By A. Wilson Phillips

A divine excitement arises within me as we begin our new Hidden Manna publication. In everything God directs our church to do, we always endeavor to "accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative and don’t mess with Mr. In-between," as the pop singer Bing Crosby used to croon.

In 1985 when our ministry acquired the Fox Theatre on Park Central Square in Springfield, Missouri, the downtown area was at its lowest point. Springfield’s downtown seemingly had a future of gloom, doom, poverty, and hopelessness. The city officials had closed the Square to auto traffic. Longtime, die-hard businesses shut their doors. We moved onto the Square in faith against the conventional wisdom of the religious and business communities.

As the pastor of Abundant Life, I heard feedback from some in the community about how I was leading our church. Many thought I was "two bricks short of a full load." I understood; however, God had spoken. We had to obey. Our vision from God compelled us to take a leap of faith and, from the heart of the city, demonstrate the heart of God.

Today the Square is open and newly landscaped. The "streetscape" linking Founder’s Park to the Jordan Valley Park is under construction. Revitalization of Downtown is moving forward with several projects under development.

God is doing something good, and He uses both covenant-breakers and covenant-keepers to do His will. Sovereign God is in charge, and He is working in and through His covenant people. The covenant-keepers discern the times and knowingly participate in doing His will. Their rewards are great and eternal.

Unfortunately, many Christians today do not believe God has positive plans for the earth’s future. Many local churches proclaim some of the gospel, "good news," but like the Pergamos church in the book of Revelation, they have allowed some false (negative) doctrine to infiltrate their congregations (Rev. 2:12-17). Church leaders must be discerning and realize that error often rides in on the wings of truth.

The overcomers in Pergamos were the ones who received "hidden manna"—spiritual food from God. Today Christ gives overcomers hidden manna. The manna is hidden from some of God’s covenant people because of their negative, defeated words and lifestyles.

The remnant of God’s covenant people who receive hidden manna recognize their dependence on the Lord and live with a constant awareness of God’s manifest presence. They know by conviction that the best is yet to come.

Bill Gates uses the advertising slogan "The best is yet to come." I have a small investment in Microsoft stock, and I trust his words are more than presumption. Before I heard Mr. Gates say this phrase, I shared these words in faith with my church and others in the community for several years. I believe the best is yet to come because I believe the bread of life, and He says, "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (II Cor. 6:16). In Acts, He declares that this "promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."