Light in the Darkness

There is a picture of our Savior and His mission contained within the words of Bible prophecy in Isaiah 59, reminding us of our Messiah's triumph over the enemy's power. We can read in that chapter:
17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.
19 So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

Even though there are powerful forces arrayed against us, we can remain steadfast in the Lord and trust in His great power.  The Church is finding itself at odds with the dominant ideologies of this world, and around the globe, we find that Bible-believing Christians are facing opposition that can bring discouragement, but in the midst of great trial, there is a great move of the Holy Spirit that is occurring. So, we lament the persecution, but rejoice in the conversions.

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God brings us the great ability and perspective to be able to reject the philosophies of this world and to focus on what God wants to do in our lives. Paul knew His share of opposition, and in 2nd Corinthians 12, he relates a message that the Lord shared with Him:
9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

There continues to rightly be a focus on the nation of China; after all, with its large population, its economic and military, as well as technological, ambition, and unfortunately, the surveillance and suppression of many of its people, its influence should not be ignored.  Just recently, the U.S. Secretary of State took a diplomatic trip to the country to try to improve relations.  Noted China expert Gordon Chang, as quoted by Newsmax, said:

"Before this meeting even started, before it was announced, China was delivering slight upon slight upon our Secretary of State Antony Blinken. They also did it during the visit when he arrived in Beijing during the meeting with Xi Jinping. He was seated in a subservient position. This was just one problem after another, and it really shows that … communication is not the issue.

"China talks when it wants to talk, it doesn’t talk when it doesn’t want to talk."

But, we can also remember that in the midst of the oppressive regime, millions upon millions are coming to know Christ. That has the potential to change a nation. 

Writing for FoxNews.com, Lauren Green states:

The growth is so exponential that one theologian is predicting the conversion of China within one to three generations.

The Rev. Johnnie Moore, a member of the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom, says, "I not only predict the conversion of China to Christianity — it's much further along than people realize and than the Chinese want to admit. And they're underestimating it."

Conservative estimates put the number of Christians at around 100 million.

But Moore believes the number could be as high as 150 million or even 175 million.

The article states, "The percentage growth of Protestant Christianity in China since the late 1980s has gone from a negligible amount to where it is 3% of the population, according to The Economist." When you factor in other religions, according to the article, "religious adherents outnumber members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)."

Moore, who is one of the foremost advocates for persecuted Christians, in an interview for the "Lighthouse Faith" podcast, stated, "In a generation, the Communist Party will not be the Communist Party that we know today. I don't think it will exist at all. But what will happen is the Chinese church will probably be the strongest, largest church in the entire world."

Green contends that is what is motivating Xi Jinping in "clamping down on Christians."  Examples?

Some 2,000 church spires and crosses have been torn down. Pastors have been locked up. Bibles have been confiscated.

Bibles have even been rewritten to create more allegiance to the government rather than to Jesus. And hi-tech AI surveillance is meant to intimidate and coerce believers into submission.

CBN.com reported just over six months ago that, "...the country is said to be on track to having the largest Christian population in the world by 2030, according to Rodney Pennington who studies church growth for Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF)." The article relates:

"We are overjoyed with what the Lord has already done in China," said Pennington in an interview with The Christian Post. "But that doesn't mean the task is finished."

"While 200 million Chinese believers by the year 2030 may seem ambitious, it certainly gives us a strong goal to pray toward," he added.

That article apparently refers to a Christian Post article from 2016 and I would echo that, as Pennington contended at the time, that it remains a solid goal for the future. 

The gospel is continuing to advance and flourish around the world, and in the case of China, it is doing so in the face of intense persecution.  Johnnie Moore refers to the Church in China as "an anvil which has worn out many a hammer."  So, even while one would say the enemy is being victorious, we can also recognize that what the enemy intends for evil, God is intending for good.  When the enemy comes in like a flood, God's standard is lifted high.  So, we can be burdened by the persecution of the Church, but we can rejoice that the Lord is energizing His people. 

Even though it seems like the American church is lagging behind, perhaps times of turbulence can be a wake-up call to our congregations and Christ-followers.  Our institutions are continuing to see compromise and complacency in the ranks and we have to make sure we double down on our passion to draw closer to the Lord and to do His work.  He can create a sense of urgency in our hearts and stir a fire in our lives, so that Christ might be exalted.