The Revolution: Of the Heart, From the Heart

by Tom Johnston

The great harvest of souls we all seek – and Jesus desires – can only come as God works a great transformation in His Church. Not just a change of systems, or of formats, or of ministries and programs, or ways of holding services, but of true inward transformation of our hearts. We all know a revolution is needed in the Church so a revival can happen in the world. But this revolution is not simply structural, but takes place within the heart of every Christian leader and disciple.

I was confronted in my devotional reading recently by Luke 6:46 (ESV):

"Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

Ouch. We need to own this one. I need to own this one. Jesus goes on to speak about how if we do what He says we will have a firm foundation for life, standing up to the floods which come. Amazing. The Church in the West is being washed away by the floods of culture and irrelevance, among other things. People in the Church have lives which are as much storm-damaged as those outside. The stats indicate little difference, or in other words – little true transformation.

But there is hope – all we need to do is return to the firm foundation of the commands of Christ. Now, I am not making some pitch here for some kinds of return to doctrinal “purity” or “orthodoxy” (whatever that means to you in your stream of the church - I hope you are already there!), or a certain perspective on Scripture. But rather a return to orthopraxy – actually doing what Jesus said to do. Seem too simple? Read on.

Here is my point. Jesus statement in 6:46 falls just after the Sermon on the Mount, the ethical teaching of Jesus – you know, care for the poor, treat others like you want to be treated, don’t be judgmental or critical, be forgiving, show love to those who hate you. That’s right, we know this stuff. But do we really, as the Church, do it? (And are we really the Church if we don’t? But that’s another article.) The real issue Jesus is pointing out here is the heart – when it is good, goodness flows from the life. When it is bad, rottenness flows (6:43-45). It is the heart issue which He is speaking to – not just the behavior. We so often seek to modify our own behavior and the behavior of those we minister to (Pavlov did this once with some dogs), but what Jesus is talking about is a heart which is devoted to the King and His Kingdom – “Why do you call me, Lord, Lord…”

The Revolution must first come to our hearts – we must be taken captive by the King:

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14, ESV)

From our hearts the Revolution of the Kingdom can spread to those around us in the Church, and then to the world. Goodness is infectious, hope contagious, love exemplified is unstoppable. Holy passion for people, birthed in us by the Spirit of Christ Jesus, will be what motivates us all to engage in His mission of reaching those who have yet to love Him. If the Church in the West can just become revolutionized in its’ heart, a spiritual awakening/revival/revolution will occur, and the West will be won (one?) again for Christ.

May your heart be revolutionized, again and continually, by Jesus. May you become a Kingdom revolutionary of goodness, of light, of love. May we all be empowered with such passion for Christ and from Christ that we live a simple and authentic faith, doing the good works of Jesus, living as an example to the world around us.