WHY GOD WANTS YOU TO DECLARE CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY 

(from Anointed For Business By Ed Silvoso)

We must begin with God.  We are right when, and only when, we stand in a righteous position relative to God, and we are wrong so far and so long as we stand in any other position.  A.W. Tozer 

In the United States the term “Chapter 11” is often associated with bankruptcy.  When it seemed that this was going to be the last chapter of this book, I debated with myself whether I should call it Chapter 11 or not, since that name conjures negative images for people in the marketplace.  For a while I referred to it as the epilogue.   

However, a closer look at Chapter 11 yields a positive picture, because it is a legal process designed to protect faltering corporations.  Basically it creates a legal harbor to serve as protection against secured creditors who could put the corporation out of business through the forced sale of assets.  

Under Chapter 11, the corporation must submit to the bankruptcy court a reorganization scheme showing how it plans to get out of its troubles.  It must also disclose every detail of its business to the court.  Ideally, the plan has to be approved by the creditors, but the judge has the authority to do so unilaterally.  The good news is that while in Chapter 11 the corporation is allowed to continue in business.   

A more severe bankruptcy scenario is the one known as Chapter 7(sorry, I could not avoid having a chapter 7 in this book).  If the court finds that the corporation is beyond recovery, it orders it into Chapter 7 and all its assets are sold to pay as much of its obligations as possible.  Even though many corporations come out of Chapter 11 stronger, no business ever survives Chapter 7. 

In the business world, bankruptcy is always triggered by the inability of a corporation to meet financial obligations.  In the spiritual world, bankruptcy is the inability to meet God’s standards.  As you reach the last chapters of this book, you may feel that you need to file for spiritual Chapter 11.  

In the marketplace, when a corporation declares Chapter 11, in preparation for reorganization, the board of directors must analyze past performance, be willing to correct mistakes and be prepared to realign resources.   However, if the judge suspects deceit or incompetence, or if there is a deadlock among the board members, he will appoint a receiver to take over the corporation.  It is always to the corporation’s advantage to be transparent and forthcoming.   

The same is true in the spiritual realm.  If done properly, filing for spiritual Chapter 11 would make you stronger, not weaker, especially when you consider that the judge, God, will review your case in the context of very favorable jurisprudence, (the Bible), your lead attorney is His Son, Jesus, and His associate counsel is the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, it is essential that you be transparent and examine yourself in the areas of deceit, incompetence or a deadlock.  Otherwise you may be turned over to a spiritual receiver when the spiritual prosecutor (Satan) exposes you.  While the judge is still ultimately in control, the appointment of a receiver takes freedom away from the corporation.  The same scenario happens in the spirit realm.  How this works is shown in the parable of the two debtors.  The king threw the second slave in prison (loss of freedom) “until he should pay what was owed” (Matt. 18:30).  This is not an exact parallel, of course, but it vividly gets across the point that failing to be transparent with God and with each other causes us to lose control and to be disciplined.  

Our Lord spoke words that readily apply to such situations: “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, in order that your opponent may not deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison” (Matt. 5:25).  The picture painted by Jesus is of a person who has no case but insists on going to court.  The end result is that this person loses control when he or she is thrown into prison.  This is what a receiver does- he takes away the freedom of action of those filing for Chapter 11, because their character has been impeached and, as a result, they cannot be trusted to come up with a credible reorganization plan.

THE PROBLEM WITH DECEIT

 The most lethal form of deceit is the one brought about by personal sin...

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