Whew. 

Can we all take a collective deep breath? 

Exhale…

When the protests in Nairobi began in June, I asked the Lord a simple question: “Is this You? Are You in this?”

I’ve lived long enough to know that nothing is ever only what you see on the surface. So I’m never in a rush to assume or conclude anything. 

His response began with a telling statement: “Revolutions and revivals are not the same thing.”

Revolution: 

• activity or movement designed to effect fundamental changes in the socioeconomic situation

• a fundamental change in political organization, especially: the overthrow or renunciation of one government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed. 

• a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something: a change of paradigm

Merriam Webster Dictionary

Revival: 

• renewed attention to or interest in something; a new presentation or publication of something old

Merriam Webster Dictionary

The first revolution happened in the heavens. Lucifer decided he didn’t like God’s way of doing things and tried to overthrow Him. It was a futile effort that landed him and his comrades kicked out of heaven. Since then, he’s been on a mission to usurp as much power as he can from the children of men. 

All men are made in the image and likeness of God. Even those of us who don’t believe in His existence or ascribe to His tenets. That means we all have a form of Godliness that is powerful. Powerful enough to do grand things…even outside of relationship with God. 

We’ve seen it across humanity with some of the most creative and innovative work coming from people who don’t even believe God exists. Yet, their lives still bear the unique mark of His intricate handiwork.

At best, revolutions are humanity’s sincere attempt to fix a broken world. But all the sincerity in the world doesn’t change the truth that the problems we see in the world around us have their genesis in the spiritual realm. Until we address these issues on a spiritual level, we’re stuck dealing with symptoms that seem to briefly go away only to resurface worse than ever.

It is not good for a person to be without knowledge, and he who hurries with his feet [acting impulsively and proceeding without caution or analyzing the consequences] sins (misses the mark). The foolishness of man undermines his way [ruining whatever he undertakes]; Then his heart is resentful and rages against the Lord [for, being a fool, he blames the Lord instead of himself].

Proverbs 19:2-3 AMP

We would do well as younger generations to study the history of the generations that have preceded us before dismissing them as irrelevant failures. It’s a foolish man who has to learn through painful experience what he could easily have gained from submitting to the wisdom of an elder. 

Here’s a truth that needs to be said even if we don’t want to hear it: No change in laws, systems, pressure, people, positions, etc instituted and enforced outside of God can fully get rid of corruption. Because corruption isn’t a governance issue. It’s a spiritual issue. One that stems from the corruption of human nature in Eden. 

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23 NKJV

When Adam and Eve chose to go against God’s instruction, they corrupted the original pristine nature God had designated for all humanity. That’s why Paul would state that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 

Sin isn’t just an action; it’s a condition that comes from departing from God’s will which results in us missing the mark. Having a corrupted nature means that it’s not a question of if you do wrong but when. We all like to think we’re incapable of wrong until the day the right set of circumstances prove otherwise.

A revolution whose genesis is men can only carry a form of godliness that for all it is able to accomplish still has no power to transform the corrupt human nature. Because the seed of the flesh cannot bear the fruit of righteousness. Flesh brings forth flesh. You only need to study past revolutions to see the tragic losses experienced and the outcomes that are often far from what was intended. For whatever rises on the strength of men equally falls on their weakness. 

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV

Those in the world will fight for change the best way they know how including revolutions. That’s their prerogative. Even where the enemy tries to hijack things, God can turn things around for good. Just as He used the likes of King Cyrus, He can use elements of man’s works to advance His purpose. But the standard for us as believers is far higher and weightier. 

Revival is one of the patterns God uses for transformation. It comes to address corruption from a spiritual level and its fruit of change is manifested in the natural for all men to see. Revival introduces and reinforces the governance of God on three key fronts: individual, institutional and territorial. 

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever….

1 Peter 1:22-23 NKJV

First, the individual man must be changed from the inside out. This is what it means to be born again. To have the seed of corruption inherently found in each of us replaced by the incorruptible seed of Christ. To regain the capacity we had in Eden to not only do good but actually have a righteous nature like God.

True repentance comes with a change of heart (nature) not merely a change of actions. A thief can decide to stop stealing for some time. He doesn’t get rid of the nature of a thief; he just ceases the action of theft. So all it would take is the right set of circumstances for him to fall back into old patterns. 

Take that same thief and introduce him to Christ. And you’re no longer dealing with a thief. You have a new man whose nature has been transformed from within. That part of him that rendered him easily capable of theft is nailed to the Cross and he gets the opportunity to adopt the nature God always intended for him to have. Even when temptations and pressures to steal come his way, they find a different man altogether who, standing on the strength of Christ, can surmount them all. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-25 NKJV

This critical transformation of nature is why one of the hallmarks of revival is the salvation of many – where those who are in the world encounter Christ and are eternally transformed. That said, revival isn’t just for sinners. If anything, when God ushers in a season of revival, consecration must begin in His people – the Church. If I am not in step with the Spirit of God as a Christian, I can still end up falling short of the glory of God. Revival stretches even the most committed believer because it calls for a greater manifestation of the finished work of Christ in all of us.

Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, [And] revive me in Your way.

Psalm 119:37 NKJV

We – the sons of God whose nature is transformed by and submitted to Christ – are meant to take revival to the nations – to the institutions and territories we are part of and sent to by Him. Such that there is continued increase of the government of Christ and His peace in these areas. Unlike human governments, the government of Christ is born of the incorruptible nature of Christ and can therefore withstand every expression of corruption evidenced in failures of man-made systems. It has the power, authority and capacity to transform every aspect of creation from its very core. This is far more than cosmetic change. It’s a complete overhaul and restitution of divine identity and nature. 

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11 NKJV

Having disarmed principalities and powers, He (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Colossians 2:15 NKJV

Change is possible through many means but only change done in and through Christ can stand the test of time and the temptations of the age. Only Christ and those in Him have the power to prevail against the spiritual darkness that continues to cover the earth and people. That’s why lasting change requires the active participation of the sons of God.

It is not for the world to define who the Church should be in the process of change. It’s not even for the Church to decide how we ought to bring about change. That mandate belongs to Christ and Him alone as the Head of the Church. It is from Him that our marching orders need to come from. Now more than ever we need to follow the pattern of Christ. 

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalm 46:10 NKJV

In a time when some are claiming to be the voice of the people and others the voice of God, it’s imperative that we learn the way of stillness. 

It is in stillness that we learn to distinguish between the voice of the people and the voice of God. They are not the same thing. If anything, God is rarely found with the majority. 

It is in stillness that we find God and in so doing discern those He has mandated to carry His word and carry out His work. Unity is not sameness. We can work differently towards the same goal. 

It is in stillness that we know the times and seasons we are in and gain wisdom and understanding of what we ought to do. For as we are transformed as individuals in Christ, we must then extend that transformation to the institutions and territories we are part of. Right from our families, communities, schools, workplaces and even our nation. If our transformation within does not result in transformation around us, it is incomplete. That is why the Church must proverbially leave the building. But not in the ways some have imagined and even demanded. 

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Hosea 6:9 NKJV

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mark 8:36-37 NKJV

What does it profit us to gain a better nation but lose our souls in the process? What is the point of a pyrrhic victory which costs so many so much that the sting of loss far outweighs any respite that comes with a win? Why fight men when the true enemy is spirit not flesh? What happens when the men leave but the principalities remain? Why contend out of frustration and desperation as though Lucifer still stands a chance when he was whopped spectacularly in the heavens and on the earth? There is a more excellent albeit less popular way. 

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV

Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

Revelations 11:15 NKJV

No one can stop the change that is coming in the nations of the earth including our own. Not because men have willed it to be so. But because it is a decree from the throne of God. It is a manifestation of Christ’s victory on the Cross. What is a reality in the heavens is now being made a tangible reality on the earth. 

God’s word will not return to Him void.

To the grieving, may the Lord deeply comfort you. 

To the wounded and broken, may the Lord give you both healing and wholeness. 

To the lost, angry and confused, may the Lord grant you direction and peace.

To the weary, may the Lord strengthen you for the journey ahead. 

To Kenya, this beloved nation I have the privilege to call home, you will live to declare the works of the Lord throughout the ages. You are in every way the springboard for revival God has ordained you to be. No effort by spirit or flesh will subvert that. 

To you reading this, I pray that whatever stand you decide to take in these precarious times, you will be found on the side of God building in victory according to His pattern. 

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Matthew 7:24-27 NKJV