on earth by his faith. Our faith is not only relevant in today's world, but it is also revolutionary. It radically transforms life from what it is to what it is originally meant to be.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter