Vietnam Report from Morris Ruddick

                                                         Morris Ruddick

Luis Palu meeting in Vietnam

Luis Palu meeting in Vietnam

The dimension of the spirit is subtle. It was of prime focus as Jesus imparted the seemingly paradoxical contrasts the operation of the Kingdom has in this world.

Simultaneously, it incorporates an order established by God reflecting the wisdom from above. That order is foundational to the normal conduct of life for individuals, communities and societies. The constant struggle between good and evil has its resolution in this realm of the spirit.

The simplicity and timing of my return to Vietnam bears the earmark of the Spirit. Without realizing it, the dates scheduled for this trip coincided with the return of Luis Palau, whose role in bringing change to Vietnam is yielding fruit. As a naturalized American citizen, he has a great sensitivity to the subtleties of this Asian culture.

Tactical Inroads

In 2009 Mr. Palau set up a meeting of 500 pastors and Vietnamese government officials in Hanoi. He gave a simple message of believers being good citizens and honoring the authority of the government. Not that these pastors needed to be schooled in this way; but the authorities needed to see these leaders receive it and understand that the unofficial, home church movement was not a counter-revolution or threat to the government. This message had an impact and was well received by these senior officials in this nation's seat of power.

However, while it has brought about some positive inroads, persecution has continued in Vietnam. Far too many among the authorities only used the Hanoi event as an opportunity to draw "unregistered" church leaders into the open, as a ploy to shut them down. So, the progress has been something of a two-edged sword.

Current Steps

Still, Luis Palau's return has been with a goal of conducting stadium-level, evangelistic gatherings in two of the major cities. Secondarily it serves as a positive demonstration of the many Vietnamese in the home-church movement, as well as an attraction to the huge number of those who are spiritually open and hungry. The spiritual void and persecution in Vietnam has gone on for far too many years.

Conducting meetings of this type in Vietnam requires a government approved license. So it was that Luis Palau arrived last Tuesday with the first meetings scheduled in a south Saigon stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday and last evening. As of 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon the approval had not yet been given.

But in the last few days, all over that this nation, believers have been gathering in homes and the places they normally worship to fast and pray. I've been a part of participating in these times of intense group intercession and there is little I can think of to compare to it. The fervency and commitment of the house church movement understands the place of spiritual resolution.

Breakthrough

Then shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon, the license to hold the meetings was granted. Saturday evening the first meeting was held. It lasted beyond midnight. Click on this link and enjoy the photos of this historic gathering toward the bottom of the page: http://nguonhyvong.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewst&sid=1666

It was then, just after the first eventful meeting, when my jet-lagged body had finally fallen asleep that I experienced a night of tossing and turning gripped by a most unusual and vivid spiritual dream, which I don't often have.

The Dream

In this dream there was a control room from which everything concerning a planned event was to be released. There was great activity in and out of this control room with the purpose of alignment of all the factors tied to the event.

Next to the control room was a secondary room, designed for the event's follow-up. It was clear that the event was only the gateway; as the follow-up room held the real treasures and potentials of what could unfold.

So in the dream, finally everything for the event was aligned. Everyone was elated as the event began taking place. Those coming and going began leaving as the event was concluded and the activity subsided. Then a key individual in charge came out of the control room and went to open the door of the follow-up room. It was locked. He looked around in desperation asking "where is the key?"

My entrance into all this activity had come through a back door of this follow-up room. At the time I entered I had been handed a key to this back door. So I spoke up as I pulled the key out of my pocket. We went and unlocked the back door of the follow-up room, and people began coming for this pivotal stage of what was unfolding.

Our Part in the Big-Picture

Indeed, this dream portrays the subtlety, simplicity and order that the Lord is orchestrating in the many roles being played out, at many levels, within this nation and indeed around the globe today. Our program has significance in mobilizing and equipping the Vietnamese church as leaders of influence and "community builders."

So it is that we've entered a time when we need to be acting on the right things at the right time, in order to avoid the distractions that divert; as we enter a rhythm and precision of divine timing being released in the realm of the spirit.

My First Days

Since my arrival back among these most remarkable people a few days ago, there has been an intensity and sense of entering the Lord's strategy for this time. It goes beyond the best our human efforts could produce. Yet, it is that mix between our best and the entrance into His flow that produces that "something more."

My primary contact here is a man who has paid an enormous cost for his faith. Our time together on this trip has been far more strategic than in previous ones. Our discussions begin each day at an early breakfast and have touched on uniquely parallel insights God has given us individually, some going back more than 40 years. We've woven our way through traffic, as I blend in on back of his motor bike, as we embrace this intensity of purpose with the expectation of that "something more."

Our first workshop of three, across three cities, begins tomorrow morning. Yet since my arrival my days have already been filled with meetings, preaching at individual congregations, teaching Spirit-filled Vietnamese Catholics along with other collaborations in this tapestry being woven together by this nation's committed players; whose lives have pierced the veil with their priorities set on advancing the Kingdom. One woman from our local host ministry just returned from a northern village, where she brought 282 new converts into the Kingdom, but not before leaving having set up the structure for their discipleship.

My pastor friend and host, who has been so instrumental in arranging my God's economy program across so many regions of this nation, feels there has been nothing that has come from the West to compare with it, in its strategic importance to mobilizing the Vietnamese church and turning the tide in the spiritual realm. The timing is indeed key and it is now; as I am convinced that this nation is key to God's grand strategy for this time.

Thank you for praying AND continuing to pray!

In His love and mine,
  
Morris Ruddick
Global Initiatives Foundation
http://www.strategic-initiatives.org/