There is a lot of talk out there about the future of the church. We are losing a generation and that can seem pretty hopeless. The truth is, the church has been here before. Only 3 chapters into the Bible Adam and Eve sin. They get kicked out of the garden because of their misdeed. In the very next chapter one of their kids, kills another one of their kids and suddenly the world population is reduced by 25% in a single murder. Two chapters later the world had gotten so evil, God sent a flood and started over again with Noah. During the exodus from Egypt God allows a whole generation to die in the wilderness but uses their kids to conquer the Promised Land. A little later there is a guy named Elijah who was very upset because the people of God had gotten so enmeshed in Baal worship that Elijah thought he was the only one left who wanted to serve the Lord. God let him in on a little secret. Things were bad, but not as bad as they seemed. God told Elijah that God had preserved 7000 people in Israel who had not worshipped Baal. Fast forward to the New Testament…in the 40s-50s the church was persecuted so heavily that the Christians scattered everywhere. I am sure they lost a few people in the mix but it resulted in the church growing. Later in the first century, the church lost a bunch of people because they were afraid they might be killed for their faith. Still the church grew.
So here is my point. God has been through all of this before. God knows and sees things we don’t. God knows how to bring revival to his people and he will do it, even in spite of us if he has to. I have great hope for the church and for the future because the church is the bride of Christ and God will not ultimately let his bride be defeated, defamed or discouraged. The question for us is this, are we willing to get on board with what God is doing and going to do or will we attempt to hold down the fort and maintain status quo?
