MILESTONE WORDS - PART 1 (c) Morris E. Ruddick
Note: About a month ago, I was uniquely led to go
back and review milestone words the Lord has
imparted to me over the years. I found it a riveting
experience. Our natural tendency is to be either
overwhelmed or side-tracked with short-sighted
minutiae, rather than keeping our eyes on God's
big-picture goals.
Those at the forefront need to overcompensate
for the seductive traps, whether personal, cultural
or doctrinal. The bar has been raised. Imparting
righteous power in corrupt, defiled settings is not
possible without God. We've entered a season in
which the Western hop-skip-halleluiah model will
fall short. May these words from my journey stir
you in yours.
Morris________________________________
"Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD, and
like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?"
Jer 23:29
The heroes of faith operated in oneness with
the priorities and issues of God's heart, without
any vestige of variation between Truth and what
they heard from the Spirit.
Their impact on history was defined by their view
of things from a big-picture God perspective. They heard
from God and they embraced His word, regardless
the cost. That's commitment that requires
discipline. It's also the foundation for maturity.
While intimately concerned with the details
impacting the lives of individuals, the Lord's
priorities are strategic. He orchestrates things
from the stance of generations and the
community of His people within a generation.
As I look back over four decades of walking
with the Lord; that walk has been shaped by
a series of milestone words God has imparted
that have raised the bar with a long-term,
big-picture perspective.
My walk with the Lord began in the early
70s with a dramatic encounter as I was
seeking to know Him, to really know Him.
I was serious and understood the realities.
At that juncture, I had spent over two years
of my life in heavy combat as a US Marine.
I understood what it meant to believe in
something bigger than myself and I understood
the importance of the dynamics of discipline
and commitment.
With the years that have passed since my
salvation experience, I recently was prompted
to outline key words the Lord has spoken to me
over the years; personal milestone words shaping
my calling, my priorities and who I am.
As one of my mentors during those days once shared
with me; if we can just get the door open sufficiently
to capture a glimmer spiritually from God's perspective,
it will be enough.
The Priority
That first encounter; the first time I ever heard
the voice of the Lord came from a time of spiritual
seeking. Having been brought up in the church,
I understood basic precepts of faith, but while I
knew about Him, I really didn't know God.
Having met people who did, I was hungry for that reality.
An old combat friend, Ted Gatchel, wisely just
stuffed a New Testament in my shirt pocket,
telling me that I'd find what I was looking for in God's word of truth.
My spiritual hunger increased. Finally, I began
plowing through Matthew, then Mark, Luke
and John. After starting the book of Acts, I f
ound myself pausing as I read the story of Stephen.
Stephen was facing a life and death situation
without hesitation or waffling. It was a commitment
I could relate to. He knew what he believed in.
The combat encounters I had had in which I didn't
know whether I would come out of them alive
probably numbered more than three dozen. As I
reflected on Stephen's story, one of a man willing
to die for what he believed in, I began reflecting
on what I believed in; what I had been willing to
die for: my country, my Marine Corps, to be
remembered for being able to face the ultimate
test with honor.
At that point, I heard the voice of the Lord for
the first time. In light of what had been going
through my mind at the time, He simply asked
me: "Would you be willing to do that for Me?"
With that question, I understood who Jesus
was and what was being asked of me; was I
willing to make the Lord the priority I had made
as a US Marine. Knowing the cost and commitment,
my response was immediate: "Yes Sir!"
The Mission
My encounter with the Lord had taken place on
a training mission in the Caribbean. Upon arriving
home, I found that remarkably my wife Carol
had had a similar personal, life-changing encounter
with the Lord. Spiritually, we were like sponges.
Then, having found an active Bible-believing church,
we read great swaths of the Word of God, attended
Bible studies, participated in fellowship gatherings
and counseled with our pastor.
At that juncture, I came in contact with a simple
phrase that became like a fire in my soul: "God has
a perfect plan for your life." I had chosen a good plan,
one that I'd been excelling in with my military career;
but what God began holding out before me was t
he prospect of a higher purpose, a plan for my life
that would redirect my mission to one that served
Him directly.
I really didn't know what God had in store for me,
other than the fact that I would be serving Him.
I suspected my future and my calling might involve
a role within what was at the time becoming known
as the "para-church ministry," but the reality is that
when I resigned my Marine Corps commission, what
Carol and I stepped into was something akin to an
Abrahamic journey.
Knowing the importance of preparing, although I
already had a college degree, I enrolled in
Oral Roberts University where I could dig deeper
into God's word and be immersed in a Christian culture.
In the interim, we served as full-time trainee-ministers
for a small AG ministry, participated in intense Bible
training and helped start a coffee-house ministry.
The time at Oral Roberts University was filled with studies, activities and relationships that laid the foundation.
At the core of this setting was the mantle to "
Train up young people who hear God's voice to go to
where God's light is dim." Additionally, the value of
my time at ORU was punctuated by two mentors,
Paul McClendon and Harold Fisher. These incredible
men of the Spirit had prayer lives, a strategic outlook
and a spiritual maturity that set the standard for what
lay ahead. Toward the end of the year we spent
at ORU, the Lord led me to enroll in a graduate program
at a local secular university. Not long into this program,
I began to realize I may have bitten off more than
I could chew.
The Gift
The program I was in had required courses in statistics,
which I had no background in. Somehow the school had
overlooked this with my entrance into the program. I
soon found myself scrambling and going to the professor
for extra help.
Then in the midst of what seemed as sinking sands I was
encountering with this required course work in research
designs and statistics, the Lord spoke a clear word to me
from Psalm 119. That word was: "I'll make you wiser
than your teachers."
Yet, my efforts didn't begin to approach what this
word suggested. Despite rapt attention during classes,
fervent study, getting extra help and praying, I was not
grasping the subject matter. Then far too quickly, we were
facing a mid-term exam.
My faith shaken, I began to think that somehow I had
misfired with what I thought I had heard from God to
enroll in this program. The night before the exam, having
done all I knew to do, I repented for my presumption.
The next day I felt no better as I walked into the exam.
I placed my name on the exam paper and read the first
question. The only way I can describe what happened
was that it was like curtains were pulled back and I had
complete understanding of what the question asked.
I went through the entire exam that way. As I read
each question, not the answer but understanding was
imparted. I was pretty excited as I turned in my paper
and left the room. Outside were some of the better
students in the class, complaining about how hard the
exam was. The star pupil stated he thought it was the
hardest test in the subject he had ever had. Doubt
encroached at my door and my faith went through the floor.
A week later the professor, with a scowl on his face,
entered the classroom with our graded papers in hand.
He growled that the median grade was a 62 and he
then proceeded to call out the name of each student
along with their grade, as he handed the graded exams out.
One doctoral candidate had a 29. The class star had a 73.
Finally he called my name and stopped. He looked down
again at the paper and then at me and back at the paper. I
had a 98. Clearly something supernatural had taken place.
Fulfilling the word from Psalm 119 I had to take independent
studies in multivariate statistics and psychometric designs to
complete the task I had embraced for my thesis. God had
given me a gift that would become foundational in the work I was
to do.
The Gateway
During this time, we had developed a unique relationship
with a man who was a partner in a media ministry in
South Africa. Our friend Peter Church had been visiting
the US to gather information to help with his plans for a
Christian media production and entertainment center.
I had been invited to become General Manager of this
operation upon completion of my graduate program
coursework. Then with a matter of weeks before our
intended departure, Peter's plans changed. He and his
partner had a falling out and Peter and his family had
decided to immigrate to the land of milk and money (the US).
So, here I was having left a stable career in which I was excelling;
approaching the end of my time of retooling, without any
prospects whatsoever before me. While in prayer, I asked
the Lord for an answer to what I should be expecting. He
gave me one. With clarity, I heard Him say that I was going
to be a consultant. Without even a realistic idea of what that
meant and without any formal background in business,
this word strangely gave me great peace.
Then, having put this "word" on a shelf, I found myself
becoming very practical with the need to obtain
employment to support my family. Following up on an interest
in the advertising world, I learned from one executive
I spoke with of an opening that existed within a firm that
he seemed convinced that I'd be perfect for. His conclusion
was based on the "gift" God had given me with research designs.
So, without really understanding what I was pursuing,
I followed up on his suggestion. What unfolded was
something of a whirlwind that resulted in my being hired
by this firm. What I didn't realize during this process was
that I had just been hired by a research-based consulting firm.
The Calling
During those early days in my new "career," again I was in prayer
trying to grasp how this all fit together on this pathway, this
adventure that was unfolding with the Lord at the helm.
At that juncture, the Lord spoke a word to me that riveted
me and subsequently defined the path of my calling.
The words the Lord spoke to me were:
"Just as in the days of Joseph and Daniel, I am going to
bring out mighty works at your hand. As you are led into
the midst of the world, kings, rulers and leaders will be
converted and humbled. You'll work beside them and
your counsel will be heeded for their good."
Once again, I had received a word that I didn't fully
understand. However, I knew that I had heard from
the Lord and it brought great peace.
The Spiritual Gift
Then came another unexpected word that has
complemented the natural gift the Lord had given me.
While on a business trip for my employer, I checked
into my hotel. As I went into the room to drop my bags,
I noticed an open Gideon Bible on a table across the room.
The thought passed through my mind: "I wonder if the
Lord has a word for me." So I went over to this open
Bible and my eyes fell upon Jeremiah 51:20:
"You are My battle-ax and weapon of war; for with
you I will break nations in pieces;
with you I will destroy kingdoms and
strongholds."
I was gripped by this word, but couldn't seem to see
its application in what the Lord had been telling me
that I was to do. I left for the meetings I had set up.
That evening, I opened my own Bible to read and it
just happened to fall open to Jeremiah 51:20. I pondered
it and prayed. The next morning as I opened my Bible;
to spend some time in the word to start my day, it again
opened to Jeremiah 51:20. I knew God was telling me
something, but I just wasn't sure what it was.
Upon returning from this business trip, we met with
some friends who we prayed with who were older
and much wiser in the things of God than we were.
I shared my Jeremiah 51:20 experience. Connie
replied that "Maybe the Lord is leading you into some
type of intercession ministry." My off-the-cuff response
was "I know, but there's something more to it than that."
Actually I hadn't "known" that, but the process was
serving as a catalyst to unveiling a prophetic and authority dimension to my calling as a consultant that would become very key in the days ahead.
During the next three years, I began learning the tools of the
trade; the trade of being a consultant.
Faith and Risk
I then had a most unique encounter that I describe
in the last chapter of my "God's Economy" book. The Lord
told me I was to start my own business. That first year of
business I felt like Peter who had stepped out of the
boat to walk on the water and had started sinking.
Again, I was taking on something that was far beyond
my experience level. I began realizing that faith involves
risk and risk carries a cost.
I traveled the country, gave presentations and attended
conferences. Yet, during that first year of being in
business for myself, very little of what I did seemed to
take root. I managed to sell one (underpriced) assignment
during that time, along with compiling sufficient debt to
seriously wonder if we were going to lose our home.
Then in a week in time came a most remarkable breakthrough.
It began a time of favor and growth. The next several
years the greatest challenge was in keeping up with the
growth. We grew to have offices in three cities and
27 full-time employees. I was also beginning to realize
the fulfillment of the words God had spoken to me
before entering the consulting world about being
called like Joseph and the influence I would have on my clientele.
I was doing assignments for Fortune 100 companies,
as well as a number of respected media ministries.
My firm was like a David amidst a group of Goliaths in
terms of our competitors, consulting firms like
Arthur D. Little and Booze Allen Hamilton. My role
as the head of my firm resulted in exploits far
beyond my natural abilities.
For example, in work I did for Xerox during the early 80s,
I recommended that they enter the facsimile business.
It proved to be their most profitable division. Feedback
from clients included statements such as: "It's like your
recommendations were prophetic." Such were the words
that God had spoken to me years prior: "Your counsel will
be heeded for their good." Such is the calling of a
modern-day Joseph.
The Shaking
There was a wonderful season of an upward spiral of
opportunity and fast growth. But then came a sudden
turn and the bottom dropped out of the primary market
we served. We didn't seem able to back-pedal and
downsize fast enough. Sadly we eventually shut down
this amazing God-birthed phenomenon. We shut down
honorably, but not without much pain in the process.
Simultaneously one of my clients in the banking industry
took over as President of a statewide financial institution
with 34 branch locations that had just undergone serious
losses the year before he joined them. He reached out to
me to join him as his SVP of Marketing and Planning in his
as chief architect of a corporate turnaround. I'm still not
sure which was the frying pan and which was the fire;
between what I had left behind and this new "opportunity."
Details on that stage in my career are also found in my
"God's Economy" book.
We completed a successful corporate turnaround,
putting the organization back in touch with the marketplace
and restoring profitability. Then came the subtlety of
corporate politics; the games people at my peer level
had played that had brought this firm to the place where
they needed the corporate turnaround in the first place.
So it was that the man, who had recruited me and corporately
had become my mentor, became the victim of the ambitions
of a dog-eat-dog culture. Being on the wrong side of this
political infighting, I also found myself without a job.
Note: Part 2 will describe New Horizons; Raising the Bar;
Applications for Change; Set Times; Convergence and
Preparedness; and The Discipline: Actively Hearing God and
Obeying. Part 2 will be posted to the SIGN list in roughly two
weeks; or can be finished by picking up at the New Horizons
section at
where the full piece is already published.___________________________________________________
Morris Ruddick has been a forerunner and spokesman for the
call of God in the marketplace since the mid-90s. As founder of
Global Initiatives Foundation and designer of the God's Economy
Entrepreneurial Equippers Program, Mr. Ruddick imparts hope and
equips economic community builders where God's light is dim
in both the Western and non-Western world.
He is author of "The Joseph-Daniel Calling;"
"Gods Economy, Israel and the Nations;" "The Heart of a King;"
"Something More;" and "Righteous Power in a Corrupt World,"
which address the mobilization of business and governmental
leaders called to impact their communities with God's blessings.
They are available in print and e-versions from Amazon.com,
BarnesandNoble.com and other popular outlets.
Global Initiatives Foundation (www.strategic-initiatives.org) is a
tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 non-profit whose efforts are enabled by the
generosity of a remnant of faithful friends and contributors whose
vision aligns with God's heart to mobilize the least of these our
brethren. Checks on US banks should be made out to Global Initiatives
and mailed to PO Box 370291, Denver CO 80237 or email us at
sign@strategicintercession.org for access information on our secure
web-site.
2013 Copyright Morris Ruddick - sign@strategicintercession.org
Reproduction is prohibited unless permission is given by a SIGN advisor.
Since 1996, the Strategic Intercession Global Network (SIGN) has mobilized
prophetic intercessors committed to targeting strategic-level issues
impacting the Body on a global basis. For previous posts or more i
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