The Tipping Point Reality

“The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” authored by Malcolm Gladwell is a study in shifts that happen in cultures. From music, politics and even revivals. What interested me to investigate this further is a teaching on Tipping Points by Lance Walnau and a segment in Malcolms book on how revivals create tipping points in cultures.

Tipping-points are “the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.” They are moments when critical mass is reached and a shift takes place. The Azusa Street Revival is the ongoing result of a tipping-point. The current move of God today is a result of a tipping-point that reached critical mass in the middle 90′s.

Surprisingly, tipping-points are released through a small percentage of people. We see how this can work as we look at the parable of the sower and the seed found in the gospel of Matthew. Mind you, this is a completely different look at this parable viewing it in the context of a tipping-point. I don’t have the room to develop this fully in this blog post so what is referenced is Jesus explanation of the parable to his disciples. I then broaden the tipping point reality to other events found in the early church.

Matt. 13:18-23  “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:  19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.  20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.  22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.  23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

According to the parable, 100% of the harvest comes from 25% of the people.

•    From the 25% there is 100 fold, 60 fold, 30 fold people.
•    100 fold believers make up about 8.3% and contribute to 53% of Kingdom results. These are your tipping-point people.  These are the Warriors, the Revivalist, and the Revolutionaries.

Nearly 91% of believers are not pursuing what these 8.3% are.

Tipping-point people are the change agents. They are culture-shifters. For example, revivalists like Martin Luther, John Wesley, William Seymour, Aimee Semple McPherson, Oral Roberts, John Wimber and more were past tipping-point people. I would say that tipping-point people today are Bill Johnson, John Arnott and Heidi Baker, Mike Bickle and Lou Engle and of coarse Billy Graham, just to name a few. These people influence others to be tipping-point people. The instill a confidence to see cultures change.

Jesus was a tipping-point person for the 12 (he was the 8.3% in His core group of disciples)  Peter James John made up the 25% his core.

•    The 12 disciples were the tipping-point for the 120 found in the upper room in Acts 2. (the 12o is approx. 25% of the 500 who Jesus appeared to in Acts 1)
•    The 120 were the tipping-point of the 3,000 that got saved in the later half of Acts 2.
•    The 3,000 were the tipping-point for the 30,000 living in Jerusalem. These literally “turned the city upside down”.

What is encouraging here is the fact that it doesn’t take a lot of people to create a tipping-point. What it does require is absolute focus and resolve. The 8.3% are hardcore! They will give their life for His Kingdom cause. They work tirelessly and give themselves completely.

What would happen if a city, your city, reached a critical mass of these types of tipping-point people. What if there were a company of 8.3% people that had the resolve and focus to see a move of God in their city. I believe that this is happening currently in some cities today. Critical mass is becoming a greater reality as these cities are closing in on a tipping-point.

Let’s become a people with this kind of resolve! We might not see the full results in our lifetime but we will be blazing a trail for our children and grandchildren and others that we have the privilege to influence!

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