What we believe about God’s purposes in the earth today and tomorrow, affects what we do for the kingdom and how we do it. Think about it. What if a billionaire commissioned you to build a spectacular, eight thousand square foot home with vaulted ceilings, crown molding throughout, stunning lights and fixtures in every room, detailed tile work, indoor water features, and highly textured walls – wouldn’t you be excited to show off your best and most creative work? But what if you then discovered that on the day you hand the house over to him, the eccentric owner was simply going to burn the house to the ground so he could video it without ever living in it.

Do you think that realization would affect the excellence with which you labored on the house and the unseen details you were planning to make perfect in the structure?   If there is no real future for the house, why not skimp on insulation and why install top-end appliances? Would it even matter if all the wiring were done correctly or if the paint had a few runs? If the walls weren’t perfectly straight, who would know? After all, it was all going to be burned down without one family ever living in it or one guest enjoying the splendor of what you had built with your hands and talent.

What we believe about the destiny of our work, affects the way we do it. If I can build something that will shine and last, I will give it my best. If I am building something doomed to decay and to disappear in a short time, I will probably not give it the excellence I would give the other project. Most of the western church is still afflicted with the theology that we are in the end times, and in the end times, everything is destined to get worse and worse regardless of our prayers or efforts and the church is powerless to stop it. Why try to salvage America if it is destined for demise? Why try to redeem cultures if they will only grow more perverse no matter what we do?

There are certainly verses that suggest a tribulation time and love growing cold, but there are also many verses that suggest an almost golden age of the church before the final harvest and judgment of God. Notice the prophet’s words, “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Mic. 4”1-2). The setting of the prophecy is “in the last days.” Peter suggested that the last days were launched at Pentecost (Acts 2:16) and will continue until the return of the Lord. Numerous scriptures, as well as nature itself, suggest that a great harvest will occur before the Master brings down the curtain. For a great harvest to occur the church must be strong and vibrant not fatalistic, weak, and irrelevant.

Isaiah also speaks of a time when, in the midst of darkness, the Lord raises his church to new heights. “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,” says the Lord. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (Isa.59:21- 60:3).

Daniel proclaimed a day when the kingdom of God would subdue all other kingdoms and cover the earth. “While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.          Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth…In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands” (Dan.2:34-35; 44-45).

The New Testament tells us that God desires that all men should be saved (1 Tim.2:4). It also tells us that all men will not be saved, but a God whose heart longs for every man to enter his kingdom will certainly not be satisfied with a paltry harvest. We are told that, “…the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab.2:14). Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations – not just a few people in each nation, but the nation.

All of this still lies ahead of us. There are many nations yet to be disciple, many people who have yet to hear the good news. The time when nations will stream to God’s people still rests in the future. The harvest will only be accomplished by a vibrant and powerful church. The good news is that the church is now rediscovering who she is in Christ. There is a resurgence of power, signs, and wonders among God’s people. Millions are being harvested in China, Africa and South America. The church is already being invited to come to nations and is being given full access to preach the gospel. Just in the past two years, Honduras and the Dominican Republic extended that invitation. It was not an invitation from church leaders in those nations but by heads of state. “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (Isa.60:3).

We do not need to be discouraged, fatalistic, pessimistic or afraid. I believe we are on the verge of a season when God will shake not only the earth but the heavenly realms as well. Demonic powers will fall. Nations will be discipled. The bride of Christ will shine and nations will come to the church for hope and solutions. If we believe things will only get worse and worse no matter what we do, we will not give God our best; we will not sacrifice to attain victory, and we will not dare to do the impossible. If however, we believe we are on the leading edge of the greatest harvest in history where entire nations will come to Jesus, how much more will be pray, give, evangelize, and go the mission field?

But it looks so dark! Yes, it does, but the greatest victories in scripture followed on the heals of what looked like certain defeat – Israel with her back to the Red Sea as the armies of Egypt closed in; Hezekiah surrounded by Assyrian troops until a single angel annihilated the Assyrian army in one night; the church facing the relentless persecutions of Roman emperors; and Jesus lying in a tomb. But in the darkness the light shines all the brighter and the victory is even more glorious. Be encouraged. The church will not limp defeated and bruised from the battlefield because we have the sure word of our Lord that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. Build the house. Do it with excellence. This house will not burn, but will stand forever.