Finding the silver lining in the dark cloud

Crisis

In spite of the pain we may be suffering or fearing, I want you to know that there is a silver lining in the clouds over us. The next few paragraphs will show you how the current crisis is presenting us with the greatest opportunity to introduce the Kingdom of God to die world, and to be in a position to disciple nations as Jesus foretold we would do.

What kind of crisis?

If the car runs out of gas, we have the equivalent of a financial crisis. If the engine blows up, it is
economic. It appears that what began as a financial crisis is fast turning into an economic one: the national debt (currently at almost 11 trillion dollars) has been growing at the alarming rate of $3.58 billion a day since September 2007, and the stimulus package—put together in a hurry without public scrutiny or "expert guidance—is designed to pump money the country does not have into too many pork barrel projects (8,500 by last count) that will accelerate this nefarious trend and impose social indenture on future generations.

Because the situation is deteriorating by the day and alarming numbers of people are joining the unemployed and the houseless with no immediate relief in sight» leaders are resorting to populism. Populism is a political ideology that purports to meet the needs of ordinary people at the expense of, and in opposition to, those of a perceived privileged elite. Historically it has proven futile because the ultimate solution is not in giving bigger slices of the same pic to more people, but in developing a larger pie for everybody to get a bigger slice, including the rich. But this last option seems increasingly unlikely because the size of the government and its ongoing expansion will continue to squash the private sector, the one with the potential to generate new wealth. The system is flawed and destined to fail!

Finding the silver lining in the dark cloud

To place this in a hopeful perspective we must understand that what is being shaken today is not the Kingdom of God but the ungodly world system. Its greed and corruption are fully exposed and its impending failure is good news because God has given us notice of this through Daniel. In the dream that he interpreted for King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel described a statue representing world economic/political systems that extended until the end of human history that grew progressively weaker, going from gold to silver, to bronze and to iron, culminating with feet that are a mixture of iron and day. The clay, in my opinion, represents populism since it comes from die ground up. Promising more than can be delivered to save a system that is already in decay by indebting future generations is nothing more than a legalized Ponzi scheme. The moment key investors (the Saudis and the Chinese) try to cash in, the pyramid will collapse. But this is good news "because such prospect will set the stage for the current system to be replaced by Gods system.

To that effect Daniel went on to describe a rock that will knockdown die statute. That rock is the
Kingdom of God which was first manifested when Jesus walked on earth and now is fist approaching the point when it will be in a position to bring down the Babylonian system.

Unfortunately, what has kept the Church from having such positive outlook are two pieces of theological misinformation:

A. A negative eschatological outlook. Many believe that the Church age will end in defeat. There is no biblical basis for this. Read Revelation chapters 19 through 22, and chapters 11 through 18 in my book Transformation to see that things are bound to get better, not worse, as a prelude for the return of Christ. This doctrine also lacks historical roots. Neither Luther nor any of die Reformers believed it. It became popular after it was inserted in the Schofield Bible Notes (1909) and later on popularized by books and movies aimed at frightening people into salvation.

B. Disabling guilt generated by proponents of gloom and doom who advocate that God is eager to punish the saints and the nation for the increase of evil in public life, specifically in the USA. Even though we ought to repent for our sins, we must also operate in grace greater than all our sins. If God was willing to extend mercy to Sodom and Gomorrah for ten righteous men, how much more will He do this side of Calvary if thousands approach nun in the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14?
• It is about time that we realize that this is THE hour of opportunity for Christians to coalesce to introduce the biblical alternative to a desperate world. Those in government axe buffeted by overwhelming uncertainty like die world rulers were during Daniel and Joseph's days, it is their perplexity that creates the opening for us to approach them. And the great news is that Kingdom models are developing in many locations, hence the need to coalesce for them to reach critical mass. For instance:

Transformation is fast impacting top influencers in the Philippines where several generals came to Christ and the one appointed National Chief of Police has set in motion a process to put all 184.000 police officers through the Purpose Driven Life training. Moreover, the Chiefjusrice of the Supreme Court is taking the Kingdom of God into the judiciary.

° In Indonesia, a Muslim nation» one of its premier cities is being developed as a corruption free zone, providing a vortex for other Christians to relocate corporations there.

• In Malaysia, another Muslim nation, a marketplace minister built and runs the premier resort in the nation on biblical principles, including 24/7 on site intercession and a church on the premises that baptizes believers in the resort swimming pool. In addition, he is mentoring the government of East Timor in macroeconomics and demonstrating the relevance of Kingdom principles by building the largest development in this new nation.

° In Jacksonville, Florida, a Kingdom minded African American Bishop has renewed a dilapidated area of the city by implementing biblical economic empowerment. His church owns a shopping mall where the power of God is felt 24/7 while generating revenue for further entrepreneurship.

° In Thailand, a Buddhist country, a top regional official came to Christ, returned a million dollar bribe that caused others to do the same, and with the recovered capital poor people are now receiving free drinking water. He also appointed his pastor Commissioner of Righteousness over the region!

° The island of Maui, in Hawaii, will soon be a "hunger free zone" thanks to a process launched and run by a business couple using 51% of the profits from their business.

° A city in the US Midwest is on a journey to become the first poverty free city in the USA.

These examples and many more like those found in my book Transformation and on our website www.harvcstevan.org confirm the ability of Kingdom principles to operate in the midst of, and counter to, the Babylonian system. The Gates of Hades can never prevail when the church approaches mem with the keys of the kingdom and an unflinching determination tousethem (see Matthew 16:15-18). This is why our next divine assignment is to set the stage for the emerging transformation streams to coalesce in order ro generate the impetus for the rock
that Daniel described ro knock down the Babylonian system.


Yours in Christ,

Ed Silvoso

www.harvestevan.org