Friday, March 18, 2011

Discerning Seasons (3) - Tipping Point

The second step of decline is the tipping point where the authority of the principalities and powers on earth exceeds the authority of God. When the proportion of Christian on earth reaches this tipping point, the powers of evil have much greater influence on earth. More and more events will be the consequence of their activities.

The half way point is not the tipping point. The reason is that Christians often have much greater influence than people who just ignore God without deliberately choosing to follow evil.
If Christians understand what is happening, listen to the voice of the Father, know his will, and pray wisely, the influence of the Holy Spirit is amplified. When God’s people pray according to his will, the Holy Spirit is freed to act. Therefore, even if half of the population have rejected God, those who still follow him can give authority to the Holy Spirit in the areas of life where they have authority.
Uneven Authority
Christians are not evenly spread across society, so the tipping point is not the same across an entire society, but will be different in each community, neighbourhood and sphere of authority. God will have more influence in some communities and neighbourhood than in others. The tipping point will be reached in some places sooner than in others.

New Zealand is very close to the tipping point. Some parts of our society may already have passed it.

America is not as far down the track to the tipping point as New Zealand. At least twenty percent of the American population are still serious Christians, whereas the number here is more like five. The politicians and people are still giving God considerable authority to act in America.

During good times, people assume they will last forever. As society moves towards the tipping point, people are able to reject God without seeing any serious consequences. God still has authority to act on earth and is able to restrain the worst evil that human behaviour is unleashing. This creates and illusion of security, because society is becoming ungodly, but the good times roll on. The illusion is broken when the tipping point is reached and evil gets a free hand. People are surprised when life on earth suddenly going sour.

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