I have repeatedly told our church at the end of sermons to stop being so acting so defeated, and that the Church will be victorious as we take the gospel to the ends of the Earth. In the beginning this was often met with a confused and blank stare. I think I’ve said it enough that it is somewhat expected at this point.
For a long time in America congregations have been told that Christians only suffer defeat in this life. They’ve been told that Christianity will remain a small and defeated minority until Christ returns and the world burns. And then John Hagee sees a blood moon coming on the calendar and writes another book.
And then Charlie Kirk was shot. Then wicked people all over the country celebrated his death. We were shocked by this. Even though we knew wickedness was all around us, we didn’t know people hated us this much. We suddenly saw that there’s not just a handful of crazy people out there that hate us. They are teachers, nurses, doctors, and others in our own towns. We bump into these people at Walmart and the DMV. And we were disturbed to have this realization.
I preached a sermon at our church entitled “We Will Conquer” on the Sunday after his death. In the face of evil, the Church will be victorious and I wanted to encourage our church with that on that Sunday Morning. And the Scripture from that morning was Romans 16:20.
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (Romans 16:20 ESV)
It often feels like defeat now, but it will not always be so. The Church has been promised victory. The Church will advance, and the gospel will go to the nations. And there will come a day when we look around and realize that God has given us the victory over the wickedness of this world through the proclamation of the gospel and work of the Holy Spirit.
Our Lord said that we would take the gospel to the nations (Mark 13:10, Matthew 24:14). But He also told us that this growth would not happen quickly (Matthew 13:31-33). And as I said in the closing of the sermon mentioned above, the Church will be given victory even at the gates of Hell.
“The world hates Jesus and so it hates us. And under the curse of sin and influence of Satan and demons, they believe themselves to be upright for saying so. But such is the scourge of sin. It mangles people to the point of such wicked thought. And such is the work of Satan and demons. They will twist a person even to the point of betraying the Savior, as did Judas.
But we do not cower in fear. We do not mope as if all is lost. We defy the forces of darkness in this present evil age and live faithfully before the Lord, for we know that the victory is ours through Christ’s victory. We know that God Himself will give us victory over this present evil age.
I have thought often about Jesus’s words in Matthew 16:18 because it is just so foreign to our thinking today.
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18 ESV)
Where is Jesus’s Church in this statement? We are so accustomed to thinking that we are being defeated that we think we’re being pushed back. But we’re not. We are at the very gates of hell and those gates will not prevail against us.
We will be victorious. Go out there and live as conquerors in this present evil age.”
And the next week, incredibly encouraging things happened. There was a 5 hour event held in honor of Charlie Kirk in which the gospel was proclaimed over and over again to millions of people watching. One of those was Frank Turek.
But it didn’t stop with Frank Turek. While not all people who spoke preached the gospel, a lot of them did. A lot of people spoke of the glory of Christ and the wonder of His salvation. And as I look around online, a lot of people are planning to go to church next week. It’s incredible to see the gospel of Jesus Christ be proclaimed by so many people and praised by so many people.
My Point
And here is just the point I wanted to make with this post. Christians have been walking around saying that the world is going to Hell in a hand basket since I was little. And there are many reasons to be discouraged. I mean, we live in a country where sodomy is celebrated and babies are slaughtered regularly.
But there is also reason for hope. Jesus promised us that the gospel would advance. Even the gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church. And if you have been struggling to believe that, I hope that the last week has boosted your confidence.
Hold your head high. And tell people about Jesus.
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