Showing posts with label Phillistines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phillistines. Show all posts

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Morris Ruddick - [SIGN] "PUSHING BACK"

SIGN
PUSHING BACK

(c) Morris E. Ruddick


 "He said, 'Open the window toward the east,' and the king 
opened it. Then Elisha said, 'Shoot!' And he shot. Then 
Elisah said, 'The LORD'S arrow of victory [over your 
oppressors].' Then he said, 'Take the arrows and strike 
the ground,' and he struck it three times and stopped. 
So the man of God was angry with him and said, 'You 
should have struck five or six times until you destroyed 
them.'" 2 Kings 13:17-19

This passage describes a time in which God's people 
were reaching for God's intervention. What was sought 
was the judgment to release the turning from the threats 
of their oppressors.

The times upon us have been marked by evil. They are 
days in which the masks and the subtleties have been 
removed from those advancing darkness, from those who 
call evil good and good evil. Many in the US were stopped 
in their tracks when the last election failed to bring an 
expected spiritual shift. However, there are requisites 
that God's people must meet in order for His turning to 
be released.

The story of David in 1 Samuel 30 unveils insights into 
these requisites. From the time of his renown after 
killing Goliath, David was in over his head, operating 
against the odds. Eventually fleeing for his life, David 
had pulled out all the stops to respond honorably to 
Saul's efforts to crush him. Finally, without any question 
of David hitting a low point in walking out his "calling", 
he gave in and sought safety by cavorting with the 
Philistines. David was flying by the seat of his pants.

Then with his activities with the Philistines abruptly 
terminated, he returned to his base at Ziklag with his 
remnant of warriors. Upon returning, they discovered 
Ziklag had been raided by the Amalekites. They had 
lost everything, including their families. It was a time 
of utter despair, with no foreseeable hope for even 
the next step.

With his followers disgusted and ready to stone him, 
David's mantle of leadership had hit a threshold. Yet, 
it proved to be a turning point for all that would 
unfold from that point onward; in David's calling and 
for his followers.

The scripture tells us that at that low point, in the 
face of revolt and the bottom dropping out; that 
David strengthened himself in the Lord and inquired 
of the Lord. The word of the Lord came: he was to 
pursue and all would be recovered. It was a time to 
reach beyond the hopeless despair and push back.

"The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the 
violent take it by force." Matt 11:12

The Reach


Navigating beyond the low points, the recesses 
marked by terrible despair, begins by reaching 
beyond the circumstance and touching the hem 
of His garment. It involves the reach needed to 
strengthen ourselves in the Lord. It involves 
inquiring of the Lord and then mobilizing and 
strengthening those following us to push back; 
despite the way things may appear in the natural 
or the spiritual condition even our faithful ones 
have succumbed to.

That reach is where true leadership takes root. 
That reach is where the turning and the genuine 
foundations for what lies ahead will begin.

The pathway leading to a time of turning is marked 
by an upheaval spoken of by Jesus (Matt 11:12): 
"The Kingdom of God suffers violence and violent 
take it by force." Not to be confused with forcing 
issues or working things out in the flesh; Jesus 
warned that the way of the kingdom would be a
narrow, difficult path.

It is a pathway beyond ourselves with encounters 
that defile and unmask; revealing spiritual residues 
that encumber the calling. While the situation may 
push us to the wall; humility, repentance and 
forgiveness are the spiritual equalizers to close 
the gap from the bondages of the hidden, spiritual 
residues needed to release the turning.

So it was, that despite the word from Samuel of 
being anointed as king, David's arrival at Ziklag 
was a key juncture.

David chose to strengthen himself in the Lord 
and to seek God for a word for the next steps. 
It was here that David recognized the reality 
of his weakness in this process. Without the 
Lord, there was no hope. It's the place where 
our humility is humbled. This was the juncture 
in which the Lord answered David and told him 
to push back. The steps that followed proved 
true and they recovered all and then some. As 
for the turning, while it didn't happen all at once, 
this was the point at which it began.

"He [Jesus] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient 
for you, for My strength is made perfect in 
weakness.'" 2 Cor 12:9

The reach at the time of turning is subtle, one 
of challenge, with snares. The snare is in giving 
up. The snare is in working it out in the flesh. 
The snare is in failing to face the turning head-
on spiritually. The snare is in choosing the wide 
path in the natural, without a word from the Lord 
for the next steps. The snare is in failing to
recognize that in our weakness, His strength 
will be manifested.

Beyond the Veil


The book of Hebrews points to a place spiritually 
beyond the veil. It is the place in which the 
apostles resided in the post-resurrection church. 
It was a time when focus was given to issues that 
made a difference; issues that majored in major 
things. Judgments made by the leaders of the early 
church flowed with the anointing and had great 
power. Their judgments were not based on soulish 
issues or hurt feelings.

In contrast, King Saul was angered by the mix of 
David's anointing and acclaim and sought to destroy 
him. Yet, it was Saul's own blind spots, obsessions 
with trivia, and a reluctance to reach for the real 
standard of his mantle; which combined to bring 
forth the very things he feared the most.

Leadership in the early church was serious business. 
It was marked by those who loved not their lives 
to the death, whose very shadows (Acts 5:15
repelled darkness. The mantle wielded by these 
post-resurrection leaders pivoted on an authority 
that came from ruling their own spirits to the degree 
that there was not one hint of their leadership 
deviating from the will of the Lord.

In keeping with that, judgment in the early church 
came when the standard being established by the 
Spirit was manipulated or compromised. It was swift 
and incisive. Acts 5 describes this as a time when
 "great fear came upon all the church and upon all 
who heard these things."

David was always a man reaching for the Spirit, for 
God's heart. He never lacked in his willingness to 
spiritually reach beyond himself. However, his true 
mantle to lead began at Ziklag, as David tapped and 
entered a realm beyond himself. As he did, David 
became a standard bearer for God's Kingdom rule.

The turning came and the spiritual traction began 
when David was depleted of all he had in the natural; 
and then in a place beyond himself, having been given 
a word from the Lord, he acted on it and pushed back.

The Shift of the Standard


While there is no doubt that today there are many, 
like David, who are at this point of turning and need 
to strengthen themselves in the Lord, get a word and 
push back; the day upon us is not unlike the time 
operating with the early church. The days then, 
as they are today, were evil. The response required 
more than the best could offer. It took yielded leaders, 
anointed to lead a band of leaders.

That is what maturity in the 
Body is all about: leaders 
genuinely called, refined by fire, 
coming together to nurture 
and lead a society of leaders. 

Body maturity is a dynamic 
with a higher standard of 
leadership. That's both the 
challenge and the edge.

"Go therefore and make disciples .... teaching them 
to observe all the things that I have commanded you." 
Matt 28:19-20

THAT also is our juncture. The paradigm has shifted. 
The standard to be raised is as a people. The 
push-back needed is from a society of leaders. 
Not unlike David, many have arrived at their Ziklags 
depleted, having been flying by the seat of their pants.

Ziklag, is a place where despair is replaced with 
humility and iniquities surpassed. It is the place of 
turning for leaders, when the charisma tied to human 
exploits gives way to embracing the Kingdom standard 
to lead leaders. Ziklag is the place where the shift 
went from David, to a focus on the Kingdom.

This shift is a process, with wisdom we can glean 
from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. While the Sermon 
on the Mount might describe categories of individuals; 
it is also progressive and it outlines this unfolding 
bearing on growing into a people of God: from the 
poor in spirit and mournful, the meek, those who 
hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful, 
the pure in heart, to the peacemakers, and the persecuted.

The words of judgment and correction spoken by 
the resurrected Jesus in Revelation 2 and 3 were 
words directed to specific segments of the church 
in that day. Those words reset the standard for 
communities mobilized for God. I like to view them 
as tapping the dynamics outlined in the progression 
of the Sermon on the Mount.

Even for the brethren at Philadelphia, the trusted 
peacemakers; and those at Smyrna, the suffering 
persecuted church, who received words of 
encouragement; the words given them were serious 
and raised the standard even higher. God's ways are 
always progressive; and based on our reaching beyond 
ourselves, even when all we have has been depleted. 
God's ways are not based on what we can do for God; 
but rather what we allow Him to do through us.

The church at Sardis, the poor in spirit known for 
their prophetic gifts, had failed in their watchfulness 
resulting in a spiritual focus considered as dead. 
Pergamos, the meek, had allowed the entrance of 
confusion and fallen into doctrinal compromise. Ephesus, 
who had been known for their hungering and thirsting 
after righteousness, had become complacent and lost 
their first love. Laodicea, the merciful, had become 
seduced by their own accomplishments, replacing their 
zeal with a cautious, lukewarm approach. Thyatira, 
the pure in heart, whose spiritual fire and works 
knew no bounds; were experiencing defilement due 
to the infiltration of unchecked influences within the 
ranks of their leadership.

In short, none are exempt in having the standard 
raised. It's not about position or past accomplishments. 
It's a part of the truth of the parable of the talents 
with each judged according to their own abilities. It's 
ow the Kingdom advances. It involves getting beyond 
ourselves to face the realities; and then together 
pushing back.

The Alignment with the Turning

There comes a point when the Spirit of the Lord 
draws a line in the sand. However, that will not 
happen until leaders anointed and called have 
transcended the threshold of operating on their 
own abilities and are truly demonstrating the 
humility and reach needed to advance to the 
next level.

The opening scripture points to applying God's 
strategy sufficiently in the right way to accomplish 
the turning. The story of David at Ziklag is one in 
which from the time of turning, that step by step, 
little by little, everything began coming together. It 
was a process, a time of alignment.

God never intended those known by His Name to be 
like everyone else. We've passed a generation marked 
by superstars and have come into a time in which God 
shows Himself strong by means of ordinary people 
doing extraordinary things.

The standard is not just higher; it is not even on the 
same page. Yet in the midst of the turmoil of getting 
beyond ourselves will come times ordained by God in 
which a remnant stands up as catalysts for change, 
as God releases His fire into the hidden lairs of darkness 
that manipulate the world's infrastructures. It is a time 
in which the remnant realigns and then pushes back.

"Lift up a standard on the bare hill, raise your voice 
to them ..... enter the doors of the nobles; for the 
Lord has commanded His consecrated ones, He has 
even called His mighty warriors. The Lord is mustering 
His army for battle." Isaiah 13: 2-4
___________________________________________________

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 fromwww.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 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 
for access information on our secure web-site.

Likewise, email us to schedule a briefing for your 
congregation on the state of the persecuted 
church and how you can more effectively pray for them.  

2013 Copyright Morris Ruddick - 


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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: 

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