The Reformation Manifesto: Your Part in God's Plan to Change Nations Today by Cindy Jacobs

Author:Cindy Jacobs
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Protestant, Missions, Christian Ministry, Christian Life, Christianity, Social Issues, General, Religion, Evangelism, Spiritual Growth, Pentecostal & Charismatic, Christian Theology
ISBN: 9780764206627
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2009-01-31T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Who’s the Judge?

Several years ago I was preparing to preach at a Christian conference in Mar del Plata, Argentina. I could not seem to discern what God wanted me to preach that night. I was "suffering for the message," as I put it—walking the floor and praying for direction.

As I paced back and forth in my hotel room, a strange thought came to me. Let me put it in the context of reforming a nation. I had been going to Argentina since 1990. Each year God would give me some kind of word for the nation. Many of them had been quite radical. For instance, one year I gathered a group of major leaders and gave them the prophetic word that the economy of the nation was going to collapse. I had previously had a vision of people rioting in the streets of Buenos Aires, trying to get their money out of the banks. This was hard for the leaders to believe, but yet it happened in 2001.

Since that time, the Lord had given me prophecies that would help to reconstruct the nation. The thought that came to me in the beautiful seaside city of Mar del Plata was that I should tell the people that they needed to start paying taxes to the government.

This may not sound all that radical to those of you in the United States. Most people here know that we all must our pay taxes or be thrown in jail. The Internal Revenue Service moves quickly to prosecute those who do not. While there are still people in the United States who try to avoid or fail to pay their taxes, the vast majority faithfully pay their taxes as they are due. But that is not the norm in many developing countries, including Argentina.

That night I stood to speak in the large former opera house. As I peered up at the balconies, I spoke about God being the great judge of the universe and that in order to please God, we need to be upright not only in our dealings with the Creator but also with earthly governments. I said, "You might not pay taxes because you believe the government is corrupt and doesn't deserve your money. However, the Bible is clear on the subject in Romans 13:1-2, 7:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.... Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

At the end of the service I asked all of those who did not pay taxes to stand. I was stunned at the response. The conference was mainly for church leaders and dedicated Christians, yet the majority of those in the audience stood up. These beloved people were very honest.

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