Expand While The Devil Shrinks!

By Andrew Strom

There is no question that we have covered the “Doom and Gloom” side of the present crisis pretty well. But one thing I feel we have not discussed enough is the amazing OPPORTUNITY that God is setting before us through this crisis. In fact, it may be that what is happening now could be the answer to years of our most fervent prayers.

Have you been praying for God to act and bring massive change to the church and to our culture? Have you been praying for the return of spiritual hunger and reality? Have you been praying for God to open closed doors, to soften hearts, and to allow the real Truth of the gospel to march forth in the land once again? What if this is His answer to all of that – the only way He could bring about the kind of shaking and hunger that is so desperately required? What if He has spent years setting this up? What if it is the golden opportunity of a lifetime? Are we willing? Are we ready?

There is no question that some of our main enemies are on the run right now in the West. In fact, many of them are in rampant disorderly retreat. The great god Mammon is a good example.  I don’t think the “deceitfulness of riches” will be doing too well in the West for awhile, do you? And Mammon’s allies – Comfort, Apathy, Materialism and Humanism are starting to look a little shaky also.

There is a “window of opportunity” starting to open – where a gospel that was once unwelcome will be welcomed again – where change that was once thought impossible comes in like a rush. We are living in a rare moment of history.

In times of Depression – froth, bubble and hype go the way of the dinosaur. People start looking for reality and grounded truth.  They want to find a Rock to stand on instead of shifting sand. This happened in the last Depression, and it will happen in this one too.

Are you one who has spent years in the wilderness, waiting for God’s moment? Are you a David in the caves, a Joseph in the dungeons? Couldn’t it be that this is the very moment that God has been preparing you for, all this time?

You see, the “big boys” with their shallow gospel are in increasing trouble through all of this. They rely on big money, big media, big hype and big budgets to get their message out. And the budget is looking rather sick. Could it be that God is leveling the playing field?  Are many that were “last” about to become first? Are the little guys with their message of repentance and heart-holiness about to break through the glass ceiling that has kept them down for so long?  Has God actually been planning this for ages?

Personally, I feel like the Lord has been speaking to me lately that as the devil pulls back, I need to expand. There are things that I have put off for years that I need to put into action.

One of these is the “Online Preacher’s School” where we send people around the world to preach in far-flung places – after training them first. I get all kinds of invitations from places like Pakistan, India and Africa that I cannot possibly fulfill. It is time that we started doing “basic training and sending” – because the need out there is enormous. And we can do a lot of it online. (-This should be up and running in a matter of weeks). To me, God’s message is very clear: We are to expand while the devil shrinks.

Another area that He has been speaking to me about is MUSIC and VIDEO – things that I put aside (to a large degree) years ago.  God laid it on my heart before we came to Wales that we need to record a music album here – something we have not done for 8 years. (We had better get on with it, as we only have a Visa to stay in Wales for six months!) There are other things also. And what about you, my friends? Has God begun whispering similar things? Such a crisis comes along only once in a lifetime. Could this be the very hour of Mobilization that He has been preparing you for all these years?

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