You cannot deny, Jesus was straight gangster (go with me on this one) — He was born in the ghetto, nobody really knew who the father was, and His inner circle was made up of criminals and prostitutes. He was always in trouble with the law, was killed by a mob and now everyone writes songs about Him…
One of His greatest mic drop moments was in Luke 4:16–21 when He casually announced on a Sunday in church that He is the fulfilment of old prophecies.
Taking His turn to read from the scrolls, He reads a section of Isaiah 61 and then stops reading, hands the scroll back and announces confidently: “You’ve just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place.” — You cannot say that is not straight gangster.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” — Luke 4:18–19
Everything Jesus did went against the grains of society. He was a king yet surrounded himself with commoners. He spoke of finding life by dying to self and told people to become rich by giving everything away. He stood for what mattered and stood with those who didn’t matter. He did all that was possible to break the rules of the religious and He strongly advocated for the value and dignity of women and children. He was the original freedom fighter.
The gospel is a message of freedom. We know this first-hand because we have been made free. We have experienced the joy of liberation. We were dead and now we are alive. We were lost and now we are found.
We have been gifted freedom with the purpose of ensuring others too find freedom. If God’s mission is to liberate the world, that must also be our mission.
We too must show dignity to all and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. We too must fight to free people from sin, Satan, and suffering. We too must declare good news to people, healing those with sad hearts and comforting all who are filled with sorrow. We are called to live in freedom and to be freedom fighters.
True freedom fighters aren’t vagabond renegades running rebellions in their own names. Rather, they are planted, faithful and intimate followers of Jesus fighting under the authority of the Holy Spirit. They are confident in calling because they know true freedom comes through submission to God.
You have been revived for a reason. You have been revived to fight for freedom, the question is, are you a planted, faithful, and intimate follower of Jesus? Do you know and use the authority you have in the Holy Spirit?
Revival is not just a flash in the pan moment, but a reviving for true effectiveness. You have been revived to declare freedom, to tell society a better narrative, to stand for what you believe, to bring change and to live on mission, in Jesus’ name.
Reuben Skewes is an Australian pastor’s kid by birth, a graphic designer by trade and a husband and father by choice. He spent many years working with troubled teens, served as a pastor in his local church and currently is pioneering new ways to combine mission and technology to share Jesus.
