SPIRITUAL
CLUTTER
©
Morris Ruddick
“Having
begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles
among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by the hearing with
faith?” Galatians 3:3,5
The
demands of the times and the purposes of God are converging with
significant increases in the strategic-levels needed for executing
His agendas. As the times become more evil; so also is the enlargement
and alignment of the avenues and opportunities into the spheres
required to advance the Kingdom of God.
Foundational
to these alignments is a significant need to close the gap between
our intellectual connecting of the dots as the chief means by
which we interpret the realities tied to the sovereign initiatives
of the Spirit of the Lord. As the 21st Century Body has taken
new ground and begun facing the premises of maturity and the full
knowledge of the Lord outlined in Ephesians 4, there also has
emerged subtleties and snares for those anointed and called for
this hour.
Among
them: smart people like their ears tickled and success in ministry
carries a distinctly subtle snare of ambition. The bottom line
is that what is being begun in the Spirit, too often digresses
into the flesh, as we endeavor to accomplish the purposes of God.
The
Shift
In
the past, it has been nothing short of remarkable what we have
gleaned from a “glimmer” of God's truth and revelation of His
Spirit. We get a revelation and we “study things out.” There is
certainly nothing wrong with rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
Yet, it is a time to transition from the milk to the meat. The
context demands more. As the Body moves into maturity, the demands
of the times have begun reflecting an urgency to penetrate into
the depths of the Spirit and embrace the Apostle Paul's revelation
of the “ full knowledge of the Lord .”
As
evil abounds with a growth in the hostility toward God's people,
standard procedures for purposeful Christian agendas are falling
short; creating a need to step outside the box spiritually and
make a reevaluation of the prisms, the mind-sets and the models
underlying the standards by which we go about doing the work of
the ministry.
The
words Jesus used to announce his earthly ministry: “ The Kingdom
of God is at hand ”—have never had greater pertinence. Yet,
the pathway to the establishment of His Kingdom is, as it was
in the days of Jesus, one that is unconventional and goes against
the grain. As the Lord sent Joseph ahead into Egypt, with paths
that defied the accepted traditions and ways of his people and
purposes of God that simply were beyond the scope of their thinking;
so today God has prepared many who are penetrating and taking
their positions in arenas many may consider as somewhere between
being unorthodox and entering the heart of darkness.
Fresh
Standard and Strategies . The time
upon us is one in which it is no longer business-as-usual in the
Church. There is a strategic need as we release God's agendas
of transformation and dominion in penetrating the fabric of society.
What is required are fresh standards and strategies
in the way we go about the implementation of today's God-directed
purposes of penetrating the seats of power of this world.
The
“glimmer” is no longer enough. Old prisms for discerning God's
Word and old models for implementing His purposes will no longer
suffice. The shift is underway and there is a need for greater
relevance in the strategic nature demanded by the times.
The
model for this era demands nothing less than a Kingdom model.
The old model was driven by a 20th century, western, Anglo-Saxon,
Gentile worldview. While this orientation may have been helpful
for a time; it is not only NOT enough for these times; it will
tend to mislead. The result is spiritual clutter that confuses;
masks and simply falls short in the task of transformation and
the building of God's Kingdom.
Distorted
Realities
There's
a TV show titled “Myth Busters.” It's a reality-TV science show
that has taken on pop-culture myths like: would a penny thrown
from the Empire State Building that hit an unwary pedestrian seriously
hurt them? (No.) Does a sinking ship suck a passenger on the deck
into its downward vortex? (No.) Can you fail a drug test by eating
a bagel heavily laden with poppy seeds? (Yes) The show provides
a reality check on popularly accepted notions.
A
parallel to this premise exists, related to what we embrace spiritually
as our operational standards. From generation to generation, we
have grown and gained greater clarity to the foundations we hold
dear to our faith.
Still,
for some, those foundations have been doctrinal positions formed
decades or longer ago. For others, they are based primarily on
personal experience. Some foundations are based on nothing more
than a premise found in a hymn, a scene in a movie or passage
in a book. Yet, the baseline for our scriptural reality checks
is the Word of God. Even then, we filter how we view the realities
of God's truth through our own array of cultural and doctrinal
prisms. As such, if we are to genuinely understand the times and
know what to do, then there are spiritual myths and “ precepts
of men ,” along with their clutter in need of being challenged,
as we seek to advance the Kingdom.
The
New Model and Prism
What
is required is a Body that is sufficiently mature and rightly
connected to its Head. What is needed is for the mobilization
of every believer and for each to have a clear understanding of
their spheres and those they are to be teamed to collaborate with.
Likewise,
what is needed is a Body of both leaders and followers, who understand
uniquely what it means to be led by the Spirit of the Lord through
turbulence and opposition—with the ability to hear the voice of
the Lord clearly—and despite the turbulence, to advance the Kingdom
without getting diverted, distracted or bogged down.
The
early Church was one of power. It operated in unity. The Gospel
of John tells us that they that know Him, must know Him in Spirit
and in Truth. That means not only rightly dividing the Word of
truth, but correctly discerning the voice of the Lord in our roles
as His ambassadors. Without that balance, our faith is defective.
Hearing
the voice of the Lord is what the prophetic is all about. There
is a difference between being a prophet and being prophetic. Every
born-again believer needs to be developing their prophetic gift—because
without an ability to recognize the voice of the Lord—the balance
of our faith between Spirit and Truth is severely hampered and
subject to being governed by the arm of the flesh rather than
the flow of the Spirit.
Let
there be no question about it. The power of God is connected to
hearing the voice of God. Miracles and transformation will never
rest on a formula or human effort, but rather on being rightly
connected to the Spirit of the Lord and operating in unison with
Him.
The
Clutter
However,
when the enemy can't stop a believer from growing in their discernment
of the voice of the Lord, his strategy shifts to CLUTTER—diverting
and diluting the pure voice of the Lord with the impact of meaningless
disorder and outdated confusion. It is the place that a large
part of the Body finds itself—plagued with distractions in the
face of the enemy mounting an offensive.
The
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “to clutter” as: “ to fill
or cover with things in disorder or scattered at random or with
things that impede movement or action or reduce effectiveness.”
The noun is defined as: “a mass of disorderly or distracting objects
or details .” The American Heritage Dictionary adds :
“a confused noise” or “to run with confusion. ”
Spiritual
“clutter” always appeals to the passions rather than the Spirit.
Passion without the Spirit will distort truth. “Clutter” typically
will include enough elements of the truth to appear valid; yet
more often than not will mask the more excellent way. Clutter
has the appearance of usefulness because it includes elements
that are valid or may once have been valid. Yet, in the final
analysis, it serves to mask, to distract and to undermine.
Yet
the Body has embraced a repertoire of outdated and wheel-spinning
clutter that ranges from our doctrinal mind-sets; almost sacrosanct,
outdated ministry operating procedures; an array of eschatological
presuppositions; denominational spins on Kingdom priorities; along
with political interpretations of the times and the latest conspiracy
theories that far too frequently guide our response to issues
of societal transformation.
Headstrong
Blindness of Purpose and Perspective .
The concept of Charismatic witchcraft comes from those either
blatantly misusing or simply exercising their gifts in a wrong
manner—of misfiring because of a headstrong blindness of purpose
and perspective. The result of serving the Lord with outmoded
mindsets, prisms and models has been a reckless, self-absorbed
orientation, that has resulted in a fractionalized Body and far
too many who support their separateness by destructive, self-righteous
finger-pointing and flaw-seeking. Jesus imparted the pivotal truth
that for us to be entrusted with the higher levels of advancing
this Kingdom that He came to set in motion—that we need to deal
with the beams in our own eyes before we can ever begin addressing
the splinters in the eyes of others. Misguided zeal and misuses
of power will ultimately self-destruct.
The
model for these times is shifting. Our 20th century, western worldview
can give the appearance of facilitating our grasp of biblical
pertinence, yet be seductively misleading. It lacks power and
has become a weak and shifting foundation.
Avoiding
the Clutter
Avoiding
the clutter will be the result when we grasp the Hebrew-roots
to the worldview of our faith; begin maturely discerning the voice
of the Lord; and proactively embrace a Kingdom perspective.
Avoiding
the clutter will involve guarding against the reckless and impetuous
actions created by the zeal tied to our initial impressions when
hearing the voice of the Lord. Hearing God's voice is a Holy thing;
one that must be treated with respect. Avoiding the clutter will
involve guarding against the dependencies that create myopic or
premature responses rather than giving birth to genuine Kingdom
agendas.
Discerning
the Voice of the Lord
Clutter
is what results when we attempt to connect the dots with that
which falls short of God's plan. Clutter results from working
out in the flesh what was begun in the Spirit. Clutter manifests
when we yield to the constraints of the precepts of men. Clutter
happens when we fall short in hearing the full revelation from
the voice of the Lord.
The
prophet Isaiah used the analogy of sheep to describe the people
of God who were straying. They strayed because their fear toward
Him was based on what they could comfortably grasp— the precepts
of men —with the result being each one choosing “ his
own way .” It is the subtle distinction between soul and
spirit, which is the distinguishing mark between intellectualism
and the unrestrained power of God. There is a huge difference
between a mobilized Body rightly connected to the heart of God,
and those whose primary means of “hearing” the voice of the Lord
being the next trendy word coming from whatever source or spin
they have learned to depend on.
That's
not to suggest that we can't glean from others. What it does suggest
relates to the dependency on words from others, rather than on
a personal interaction that comes with maturity and accurately
discerning the voice of the Lord for ourselves. At least in part,
this is an issue that relates to the time we spend with Him.
In
the same way that we have been admonished in Peter's epistles
to submit to the washing of the Word, so we must also make it
a practice to bathe the revelations we receive in His presence.
Revelation,
Illumination, Instruction, Direction and Release .
In far too many instances, a believer genuinely receives a revelation—and
the first thing that happens is that they shoot into the stratosphere
with that revelation, rather than returning to the presence of
the Lord to get the illumination on the revelation. Likewise,
once the illumination is received, there needs to be still more
time spent in the presence of the Lord in order to get the instruction
on the illumination. Then, once the instruction is received—we
need to inquire of the Lord on the direction and timing on the
instruction. Ideally, the sequence includes a release from
the Lord before putting in action the steps discerned.
The
point is that on strategic issues , when we hear from
the Lord, the revelation needs to be treated with respect and
bathed in prayer AND properly birthed, rather than randomly being
acted on as if it were magic. There is a huge difference between
magic and the supernatural power of God.
Principles,
Wisdom and Revelation . In similar
fashion, there are three primary dimensions tied to God's Word
that must operate in concert when discerning His voice and giving
opportunity for revelation to achieve its full purposes. First
are the principles of God's Word. That is foundational
and requires maturity in rightly dividing the Word of Truth in
each application.
Second,
relates to the wisdom applied to the principles. Wisdom
flows with the dynamic of kindness and has no foundation in the
zeal tied to worldly ambition. Wisdom is a dimension of the operation
of the Spirit and marks the difference between random intellectualism
and sound interpretation of Scripture that has Life as its result.
Then,
there is the revelation of God in which the Spirit prompts,
imparts and speaks to an individual. Revelation is never out of
context and our response to revelation should always be to return
to the presence of the Lord with questions. Those questions need
to define the context of the revelation and its purpose, as well
as issues tied to timing. This is what is intended when we bathe
revelation in prayer. The full revelation of God
will always be built upon the principles of God and flow in the
wisdom of God .
The
shift underway in our day is demanding a grasp of greater relevance
to the times and seasons. The bar has been raised and the stakes
are much higher.
Our
Worldview
Our
worldview is the collection of beliefs and perceptions through
which we interpret life around us. Our worldview forms the basis
on which we discern and make decisions on matters concerning our
lives.
The
scripture says we see in part and we prophesy in part. To some
extent, that is because our prisms and models are incomplete.
Yet, Ephesians 4 speaks of a time in which we will come into the
full knowledge of the Lord. While some interpret that as perfecting
our doctrine, in reality it relates to the restoration of this
operational equation by which God created man in the first place.
Genesis
2 speaks of man being created to rule over the work of God's hands
with God and Adam walking and talking in the cool of the evening.
God's purpose for man was a cooperative management process. The
full knowledge of the Lord referred to by Paul is not a doctrine,
but a cooperative means of operating in concert through the Body,
in our efforts to accomplish the purposes and will of God. Over
the years, man has progressively left God out of the equation.
Even in the church, we've relegated Him to a back-seat position
when we pray along the lines of: “ here's my plan Lord, now
please bless it !”
Restoring
that vital, interactive process calls for a revamping of our worldview.
The worldview the Lord set up from the beginning involved a merging
of the economic, community and spiritual. Deuteronomy is the primer
on how to run a God-centered, entrepreneurial community. These
foundations have their basis in a Hebrew worldview. When the Apostle
Paul wrote the churches about the “ riches of His glory ,”
his worldview was not a 20th century, Gentile worldview. Paul
was a rabbi, a Jewish teacher of the Torah. So, when he spoke
of the riches of God's glory, it included not just the spiritual
riches, but the ones that were a part of the Jewish roots and
heritage of the Word: the community and economic dimensions.
Somehow
the economic and community riches of God's glory have fallen into
the separation-of-church-and-state worldview—with the church accepting
them as something only to be pursued through human effort. The
shift underway will impact both the mind-sets and models that
have become the basis on which we have approached the work of
the ministry in recent years. Among others, these major shifts
include:
- The fund-raising versus
resource development model mind-set
- A war-time mind-set
tied to the spiritual battle that is emerging in our era
- Cooperation between
church and corporate models
- A decentralization and
entrepreneurial mind-set
- Sacred and secular alliance
models
- A community-builder
mind-set.
Together,
these shifts bear on the restoration of God's Kingdom rule. From
the beginning, the Lord had as His design a higher level of operation.
Embracing
the Kingdom Perspective
Operating
according to the principles of the Kingdom is the threshold Jesus
outlined that leads into the supernatural. It is the arena where
Spirit controls matter. It is the realm of faith where the unseen
is the substance behind that which is seen.
Jesus'
message of the Kingdom of God broke the mold of the religious
“organization man” of His day—and ours. What He outlined left
no place for phonies, opportunists or zealots. Operating according
to the principles of God's Kingdom is the dividing-asunder that
distinguishes our human effort from steps needed in a cooperative
effort initiated and directed by God. It is the place beyond our
human effort where ambition falls short of God's purposes because
it goes against the grain of Kingdom principles. Kingdom principles
involve the choice to participate in His plan or to pursue our
own desires. It is the choice to operate according to His principles
or to work it out our own way. Advancing the Kingdom of God means
we need to embrace His principles, wisdom and revelation. God
is always at the center in the operation of his Kingdom.
Operating
in God's Kingdom begins with the principle of dominion. Authority,
faith and dominion go hand in hand. Dominion involves the creative
process required to subdue the earth. It is the basis of God's
charge to us to cooperatively rule over the work of his hands
. Dominion is the foundation of Kingdom rule and the principle
of increase. It is foundational to entrepreneurship. Deuteronomy
28:13 tells us that “ The Lord is making you the head and
not the tail and you will always mount higher and not decline
.” Together with faith; stewardship and diligence enter the
Kingdom equation to create the Kingdom principle of multiplication.
Perseverance and unity likewise are foundational to the establishment
of plans and the way we operate with others in this process of
“ ruling over the work of His hands .”
Jesus
explained what had been as a mystery to so many for so long in
these principles of God's Kingdom. Many of these principles are
paradoxes to what we consider as the natural order of doing things.
We advance by yielding. We lead by serving. Honor comes through
humility. Wisdom is found in simplicity. We extend charity to
our enemies. Our purpose in life comes through giving it up. We
receive when giving. Perfect love eliminates fear. In our weakness
we are made strong. Ownership increases by sharing.
Jesus
didn't come to establish a new order of things. He came to restore
what God intended from the time when God and Adam walked and talked
in the cool of the evening and discussed the matters God had assigned
Adam. Jesus came to remove the clutter and to reorder our purpose
to what it was from the beginning.
The
Convergence and Overcoming: Entering God's Rest
Entering
God's rest or Shabbat, as outlined in the book of Hebrews is the
pivot point and catalyst to hearing His voice, adjusting our worldview
and embracing a Kingdom perspective. It is the place where we
cease striving and human effort gives way to the ongoing flow
of the Spirit. It is the place where the supernatural and the
extraordinary become the normal way of life.
The
rest of God, God's Shabbat is just not a once a week affair. It
incorporates the need for a shift from our 20th century, western,
Gentile worldview to be able to fully embrace its significance.
Much like the “charity of God” as it was translated in 1 Corinthians
13 in the King James version, it reflects dynamics tied to the
Hebraic roots of our faith.
From
the time of creation, the Lord knew man needed a time to recalibrate
and realign. God's rest preceded the Ten Commandments (Genesis
2:3 and Exodus 16:4, 28-30). It brings refreshment and a reinvigoration
of our God-ordained creative energies and is a time set-aside
to give special focus and honor to the Lord. It reflects the model
of how we need to pace ourselves and integrate all we do in
cooperation with Him . God's rest also involves
an element of protection and the fulfillment of God's promises.
(Isaiah 58:13 and Jeremiah 17:19) It will be observed in the new
earth (Isaiah 66:23). The Word also promises blessings to the
non-Jewish "foreigner" who keeps the Sabbath (Isaiah
56: 1-8). God's rest, while outlined in the commandments, is not
so much an obligation as it is a gateway into the refreshing and
blessings of God.
In
our zeal and tendency toward making-do out of the glimmers
of our revelations and worldviews, we have surrounded ourselves
with CLUTTER. The times are evil and demand more. The clutter
needs to be identified and bypassed. The devil is coming out of
the closet. The gloves have been removed. The pathways of the
past are no longer enough. There is an urgency tied to the times
we have entered, that require MORE, much more, than what has been
needed in the past.
Spirit
and Truth are the cornerstones to our walk with the Lord. Dominion,
faith and authority provide the gateway into the arena of our
God-intended purpose. The mix of maturely discerning the voice
of the Lord; embracing a realistic biblical worldview; and the
operation of God's Kingdom principles converge with entering His
rest, to lay an axe to the root of selfish ambition, fear, rebellion,
manipulation, rejection and the whole array of soul issues that
plague an otherwise active and well-intentioned Church.
The
word to the Church for this hour is to “ come up here, above
the clutter .” The time of crossing over to living beyond
our passions, traditions and clutter—and entering the domain where
God reigns is upon us. The choice is both the challenge and the
pathway.
“For
creation itself longs for the revealing of the sons of God that
it might be delivered from the bondage of corruption as it gains
entrance into this glorious freedom. For we know that all creation
groans and labors with birth pangs together until now .”
Romans 8:19-22 “So Jesus said: The Son can do nothing by himself,
he can do only what he sees his Father doing because whatever
the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son
and shows him all that he does. To your amazement he will show
you greater things than these” . John 5:19,20 “ I am
the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in
him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you
wish, and it will be given you .” John 15:5,7
___________________________________________
Morris
Ruddick is the author of “The Joseph-Daniel Calling” and “God's
Economy, Israel and the Nations,” each of which address God's
mobilization of the economic and community dimensions of His riches.
They are available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and other
popular outlets.
2006
Copyright Morris Ruddick — info@strategic-initiatives.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 more information
on SIGN, check: www.strategicintercession.org
