I have now been preaching for many years and I have been travelling in so many churches and met so many different kinds of people, leadership, cultures, countries, hotels and so on.. Everywhere I could say that I have met one question that has been like a "main-stream".. Thats how we could see His Kingdom extend and how to see the church grow in number.
This issues is not so easy to face but we all know that it is all about the Great Commission we have in the New Testament, of course. I have seen churches grow in different ways and that depens on how they adminstrate the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is bigger and greater then the local church, with all their deeds.
But I think there is a deep truth, I would like to say a prophetic issue in Europe right now and of course in my own country, Sweden. When we talk about see this church-grow and how to see the Kingdom of God extend, we have to understand that there is a secret hidden in how we treat and raise our children today. I use to say that if we want to build strong and sustainable churches, we have to build a small church first, our family. The family you might say is a small church. This parable is ofcourse not perfect but it tells us about some important foundations and also some about how to be a family in church.
When we read about Noah in the Old Testament we are so excited about this crazy project, to build biggest boat/ship in the whole worlds, just because God told him to do that. This is a crazy vision. But this vision and project saved his family. He obeyed God and that obedience lead him to see how God protected His family. Here is something very important for our parents today. Even if you are alone or you live in a relationship and raising kids, you are important.
I know that children sometimes do not do what you always says, but they probably to more what you do as a parent. So to live connected to the Kingdom of God and to be a part of a local church and to give your attention to God, to your pastors, to your call upon your life, will give you as a parent qualitytime you even dont have. To invest your time in God and in your children will pay off later on.
This heavenly law is unchangeble. So in Scandinavia we as parents has to understand that our mission is first of all to win our children, to invest in them and to show them the way God wants us all to find and go. I dont judge anyone who has failed, I know its hard. But what Im saying is that this is a crucial issue for the future.
Just this simple thing, who will train our youth how to pray and how to hear from God, if the parents dont live a christian life, but they just talk about it?! I pray that the next generation not just want to go to concerts, christians entertainments in churches, but how to hear from God, how to cast out devils, how to be a salt in our world. How to make a different in others lives and how to be a missionary in their surrounding. We dont have to go to Africa to be a missionary. You have your own country, at least if we talking about Sweden and Scandinavia as a region.
So, I will do my best to continue to raise up next generation. I pray to God that I can be a good example to follow. I thank God for my wife Maria and our 5 children, where some of them is quite old now and also involved in what we do. This is the time to see a change in our families in Scandinavia, not just in church, because churches is families.
So when we pray for revival we pray for families with right focus and right heart for His cause. Jesus loves the children we as parents have the ability to guide them into His presensce through the Holy Spirit.
C ya!
