THE SCHOOL OF TRANSFORMATION

Transcription

1 THE SCHOOL OF TRANSFORMATION TRANSFORMATION IN YOUR SPHERE OF INFLUENCE Week 7 RECLAIMING THE MARKETPLACE TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 1

2 Copyright 2014 by Ed Silvoso and Transform Our World. This material is copyright protected. It is for the uses of students of the School of Transformation. You may print one copy for personal use. Please do not forward this, copy it, post online or otherwise duplicate physically or digitally. Thank you for honoring this copyright.

3 SUMMARY WEEK 7 IN THIS SESSION YOU WILL: 1. Look at an overview the 5 pivotal paradigms. 2. Focus on Paradigm 2, which has to do with reclaiming my sphere of influence. 3. Receive a vision of the cross where Jesus took away the act of the decrees listing every sin and iniquity. And as you understand that you will see how you are called to reclaim everything Jesus redeemed. 4. Learn three powerful principles of Gideon s life that will help you overcome your fears and self-doubt and take transformation to your sphere of influence. While the first paradigm describes the what - to disciple all the nations, the second paradigm describes the why. Jesus didn t die just for souls. He died for everything that was lost (Luke 19:10). Jesus has redeemed not only our relationship with Him and with each other, but also the marketplace. It is now up to us, His church, to reclaim all that was lost. TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 3

4 PREPARATION Read the following article based on ch. 3 in Transformation THE FIVE PIVOTAL PARADIGMS FOR TRANSFORMATION It finally dawned on me that I was in deep medical trouble when my eye surgeon told me, Well, you were first in line for brains but last for eyes. Several top-notched eye specialists had examined me previously, and one by one they had referred me to someone more experienced on this matter. Now I was at the end of the line and about to start a surgical journey down the road to six eye surgeries, hence the reason for my doctor s dry humor. By the time I was onto my fifth surgery Ruth and I had come to know everybody at the hospital doctors, nurses, receptionists, volunteers, even the janitors. But on that particular day I noticed the nurse was prepping my left eye and I knew that the scheduled surgery was for the right one! She had already placed an adhesive plastic arrow on the left side of my forehead pointing to the eye to be operated on. I asked her to check and sure enough my suspicions were confirmed, it was the wrong eye. I insisted on now having two adhesive arrows placed, one indicating this eye and the other NOT this eye. I then proceeded to bring up the issue with the nurse, the anesthesiologist and the nurses aid taking me to surgery. When I was about to broach the subject with the operating surgeon he said, I know, I know. It is the right eye. Everybody within ten miles of this hospital has heard about it. Relax! Because the subject was of vital importance to me I insisted in making sure everybody got it right. They not only got it, they also joyfully complied. Unfortunately, God not always gets the same cooperation from us on issues that He considers of great importance. All through the Bible He has placed fluorescent red markers pointing us to the things He wants us to fix on in this world the cities and nations in desperate need of surgery, but somehow we keep focusing on something else. Continue reading go to the Appendix and read the complete article from Transformation, ch TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

5 GOING DEEPER MENTORING Watch Mentoring Session 8: 5 Pivotal Paradigms for Nation Transformation Read Ch. 4-5 in Transformation TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 5

6 WEBCAST These paradigms are key because paradigms are like reading glasses. They don t create anything they just reveal what is already there. When I was much younger I could read a book even by the light of a candle. But nowadays I look at this book and I see, Oh, it s red and white. That s all I can see. If I open it I can t read it. But the moment I change the paradigm (put on the glasses), boy I can read what I wrote. In the same way paradigms don t create reality, they reveal the reality that was already there. And the subject today is the 5 pivotal paradigms. The first paradigm is Because Jesus told the apostles and he tells you and me today, Go therefore and disciple all the nations. That is the what. 6 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

7 But then we know, paradigm 2, that That is the why and that is the main subject today. So we have the what, we have the why. Now we go to the how. And the how is that TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 7

8 The premier expression of worship is work. Why? Because the Scripture says You may say, Ed you don t understand. My job stinks. I stink. My boss stinks. Everybody stinks. And you want me to do what? Well let s put it in perspective. This passage, Colossians 3:23, do you know who Paul wrote that to? Not to the emperor, not to the governor, not to the wealthy people but to slaves. And slaves were given the meanest jobs. So if your job stinks, it doesn t stink as much as the jobs of those to whom these instructions were written. And that tells you how much paradigm #2 can empower you that you can be a slave and do it unto the glory of God and do it joyfully. And that leads us to paradigm #4 where 8 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

9 Where? In the marketplace. Because the subject is Transformation in your Sphere of Influence. This paradigm is capturing Matthew 16:16-19 where Jesus said And we lock and unlock those gates for the glory of God. And that takes us to paradigm #5 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 9

10 And I document that Scripturally. And this is possible because of 1 John 3:8b. Now paradigm #2 is the dynamite that blows up everything. Because this paradigm says that the marketplace (business, education and government) has been redeemed. 10 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

11 This means that the same blood that paid the price for our sins, paid the price for the marketplace, for the workplace, for the school. And we captured this in the following Edification. Watch carefully because the devil was so conceited, so full of pride. He was like a quarterback playing on Super Bowl Sunday and his team is ahead by 5 points. And with only 40 seconds on the clock he decides to throw a long pass to show off. It gets intercepted, he runs for a touch down and the devil loses in the last seconds of the game! Watch this! TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 11

12 This is awesome isn t it? I ll tell you when we capture that transformation is first of all, personal, then in our family, as we heard in the previous weeks. And from there we take it to our sphere of influence. What is the sphere of influence of a pastor? It s not just the church. It s something more. Listen to Pastor Cal Chinen. 12 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

13 video clip: CAL CHINEN: More people are getting saved outside of our of our worship services than inside of our of our worship services. ED: Did you hear that? More people are coming into the kingdom during the weekdays than on Sundays. But it doesn t stop there. Now we re going to listen to Bishop Vaughn McLaughlin. I ll tell you he really, really got it. video clip: bishop vaughn mclaughlin TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 13

14 ED: You see, when we change paradigms, when we understand this is a moment of impartation we are so grateful to the Lord because Jesus shed his blood on the cross. We know that there is no sin that can top the price that he paid. The devil may come with a storm of accusations, and guilt and everything else, but we say, It s under the blood! and we claim it back. Why? Because it s under the blood. Do you realize that the same blood that washed your sins paid the price for your business, your school, and your government to be redeemed. And when we understand that, everything changes. And now Chuck conducted an interview with Michael Brown who is featured in the video, Transformation in Vallejo. Just watch how Michael caught it. First, personal transformation. Then marriage and family transformation. Then his company gets transformed. And then the city is experiencing transformation. Because Michael changed paradigms. And he says it very eloquently. Watch this interview. 14 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

15 INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL BROWN: MICHAEL: I asked God three questions: 1. Does what I do as a businessman really matter? 2. What is a kingdom business? 3. What did he want to do with the rest of my life? These questions were answered at a seminar by Ed Silvoso and his book, Anointed for Business. I came back, empowered, realizing God had called me as a minster to the marketplace. So I decided to dedicate my business to God. And instead of a top down management we came up with a team concept and we began to apply the principles of prayer evangelism and the 5 paradigms. And so that changed everything. We began to see our business as church 24/7, and the marketplace as the business of the Kingdom. CHUCK: We ve been talking about church in the marketplace. We ve been talking about finding your purpose, understanding what my life is all about. (James Brown who was impacted by Michael s business/ ministry) MICHAEL: And God intervened in that situation and not only calmed his wife down but also healed his body of that cancer. And right now as a result of that prayer his life has changed, he has become a believer, and he s encouraging TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 15

16 others at his new employment (becoming a marketplace minister himself). CHUCK: What an example of the Ekklesia meeting needs of someone who is outside the church. (Clip of Michael addressing his team) MICHAEL: And so God wants to use everyone of us to transform our city. He starts first of all transforming you. When God transforms you he transforms your family. Then the next thing you know he s transforming your community, the city, the state and the nation. And that just how it works. It works on the inside out. What you saw is the fact that transformation first started with me. I was exposed to the Anointed for Business information that Ed taught at the seminar. It touched my heart and changed me. I went home and shared it with my wife. It impacted my wife. I shared the books also with my two daughters. They embraced those same principles and are practicing them today. And then again, I wanted to make sure that my business reflected the principles that I had received as an individual. That s why I dedicated my business to the Lord. And then the further extension was into the community. We now meet as pulpit and marketplace ministers once a month and we invite the community in the surrounding area to a workshop that we conduct the first Saturday of each month to teach these same principles Prayer Evangelism and the Five Paradigms. We are finding out there is such a vacuum and desire with people who want to know what to do on Monday. They got Sunday down but they want to know what do I do on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of my life, as far as serving God. And we are answering those questions and giving them insight into how powerful Prayer Evangelism is in the workplace, how it works, and how impactful it could be in their own lives. And again, adopting those five paradigms. 16 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

17 CHUCK: Wow! Working in the banks of the river and bringing transformation from personal to family, and then to your whole industry. And I also understand that you ve dedicated your city to the Lord Vallejo, City of God. Right? MICHAEL: Hallelujah. That s what we call it. CHUCK: Wasn t that great? And I hope that you received from Michael an impartation to go for it just as he has. I know many of our TSOT participants have begun that journey. One of them is Victor Pioli. He had gone to some conferences before but this time he came back and decided to do something about it. He said the first thing I did was to kiss my wife. That s a prophetic statement saying I m beginning here in the home. And then he gathered a group of people...set up a prayer tent and began praying in the farmer s market. TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 17

18 A fish salesman saw answer to prayer as his sister in law was healed of cancer and he saw the kingdom of God. 18 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

19 JILL: News from Freida Alexander from Kentucky reclaiming a hospital for the Lord. The spiritual climate changed as it went from no prayer allowed to a whole floor and program for prayer and wellness. If this can happen here it can happen in your sphere of influence. BENJY: Werner and Adel Swart s family is working with a run down school to reclaim it reclaiming through repainting. When we look at situations and schools in our communities and we have the mindset: Jesus already paid the price for this school our job is to go and reclaim it look at what can happen and it is happening! TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 19

20 ED: So folks let s make this an impartation moment. Receive now a vision of the cross. That when Jesus took away the act of the decrees listing every sin and iniquity. It was not only personal sin but the sin that defiled the whole world. And when we understand that now we see that everything must be reclaimed. The impartation comes from chapter 19 in Transformation and it has to do with Gideon. When we say Gideon, we say, Oh mighty man. No, no. He began below the basement. He was a coward like all of us have been at one point. He was afraid. He was preparing to flee and God shows up and he tells him two things. He tells him you are a mighty warrior. What? I m neither mighty nor warrior. Yes you are. Why? Number 1 Oh, let the Lord inspire you today. Yesterday is gone. Today you are receiving from the Lord. Tomorrow you will have victories and God is saying to you, you can do it. You are a mighty warrior. By faith do it! God has a better opinion of you than the one you have of yourself. But it doesn t stop there. That is the first part, right Chuck? It s personal transformation. Now he says go back to your house where your father is a priest in a shrine dedicated to Baal and Ashera. 20 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

21 And God says to him, Tear down that and use the rocks to build an altar. And use the wood from Ashera to make a fire. Then take your father s seven year old bull that s a prime age for a bull and sacrifice it there as unto the Lord. You say, I would be afraid to do that. Welcome to Gideon s club. He was afraid too. But he did it. You see faith without works is dead. Even if you bring a little bit of works that s all it takes. He did it and now his father rather than chewing him out when the elders came to complain, he says, Oh it seems that Baal who is nowhere to be found has a problem with my son. I m going to change my son s name and call him Jerubbaal, which means the one the Baal has a problem with. So number 2 when you begin to take the kingdom of God to your family and your sphere of influence. TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 21

22 But it gets better. Number 3 Because when he did what we are teaching today, and a week from today and the next week transformation in our sphere of influence, he took the presence of God to the enemy s camp and he saw the angel of the Lord deliver them. So receive the impartation. In the name of the Lord Jesus, may he open your eyes to behold Christ crucified. But not with his chin on his chest, defeated; not a cross that is empty. May the Lord show you now Jesus putting to shame the principalities and powers, taking away from them their weapons, nailing them to the cross, and saying, It is done! And now that you believe that, in the name of the Lord Jesus, begin to take transformation to your sphere of influence. 22 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

23 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR YOUR GROUP 1. Which of the 5 pivotal paradigms has encouraged you the most? 2. The vision of the cross reveals that same blood that washed your sins paid the price for your business, your school, and your government to be redeemed. How does that change the way you see the place where you work? What does it mean practically to reclaim what Jesus redeemed? 3. Based on the principles seen in Gideon s story (Judges 6) how can God have so much faith in you to bring transformation to your sphere of influence? Which report do you choose to believe God s or those based on your past or present circumstances? 4. Go around and share how your focus in the past 6 weeks on personal and family transformation has prepared you now to bring transformation to your sphere of influence. TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 23

24 APPLICATION REFLECTION AND ACTION 1. Take time to reflect on the cross. Colossians 2:14-15 says He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Meditate on the fact that the same blood that washed your sins paid the price for your business, your school, and your government to be redeemed. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to begin to reclaim what Jesus has redeemed in your sphere of influence. Write in your journal the practical steps you will take. 2. Reflect on the three principles seen in Gideon s life from Judges 6. Trace the progression of transformation that occurred in his personal life, in his family, and then in his sphere of influence. Trace the progression of how that will happen in your life as you follow the Holy Spirit in your next steps. 3. Post your impressions and testimonies in this week s forum. 24 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

25 APPENDIX the five pivotal paradigms for transformation It finally dawned on me that I was in deep medical trouble when my eye surgeon told me, Well, you were first in line for brains but last for eyes. Several top-notched eye specialists had examined me previously, and one by one they had referred me to someone more experienced on this matter. Now I was at the end of the line and about to start a surgical journey down the road to six eye surgeries, hence the reason for my doctor s dry humor. By the time I was onto my fifth surgery Ruth and I had come to know everybody at the hospital doctors, nurses, receptionists, volunteers, even the janitors. But on that particular day I noticed the nurse was prepping my left eye and I knew that the scheduled surgery was for the right one! She had already placed an adhesive plastic arrow on the left side of my forehead pointing to the eye to be operated on. I asked her to check and sure enough my suspicions were confirmed, it was the wrong eye. I insisted on now having two adhesive arrows placed, one indicating this eye and the other NOT this eye. I then proceeded to bring up the issue with the nurse, the anesthesiologist and the nurses aid taking me to surgery. When I was about to broach the subject with the operating surgeon he said, I know, I know. It is the right eye. Everybody within ten miles of this hospital has heard about it. Relax! Because the subject was of vital importance to me I insisted in making sure everybody got it right. They not only got it, they also joyfully complied. Unfortunately, God not always gets the same cooperation from us on issues that He considers of great importance. All through the Bible He has placed fluorescent red markers pointing us to the things He wants us to fix on in this world the cities and nations in desperate need of surgery, but somehow we keep focusing on something else. The army led by Jesus is designed and commissioned to advance decisively, to overcome the evil that is entrenched in the world until God s glory has been poured on peoples and nations. No matter how clearly is this spelled out in the Scriptures we seem to prep the wrong eye. To make this change, we need to embrace new paradigms and gain new vision. We associate lenses with the eyes, but there are also intellectual lenses that, once placed over our mind, can impact our understanding--for better or for worse. Likewise, the Church today is beset by myriad optical difficulties when it comes to seeing the fullness of our purpose and potential as change agents in the societies in which we live. If, for example, an optometrist mistakenly prescribes reading glasses for someone who needs glasses for distance, the user would not be able to focus on objects far away. Being unable to see the long view, the patient would eventually give up and miss the big picture entirely. TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 25

26 The issue is that while we have been looking, we have not been seeing all there is to see. Because we have looked through religious lenses, we have not seen the marketplace and much less its great importance to God s Kingdom. By exclusively discipling individuals, we have missed the higher prize of bringing transformation to nations. It s time that we put on Kingdom of God glasses that will enable us to see the Church operating 24/7 in the marketplace. The brief stories you have read here so far, and many others you will read in the pages ahead, came about because the principals involved embraced new paradigms that afforded them a clearer and more comprehensive view. biblical paradigms for transformation There are five pivotal paradigms essential for sustainable transformation to take place, each of which we will examine in detail in the chapters ahead. These paradigms are: 1. The Great Commission is about discipling nations, not just people. 2. The marketplace (the heart of the nation) has already been redeemed by Jesus and now needs to be reclaimed by His followers. 3. Labor is the premier expression of worship on earth; and every believer is a minister. 4. Our primary call is not to build the Church but to take the Kingdom of God where the kingdom of darkness is still entrenched in order for Jesus to build His Church. 5. The premier social indicator that transformation has taken place is the elimination of systemic poverty. These paradigms might seem radical, and are not necessarily what we hear from the pulpit every week, but they are thoroughly biblical and clearly reflect God s perspective. However, to be able to see them, we need to wear the right lenses, because it is our tendency to be shortsighted when processing divine instructions; that is, we tend to focus on what is closer in the present at the expense of capturing the full scope of all that God has in store for us and wants to accomplish through us. A clear example of this is found in Acts 1:4-8 where Jesus is telling the disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. to receive the power required to disciple nations all over the world. Undoubtedly Jesus is looking through the distance portion of the lenses. How did the disciples process this information? I dare say nearsightedly, as revealed by their inquiry: Are you going to restore the Kingdom to Israel at this time? Basically they were asking, When the Holy Spirit comes, are we going to be vindicated before our nation, and as a result, Jerusalem become the center of the world with the nations coming to us? But Jesus had a different focus. He told them not to wait for nations to come to them, but to go to the nations. He specifically instructed them to begin by discipling 26 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

27 a city (Jerusalem), and from there to move up to a region (Judea), and once they had acquired some experience in the subject of regional discipleship, to go on and tackle the first nation (Samaria), and after that not to stop until they had reached the ends of the earth all nations (Acts 1:8). What a contrast! In essence, Jesus was saying that it is not about you, it s about God and God is about nations! Clearly, God intends to restore the Kingdom to Israel. He does pour out His Spirit upon people to endow them with supernatural power to overcome personal challenges. The problem is that the disciples focused on the immediate dimension at the expense of the bigger picture. For the Bible to make sense, for its principles to become relevant and for the promised results to materialize, a series of paradigm shifts are necessary to allow us to become disciplers of nations, empowered by the redemptive work of Christ to fully reclaim the marketplace and worship God with our jobs so we can take the Kingdom of God where evil is still entrenched so that nations will have honor and glory restored. church on weekdays For many, the shifting of paradigms began with a very practical question, Where is God on Mondays? Or for that matter, every other day of the week besides Sunday? God is passionately interested and invested in human affairs all the time. Consequently, He is willing to bring His presence and His power to bear, first in our immediate sphere of influence, and eventually in our cities and even our nation. Let s take a look at some examples of how this can occur lieutenant governor welcomes jesus into paradise. Hawaii, one of the most alluring and hospitable American states, has scored a number of negative firsts. The first abortion clinic opened in Honolulu in the 70s. The first homosexual marriage initiative was introduced there. A strong liberal lobby in Hawaii is relentlessly pushing for the islands to be at least the second state to approve assisted suicide legislation (Oregon has the discredit of being the first). Things began to change on December 7, 2004, when Lieutenant Governor James Duke Aiona led 6,000 believers in a corporate invocation, inviting Jesus, publicly and officially since on that day he was the acting governor, to come into the state to make it God s Hawaii. This solemn act was the climax of a canopy of prayer raised over the islands that day and the prayer walk of 77 school campuses across the state. What took place is no different than what we read in II Chronicles 7:14: If my people, upon whom my Name is invoked, humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear their prayer, I will forgive their sins and I will heal the land. In Hawaii, that prayer exercise reflected the new understanding about the need to disciple nations and the right to reclaim the marketplace (in this case education) for the Kingdom of God. TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 27

28 Anybody familiar with the acidic American constitutional debate on the separation of church and state knows that participating in (and, in the case of Hawaii s Lieutenant Governor, leading) such an overt public religious exercise is tantamount to political suicide. However, this was not about the institutional church and state; it was all about God and the problems of the state. Hence, the dramatic and extraordinary changes that began to take place shortly after the statewide prayer made believers of many unbelievers, to the point that even the secular media began to report good news. Following the raising of the canopy of prayer, crime and disciplinary referrals in school campuses decreased dramatically. In some schools, Grade Point Averages and graduation rates reached record highs. In another school, teenage pregnancy dropped significantly. Best of all, in many schools campus drug dealers, who used to operate with impunity due to the complicity of students, were exposed and arrested. All of this constituted clear validation that the Kingdom of God was taking over areas where evil had been systemically entrenched. Churches adopted schools and took offerings to purchase much needed equipment or to pay for repairs. Believers volunteered as athletic coaches, spiritual advisors and campus counselors, and prayer became common at track meets, sporting matches and even at faculty meetings. Once prayer became a normal activity on campus, students regularly made it a practice to hold hands in small circles to publicly pray for the principal, the teachers and fellow students. Soon afterwards, reports of miraculous answers to those prayers fueled greater interest in God s presence on school grounds and many students and administrators experienced life changing encounters with Jesus. In the context of the prayer exercise in December of 2004, a group of 25 players from across the Islands issued an invitation, and a month later 134 Kingdom minded persons came to hear and share reports, hopes and dreams for the future. This led to a spontaneous gathering of 900 transformation-hungry Christians in February 2005, which in turn resulted in an Anointed for Business seminar the following May for 2,500 believers. During the closing session of this seminar, 200 pastors commissioned 2,300 church members as marketplace ministers in an inspiring ceremony that set the stage for the newly commissioned to turn their jobs into their ministry. The following week, scores of transformation groups were launched (most of them around lunch breaks) in hospitals, ranches, the waterfront, stores, banks, car dealerships, attorney s offices, schools and hotels. Prayers began to be offered all over the marketplace for Hawaii to become God s Hawaii, just as the Lieutenant Governor had prayed the previous December. democrats and republicans praying together in chambers The results became evident right away. The ancient bitter animosity between Republicans and Democrats took a direct hit when the Republican Lieutenant Governor and a leading Democratic state senator publicly asked forgiveness on behalf of their respective parties. Subsequently, spirituality in politics became prevalent among legislators and government workers. At least 50 people have joined a newly established prayer meeting in 28 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

29 the state building. The political climate improved so much that both parties rated the 2006 legislative session as the best ever, and closed it by singing Amazing Grace in chambers! At the city level, shortly after a fiercely fought election, the Mayor of Honolulu (a Mormon and a Democrat) opened his term in office with prayer convocation to seek God s favor for the city and afterwards prayed regularly with pastors in his office seeking God s guidance and favor. A year later, at what was billed as the Mayor s annual prayer service, he gave eloquent testimony that intercession and God s favor were the reason for the remarkable municipal breakthroughs of the previous twelve months. At this prayer service, government and community leaders representing the most diverse social and political streams held hands asking for God s blessing on the city and the state. Breakthroughs also started to show up in the business community. The management of the leading car dealership introduced prayer for their employees and customers. Crime decreased and the murder rate was cut in half. The booming economy is now the best in the history of the state; and Hawaii now has the lowest unemployment in the nation. Median income rose from $53,554 to $58,112 in one year, while the poverty rate descended from 10.6% to 9.8%. And on April 20, 2007, the local newspapers covered a friendly dialogue between Democrat and Republican legislators to refund to the taxpayers the fiscal surplus of the previous two years as the state constitution mandated. Across Hawaii, voluntary worship services are being held in school campuses, and pastors are being asked to serve as spiritual advisors. Furthermore, in the tough docks of Honolulu it has become typical to see sturdy stevedores lifting heavily tattooed arms in prayer; while in a growing number of boardrooms divine guidance is sought by CEOs and senior management as part of the regular corporate agenda. In the town of Nanakuli, historically one of the poorest and most hopeless places in the state, believers had adopted every square inch of the city and prayer walked the entire community, inviting Jesus to set up residence in it, and especially in its school campuses. Shortly afterwards, the National Football League donated one million dollars to build youth centers in the area, most of which will operate in conjunction with the schools where Jesus was invited in. At about the same time, a nearby prison began to experience radical transformation when the newly appointed warden invited Jesus to make it Jesus prison. In less than six months, half of the inmates became believers, were baptized, transformed, and are now actively involved in building a Christian ward that is setting the bar for the rest of the prison. On the island of Maui, businessman Myles Kawakami gave God control over his company. The business began to prosper and Myles has been faithfully writing checks from TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 29

30 God s 51% portion of the profits to bless poor people and social undertakings, while watching his income increase. Myles and his wife Joyce feed thousands of needy people in addition to funding a significant number of projects. tahiti: president gets baptized Breakthroughs have also gone beyond Hawaii. Francis Oda, chairman and CEO of Group 70, arguably the leading architectural firm in the state, was in Tahiti to participate in an architectural contest for the renewal of the capital s city, Papeete, and its waterfront. Francis saw himself as a channel for God s Kingdom to become manifested in Tahiti, even though the stated reason for his trip was an architectural assignment. Francis understood that he was called to disciple nations and to reclaim the marketplace, and that his job was a vehicle to take God s kingdom where evil was still entrenched. During an official meeting, the President asked for Francis opinion on what to do on the location of a project he had just stopped. Francis asked specific questions to get the best possible grasp on the subject, and after pondering the information he suggested a museum. The president stated that it might be better to consider an alternative placement and proceeded to give him the reasons for it. Acknowledging the President s reasoning, Francis said, If you put it there, the project may turn out to be good, but if you place it on the waterfront, it will become world famous. As soon as his words were uttered, a sepulchral silence fell on the meeting. The President abruptly changed the subject and Francis became aware of a cultural tenet that Tahitians never violate: one does not contradict the President s opinion, especially in public. However, soon afterwards the President returned with a wink and a twinkle in his eyes and told him, I like your idea, but can I say that it was my idea? And can you make a presentation in two days time? Francis, vividly relieved, agreed to the presentation while wondering how he would find the time to do it on such a tight schedule. The next morning, while he was prayer swimming interceding for his host nation, the Lord instructed Francis to record the details of what He was about to download to him. This proved to be a challenge because Francis was in the water with no clothes but his swimming trunks and no writing material handy. But, like the prophets of old, he began to make notes in the sand, while his assistant (unlike the biblical scribes) ran to the hotel to fetch a digital camera to photograph God s revelation before it was erased by the tide! For the next two days, Francis and his associate found themselves feverishly drawing to have the document ready on time. To compound matters further, just a few hours before the dinner where Francis was expected to present his work before the President and invited VIPs, he received a phone call from an assistant to the President requesting Francis opinion on how to solve an engineering challenge affecting the docks, the beaches, and the highways in the downtown area. The President would appreciate if you can have a solution on this subject also, intoned the assistant in the most natural manner. Both requests represented challenges beyond anything humanly possible. But Francis, 30 TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace

31 as a marketplace minister deputized by God, had a direct line to the Creator, and he put it to good use. After he prayed, God gave him a most inspired insight on how to resolve the challenge and the time and the energy to make all necessary drafts! What emerged for both projects was so extraordinary and riveting that the President was elated and inquired again how Francis had come up with such a brilliant concept in such a short time. Very straightforward, Francis stated, It was God. As surprising as that sounds, it did make sense, even though at first it startled the President, because thirteen French engineers had been working on the second project for six months and had not been able to come up with anything remotely close to what Francis had designed. One thing led to another, and eventually both the President, his wife, Francis collaborating Tahitian architect, Teiva Raffin, this architect s partners and his Iranian wife received the Lord. Francis baptized them and, after laying hands on them, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Not long afterwards, the President asked Teiva Raffin, now fellow believer, to offer a prayer for Tahiti during an official gathering--a definite first! biblical results for modern times Stories like this eloquently testify that these pivotal paradigms, when embraced with childlike faith and Spirit-led persistency and dependency, produce the same results that we read in the Scriptures. Yes, the Bible is a reliable record of God s intervention in human affairs, and these stories are proof that God is very involved in transformation of nations. The Bible narratives are not meant to be mere memorials to ancient times, but to serve as launching pads for contemporary emulations. It is about time to stop seeing the Bible as an echo of the past and to let it be what it is meant to be: the guiding voice for the future. To see what we have never seen we must do what we have never done, or else we will continue to see what we always see. Embracing these five paradigms is the first step of a long and glorious journey. From Transformation, ch. 3. For more resources we invite you to visit our bookstore at For powerful Transformation stories that will inspire and equip you visit our DVD library at TSOT Week 7 Reclaiming The marketplace 31