Thursday, April 21, 2011

Victoria Boyson: If You Hunger for Revival, Remember Gal. 3:28

       "There is (now, no longer) neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" Galatians 3:28(emphasis mine).
Galatians 3:28 is like a book containing the keys to life's greatest blessings and happiness that have been lost on a shelf waiting for the Bride of Christ to discover the depth of treasure it possesses.Truly, this Scripture holds the power to release a massive worldwide revival and transform the Church as we know it.
        When I read it, it makes me want to sing, "Red and yellow, black and white they are precious in His sight." But it's not a fluffy children's song. It's a stick of dynamite. And if we will embrace it, it will completely rock our world. Literally!
The Lord showed me what was truly meant by this Scripture. He said, "This is true revival. This is what My end-time Bride will look like – what makes her without spot or wrinkle. This is what Heaven looks like."
      When God looks at you, He sees Jesus – plain and simple. He does not see your race, sex or social standing – He sees His Son's Blood covering you. To Him, we all look alike. Yes, He knows us each separately and intimately, but, through Christ, we are made equal. He doesn't see race or sex – to Him it doesn't matter, and if we want to be like Christ, it won't matter to us either.
      How we treat people does matter to God. That is why He spends so much time talking about it. Seeing Galatians 3:28 manifest in our lives is important to Him, because He knows the hindering power of pride and wants desperately to free us from it. For "He is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6) and He wants to pour out His grace and favor on us!
      The Lord's heart explodes with joy when His beloved seeks to please Him by loving without bias. Yet, how deeply grieved He is when He sees His lovely Bride allowing discrimination to be a part of their lives. Indeed, we show the world how to love everyday and our love should exemplify His.
       Racism, sexism and nepotism are not the way of God's Kingdom, and when Christ talks about His Bride being without spot or wrinkle (see Ephesians 5:27), He is talking about a Church that shows no partiality, and loves without hesitancy. This is what He's leading us to – to become His beautiful spotless Bride who loves as He loves.
       When the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-37) took such wonderful care of the man who'd been attacked on his way to Jerusalem, it showed those around him how they should be living. The priest and the Levite were known to be Godly men, yet did nothing for the injured man. The Samaritans were known for their degradation and violent culture, yet he went out of his way to help the man recover from the attack  he refused to walk away.
     What Christ was trying to reveal through this parable was what truly mattered to Him. It doesn't matter to Him if you are a scholar, pastor, or teacher, but that you are revealing the character of Christ through your actions. By loving without conditions, we reveal Christ on Earth  we are bringing Heaven to Earth. People believe what we do much more than what we say, and to some, we may be the only Bible they will ever read.
     But honestly, what does Galatians 3:28 really look like? It looks like equality. It looks like being absolutely treated as an equal with the same equal status and capabilities. We should not look at anyone and judge him or her to be inferior or to disqualify them by their race, gender or social status, nor value them by how much money they have. To do so would be to discriminate against them, as though God Himself created them inferior.
     It is quite clear that Christ came to dismantle the traditions of men and show us how to love in His Church. Galatians 3:28 simply destroys all the man made levels or sects of society and gives to each human being the gift of absolute equality. Through Christ, the curse of the fall (or the curse of where you came from) is broken.      
      Sadly, many times we turn a blind eye to the Scripture in James that says, "If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, 'You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor'  well, doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?" (James 2:3-4).
      We need to think about and be reminded of the basic truths of Christ's mission – to liberate the captives. And those who are held by the slavery of discrimination should especially find freedom in us, the Church. It should be our Kingdom mission to see that they are raised up and encouraged to do the "greater works" Christ spoke about.  [Part of message deleted for brevity, see http://elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=9805 to read all.]
       Some of the biases in the Church today have their origins, not in God's Word, but in traditions. Truly, if we want God's Spirit, yet we don't like the vessel it is coming through, we don't really want His Spirit after all, do we? If we are hungry for Him, we will toss out our traditions and embrace God's blessing.
        Truly, God beams with pride when His children willingly embrace the full measure of Galatians 3:28. For anywhere women, the poor or minorities are protected and treated as equals, God shows up. What joy and freedom we flow in when we allow our hearts to love unconditionally, without bias; what supernatural power we unleash as we embrace the liberty of this compelling Scripture.
       So, dear friends, if you hunger for revival, remember Galatians 3:28! If you want more of God, remember Galatians 3:28! If you want God's glorious miracle-working power evident in your life, remember Galatians 3:28! Galatians 3:28 is simply and truly LOVE! And God IS love!
Victoria Boyson
Speaking Life Ministries

Email: victoria@boyson.org

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