Bank of England warns of 'storm from Europe'- Do we need to be afraid?

God sent a great shaking to the nations in 2008. The effects of the global financial crisis are still with us and will be with us for many years to come. But God is also stirring the church into action, because we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken.
Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King has warned of the “risk of a storm heading our way from the Continent” as he flagged the eurozone as the greatest threat to the UK’s recovery.
Sir Mervyn’s warning came as the Bank said the UK economy will not return to pre-financial crisis levels before 2014 after it cut its growth forecasts for the next two years. The Bank now expects growth of around 0.8% this year.
And the squeeze on consumer spending is set to maintain its grip as the rate of inflation falls more slowly than previously expected, remaining above the Government’s 2% target for the next year or so.
While the Bank said it did not see a “meaningful way” of factoring in an extreme financial event – such as the collapse of the euro – into its projections, it said the biggest risk to recovery stems from the single currency bloc, the UK’s main trading partner.
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What does all this mean?

I certainly do not claim too much by way of the prophetic words I gave at the beginning of the year 2008. Some would say that you didn’t need to be a prophet to predict a financial storm. The signs were all too obvious anyway. But a prophetic message is more about ‘forth-telling’ than it is about ‘fore-telling’. The most important question is, ‘What do these things mean?’ In other words, ‘What is God up to in all this?’ Quite simply, God is shaking the nations so that what cannot be shaken will be revealed.

The shaking

The book of Hebrews helps us understand what God is doing both nationally and internationally. God is shaking the nations and he is shaking our society. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken ? that is, created things ? so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Hebrews 12:26-27

False ‘gods’

Whenever God sends a shaking, it is always to shake our confidence in all the false things we trust in. God is shaking the false foundations of our society, both in judgement and mercy. In judgement because we have been worshiping the wrong thing – mammon. In mercy, because this shaking shows the inadequacy of our foundations and gives us the opportunity to build again on the right foundations – the kingdom of God.

What can we do? We can pray, we can claim some of these promises and we can say “Dear God, protect me in this time of financial difficulty”.

Here is how we can do it…

1. I counsel you, value your job and your employment; don’t play games with them. Make sure you are in the job God has called you to be in and do it with all your might, faithfulness and grace because that job will see you through. We are going to pray for the unemployed tonight that God will get you into employment this year.

2. Start dealing with your debt. We will teach on that because during financial difficulty, if you are in debt it is more difficult. It is nothing to worry about or fear but it is important to be diligent in dealing with your debt. We are going to look at some of the ways in which we can do that.

3. If there is a sense of financial difficulty coming, do not forfeit your tithes and offerings. It is a natural and human temptation when you think that times are tough and there is a squeeze on, so you cut back on your giving – don’t do that. be faithful in your giving because there are promises – they are not mechanical promises like a ‘one-armed bandit’ machine – but if we are faithful in our tithes and offerings, God will open the windows of heaven and he will pour out his blessing.

   
   

   So, in financial terms, be ready because the storm is coming – you don’t need to be prophetic to see that whole thing beginning to take place.

   I have recently been prompted by the Holy Spirit to speak out about the ?perfect storm? that is about break out on the Christian Church in Britain and Europe. Opposition to the Christian faith is definitely intensifying. Different influences seem to be coming together that could soon combine to produce a perfect storm of difficulty for followers of Christ in our region of the world.
   Read it in my article : “Facing the storms of life“