Showing posts with label Kingdom Leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kingdom Leadership. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

UNLOCKED - SIGN (c) Morris E. Ruddick


Morris Ruddick

SIGN

UNLOCKED

(c) Morris E. Ruddick


"I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." Isa 22:22 NIV

Just prior in this sequence of scripture, the prophet had spoken words of judgment against a leader who had fallen short, who was misusing the authority of his office. In establishing his replacement, a unique mantle was bestowed, with an authority that dovetailed with that of David's line, an authority to lock and unlock spiritual gates.

David's greatest exploit was in overcoming the divisions within the community of God's people and aligning them to pursue God's Kingdom purposes, as one. That factor is the substance of a genuine Kingdom leadership mantle.

The significance of rightly shepherding God's people is illustrated by this Isaiah 22 story of the mantle being stripped from Shebna and then bestowed to Eliakim. The change involved one whose stewardship, on behalf of God's people, fell short as it passed a subtle threshold, losing its focus -- from its design to mobilize and align God's people -- to Shebna becoming obsessed with power and the personal benefit from his position.

A full grasp of the scope of this Kingdom leadership dynamic is vital to the preparation of the Body needed for this hour. It is vital to wielding the key to unlocking the bondage of corruption and releasing the transformation that affects societal change.

The Hurdle to Unlock

One of the biggest, if not the biggest gap in the Church today -- is the need for something practical and engaging, to enable each believer to WALK OUT A CALL OF GOD.

We've emerged at a change of generations with a "me-too" orientation. We've confused the tactical with the strategic. We've made models out of what may have been simply successful stepping stones for a time, stepping stones never intended as the standard or the model to be followed. Short-sighted misuse of tactical means for strategic ends can impede the unlocking and passage into new gateways.

Volunteerism, for example, is not an end in itself, but rather the steps in the path toward its adherents correctly identifying and then being prepared for release to walk out their own callings. Mimicking success, instead of following the move of the Spirit, of the cloud by day and the fire by night, can be a trap. It impedes maturity within the Body needed to rightly discern and engage in God's strategies for the times.

The blind-spot at the core of such subtle snares is akin to the downfall of Shebna, of becoming in-bred and self-serving. This deception short-circuits the big-picture purposes of the Spirit. The momentum for this misaligned zeal is driven by the overuse or misapplication of early-stage successes and priorities.

This in-bred myopia can breed lone-ranger congregations. Progressively misaligned priorities result in a failure to interact with, pray with and work together with other believers within the surrounding community. It waters down the important factor of how we seek the Lord together. It results in falling short in mobilizing God's people to discern and walk out the calling of God for the day at hand.

In-bred myopia masks the keys needed to unlock the strategies needed to avoid the mix between the collisions taking place due to the "me-too" and "Shebna empire," lone-ranger, short-sighted expenditures of energy and anointing.

There have been almost overwhelming inroads of darkness operating within our cultures, seats of power and economies. However, as God's people, we have a disproportionate advantage. David identified and unleashed that advantage.

The goal is the alignment and mobilization of a people who become the true demonstration of the reality of God for which the world longs. The strategy was soundly implemented by David. Its dimensions are so significant that reference is given to them from the Prophets. to the Book of Acts, to Revelations.

These dimensions are referred to as the key of David and the tabernacle of David.

The Mantle of David

David's role in overcoming all the strife and division -- in bringing the community of God's people together carries significance very close to the Father's heart. It is the standard for the Kingdom. It is the standard to release Body maturity. It represents the crux of turning, the key that unlocks the power in which Light disperses darkness.

This unlocking is also uniquely tied to another dimension tied to the mantle of David, referred to as the tabernacle of David. The tabernacle is the place where God's presence resides. Yet, this dynamic embraces much more than the warm glow from worship. Worship is certainly a significant part, but again is a means to an end.

The goal is the progressive consciousness of God's presence that guides the community as a whole, and becomes the pathway through which the community is built and serves as a Light on a hill.

It is when the infectious reality of God's presence results in the unified community itself becoming spiritually contagious, that the attention of the surrounding community is attracted, being drawn into its sphere. When in operation, it overwhelmingly challenges the gatekeepers of darkness.

The Impact of Unity and God's Presence

Acts 15:12-17 tells of a time of major turning in the early Church following Jesus' resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit, when a move of God began the unlocking of gates, which previously had been locked. A very key part of this unlocking was opening the gates for the Gentiles to partake in the promises long held by the Jewish people.

"So open the gates, so that those who are righteous may enter." Isaiah 26:2

It was a time marked by the reality of the wonders of God's presence. This was another gate unlocked in which the anointing became available to all believers. It was a time of true revival, a time in which believers and non-believers alike, recognized and were being drawn by God's manifested presence. A great fear of the Lord fell upon not only all the church, but also upon all who witnessed and heard about these things (Acts 5:11; Acts 6:8; Acts 8:6). It was a time when the impact was described by members of the world, as "the world being turned upside down" (Acts 17:6).

Scripture (Matt 24:36; Acts 1:7) refers to set-times determined by the Father alone. Paralleling the above examples from the early Church, we have entered times strategically mapped out in the heart of God. Since the time of the resurrection and outpouring of the Spirit, God's people -- both Israel and the Church -- have encountered new things, sovereignly unlocked by moves of the Spirit.

Israel's 1948 Independence and then regaining control of Jerusalem in 1967 are modern-day examples. Each was tied to new gates of revival and unity in God's move toward the reestablishment of His order in the cultural, power and economic systems. Today, Israel and the Church are poised before another such unlocking.

The Model for Preparation

So, what are the steps to preparing for God's next steps of progressively unlocking the cultural, power and economic systems? Avoiding the Shebna blind-spots and embracing the keys given Eliakim begins with the preparation needed for ALL to be fully engaged in walking out their callings. It begins in being prepared as a culture within a culture in being led by the Spirit to impart Life in the infrastructures of the world's systems.

The preparation has got to dispel the unscriptural premise of the sacred and the secular that categorizes and separates ministers from the laity. The sin of Shebna, was also the sin of the Pharisees. Jesus' choice of those He drew together as His closest followers broke the mold for religious leadership with his cross-section from every walk of life. These everyday people included people of business, professionals, military leaders, government employees, people of disrepute and people of society.

It challenged the premise of a distanced, leadership-elite and raised the bar for service and responsibility, along with extending the mantle of leadership to the community as a whole. With the big-picture model of God-centered, economic community development employed from the days of Abraham, leadership is the influence from everyday people operating in everyday domains for the common good. The key to unlocking these next gates will begin with the preparation needed to break the mold to release entire communities.

The Preparation

In the early 1970s, I left what was in its own right a calling, in order to prepare myself in the pursuit of a higher calling. Having spent almost eight years as a US Marine, I hungered for the opportunity, for the rest of my days, to be used by God.

There were steps in that process. As new Christians we were blessed to attend a church led by a man of God who opened to us the riches of God's Word. Then as we became immersed in the application of God's truth, together with wise counsel, we were released and sent forth to prepare for entrance into God's plan, as I became a student at Oral Roberts University.

While the academics provided a discipline and depth in learning how to rightly divide the word of Truth, there was another, very essential and practical dimension. At the core of ORU's mandate is training up young people to hear God's voice to go where God's light is dim.

Academics were only one part. Together with mentorships and a process of coming to know God and His heart, we were given the foundations for walking out a call of God. Functioning in a vibrant, interactive community, we were given the basics needed to live and maintain a lifestyle of faith, of being led by the Spirit.

The Nurturing and Application

Within this setting was a strong foundation in the living Word. The greatest influence on my future calling was the interactive nurturing that came through God's Word, the testimonies, the times of praying with and the wisdom imparted by ones with their own track record in successfully walking out a call of God.

This foundation and nurturing became the launch-pad for the real-life applications in discerning God's guidance and then stepping out in faith -- to walk out the calling and pathway that lay before us.

The simplicity for this preparation was demonstrated by Jesus' nurturing and application of the teaching He imparted to His inner circle during His earthly ministry. The process was very practical. There was teaching, observation and then real-life applications.

Jesus spent nights in prayer seeking the Father as His followers observed His life and how he ministered to the people. Jesus taught His disciples the basics of applying faith, prayer and how to apply righteous power in corrupt settings. The key in this process is the word "application." Jesus taught His followers to be doers of the word and not just hearers.

Then there came a time when He released them. It was a significant transition. Jesus told them that no longer did He consider them disciples, but friends. Friends are those you trust. Friends are ones with whom you entrust your responsibility and share the keys. Not long afterward was the cross, then the resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit. From that point, everything changed.

Unlocking the Pathway

In today's turbulent spiritual atmospheres, the standard of Body maturity Paul outlined in his letter to the Ephesians is no longer an option. The greatest hurdle is from within. It is the in-bred, short-sightedness in which the means becomes the end whereby leadership fails in its Kingdom function of serving, taking on a life of its own.

During the course of the last generation, the rise of the parachurch movement, the influence and expansion of Christian media, distance learning and webinars, the mobilization of banners that bear on standards for legislation have all coincided with the acceleration of Body maturity, which in turn has met head-on, the inroads being made by darkness.

While the stakes are higher and the bar has been raised, God's keys of unlocking can be expected to retain their unstoppable potency. The standard of maturity and need for alignment -- not unlike what David actuated in bringing all Israel together -- is bedrock to all that lies ahead for the Lord's plans for the Church and for Israel. It begins with a faithful, strategically-poised remnant.

At the crux in this process is equipping the saints for the work of their callings. With the traction this yields, the mantle of David will be triggered in actuating unity for the revival-level manifested presence of God that mobilizes us as the community of believers needed for this hour.

During times of preparation, the focus will involve the infrastructures for timely life-training, from local congregations to Internet-based Kingdom-life programs to Bible schools and more, each preparing both individuals and the community for emerging as the Kingdom force that Jesus intended, to penetrate the darkness and draw all men to Himself.

"If you have run with footmen and they have wearied you, then how will you contend with horses. If in the land of peace in which you trusted they wearied you, then how will you do on the floodplain of the Jordan." Jeremiah 12:5
___________________________________________________

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;" "Righteous Power in a Corrupt World;" and "Leadership by Anointing," 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 www.Amazon.comwww.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 persecuted church to be the head and not the tail. Checks on US banks should be made out to Global Initiatives and mailed to PO Box 370291, Denver CO 80237 or email us atsign@strategicintercession.org for access information on our secure web-site.

Likewise, email us to schedule a seminar for your congregation on the wisdom the persecuted church has for the times emerging in the West.  

2014 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 and leaders committed to targeting strategic-level issues impacting the Body on a global basis. For previous posts or more information on SIGN, check: http://www.strategicintercession.org
Morris Ruddick
Global Initiativex Foundation
www.strategic-initiatives.org
www.strategicintercession.org

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

REPORT OF THE TIMES AND INDONESIA (c) Morris E. Ruddick

SIGN

REPORT OF THE TIMES AND INDONESIA
(c) Morris E. Ruddick


"Men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what to do." 1 Chron 12:32

Because of the significance of what the Lord is doing in Indonesia, this SIGN post merges the focus of my prayerful insights into understanding the times with conclusions from our August/September mission in Indonesia.

Despite an unusual level of spiritual warfare; God's plan for this Indonesian mission has prevailed. Upon arriving, our host noted that having hosted many over the years from around the world, that none matched the warfare he encountered tied to the preparations for our God's economy program. So, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for praying.


Each of the three God's economy workshops was eagerly received. From successful
business owners to those eager to start new businesses, those attending were prepared for the times we're entering.


The Kingdom Leadership Conference launched the second half of our time in Indonesia. It was sold-out with 2000 in attendance. Reconnecting with Myles Munroe was very meaningful. My marketplace leadership sessions were well attended and well received. Business leaders traveled from outside Indonesia to attend.


The business community in Asia is truly a mobilized one. All are intent on discerning God's strategies for the time; intent on applying the biblical secrets that have made the Jewish people so successful economically and culturally influentially over the centuries.


Strategies of the Conflict

Spiritually, at the core of the dynamic unfolding is the battle between God's blueprint and the blueprint of the devil. The heroes of faith are the ones who identify God's blueprint. They pay the cost and prevail so that God's purposes are established. The bottom line in Kingdom leadership is discerning God's blueprint in a situation and in a people and then bringing it forth for those they lead.


One of the more subtle deceptions operating in the Body today is the myopia of those whose focus is in discerning the devil's blueprint for a situation and then trying to stamp it out. That was never the pattern for God's best; for establishing His order. The heroes of faith face the fire and give birth to restoring God's order.


The spiritual climate of the two islands on which we ministered on this Indonesian mission was totally different. We went from a Muslim dominant culture to a Hindu/New Age domain. The difference was striking. Yet the impact being made by the Indonesian church in both domains has been the same. They're changing the spiritual climate. They are impacting the culture. It's why it's the fastest growing church in the world. Carol's observation nails it: "Indonesia's greatest treasure is their people."


In one of my messages, I gave an example of the turning point for a company we had association with years ago. The turning came at a time in the early 70s when this firm was a successful $10 million company. They decided to make a corporate acquisition. The firm they intended to acquire was more than a $100 million in size; more than 10 times their size. Remarkably, they pulled it off. The Wall Street Journal wrote an article on this unusual happening. The title of the WSJ article was "The Minnow Swallows the Whale." That describes what's happening in Indonesia.


God is doing the impossible through ordinary people doing extraordinary things. That's been the bottom line of what we've seen on this entire trip. God has been doing some of the most remarkable things; far beyond our expectations. So once again, thank you so very, very much for praying.


Targeting God's Elect

Simultaneously, the dynamics and realities of what we see swirling all around us have brought home the truth of the importance of not going on our own strength. Many years ago, a man of God we were close to encountered a horrible tragedy with the unexpected death of his 17 year old son. Yet his response was an even worse tragedy. This man of God, whose exploits I couldn't hold a candle to, lost it. He left the Lord and left his family.


The subtlety is that it is never about what we can do for God, but rather what we allow God to do through us. Otherwise, when the fires come, we are overwhelmed; we're blinded and fall victim to the full impact of the devil's blueprint.


There are firestorms raging in the heavenlies. It's important to be discerning the right things. It's important not to be overreacting. It is likewise vital when God tell us to act, to be prepared and to know how to do it decisively.


I still intercede for that friend who lost his son back in the mid-80s. In interceding for one's like him; I'm intimately aware that but for the grace of God and the prayers of faithful friends, of the fine line of our response to the loss of our 30 year old daughter Trish in 1996.


Countering Evil Strategies

So it is when I see something in someone else, such as a blind spot, that I begin by searching my own heart for blind-spots. EVEN if it is only at a 1% level, I first repent for the beam in my eye, before I can truly begin to intercede for them.


This truth ties into a subtlety with which witchcraft/sorcery tries to entwine itself within those who love God. This process, in intercession, of first removing any elements of a "beam" in your own eye, helps to flag and remove the subtle snares that so mark the times we have entered.


This process helps eliminate the defilements that can be picked up when penetrating enemy territory. It keeps us in that place of fearing God and no other; a dimension that is needed to break the bondage of corruption.


It is the reason why judgment first comes to the household of faith. When properly responded to, the judgment that first comes to the household of faith, becomes the means of "turning" that brings the restoration of God's order. It's another reason why we fear God and no other.


Signs of the Times

Less than two weeks before this Indonesian mission, I received a revelation. It bears on the timing of this, our first mission to Indonesia. In short, there is a network, an evil infrastructure in the natural that parallels and fuels the activities emanating from the dark spiritual world; being orchestrated by high-level principalities; which has been subtly preparing for intrusions to spread its tentacles.


It targets seats of power and influence. It has epicenters around the world, recognizable only by the "swirls" of confusion, division, counterfeit religious influences, along with demoralization and the dismantling-type of destruction that is manifesting like huge "sink-holes." This evil infrastructure involves shrouded, entangled funding and investors from interests with legitimate business covers which reflect very subtle and distorted connections.


Its largely unreported and shrouded activities range from human trafficking; to the abortion trade, but also pograms reemerging in places like Russia; and initiatives to undermine Israel; and strategies to divide the Body. Insights into this shadowed, creeping evil can be gleaned from the stories of Gideon and the sword of the Lord against the Midianites; as does the story of Joseph in preparing; as does the story of Daniel and his influence in changing the spiritual culture of an infrastructure of sorcery.


A Time of Preparation

The Joseph-type preparations underway by those with ears to hear are a significant counterforce to these hidden gateways of evil. That's why the mobilization of the marketplace is so key; it's one of those "secret things" that the Jewish people have wielded over the centuries. So it has been, as we've ministered around the globe, the Lord is connecting us with those who are mobilized and those who are preparing.


An important key in all this will be the ones to be given a voice and influence that counteracts and disentangles these hidden gateways of evil. The importance of Jew and Gentile, operating as "one new man" in all this is going to be very strategic. Likewise, there is emerging, a very significant and unexpected impact that will result from heretofore under-the-radar and new, unconventional Christian media initiatives; along with alliances with "righteous" mainstream secular media outlets.


All this calls for heightened discretion and discernment; and a need NOT to give in to, nor especially to overreact to the enticements and diversions of "blind passions" or religious spirits. The snare is in premature action which short-circuits the needed preparation.


Back in 2006, after hearing of the tsunami that had hit Indonesia, I cried out to the Lord for the people. The Lord then gave me insight into this event. It came from Psalm 107. Knowing of the tragedies of persecution against believers that had preceded this event, Psalm 107 unveils that when God's people are "brought low through oppression, affliction and sorrow," there comes a time when the Lord pours out "contempt" (His judgment) on princes (those who abuse power). Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction and makes their families and communities like a flock. The righteous see it and rejoice and all iniquity stops in its tracks. So it has happened in Indonesia. The church in Indonesia is a forerunner for our times.


Discerning the Shifts and What's Next

There's more. But in short, there has been a paradigm shift. We need to understand that shift as we discern the times; and glean from the wisdom of what has been unfolding in these most vibrant Asian segments of the Body. We need to understand what's next.

Before us is a full schedule in October with our return to Vietnam. We've witnessed the

Lord doing remarkable things, from the far North to deep within the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The church in Vietnam is a praying church. It is a church that has gone through the fire. It is a church whose mantle is spiritually becoming like that of the "sword of the Lord" spoken of when Gideon, like the minnow swallowing the whale, penetrated the camp of the Midianites and sent them fleeing.


We're honored and we're blessed to be able to serve these brethren in Indonesia and those in Vietnam. We're poised and we're eager for the next steps the Lord is opening before us and them. Thank you again for your prayers as we depart for the long trek back on 12 September.



___________________________________________________

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.


Mr. Ruddick is also a contributor in the just released five-volume "Aligning with the Apostolic," edited by Bruce Cook with Forwards by Peter Wagner and Bill Hamon. It is available through www.KingdomHouse.net.


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 adviser. 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 information on SIGN, check: http://www.strategicintercession.org


Morris Ruddick
Global Initiatives Foundation
www.strategicintercession.org
www.strategic-initiatives.org