Matthew 16:18 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Every generation seems to think that his/her generation is the worse; that it couldn’t get any worse and so there seems to be little hope for the culture or society as a whole.
By briefly tracing the advancement of the Kingdom of God I want to show, as well as give “hope” to this (and the next) generation that even though the advancement of God’s Kingdom has faced many tribulations, set-backs and huge obstacles over these past two thousand years, it is still here and not giving up – all glory to God. Other earthly kingdoms have come and gone, but the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior will remain forever.
Regarding the past, Stephen Neil said that “throughout the history of the disobedient church and their unfinished task – God has used those disobedient churches to do great things, and brought into being a universal church. Missionaries on the whole have been feeble folk, not very wise, not very holy, not very patient. They have broken most of the commandments and fallen into every conceivable mistake. And yet, God has used their weakness to bring into existence a universal church.
“Missionary societies and churches have run their affairs in a way that would have reduced any ordinary business firm to bankruptcy in a year. They have tolerated rivalry, overlapping waste and imprudence. And yet, God has taken them up with all their follies into His service for the creation of a universal church. Converts on the whole have been terribly disappointing. Some have elapsed, others have grown arrogant and unusable, the majority have sunk down all too quickly into spiritual mediocrity. And yet, with all their failures, they have been God’s front line for the winning of a universal church.”
What of the future? That our Lord Jesus has yet to return, only underscores the incompleteness of the “missionary task.” Indeed, to look abroad throughout the world today is to confront the tragic reality of disobedient churches and its unfinished task. Not that God has failed; for He still desires that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
In the end Almighty God will win. Power is on His side and His heaven rules. No weapon formed against Him will prosper, but how will we do in our generation? Will we finish what is ours to do? What will we leave behind for our children to carry on with – in the advancement of God’s Kingdom? We each need to consider this and then prove faithful.
However, in the midst of all that is taking place today in the world, I do sense an urgency to do what Peter admonished us to do. 2 Peter 3:12 “looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat.”
The best way to describe the history of the advancement of the Kingdom of God is going from TERROR TO TRIUMPH.
We need to look forward to, and speed that day when Jesus comes to judge righteously. This world will only be set right by judgment and the only One that can judge righteously is the Lord Jesus Christ. So, come Lord Jesus!