We Need All Hands On Deck

Embracing The New Labor Force - Part I

Minister Tracey L. Green

Jul 28, 2008

David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adulate: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. 1 Samuel 22:1-2

Help Is On The Way

The Body of Christ is being fashioned to receive an influx of reinforcements in terms of laborers and comrades to join us in our efforts to advance the Kingdom of God. Throughout the history of the Church, we have an innumerable number of individuals who have laid down their lives for the cause of Christ. They have sown many years and tears as they have labored to reestablish the Kingdom of God in the earth in their generation. Yet, in the midst of it all, these faithful servants have poured out of their substance and are in need of support. But, God has prepared a people who will join us in rank and strength to accomplish the will of God. It is our responsibility to identify and receive them when they come on the scene.

Ripe For Service

This passage of scripture opened with David once again escaping the grasp of Saul, the reigning king of Israel. Saul, the people’s choice of king, had lost the favor of God and sought to destroy the heir apparent to the throne. His sins and losing the favor and presence of God in his life drove Saul to schizophrenic tendencies. He was in constant torment by an evil spirit; thinking David was the cause of it all. However, it was his own disobedience and rebellion against God that sealed his fate.

Ignored and overlooked by his father and brethren, David once again was rejected by his king whom he loved and faithfully served. Running away from the established order of the day, David became a fugitive - Public Enemy #1. God’s hand of favor and prosperity upon him made him an enemy of the state. There was a bounty on his head. He was a man without a country. As he sought refuge among other nations and kings, his reputation preceded him and no one wanted or trusted him. David feigned mental illness, begged for and ate the holy shewbread of the priests, eluded royal assassins, his family displaced, and innocent men were killed because of their association with him. All of this came about because of a holy call upon his life! Many want to walk in the glorious call of ministry and in spiritual destiny, without truly knowing the path that would get them there.

All of this pressure drove him to the cave of Adullum. He found himself as a vagabond in a den. What is a den? It is a hollowed place of refuge; not made by human hands. It has been forged out by time, natural elements, and circumstance. Many times, we find ourselves in situations not by our own design. Yet, it is in these places that we discover things about ourselves. David, who once enjoyed the luxuries of fame and notoriety, now finds refuge in circumstances beyond his control. This den becomes his place of provision that would serve to help propel him into his destiny. Even in the midst of his greatest hardship, God had made room for him.

The Unusual Prospects

David’s family came to join up with him in the midst of the turmoil in his life. These were the very ones that rejected him. There were others that sought out David during this time. They were the distressed, indebted, and the discontent who surrounded him. Do you know people in any of these categories? Let’s examine these three groups of people. The Hebraic term for distress is matsoq (maw-tsoke #6693), which means those in a narrow place of confinement or disability. We’re looking for a few good men and women, but they are in a tight place. Where are they? They are in tight places of bondage - fear, anger, and addictions. However, they are also in places of disability. Many are in the House of God are rendered disable. They are not disable in terms of physical mobility. They are spiritually disabled. Their spiritual gifts are paralyzed, their ministries are neutralized, and their voices are silenced because of the failure to discern the Lord’s Body - His Body of believers. We have church leaders, who like Saul, recognize God’s favor and spirit upon many, but out of fear and intimidation seek to silence the gifts He has brought to strengthen the work.

The second group are the indebted. They love God and want to serve Him, but are disenfranchised - out of place and resources. Out of a heart of gratitude, they want to serve; but cannot for one reason or another. As believers, we have a tendency to overlook the very gifts God is providing right in front of us because of our own ridiculous standards. Because of the “extra” criteria that we have added to the gospel of Jesus Christ, many who would serve are excluded and disqualified from active service. II Corinthians 10:7 declares, Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we. God looks upon the heart. He has sent laborers in to assist us in the work, but we have rejected them. Why? Because they didn’t look like us, talk like us, dress like us, and smell like us. How arrogant have we become when we cannot or will not remember the indebtedness of our own testimonies? We were not always as “picture perfect” as we think we are. Yet, we set ourselves as judges of men and gatekeepers of our local assemblies to avoid the “riffraff” of the world. These are the very ones that the Lord has laboriously wooed back unto Himself; only to have them ran roughshod back out the door!

The third group that sought David were the discontented. The Hebraic term for discontented is marah (maw-raw #4751). Marah means a gradual trickle in great weariness, anger, and bitterness. It also means to the degree of great jeopardy of vitality. This is the group that are the walking wounded. We Christians have the infamous reputation as the only group that kills our own. Many times when one of ours falters or falls, we gather around like sharks smelling blood; rather than offering healing and reconciliation. We must begin to care enough to carry one another; even in the midst of their affliction. In II Samuel 4:4, Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth became lame when his nurse dropped him in haste to escape following Saul and Jonathan’s deaths. In our own haste, we cannot afford to drop one of them and become the cause of their limp. There are many discontented who are ex- preachers, psalmists, ushers, and leaders lost to the world. They know the Word of God better than most that sit in the House of God weekly. Yet, because of harm and deep-seeded bitterness, they gone AWOL - Absent With Out Leave. They have just faltered in the race because of offense. Yet, we are now issuing a clarion call in the Spirit for them to get back in their place.

We Need All Hands On Deck

Just as these rag-tag men and women gathered around David to eagerly embrace this new move that coming to Israel, God is gathering and sending such people our way who are labor ready. Will we receive them as valuable viable tools and resources for Kingdom building or will we cast them aside? These souls are part of the great transfer of wealth in the earth. Let’s not forfeit our inheritance and lose His greatest treasure, which are SOULS, due to our own devices!

BridgeBuilders Ministries International of Grand Rapids, MI USA