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The day is coming when the Lord of the Harvest will gather His precious Kingdom wheat and take it to be with Him forever in glory. Then the weeds of sinfulness, and every unrepentant sinner, will, first, bow and acknowledge the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:5-11), only to be cast into the eternal fires and torment of separation from God. What does the Lord expect to find when He comes? A weed field, with isolated pockets of trembling wheat, sheltering from the onslaught of evil and pleading for the Lord’s return? Hardly. The field of the world is to be sown with the good seed of the Kingdom, and the Lord of the Harvest expects that field to be radiant with fruitful boughs, overcomers in the struggle against evil who have reached their maturity, produced nourishing fruit, and bow in joyous expectation of the coming of their King.
Such has been the progress of the Christian movement for 2,000 years. Even today, the Gospel is advancing in astonishing measure in the most unlikely of places, a phenomenon to which most American Christians are willfully ignorant. A friend of mine runs a ministry of church planting in the Muslim and Hindu world. Over the past two years, 75,000 converts to Christ have been planted in the Lord’s soil, and 3,000 house churches have sprung up to nurture them to maturity. In China the Church has multiplied by nearly 500% since the Marxist government of Chairman Mao drove the missionaries from the land.
Revival is occurring in many places in Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Cuba, Latin America, and the former Soviet states. In the face of violent persecution, the true seeds of Kingdom stand firm and are growing, while here, in America, the Church cordially allows itself to be sidled more and more to the margins of society. The number of believers in Jesus Christ is declining in relation to the population as a whole – a recent phenomenon – and the culture and communities of the land show the ugly presence of devilish weeds throughout.
And yet, millions of Christians huddle in their churches and fellowship groups, praying they won’t be “left behind,” and longing for a specious idea of “rapture” from this God-forsaken age. Thought of revival hardly enters the consciousness of most Christians, for we are comfortable and content and feel safe in our personalized faith. What more is there to want? Well, what about seeking the Kingdom of God? Pursuing holiness in the fear of the Lord (2 Cor. 7:1)? Penetrating all our culture and society with the salt, light, and leaven of God’s grace and truth? Turning our fearful and confused nation upside-down for Jesus Christ? Renewing the work of personal evangelism and living witness for Jesus Christ?
Ah, but that involves risk. That involves denying our settled occupations and diversions. That requires growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And that requires tears of repentance for our complacency and disobedience, and seeking the Lord to renew this part of His field, that we might advance His Kingdom and overcome the presence of the devil’s weeds for the knowledge of God and His glory.
Are we up to the task?
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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Pattern of History 
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