CAPA Corner: The Resolution is a Revolution!

    Do you remember one of the AT&T commercials a few months ago with the man and the children sitting around a small school table? He asked them, “What’s better – more reliable or less reliable?”  The children answer, “More reliable.” “Why?,” the man asks. One of the children replies, “So you can keep your New Year’s Revolution.”   “Oh no, what are you going to do?,” asks the man.  “I would have more jellybeans this year,” answers the child.  The commercial ends with the man saying, “So it’s not so much a revolt – you’re just eating things that are bad for you.”
    “…your New Year’s Revolution.” Out of the mouth of babes. Do I dare ask how the New Year’s Resolution is going?  Many of us have decided to improve upon our life.  We want to get rid of the bad things in our life and bring about and strengthen the good things in our life.  May I make a suggestion? The Resolution to your life is to have a Revolution in your life.  Putting it simply, a resolution is a firm decision to do or not to do something.  But if we look at a revolution regarding our spiritual lives, we would see the need to revolt against our sinful flesh.  Look at this definition of revolution:
    Revolution: the fundamental change in political organization; esp.: the overthrow or renunciation of one government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed.
    In a spiritual sense, who governs you? Who governs your heart, mind, thoughts, tongue, behavior, or attitude?  Do you govern these things or do you allow the power of the Holy Spirit to govern you?  All through God’s holy word we are commanded to trust him and not ourselves.  We see in the Old Testament that God’s own people set up false idols and altars trusting in themselves and not the one true God.  God commands them to overthrow the false idols and altars.  He didn’t suggest to them that they needed to make a decision, but commanded them to remove the idols from power by force (Exodus 23:20-25; Deuteronomy 12:1-3).  In Matthew 21:12, Jesus enters into the temple of God and overthrows the tables of the money changers, and the seats of those that sold doves. Talk about revolutionary.  Have you allowed Christ to enter your temple and revolutionize your life?  Or have we invited Christ in our life to join in with the rest of the idols and altars not overthrowing anything, but thinking a decision for Christ was enough?  Our God is a jealous God and he will not share you with any other. He demands complete devotion from us.
    Another key word in that revolution definition is renunciation.  We need to renounce, reject, abandon, and repent from the spiritual government of sin we have allowed to rule over us.    Jesus says in John 8:34, “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”  Let us no longer be servants of sin, but servants of righteousness.  Let us “renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God (II Cor. 4:2).” We are a month and a half into the new year, but that should not deter us from making the Resolution in our life into a Spiritual Revolution. Call upon Jesus to enter your temple and let him overthrow those things that displease our heavenly Father.  
    “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end…” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Kenny Kepper
Pastor, Berean Ministries