© Morris Ruddick

A corner has been turned.

Daniel described the times we are entering with these words:
“ In the time of the end, many shall be purified and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." (Dan 12:10-12) “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)

These times will be marked by the truth in Deuteronomy 30: “God has set before us life and death, blessing and cursing....” and it will be up to us to recognize, discern and make the right choices for life and blessing.

These times will be unlike any we have seen in recent days. On one level they might be summed up with the phrase that “the dark is getting darker and the light is getting lighter.” But that doesn’t suffice in describing it. It will be a day of His power. But it will also be a time of disruptions and uncertainty. A time in which to straddle the fence will mean being shot at from both sides. It will be a time of miracles. And it will be a time of judgment.

Daniel also described these times as ones in which those who know their God will be strong and will do exploits. But to operate in that arena means there can be no double-mindedness. It means your eye must be single. It is a time in which it will not be enough to just have your eyes on the Lord --- we are going to have to understand the times, His agendas and --- be about His business.

A time when being about His business will necessitate walking in strategic holiness.

THE HOLINESS DIMENSION
There will be no middle ground. Many are called, but few are chosen. Walking in God’s call will mean walking in His will. Walking in God’s will means walking in His timing. It means walking in His holiness and purpose.

Remember Saul. Saul was anointed king, but was ruled by the fear of man and he compromised. He was driven by his passions. He never quite grasped God’s purposes for him being king. At one juncture of compromise, Samuel summed up Saul’s actions by saying that “rebellion is of the sin of witchcraft.” Beware of the sin of Saul --- of forcing issues --- of being unwilling to wait on God’s timing.

Walking in fear will undermine being about His business. Proverbs tells us that the fear of man brings a snare. Compromise, competition, self-righteousness, forcing issues and expediency to accomplish even RIGHT things will result in efforts backfiring.

“Those who know their God will do exploits” is about walking in faith, KNOWING that the Lord is faithful in the accomplishment of His purposes and His Word. Holiness is about His righteousness being manifested in our thoughts, words, decisions and actions. It’s about operating with a sense of honor and a consistency in speaking truth in our own hearts, as described in Psalm 15. It’s about giving first priority to spending time in His presence. It’s about being sensitive to the voice of the Lord and responding with consistency in our obedience to Him. It’s about entering into His flow and operating in oneness with Him.

Forcing issues will backfire. Unless it is the result of His flow, more of the same harder will fail.

Holiness is what one renowned mission practitioner over a century ago called the exchanged life. A life and poise of the soul summed up by the Psalmist when he said, “let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord.”

Holiness will consistently walk in forgiveness and repentance. It is a heart so tender toward the Lord and His Word that when it recognizes a truth and realizes something is out of alignment, it immediately changes. It is a heart attitude with no grudges or bitterness. Bitterness cannot co-exist with holiness.

It is the outgrowth of a heart that meditates on God’s Word --- with a priority expressed by the Psalmist as meditating on God’s Word day and night. Holiness is a pure heart --- free from the passions of the soul and unholy dependencies.

Holiness is a strength and unwavering trust in the Lord in the face of adversity. It is walking through the fire without the smell of smoke. It is a righteous heart that moves in oneness with the Lord and operates in His power.

Operating in His power will stem from the holiness that results from spending time in His presence. A holiness that has as its result --- the flowing in a rhythm of miracles.

THE STRATEGIC DIMENSION
The “strategic” dimension of “strategic holiness” is not just a buzz word. It is a key part of this corner we’ve just turned. It pivots on the Issachar context --- but with the twist that the BODY needs to understand the times and know what to do. Strategic holiness goes beyond the individual dimension of holiness and moves in harmony with God’s heart and agendas. It is a “big picture” orientation.

Joseph and Daniel operated uniquely and consistently in strategic holiness. It didn’t matter whether they were in prison, the lion’s den or in the king’s palace. Their character and goals were consistent regardless of their circumstance or position. They knew Who they belonged to and they were about His business. They were stable, steadfast and faithful at each juncture. They knew who they were in the Lord and the sphere and authority they had been entrusted with.

Joseph and Daniel each grasped and recognized the big picture of the Lord’s purposes and their part in it. They operated with authority. They were willing to pay the cost. They were not swayed by threats, pressures or what appeared as the outlook of things in the natural. Their orientation came from their time with the Lord. Their hearts were fixed, trusting in the Lord, as they embraced and followed through on the accomplishment of His “big-picture” agendas. They fearlessly took the initiative when they knew the timing was right to accomplish God’s purposes in their spheres.

For the times emerging, this strategic dimension will mean being connected. Lone rangers in the Body will experience undue hardships. Rebellion, as in Saul’s misfires will result in sad, untimely forfeitures of what may have been significant callings. Up until this point, the Body has been fragmented. Unity will no longer be something nice that is just talked about --- it is going to be the foundation for survival.

There will be alliances and coalitions that connect the alliances and coalitions --- as the Body seeks the Lord for the anticipatory responses to the changes unfolding in the world today. In being connected for His purposes, it will also mean strategic alliances with modern-day Cyruses --- chosen, anointed non-believers with a heart for God and His people who are gatekeepers into the seats of power in this world.

A new wave of leadership will be emerging --- one that will incorporate the balance needed between the operation of the kings and the priests, as well as in the full operation of all the ministry gifts.

The Psalmist wrote: “Lord, You make me wiser than my enemies; I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your Words are my meditations. I understand more than the ancients, because of Your Word.” (Ps 119: 98-100) It was said of the Israelites who served the King during the time of Daniel that they were ten times wiser than the wisdom of the world within their realm. These will be times in which a new level of wisdom will be seen operating among God’s people.

Strategic holiness is a deep-seated knowing that God is in control. It is a level of humility that acknowledges that we are called, gifted and anointed in His power --- but simultaneously like King David recognizes that we are “weak though anointed king” and cannot operate with any success in our own power. It is knowing that “we can’t, but He can” and that “through Him, all things are possible.

Strategic holiness is the honesty and emptying of ourselves before Him, that results in “he who rules his own spirit being mightier than he who takes a city.” (Proverbs 16:32) It is emptying ourselves to actuate the dynamic described by Daniel of “they that KNOW their God will be strong and will do exploits.” This “strength and accomplishment of exploits” is not a matter of finesse, moxie or bluster. It will be an outgrowth of the discipline that comes from giving first priority to our time with and knowing Him.

REVOLUTION
The significance of the corner turned recognizes that we have entered a time in which the world is ruled by its passions.

Being ruled by your passions is a mode that reflects both a blindness and a power. It was this passion and blindness that Hitler manipulated as he rose to power. It is this passion and blindness that distorts truth among so many within the media. It is this passion and blindness that propels the anti-Semitism growing around the globe. It is this passion and blindness that result in events such as September 11, 2001; Israel’s intifada and a culture that promotes and exploits its young into giving their lives as homicide bombers. It is this passion and blindness that is at the core of the operation of the occult today.

The distinguishing characteristic of God’s people --- those described by Daniel as “those who are strong and do exploits” is that their passions do not dominate them. They are yielded to and ruled by the Spirit of God. Proverbs 16 sums up the level at which this truth should operate in God’s people when it said, that “they who rule their own spirits are mightier than they who take a city.”

We are facing a time of revolution --- a time of incredible, revolutionary change. The wicked are revolting against God, while God’s people are igniting a holy revolution. And just as in the days of Hitler, the unsuspecting and wicked are putting an “acceptable spin” to the wickedness and the overt occult activities emerging. It is a seduction that comes from a world “blindly” ruled by its passions.

Strategic holiness is a proactive Spirit-led expression of God’s dominion in the face of the world’s rebellion. A holy revolution that operates in the authority that produces miracles, change and revival.

Numbers 11:25 reflects this type of revolutionary change. The leadership of Moses in a day in time was multiplied when the Spirit of the Lord that had been solely upon Moses, came upon the 70 elders. For Israel at the time, this was a major paradigm shift. But from the Lord’s standpoint, it was a strategic change ---tied to multiplying the holiness in the camp of Israel, as the Lord prepared His people for His purposes and agendas. Movements of God in recent years, such as the Jesus movement and the renewal movement are only precursors of the multiplication of God’s power than can be expected for the days before us.

JUDGMENT AND FULFILLMENT
“ Yet now I take courage. For once again, in a little while the Lord will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land, and he will shake the nations, so that treasurers of all the nations will come in and fill this house with the splendor of the Lord.” (Haggai 2:4)

The corner turned will result in a major clash between good and evil. As the Body begins rising up in strategic holiness, judgment will come. For the righteous, judgment is not to be feared. Judgment is sent to purify. But when it is resisted, it destroys. When yielded to, it becomes a facilitator. The coming judgment will be the flip-side of an awesome outpouring of God’s Spirit.

Judgment always reasserts God’s authority. These will be times that reassert the Lord’s dominion as the world gets seduced by its passions and principalities attempt to harness the power of those passions and those seduced by them --- in their agendas to revolt against the Lord and His people.

But in the middle of the power struggles and resulting disruptions, those who know their God will be strong and will do exploits. It will be in the middle of economic downturns that God’s people will shine like the brightness of the sky --- and in the process, lead many to righteousness and the Lord. With the judgment will come fulfillment.

We can expect parallels to the situation described in Issaac’s life: “And there was famine in the land and the LORD appeared to Isaac and said: ‘Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you and perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.’ Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. So he began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous.” (Genesis 26:1-3, 12, 13)

These will be like the days prophesied by Ezekiel when he said, “The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled. For I the Lord will speak what I will and it will be fulfilled without delay. For the rebellious shall see that I will fulfill whatever I say declares the Lord. When the people say the visions he sees are for many years from now say, this is what the Lord says, ‘none of My Words will be delayed any longer, whatever I say will be fulfilled.’” (Ezekiel 12:22)

These will be like the days of Joseph described by the Psalmist, “And He sent a man before them; Joseph; who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.” (Psalm 105:17-19) Joseph didn’t waver at the cost required for Him to walk into the prophetic vision he received at a much younger age. There are many who have been called today as modern-day Josephs, who have been tested by the word of the Lord. But the time of fulfillment is at hand.

When the time came, after many years of hardship and faithfulness on Joseph’s part, it all happened quickly and was summed when Pharaoh said, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God? Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. I am setting you over all the land of Egypt." (Genesis 41: 38-41) What Pharaoh observed in Joseph was the result of Joseph walking in strategic holiness.

THE WATCH OVER ISRAEL
For the time before us, Israel and Jewish revival are the pivot points.

The rise of Messianic Judaism will be the catalyst to the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s dry bones prophecy: “Thus says the Lord to these dry bones: Surely I will cause breath to enter into you and I will put sinew and flesh upon you, and you shall live. Prophesy to the breath, O son of man and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." So I prophesied and sinew and flesh came upon them and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.” (Ezekiel 37:4-10)

SPIRITUAL VISION, FAITH AND AUTHORITY
“ Be steadfast, immovable --- always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your work in the Lord will not be in vain!” As we enter this time marked by revolutionary change, we need to face it with spiritual vision, faith and authority.

Spiritual vision can only come through the time we spend before the Lord. It’s not about intellect, it’s about the anointing. Likewise, spiritual authority is the result of paying the cost --- like Joseph and Daniel. Spiritual authority is about clearly discerning and operating in the sphere the Lord has entrusted us with. It’s about a faith and commitment that “loves not your lives unto the death.” (Rev. 12.11)

Operating in faith is directly correlated with hearing His voice. It is knowing who you are in the Lord and what you’ve been called to do. It is a boldness in the face of the enemy and all he can throw at you. A boldness that walks free from intimidation and fear. Indeed, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. My experiences in combat were with units that sought to engage the enemy. While it is preferable to initiate contact with the enemy --- to operate on the offensive, in those instances that the enemy probes or in any way initiates contact, the goal is to turn the tables on him. As Isaiah wrote, “when the enemy comes in, like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him.”

Simultaneously, we must also recognize that for some, engaging the enemy and repossessing the land will mean walking through the valley of the shadow of death. But, may we be encouraged by that well-known Psalm that said: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”

A corner has been turned. We must guard against being preoccupied and distracted with last year’s agendas. We must be alert and sensitized to the realities and the pace of the times --- to the changes emerging --- and the realities and expectations before us as those called to walk in strategic holiness.

It is not an option to understand the realities and expectations for these times. The realities will include obstacles that present themselves as impossibilities. But that’s a lie, because NOTHING is impossible with God. These are times to gird ourselves in strategic holiness and to rise up in the face of the impossible. As we do, we can expect:
* greater victories in the face of impossible odds;
* honor in the midst of our enemies; and
* restoration of everything the enemy has stolen.

GREATER VICTORIES IN THE FACE OF IMPOSSIBILITIES
“For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them, and that they might receive no mercy, but that He might destroy them, as the LORD had commanded Moses.” (Joshua 11:20)

The Lord will never overwhelm us. He knows us each individually and He knows what we are ready for. But at the same time, we need to recognize we have turned a corner. There is a progressive dimension for those called by Him. Progressive steps not unlike those operating in the life of Jesus. Jesus raised the little girl from the dead, who had just died. But in raising Lazarus from the dead, there was more. Lazarus had been dead for four days. Finally, it was Jesus Himself who had to face and experience death, before death was conquered in His resurrection. Greater obstacles should not be a threat to us. The time is now, in which we can expect greater victories in the face of greater odds and impossibilities.

HONOR IN THE MIDST OF OUR ENEMIES
“ And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.” (Exodus 11:3)

We are called as God’s ambassadors. The anointing of God upon us will open doors and grant favor in the midst of strange and difficult circumstances. The authority of our calling will initiate unusual events and agendas that will serve God’s purposes. It will be the basis of the release of the wealth of the wicked into he hands of the just. It will be the foundation for modern-day Josephs and Daniels being promoted within seats of power of the world’s systems. For those called in this way, we can expect honor in the midst of our enemies.

RESTORATION OF EVERYTHING THE ENEMY HAS STOLEN
“ And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed.” (Exodus 3:21)

As time passed after Joseph’s death, the Egyptians began fearing the Israelites. It is no different today with God’s people. For the Jewish people, there is going to be a restoration from the times of bondage, as the momentum of Jewish revival builds. For believers, we will see progressive developments in our opportunities for the Lord --- as were illustrated by the “raising the dead” steps in the life of Jesus.

This progression is illustrated on another level as the fifties marked the beginning of the Church moving from a denominational and occasional mission outreach-thrust orientation to the parachurch movement. This incredible move of God gained great strength in the sixties --- and resulted in an incredible increase and transformation in exposure, awareness and thrust. It has been a significant step in connecting the Body and positioning the Body for the time it will come together in unity. During that same general time frame, the rise of the Messianic Jewish movement resulted in more Jewish people embracing Jesus as their Messiah, than took place in all the years prior to that --- since Jesus walked the face of the earth.

But we have entered a time in which an equally significant move of God is emerging: the marketplace movement. The Lord is penetrating the fabric of society with His people. It is a time in which we will see the release of modern-day Josephs and Daniels who will operate in seats of power within governments and business enterprises around the world. The expectation is for a move restoring God’s dominion in the marketplace, as the world has perverted God’s intentions over the centuries. God is restoring His authority and dominion and entrusting it to those who KNOW Him; those who walk in strategic holiness. And those who resist it will be playing with a fire, not unlike that of the sin of Korah in the time of Moses.

THE PRAYER
Lord, in the Name of Jesus, we bow our hearts before You. For Yours O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. Indeed, everything that is in the earth is Yours. YOURS is the dominion O Lord; and You do exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You and You do rule over all. In Your hand is power and might --- and it lies in Your hand to strengthen and to make great. So we thank You O Lord and we glorify Your awesome, holy Name.

And Lord we thank You for preparing us in strategic holiness --- that we might walk blameless before You. Lord, we bless You and we praise You. You are awesome and worthy to be praised. Lord, give us the grace we pray, to rule our own spirits. We thank You Lord, for giving us a heart to repent and a heart to forgive. Lord, we resist and renounce all forms of unholy dependencies. We likewise repent, and renounce and resist impatience and the sin of Saul to force issues that go contrary to your plan and timing, as well as the bitterness and fear and jealousy that so marked his tragic life. Lord, bring us into Your flow. Sensitize us to the issues central to Your heart. Enable and equip us afresh as able instruments of Your purpose --- as Your ambassadors. Lord, may we be strong in You --- and do exploits.

And the thunder of Your power --- who can understand? Lord, up until this point, we have only heard the small whispers of Your power. And those “whispers” have been awesome. But Lord, may our hearts be prepared for the time in which we will witness the thunder of Your power.

Lord, we thank you for the incredible times we have entered. Help us to better understand the unfolding of these times and to know what to do. These are the times spoken of by so many who have come before us. They are the times spoken of by Daniel when he said that many will be purified and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. Lord may we flow in that type of wisdom. Lord, these are the times spoken of by Ezekiel, when every vision will be fulfilled and the accomplishment of Your word will not be delayed. Lord, may we operate in the level of strategic holiness that releases that type of authority and faith.

Help us O God to believe You for greater victories in the face of impossible odds; honor in the midst of our enemies; and restoration of everything the enemy has stolen. May it be said of us, as it was said of your ambassadors in the time of Daniel, that we are ten times wiser than ALL the wisdom of the world within our realm. May we operate in the prophetic wisdom of Joseph that was recognized by Pharaoh when he promoted Joseph to rule over the land. And Lord, sharpen our discernment and ability to remain stable and to accurately hear you in the midst of the rumbling and shakings about us.

Blessed be Your holy Name, Lord God almighty. For wisdom and might are Yours. And You change the times and the seasons. You remove kings and You raise up kings. You give wisdom o the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. You reveal deep and secret things. You know what is in the darkness and light dwells with You. Amen.