revolutionbrigade.com

Here’s a topic that we’re going to have to discuss at length in the youth group: identity.  In my humble opinion, it’s the root cause of nearly every problem faced by young Christians. It’s the reason that our young women feel as if they have to have a boyfriend to feel valuable.  It’s the reason why our young men fold to peer pressure on issues like drugs and alcohol.  Identity.

It’s a shame, really, considering how much scripture is devoted to who we are in Christ, and perhaps more importantly who Christ is in us.  Here is an abbreviated list of what the scripture says about your identity in Christ:

• You are God’s child (John 1:12)
• You are a friend of Christ (John 15:15)
• You have been chosen by God and adopted as His child (Ephesians 1:3-8)
• You are God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)

Where we so often go wrong is in attempting to make ourselves feel valuable by substituting stuff for our relationship with the Lord.  For instance, surrounding ourselves with friends or drinking alcohol so your friends will think you’re cool.   It’s all extremely powerful to the young mind, but you have access to the real thing: a relationship with the Lord.

That’s only the beginning.  There is so much more that the word says about your identity in Christ.  Does anybody else have any scriptures off of the top of your head that illustrates who you are as a new creation?

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:12)

It’s tough being young. Believe it or not, I was young once also. I remember having been told by the good folks over at the first church that I ever attended that “all things come with time” and that “when I grow up I would make a great preacher.” Then, one day, I stumbled upon this scripture.

In the context of the verse, Paul is telling Timothy not to allow people to look down upon him because he was young. You see, Timothy was a young man, some sources say he was even younger than most of his congregation. Still, Paul encouraged him to keep on keeping on.  Here are three reasons why you can do anything that the Lord has put in your heart to do:

1. Philippians 4:13- “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”  The bible tells us that we can do anything through Christ, who lives in us.  Because you’ve accepted Jesus into your life, you have access to His miracle working power.  It lives within you.  You can do anything that the Lord has placed into your heart because He is with you!

2. Ephesians 3:20- ” Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us…”  This scripture tells us that God can and will do things that will blow your mind, and he wants to do it with and through you.  That’s why the last part of the verse talks about the “power that works within us,” which is Jesus and the Holy Spirit in our life.

3. Acts 17:6- “But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” God wants you to turn the world upside down.  He knows that you won’t achieve that goal unless He gives you power to accomplish things that would seem absurd to the world.  If your vision isn’t revolutionary, get a bigger vision.

I challenge you to pray about what God wants you to do for the Kingdom.  Instead of limiting His power and putting Him in the “box” of traditional thinking, pray about your destiny as if nothing were impossible.  The Lord has power to work miracles.

“Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. And as Christ’s soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army.” (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

There’s so much junk in the way of doing what God has called us to do. As an adult, it’s a little easier. I don’t have to worry about popularity, school, peer pressure, or any of that stuff. Still, I’ve been in your shoes. I know what things conflict you, and what challenges you have to face in order to fulfill your calling.

A “brigade” is a large group of soldiers. Our intention here is to raise up an army of young believers who will be sold out for the cause: to advance the Kingdom and glorify Christ. We chose the military theme on purpose because we recognize that in order to achieve the goals that we’ve set out to accomplish, we have to discipline ourselves and become mentally tough and fully devoted, much like soldiers preparing for war.

When the verse from 2 Timothy above talks about “enduring suffering,” that’s exactly what it means: there is a price to be paid if we are to reach our objective. In a physical war, every inch of ground is bought with the blood of the soldiers who are attempting to advance against the enemy. In our spiritual war, every square inch of ground that we conquer has been purchased by the blood of Jesus, along with our sweat and tears.

I’ve been a real soldier in a real war. I can testify that, while you are fighting, nothing else matters. You can’t worry about what your family is doing back home. You can’t worry about your mom and dad, your girlfriend, or your bank account. The only thing that matters is accomplishing the mission and staying alive. Anything that doesn’t accomplish one of those goals is a distraction, and should be treated as such.

God tells us in the scripture above that, if we hope to accomplish the goals that He has for us, then we need to have a similar devotion to the cause. It also tells us that the only way to please your commanding officer (Jesus) is to set aside every other concern in life and fight the war.

We’ll talk more about this in youth group. Get ready. There’s going to be a battle, and we’re all going to be involved.

For now, if you want to get a head start, you can dive into our basic training posts and start learning the skills of a spiritual warrior

Basic Training: Faith

Basic Training: Grace 

Basic Training: Justification

Basic Training: Sanctification

The Revolution Brigade is the youth ministry of Grace Community Fellowship in Starke, FL. We’re a progressive, spirit-filled church dedicated to equipping the Saints. As such, our youth ministry will be a reflection of the general vision and direction given by the Lord to our Pastor, Greg Pusateri.

If the title of the blog sounds a little militant to you, that’s exactly what we’re shooting for. We’re dealing with a generation of youth who have been assaulted from the word go by the enemy. We intend to fight, and through the dominion given to us by Jesus, we intend to win.

We’re going to be putting a lot more information on this blog over the next couple of weeks in anticipation of our official launch on April 2nd, 2008. Please become a soldier by subscribing to the email feed, and offer up some prayer to the Lord on our behalf. It’s our intention to draw a line in the sand for the cause of Christ. Welcome to the revolution.