RADICAL FOR GOD

In the Scriptures, Nazirites were people of extreme devotion to God who, among other things, left their hair uncut as a mark of their consecration. Another characteristic of Nazirites was that they did not drink wine or eat raisins or grapes, all of which represented the sweet pleasures of life. Abstaining in this way from the product of the grape was a Nazirite’s way of saying that none of the pleasures of this life could equal the pleasure of knowing God intimately.

Persons of similar bent are arising in the Church today. Although they may not necessarily bear any visible outward mark of their identity, such as long hair, like their counterparts of old, these new radicals for God have a strong sense that they are called and set apart for a holy purpose. God has marked them as Nazirites.

God is calling forth Nazirites to arise - a generation who are burning with zeal for God and a jealousy for His good name, who are ready to stand in the gap for their country and say, "Enough of the prophets of Baal! No more compromise! Enough of abortion, drugs and violent crime that are destroying our generation! We will not run, we will not give in, we will not quit until all the "altars to Baal" are removed from our land!"

The time has come for Nazirites to arise in Malaysia to fast and pray for revival and to stand firm against the forces of darkness and godlessness in the land.

A Nazirite would not eat grapes or raisins or drink wine or grape juice. Why not? What does abstaining from these things have to do with radical separation to God?
Wine is the symbol of natural joy - grapes, the source of God-given sweetness and pleasure. For the Nazirite, they denied themselves the legitimate pleasure of this life in exchange for the extreme pleasure of knowing God. Nazirites would not allow anything to occupy their thoughts or hold their affection more than God. He was their everything.

A Nazirite would have their hair uncut. This made them stand out plainly in the midst of the people. Long hair symbolized the strength of their commitment to God, made them accountable to others for their faithfulness to their vow, and served as a public mark of their consecration. Keeping their hair long reminded Nazirites that the eyes of both God and men were on them. It encouraged them to walk carefully before the Lord.

Nazirites were forbidden by their vow to come into contact with anything that was dead, including members of their own family. This prohibition symbolized 2 things. First it spoke of abstaining from anything that would bring death to their soul, anything that could usurp their passion or pollute their power. Secondly, it referred to renouncing dead works and legalism.

This kind of sacrifice, this kind of extreme commitment to God, was not to be performed as a dead religious duty, but out of passion. To a Nazirite, religion was not cold formalism and dead tradition but a relationship with a living God that was full of vibrant life and characterized by eager obedience. Nazirites sacrificed themselves and served the Lord not because they had to but because they wanted to.

Extracted from Elijah’s Revolution "The Call to Passion and Sacrifice for Radical Change" by Jim Goll and Lou Engle. (Have changed certain words to make it relevant to us)