This is a time I was not sure I would see in my own lifetime. And yet, hope unlooked for rises in my heart.

The tide of the mission to our country had gone a long way out and yet, now I hear in the conversations and prayers of people from all over the Body of our Lord Jesus and see in their endeavours and plans such things that tell me, the tide has changed and this is such a moment for me – for us all.

And my heart tells me that a generation of young men and women are indeed rising up now to meet our nation with the news of the King and of His Kingdom. I feel their presence already and such a rejoicing rises in me. I pray that the Lord will help us not to put any barriers before them but instead rise in a chorus of rejoicing that they have come.

What kind of people are these?

These are people with a single-minded passion for Jesus. They will alarm us all at first for they will be impatient for Kingdom business and they will not be content to wait. They will not even seek for the approval of those who have been before them in the mission at first. So, we must honour them and stand with them boldly and in so doing we will become fathers and mothers for them. And in the union of our hearts we will see at last the movement we have longed to see.

These are also people with a passion for the souls of all those who call this nation ‘home’. And, what a passion this will be! Their prayers will be laced with tears and their words with a heart plea that Australians should know their King and love Him. And they will pursue the lost in a way we have not seen for such a long time.

These are also people whose love for Jesus will be deeply engaged as worshippers. I do not speak of concerts and rallies but that in the early hours of each day they will arise with a cry for the presence of their Lord and be people who are long engaged in prayers of intercession.

And, they will love this nation too. Yes, this is the generation of people who will bring together our nation in a way that will guarantee our future as a people. And among them are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders especially. And what a generation these will be – among this host are those whose voices will call to us all.

Oh what a time is before us.

So then, you fathers and mothers in the faith arise in your prayers that nothing will hinder this people from their disciple-making task. For, out of their obedience will come a church planting movement that will fill the whole nation. This disciple-making will at last produce the missionaries we need to fill this nation with the news of the King who brings the Fathers purpose and will so that everyone may be reconciled to God and be whole again.

I may be a hopeless romantic but after a lifetime of serving the Lord, I am more optimistic than ever. This indeed is a great moment. So then, let us therefore lift up our eyes to the horizon and by faith call this people forth. Let us rejoice that we are alive at this time and, though the tide has not fully come in, let our prayers lay hold of what God is already doing with a fresh faith for the future.

We have indeed come, to such a time.

Purchase Colin’s book, The Genius In The Kingdom