"Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Revelation 5:9-10
Do you believe these things? Has the kingdom of the world really become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ? Maybe you can trust that Christ has made us a kingdom and priests to God in a personal, private, spiritual way, but will we reign on the earth, a seemingly public affair? That's a pretty bold statement to believe.
The devil and the world tell us that Christianity is on the way out. The Church is a tired old institution that has nothing positive to say to the modern world. Sometimes, even Christians get sucked into this mindset. We begin to view our world through the devil's lenses. We think that we are a dwindling flame, ready to go out, increasingly irrelevant in a modern world. Maybe we begin to justify this thought with quasi-Biblical ideas about Christ's imminent return: "Circle the wagons, boys! We've nothing more to do here. Just wait for the Boss to come back".
The deceptions of Satan and the kingdom of darkness know no end. Christ has promised that the Church will conquer and reign and not even the gates of hell can prevail against her. There is more work to be done, more battles to be won, more land to conquer.
Refusal: I refuse to let the world dictate the relevancy of the Church. I refuse to let the kingdom of darkness confound the conquest of the kingdom of Christ.
Resolution: I resolve that, no matter what the surrounding situation looks like, I will hold firm to God's promise that the Church will prevail; that she will "spread abroad to the right and to the left, and her offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities". For Almighty God always keeps His promises.
The deceptions of Satan and the kingdom of darkness know no end. Christ has promised that the Church will conquer and reign and not even the gates of hell can prevail against her. There is more work to be done, more battles to be won, more land to conquer.
Refusal: I refuse to let the world dictate the relevancy of the Church. I refuse to let the kingdom of darkness confound the conquest of the kingdom of Christ.
Resolution: I resolve that, no matter what the surrounding situation looks like, I will hold firm to God's promise that the Church will prevail; that she will "spread abroad to the right and to the left, and her offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities". For Almighty God always keeps His promises.
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