“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
G. K. Chesterton once said, “A society is in decay, final or transitional, when common sense really becomes uncommon.” And with that in mind, it appears we are living in the midst of serious decay because depending on where you look it seems as though common sense has totally left this nation… At least in certain states and certain cities. But fear not… this is nothing new.
Nations rage, institutions shake, and the cultural ground beneath our feet often feels increasingly unstable. But that’s usually a sign that we are on target. God’s Word tells us again and again that faithful Christians will be persecuted. So it should not surprise us when we face growing opposition—not merely misunderstanding, but outright resistance to the Lordship of Christ and the Truth of His Word. But surprised or not, if we’re honest, in such a moment, the temptation is fear and withdrawal. But our Lord offers us neither panic nor retreat. He says simply, Fear not.
When Jesus first spoke these words he did not share them with a triumphant majority. He addressed a little flock—a people who appear weak, marginal, and exposed. Yet He roots their courage not in their size, strength, or strategy, but in the gracious will of God: “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” Or as the old hymn says, “Judge not the Lord by feeble sense but trust Him for His grace. Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.”
What Is the Kingdom?
The Kingdom of God is not a vague spiritual feeling, nor is it merely a future hope postponed until heaven. The Kingdom is the rule and reign of God in Jesus Christ—His authority exercised in history, proclaimed by the gospel, embodied by His people, and advancing toward its consummation.
To be given the Kingdom is not merely about salvation to come, but to be brought rightly under Christ’s Lordship and entrusted with a share in His royal mission here and now. Christ reigns now, having been given all authority in heaven and on earth. And that authority is not abstract. It is exercised through His Word, His Spirit, and His church as the gospel goes forth into the world.
The Kingdom is therefore redemptive—rescuing sinners and reconciling them to God; comprehensive—touching every area of life, not merely the spiritual; and victorious—advancing steadily, though often quietly, toward the renewal of all things. As C. S. Lewis once observed, “There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan.” The gospel announces that in Christ, God’s claim is decisive. And in and through the power of the gospel every area of life is brought into joyful submission to the Lordship of Christ.
Courage Born of Mercy
The church’s confidence is never rooted in self-assurance but in the gospel—in our great God and His gracious promises. We are always a people who cry out, “Lord, have mercy.” We know our sins. We know our frailty. We know that apart from Christ we can do nothing. And yet, it is precisely this dependence on mercy that frees us from fear.
Notice again what Luke 12:32 says: it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. If the Kingdom is God’s gift—if it rests on His pleasure and not our performance—then opposition cannot ultimately undo it. The cross itself looked like defeat, yet it was the very means by which Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities. The resurrection declared that His Kingdom cannot be shaken.
This is why courage is not cockiness. It is faith-filled obedience rooted in trust. As G. K. Chesterton famously put it,“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” The call before us is not to invent a new mission, but to take up the one already given. And though it may be difficult, and at times seem impossible, we must remember what Jesus promised us, the gates of hell shall not prevail (Matthew 16:18).
Faith-filled obedience, or obedient faith (Romans 1:5) is how the Kingdom is advanced. Gates are defensive weapons, which tells us that hell is on the defense and the church is on the offense. And according to the Armor of God (Ephesians 6) the Sword of the Spirit—the Word of God—is our offensive weapon. But it’s not merely reading it, studying it, singing it, or even teaching and preaching it (though that’s all good and necessary). It’s actually believing it—trusting and obeying it. As 1 John 5:4 says, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”
The Kingdom and Our Mission
Jesus gives the Kingdom to His people not so that they may admire it from a distance, but so that they may live as faithful stewards of it. Kingdom faith is never passive. Assurance leads to action. Grace produces obedience—obedient faith.
The mission of the church is therefore not limited to personal piety or private belief. Christ claims the whole world as His inheritance. His gospel confronts sin, restores order, and brings every sphere of life into joyful submission to His rule. All of Christ for all of life, and all of life for all of Christ.
This means embracing our calling in families, as we raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord… In church life, as we worship faithfully, practice discipline, and proclaim the Word… In education, as we pursue and seek to cultivate the true, the good, and the beautiful under Christ’s authority… In work and economics, as we labor honestly and steward creation wisely… And in cvil and cultural life, as we seek justice, righteousness, and obedience to God’s Law.
The faithful and wise pastor, George Grant, puts the point bluntly, “Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land (all nations) for Jesus Christ, to have dominion in civil structures just as in every other aspect of life and godliness. But it is dominion we are after, not just a voice. It is dominion we are after, not just influence. It is dominion we are after, not just equal time. It is dominion we are after. World conquest, that’s what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish. We must win the world with the power of the Gospel, and we must never settle for anything less. Thus Christian politics has as its primary intent the conquest of the land, of men, families, institutions, bureaucracies, courts, and governments for the Kingdom of Christ.” But this isn’t true only of Christian politics, but of the whole of Christin faithfulness. In other words, we are to bring every area of life into joyful submission to the Lordship of Christ.
Such language can sound startling to modern ears, but its substance is simply the outworking of Christ’s universal Lordship. This is not conquest by coercion or carnality, but by the power of the gospel, the transforming work of the Spirit, and faithful obedience over generations.
The Warfare of Worship
I said above that reading, studying, singing, teaching, and preaching God’s Word is right and good, they’re just not enough without obedient faith. But the Word, and specifically Word-saturated worship is at the heart of obedient faith. Before we go about advancing the Kingdom in every area of life, we must remember that the church’s most basic—and most potent—act of warfare is faithful worship. When the little flock gathers in the Name of Christ, heaven and earth collide. What appears outwardly weak, ordinary, and unimpressive is, in reality, a frontal assault on the powers of darkness. It equips us for everyday warfare, but it is itself the greatest act of spiritual warfare.
Jesus Himself tells us that “where two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20). That promise is not sentimental—it is militant. The gathered worship of even the smallest congregation is an invasion of Christ’s reign into what has been enemy-held territory. When the church assembles to hear God’s Word, confess sin, sing psalms and hymns, pray, and partake of the sacraments, she is not retreating from the world; she is striking at the heart of it.
Faithful worship is covenant renewal, and covenant renewal is warfare. Each Lord’s Day, the church ascends into the heavenly throne room (Hebrews 10 and 12), receives again the Word of the King, the culture of heaven, and is sent back out equipped for battle. The preaching of the Word declares Christ’s victory. Confession and absolution announce the defeat of the accuser. The Table proclaims the Lord’s death until He comes—until every enemy is placed beneath His feet. Week after week, the church pounds at the gates of hell, not with worldly weapons, but with the means God has ordained.
This is why the size of the flock is ultimately irrelevant. God delights to use what the world despises to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1). A handful of saints gathered around Word and Table, trusting Christ and obeying Him, is a battering ram in the hands of the Almighty. Hell trembles not at the church’s cultural savvy or political clout, but at her faithful worship—because worship proclaims and magnifies the enthronement of Christ, and where Christ reigns, the devil must retreat.
And this warfare does not end when the benediction is pronounced. Having been armed and commissioned in worship, the saints are sent back into the world with God’s blessing to live out what they have declared: that Jesus Christ is Lord. Worship fuels obedience, and obedience advances the Kingdom. But it all begins—and is continually renewed—when the little flock gathers, fears not, and gives glory to God.
Worship itself is warfare. Most of you have probably seen the scene of the ungodly protestors disrupting a worship service in a church in Minneapolis recently. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if that church started singing Psalms or battle hymns at the top of their lungs from the bottom of their hearts as the protestors yelled at them… What if they not only preached, “Christ is Lord,” but sang it in such a way that it drowned out their protests? How powerful would that be? That would be a warfare they weren’t ready for. And that’s the type of warfare Christ advances His Kingdom through.
Fear Not—Go Forward
The flock may be little. The task may be large. The resistance may be real. But the promise stands firm: It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
George Grant also said, “Lord, have mercy. Church, have courage.” So we pray humbly, knowing our need: Lord, have mercy. And we live boldly, trusting His promise: Church, have courage. So live by faith, not by sight. Rest in God’s promises, and trust and obey God’s Word. For Christ is King. His Kingdom has been given. And His gospel will prevail. Take heart Christian… Your faith will overcome the world.
In Christ’s service and yours,
Nick Esch