The Revolution Brigade

In Revelation Chapter 2, Jesus calls the church at Thyatira to refuse to allow all forms of immorality in their midst.  Immorality is all sexual activity that is outside the marriage covenant, whether heterosexual or homosexual.  It includes all areas of life; physical, verbal, or technological (Internet).

Immorality in the church grieves Jesus’ heart, injures our heart and family (natural and spiritual), and grants Satan “legal doors of access” into our lives.  Immorality causes Jesus to lose part of His inheritance and investment in His people as well as part of their inheritance in Him.  It acts as a barrier to the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and makes it impossible to fully grasp the fullness of God’s glory in our lives.

The scripture promises that judgement begins in God’s house (1 Peter 4:17), and that if we will judge ourselves, we will not be judged by God (1 Peter 11:31). 

A Radical Christian will do anything to remove the barriers that prevent him or her from coming closer to Jesus.  The Revolution Brigade, as a community of radical Christians, is committed to supporting every member in their decision to become and stay pure before the Lord.  As such, we endorse the following Purity Covenant, as adopted from IHOP and The Call:

7 Personal Commitments Before The Lord:

Commitment #1:  I refuse to participate in conversations that promote or joke about immorality.  If I do speak this way, I will confess to those I was conversing with that I have sinned.

Commitment #2: For men and women.  I commit to wear modest clothing that in no way promotes sensuality.  I will “occasionally” ask a Godly believer who does not dress the way that I do if my clothing is too revealing (too tight, too short, etc).

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Our the United States, our Special Forces Soldiers go through some of the toughest training known to man.  They are physically challenged, mentally challenged, and emotionally challenged.  They are deprived of sleep, denied food, and pushed to the limits of human endurance.  The result is one of the toughest, most devoted fighting forces known to man.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see where I’m going with this one.

We have conceptualized an indoctrination course for our SAPPER program.  We’re calling it “Boot Camp.”  It will be physically tough.  It will be spiritually tough.  We will deny ourselves food and comfort for the sake of the Kingdom.  We’ll do several weeks of intense discipleship training, topped off my an expeditionary CAPSTONE to a foreign country where we’ll engage in intercession and spiritual combat on a live deployment.

Many people will not have the commitment and devotion to duty that it takes to complete this course.  It will be the most demanding thing many of us have ever undertaken.  The only thing I can promise is that it will be an adventure.

If you’re interested in something this radical, sound off!

I’m writing a series on Radical Christianity, what it’s about, who it’s for, and what are the goals of the movement.  Today we’re going to talk about the agenda.  Why is it that we devote our lives to prayer, fasting, and radical consecration?  As with any movement in the body of Christ, it’s difficult to generalize why a large group of people do what they do.  I can, however, speak about the specific goals of our expression of radical faith here at the Revolution Brigade.  We have several goals:

1) To draw near to the Lord.  We love prayer and fasting here at the Revolution Brigade.  We pray for revival.  We fast for the Lord to raise up an army of young people who will be totally sold out for the cause.  But, the revival is not the reward for prayer and fasting.  The movement is not the reward.  The reward is the intimacy with Jesus that we get from removing the barriers of the flesh from between us and Him.   Revival and the Militant Faith Movement are just nice byproducts of our awesome relationship with Jesus.  Radical Christianity is more about the King than it is about the Kingdom.

2) Raise a Prophetic Army. We believe that it is the Lord’s desire to raise an end-time prophetic army that will burn with a pure passion and devotion to His cause.  We believe that this army of prayer warriors will be instrumental in ushering in the coming of Christ because of their fanatical devotion to the bridegroom God.  We exist to recruit, train, and equip the forward-most elements of this army.  Radical Christianity is about strapping on your combat boots and doing something for God.

3) Expeditionary Love. We eat, sleep, and breathe a love for the nations.  We desire to see the knowledge of God’s glory fill the whole Earth, as the water covers the seas.  We will get “expeditionary” in our love for the nations.  In other words, we’ll go places and do things that will cause the nations to turn to Christ.  We’re raising an Army.  Armies fight.  We will contend for the nations through crack squads of intercessory masters, raised up and equipped through the anointing of the Holy Spirit for world-changing prayer.  Radical Christianity is about exporting God’s love to the entire world.

4) Awaken a sleeping generation.  If the Revolution Brigade is the “spiritual special forces” of the coming Nazarite Army, then the rest of the generation will be the general infantry.  We believe that this generation is the “valley of bones” spoken of in Ezekiel chapter 37, and we are prophesying to them to wake up, stand up, and receive flesh.  The world sees dry bones, but we see an army.  Radical Christianity is about seeing with the Lord’s eyes and believing in people.

You don’t know who you’re messing with.  This thing is for real.  The Militant Faith Movement is on the scene.

In Ezekiel chapter 37, there is a prophecy concerning a valley full of dry bones.  The Lord shows the bones to Ezekiel and commands him to prophecy life to the bones.  Ezekiel speaks the word of the Lord, and the Lord raises up an Army, attaching flesh and tendons to the dry bones until they become men once again.

I believe that we have arrived at a pivotal moment in history.  The stage is set for the rise of the Lord’s end-time prophetic army.  Never has a generation of young people been so apathetic, so calloused, and so disinterested in the things of God.  My belief is that this generation IS a valley of dry bones, wasting away beneath the hot sun of the status quo and waiting for a prophet to speak life into them.

“I’m just radical enough to believe that God can use me as the prophet.”

Radical Christianity was intended for every single believer who ever accepted Jesus into their heart.  The very nature of the gospel is radical.  Radical love.  Radical sacrifice.  Radical power.  Jesus revolutionized a culture in the space of three years of public ministry because of the uncompromising, in-your-face nature of the truth that He spoke.   He was a revolutionary.

We tend to think of radical Christians as fringe dwellers, way out on the edge of faith and purity with their fasting and devotion, their love and belief in the Word of God.   In truth, every single human being was intended to go off the deep end in their journey with the God who created us all.  Radical faith is not an innovation.  It’s the way life was intended to be by the giver of life.

You’re looking at prayer and fasting as a major imposition and interruption to your life, but the truth is that if you’re not praying and fasting you’re not yet living life the way that it was intended to be lived.  You’re not sold out yet because you’ve not yet experienced Jesus as the center of your being.  He was never intended to be “fit in” to your schedule, marginalized by your endless to-do list.

Radical Christianity is for YOU.  It’s for all of you.  Every one of you.  Period.

The world needs a new definition of radical Christianity.  The term “radical” evokes visions of suicide bombers strapped with explosive on their chests in a bus full of people, but that’s the farthest thing from what we’re after.   Let’s look at the terms individually from Dictionary.com:

radical: thoroughgoing or extreme, esp. as regards change from accepted or traditional forms: a radical change in the policy of a company.

Christian: literally, little Christ; of, pertaining to, or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings.

Radical Christianity is not a tool for terrorizing the nation.  It’s an extreme application of the basic biblical teachings of Jesus.  Prayer, fasting, extreme worship, and total consecration.  Radical Christianity is a commitment to live above the influence of “religion” and pursue relationship with Jesus.

Matthew 11:12 tells us that, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”  The violence mentioned here is fervency of spirit, devotion to apprehending the fullness of God’s glory on Earth, and commitment to the calling of the bride of Christ.  Prayer and fasting has the same effect on the spiritual realm that a bomb has on the physical realm.

When I think of a radical christian, I think of somebody who loves the Kingdom more than he loves himself.   I think of somebody who’s willing to do anything to draw nearer to Jesus.   I think of a person who will stop at nothing to see the nations discipled.  I think of somebody who is willing to devote their time, money, and blood to the cause of the kingdom.

Radical Christians believe that when the Word says it, that settles it.  It’s amazing, but I sometimes think that most Christians don’t think the bible is true.

Radical Christians pray reckless prayers like “God, give us the nations.”  They are also willing to go out and reap the harvest.

Radical Christians spend more time in prayer than on the Xbox.

Radical Christians devour God’s word.  They can’t get enough.

Radical Christians love radically.  Jesus loved the world with perfect compassion, and gave himself for it.

Radical Christians would rather save money for a missions trip than buy a new pair of shoes.

You get the point.

I’ve been literally bombarded with friends, acquaintances, and passers-by who are lamenting the loss of a relationship with the opposite sex.  Some of them are living lives where it seems that no relationship ever works out.  Many of my acquaintances have gone through relationship after relationship only to continually face break-ups, rejection, and heartache.

I’m going to revive an old principle here, and most of you will blatantly reject it.  I’m fine with that.  I already know that you think you know best about your life, and that’s probably the attitude that has resulted in the situation in which you currently find yourself.  I pray that you will find peace.  But, for some of you, you’ll hear what I have to say here today and it will change your life.

You’ve asked yourself, “Why do my relationships never seem to work out?  Why can’t I find that special someone?  Am I supposed to be alone?”

My answer is not the kind that people talk about at parties.  The conciliatory response of, “Don’t worry, you’ll find somebody eventually” will not be uttered here today.  My belief, and the belief of many who associate with me, is that some people are not supposed to be married, have kids, and live happily ever after.

Some people are called to be eunuchs for the Kingdom of God.

I submit that the reason you’ve never been able to find a partner who lives up to your standard is because you’ve been fearfully and wonderfully made by a creator who set his own perfection in your heart as your default standard for love.  You were created to transcend the limits of “worship” and find romance with your creator.  You’re called to be a warrior, totally devoted to nothing but your King, who will also become your husband in the last days.

I’ve actually heard a gay man tell me, “I’m gay.  I just never liked girls, you know?”  That doesn’t mean you’re gay!  It means that you were intended to devote your life to something else besides the status quo of a wife, a dog, and 2.5 children.  You were supposed to engage the globe with the Gospel of Christ.  Did the thought ever occur to you that God didn’t want you to have a wife so that you could be free to travel to Zimbabwe on a moment’s notice for the Kingdom?  Come on!

I swear to you, if these words are registering with you today, you will never find happiness outside of Jesus.  You have a God-shaped hole in your being, and no man or woman will ever fill it.  You might as well surrender now and live loved.

God loves you with a perfect love, and you will begin to grasp the extent of that love when you totally devote your life to worshipping Him.  Prayer, fasting, and late nights of fervent worship will replace myspace, facebook, and the bar and club scene.  Why?  Because true love causes you to change things.  Mark my words.

If this is you, ask me how it works.

Part of what we’re doing here on this blog is casting a vision for what we believe is our expression of intercession.  You can log in to the forum and take a look at the extended version of the SAPPER vision, but the term is an acronym which stands for Stragegic Application of Prayer and Personal sacrifice Evoking Repentance.

In military terms, a SAPPER is a combat engineer trained to destroy enemy fortifications and clear the way for the infantry to advance.  Likewise, a Revolution Brigade SAPPER is a highly trained intercessor whose mission is to destroy strongholds, bind demonic influences, and prepare the way for the Apostolic ministry to come forth and change nations.

Due to the nature of this type of ministry, it’s absolutely essential that SAPPERS be selfless, radically devoted  prayer warriors who possess an over-the-top anointing for prayer ministry forged by living a fasted lifestyle in communion with the Lord.   Their mission is to go into a country….with just their squad…..and do spiritual battle with principalities and powers that rule over the region.  It’s not childs play.

Our vision is to begin mobilizing teams of SAPPERS in advance of the international missions trips of Greg Pusateri, our Apostolic father here at the Revolution Brigade, by the end of the year.  You heard me right.  The end of the year. Their mission will be to travel to whatever country Greg is going to, and to demolish any spiritual opposition to the Gospel that may be in place using the tools of prayer and fasting.

Ideally, each squad would have members who major in intercession, prophetic ministry, word of wisdom/knowledge, and discerning of spirits, as well as a helps specialist to coordinate the arrival and itinerary of the missionary “infantry.”  The model is taken from the military “Advon” team, which is an highly trained team of specialists who proceed any major military deployment into a foreign country for the purpose of preparation and intelligence gathering.

It’s warfare.  It’s missions.  What’s not to love?  Now, who is hard core enough to embrace that vision?

This website is not for…

The casual observer – If you are the kind of person that just wants to be “hidden in the herd” and obscured by the status quo, then this website is not for you because we are searching for those who want to stand out .

The apathetic – If you have no concern for God and His kingdom, the condition of the world, the state of the church, and the purpose for your life, see ya’.

The lazy – If you are just looking for the path of least resistance through life, then keep on moving because you will find no accomodation here.

The comfortable – If “comfortable Christianity” and entertaining programs are on your agenda, then I would encourage you to find a youth group somewhere with an air-conditioned building, padded chairs, video games, and a baby-sitter for a youth pastor.

The faithless – Please, all you dummies who want to argue about the existence of God, we will not waste our time reading your comments so don’t bother posting them.

The non-adventurous and fearful - If thoughts of leaving the country (U.S.) to do something radical to advance the kingdom of God cause you to tremble and doubt, then you will probably be better off staying home and watching tv or riding around with your friends talking about stuff that doesn’t matter.

We are looking for a few good, young men and women with a burning passion for God, who want to go beyond the status quo that has been imposed on their generation. Those who want to pursue a purposeful life and are not afraid to pay the price to get it. Those who would like to be challenged to a higher call to worship and pray like never before. Those who are not afraid to put it all on the line to follow God wherever He wants to lead them.

Where are you?

I know you are out there somewhere…