End Time Attitude - The Heart of David

	When we were planing the first Firefall Conference, the original title was "Tribes together seeking the Promised Land". Shortly after this, I was going through a box of old papers and I found a prophecy, "The Coming Davidic Spirit", that we as the "Watchmen for the Nations" team received in 1990. Right away, I felt the prompting of the Lord that this was to be the theme of the conference, so we changed the title.

	The Watchmen team saw that the church today had come to a very similar point and that we were now facing these Goliaths. Unfortunately, we realized, we were handling it much like Israel did. We get all armored up in our churches and yell at the enemy, but when it comes to actually venturing past our doors and confronting the evil forces in the land today we become paralyzed and flee back inside.

	The need then, as it is now, is someone who walks with God as David did. (Or as we termed it to walk in a "Davidic spirit"). This is one who doesn't put his trust in the latest armor of the world, but in God?s ways and doesn't rely on the size or strength of man, but the power of God. When David heard the taunts of Goliath, instead of being "dismayed and greatly afraid" as Saul and his men were, his reaction was "who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God"? Then, rather that just talk, talk, talk, about it, as we are so apt to do, he went out and slew the enemy. That is the kind of Christians the Church needs today. Those who trust aggressively in God and are strong and courageous.

This is the Prophetic word that the team received:

God is raising up a new spirit in our city and in the cities of the nation. This move of God will bring forth from the Body of Christ many that are walking in the spirit and power of David.

I Samuel 17 & 18:

"Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line (in battle array) to meet the Philistines. The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them""For forty days the Philistine (Goliath) came forward every morning and evening and took his stand"

	The armies of God, His church, are much like the Israelites. Time and time again we come out of our conferences, seminars, classrooms and churches, dressed in our battle array, waving a banner of victory and shouting a war cry. We have marched out from our seminaries and training institutions declaring to the enemy of our souls that we are now equipped with the finest of armor to defeat him. He responds with his taunts and accusations and we like them have shrunk back in fear and awe.	We are dressed in our battle array like never before in the history of parentage and relationship to the Father, and yet we shrink back, forgetting that we are the armies of the Living God. The enemy of our souls, the specific demonic forces in our areas, are huge beasts with incredible power and skill. They come forward with their verbal attacks and strike fear in the hearts of saints. There will be an increasing attack on the Body of Christ that will try to separate and divide us into little groups. The enemy will call us followers of so-and-so, or servants of this denomination or that doctrine.

	This is in direct contradiction to what the Spirit of God wants to do in this generation. God is setting out to tear down these misplaced loyalties. We have more seminars, conferences and teaching materials than any other generation ever dreamed of having. We have adorned ourselves with every possible weapon known to man. We have built huge, fortified cities and institutions. We have developed our own sub-culture so that we don?t even have to spend money in a non-Christian store. We have set up camp on one side of the valley and our enemy is on the other and never the twain shall meet.

"Why do you come out and line up for battle? ...Are you not the servants of Saul?"

	We, like the Israelites, listen to the taunts of Goliath. He comes at us with his finally honed arrows, attacking our loyalty, if it is not solely on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Israelites were not just "servants of Saul"; they were the chosen people of God. There is nothing wrong with being committed to one particular group or man, but this must never divide the body of Christ. We are one Body, with many parts. (1 Cor. 12) God has promised His church that they have the power to defeat every attack that the enemy would bring against them. But, like Saul, we have fallen prey to sin. Our leaders have gone the way of Saul, and have disobeyed the explicit commands of the Lord and tried to do things their own way  (see 1 Sam. 13-15).

	Fear has stricken the heart of the Church so that we can no longer stand up under the attack of the enemy. Our hearts have grown cold with distrust, discouragement and hopelessness because of our lack of victory. We lack victory because we have fallen into the same sin as Saul and the men of Israel. The enemy is not at all impressed with our battle array, our war cries, and our battle lines. He could care less about how many weapons we carry and how skilled we are with them. He cares only that he can keep is from using them. The armor and weaponry of our Lord does no good if we never take it up and fight with it.

	Day after day the demonic powers over our cities taunt the Church of the Living God and day after day we advance with war cries and battle plans, only to shrink back in fear when we see the size of our enemy and hear his bellowing voice. God must raise up something new in order to defeat this enemy of His Bride.

"Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed."

	David?s father, Jesse, had commissioned David to go up and bring supplies to his brothers. Our Father has specifically commissioned some of His servants to go up and give supplies to the soldiers. They are unassuming, often times unknown, and not skilled in the weapons of Saul's army. Their commission may not even be for war, but they are trained by the Lord and have a zeal for His sheep

"As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistines champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it."

	

God is raising up a new breed of soldiers in these last days. The Sauline spirit, that has permeated the church for a number of years, is no longer winning the war. The armies of Saul are well trained. They have won many wars. They have a skill and a knowledge that is incredible, but they are not winning this war. While they are shrinking back in fear from the enemy, God has a new spirit rising from the crowd. Unmoved, unshaken, with a strength that is not of this world, they hear the taunts of the enemy and the anger of the Lord burns within them.

"When Eliab, David?s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, ?why have you come down here? and with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."

	The Davidic spirit that God is raising up in the church will not be without attack. Many who are from the army of Saul will not be pleased at this "new" thing. Like David?s older brother, they will sling many accusations at the work of the Lord. The feeling will be the same as it has always been. "The old has always worked before and it will work again." The Davidic spirit that God is raising up will not immediately replace that Sauline spirit of the church. God will still use the existing structures to accomplish much, but it will be under new spiritual leadership. We must all be careful not to allow an evil spirit to enter us, as it did Saul, because of jealousy or envy. Let us rejoice that the victory is being won and that God has used the foolish things of this world to confound the wise!

"Saul said to David, ?Go, and the Lord be with you.? Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them"

	The Spirit of the Lord has trained these new warriors in ways that the armies of Saul are not accustomed to. Even though they may grant their blessing, they will still try to help out by encouraging the use of Saul?s armor. Saul?s armor is, and has been, very useful. To those trained in it, it will be powerfully used of God.

The Davidic spirit that God is raising up will move, not in the power of formal training alone, but in the power of training that has occurred in the secret places of sheep fields. Those God uses in this warfare must be willing to resist the pressure to conform and walk in the ways of the Spirit.

"Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God."	The training of these soldiers/shepherds has been proven by real victories that produced faith in God. Anyone who wants to move in this anointing must be willing to lay aside any method that has not been taught them by the Holy Spirit and tested in real life situations. This arena of learning will hold up under the extreme testing that this age is going to bring. Only the proven

ground of God given victories will produce the kind of faith that will shun every other weapon, no matter how mighty they may seem, and take up only that which is specifically instructed and directed by the Spirit. These soldiers must ?hear what the Spirit is saying to the church?.

"So David triumphed over the Philistines with a sling and a stone... After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword."	David used weapons that no one had even dreamed of using. He seemed to be going out to war with nothing more than a toy. But, to the Father, it had nothing to do with the weapon he had in his hand; it had to do with whose name he had on his lips. God?s honor was at stake and David?s act of faith was all the Lord needed to raise His righteous right hand and deliver the enemy into David?s hand. Many seemingly foolish things will be done in these days, that most will not understand, but God will rout the enemy because a David stepped forward with the name of the Lord Jesus Christ on his lips and only God?s honor in their hearts.

"The men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines... Their dead were strewn along the Sharain road to Gath and Ekron"

	When the Davidic spirit goes forward and defeats the enemy, the armies of God, trained under the spirit of Saul, will not have to be told what to do. God has trained them to fight and they will be ready for this moment. They have been well prepared by our Lord and we must remember that this has not been in vain.

There is a stern warning to those whom God chooses to use in this fight against Goliath. Many moves of God have been stopped because those involved in the new work failed to see the value of what God had done in the past. God has prepared His army for such a day as this! Woe be unto us if we touch even so much as the hem of their garment. David did not defeat the Philistine army alone. It took the well-trained armies of Saul to go down and kill them even after Goliath had fallen.

Summary

	God is raising up a Davidic spirit that will confound and defeat the enemy! We must work together as one Body, bound together by one Spirit, and working with a unified vision. The armor and weaponry of Saul will no longer work. We should strive to be used of the Lord to move in this Davidic spirit. The Davidic spirit is marked by true friendship with God, praise and worship, deep prayer, and Spirit led training in the private places of our lives. Let these women and men of God arise and come forth!

David in the Wilderness

	For a long time I have been wondering, if things that God has been showing us are part of the coming move, why our church and others, traveling in the same direction, are having such a struggle to grow and aren?t brimming over at the seems. 	Then, during a Firefall conference, God showed me a truth out of David?s life. When he was out in the wilderness being chased by Saul, even though he was a hero of the people, the only people that went out to support him were those who were in debt, distress and were discontented.

	When David became king, the bible records that different groups of soldiers came and presented themselves to David. The strange thing to me was that David questioned them as to their loyalty to him. Then I realized the reason. Many of these men, were the very soldiers who, just a short time ago, were hunting David down. No wonder he was suspicious.

	Next, it occurred to me that during his time in the wilderness, even though David had been anointed king and was in God?s will, there were very few people who were willing to be with him. Although the 339,600 soldiers would eventually follow him, when Saul died, only 600 were with him, but it was out of this 600 that the mighty 30 and 3 were picked.	When the revival comes, all of the tribes will have an opportunity to join David?s men, even though right now they aren?t willing to go out in the wilderness. It is going to be a real challenge for those who have had to bear the hardships of the wilderness to be willing to accept these that now want to join up when it is easy and popular.  We have to keep our hearts soft and see the bigger picture, God just wants to see people saved and set free and the more warriors that he has doing it, the better.

The New Breed of Emerging Leaders

	God is raising up a new breed of leaders - pastors and shepherds, prophets and even apostles. These are men and women who have not sought the limelight, but have served in obscurity. They have passed through significant fiery trials and have not had things break their way. These new leaders will be "little" men by the world?s and church?s standards. They will open to the voice of the Lord and hunger and yearn for revival and the power of God. They will be willing and ready to risk all.

	Whereas, many who are godly and better equipped will be able to see and hear the voice of God and the miraculous things at first, will not be the first to gather God's people in fresh expressions of power and wisdom for the coming harvest, (because of this ingrained and enforced resistance and hardness of heart).

	It will appear to many of the present leaders that they will have too much to lose and the risk is just too great. At first, they will linger and watch in amazement, as others will be leaders of God's new works that far surpass all we have known. They will be less gifted, but well prepared and experienced in many ways and very often less mature in psychological and family dynamics,

	Later these reluctant leaders will come trembling to Zion and receive their anointing and mantle of authority in the Spirit. They will go on to be among the most effective and stable warriors during future times of crisis and they will be models whom the Lord himself has raised up! They will carry the heaviest of loads in preserving the harvest, even though they had less to do with it in the beginning. They will also be instrumental in aiding many of the early leaders, who will have many needs, both personal and in their public ministries, that the experience (wisdom and godly humility and maturity) of these latent leaders can help.

	In this way, the body of Christ will become more unified as the latent leaders receive their mantle from the emerging leaders and the emerging leaders find counsel for their faults and healing in the latent leaders. (James 5:16) The Lord has designed the body in such a way that there be no schism in the body, but the members will have the same care for one another and in honor, prefer one another. The new leaders will honor the old for their godly maturity and latent leaders will honor the new for their openness to God's ways, which they were too blind to see.

	God is not choosing the "best men in the church". The emerging leaders must realize this and not be high minded, but gentle and humble, eager for their brothers to come and take the honor the kingdom bestows on the servants of all. They may even have to step aside for the "bigger men" when the time comes.

	After all, it is God who gets all the glory and he who boasts must boast in the Lord. This is where the latent leaders will be able to excel - in honoring God - whom they could not hear or see at first.

New breed of Emerging Leaders is a word from Tom Gilbert. He heads up the leadership team of The Portland Ministry

Kings in the Outer Court

	This is a parable that demonstrates the type of walk David had: There was a King of great renown. His Kingdom was without end and filled with resources without limit. From all places and walks of life he summoned those whom he chose to obtain citizenship within his domain.

	To those whom he called he treated as sons, bidding them to come, even to his feet, that they might enjoy the company of each other. Newcomers to his throne room marveled at his Grace and the all-consuming pleasure of his presence. He was a great King, filled with grace and goodness. His subjects lived off of the words, which flowed from his mouth. These had a quality of their own, imparting life itself to those who ate them. None spoke words like the king.

	The king took great pleasure in the presence of those who drew near. As time went on, those who left the kings chamber filled with peace and a zest for life discovered that sharing the King's words with others seemed to transmit that power. Many began to see themselves as ambassadors of life, giving the Kings works to those whom would hear. Those who heard often became citizens as a result of the words.

	With great joy, these ambassadors would go past the outer court, through the inner court, into the palace, through it's halls, past it's fixtures, into the King's quarters and finally into his chambers. They thought nothing of the journey; they were going to sit before the King! Daily they sat at his feet, soaking in his presence, feeding on the words from his mouth. No one was like the king.

	As time went on and life became busy, some of the ambassadors did not have time to make the journey all the way to the king's chamber. Some in a rush, called out to the king from the inner court, relating a need and asking for help. The King, being full of grace and truth spoke from his throne with the life-giving direction his ambassadors needed. They then, hurried out of the temple addressing the concerns of life and imparting the words of life as needed along the way. They thought a new priority.

	After a while, to the amazement of the ambassadors, they noticed that although the all-consuming presence was not felt all the way out in the inner court; they still received much life from the words and many were helped. Some were so busy they began to call for help even from the outer court. It seemed to work as well as from the inner court.

	This continued with more and more ambassadors, who were also very busy, carrying forth the King's words. Instead of taking the longer journey all the way in to the king's chambers. Calling from the outer court seemed much more efficient, especially since they had many other duties and so many who needed to hear their words. Soon, the outer courts were filled with the clamor of those yelling for instruction from the king.

	One person, new to the kingdom, entered the royal grounds one-day. He desired to visit the king. He went into the outer court, shuffling past the important ambassadors, passed into the inner court, passed the palace fixtures and basins through the kings quarters and by invitation entered the kings chambers. It was empty that day, except for the king. He sat down before the king basking in his glory As they talked intimately, sharing their hearts and the newcomer told the king that he felt like a little child and that there was no place else he would rather be. The king spoke tenderly to that one.

	They fellowshipped, enjoying each other's company. Time was lost in that moment. As they fellowshipped the king watched that little one with loving concern. So many of those that had now become so busy were once content simply to sit before him. Now they seldom journeyed past the outer court. As their time drew to a close and the young one went on his way, the king lifted up his eyes, gazing into eternity. So many before him had given up the better part by their endless working. They had given up the place of children before their father to become KINGS IN THE OUTER COURT.

Dealing withSpiritual Manifestations

	As the time grows short, many "spiritual manifestations" and "moves" through diverse traditions are causing a stir in the body. Because of many strange manifestations, this stir has become one of speculations and superstitions as much as it is one of bringing back the prodigals. Does "kingdom against kingdom" also apply to His own? What is God's heart in this matter? How should we view the rising waves both outside the church and within?

	Perhaps we may learn something of God's heart in David when he returned to Ziglag at the command of Achish. Maybe, it was really God who sent David "out of the picture".

Why would God do that? Wasn't this David's chance?

	Although God had pronounced judgment on the house of Saul, He would not use David to destroy it. He let the enemy do that. "Every kingdom divided against itself cannot stand". The fact that David was continually not used by God to destroy Saul (1Sam. 24:6, 26:11), God is revealing something of His own heart and character in David.

	Even after Saul, his son and his army were wiped out; David mourned and wept for Saul. Even though David knew that he was right and that Saul was wrong, he sought to restore Saul and to see God's blessing revealed in Saul.

	If David had not been sent away from the battle in 1Sam. 29:8-11, then David would have been involved in the destruction of Saul's house. If that was the case, we might conclude that God uses the more anointed to do away with the less anointed or the fleshly.

	That's never God's heart! I believe the real message is: Even the so called anointed cannot stand against the enemy without God. And of course the one after God's own heart cannot be destroyed even with the opposition of Saul's army; but will always end in triumph because God is with them.

	In all of this we see God's unfailing love for the carnal and the backsliden. Many have not exactly backsliden, but like Saul, have carried on without God's leading and in so doing have left holes in the armor where Satan has found opportunity.

	God longs to see repentance and restoration, but His holiness and justness prevent Him from blessing Saulish ways. We are called to be light, not darkness; we are salty not Saulish. Often the enemy exacts a heavy toll before the Saul's of this world recognize their state and turn to Him. To those who feel part of the House of David, it is doubtful that God will ever use you to destroy another ministry. Keep your eyes on what He has called you to do and leave the rest up to God.

Kings in the outer Court & this word are both written Don Pinkham from Vancouver