Obedience and God's Promises - Noah

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“For you have need of patience (endurance),
that having done the will of God
you may obtain the promise.”
Hebrews 10:36 (LITV)

God’s promises come as we persevere in our work of obedience. It is in our “having done” the will of God we obtain His great and precious promises.

Obedience and God’s Promises – Noah

“Just as it was in the days of Noah,
so will it be in the days of the Son of Man”
Luke 17:26 (ESV)

The promise to Noah of salvation for his family was obtained after he had completed the ark. His obedience was required for the promise to be fulfilled.

“God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water…”
1 Peter 3:20

God and His promises waited “while the ark was being prepared”. May we comprehend that His promises concerning us also wait upon our working out of His will in our lives. God’s promise to Noah was inextricably entwined in the work that God gave him to do. So, it is with each of us. The work He has given us to accomplish is directly related to the promises given. Each of us is a participant in the fulfillment of His grace personally and corporately!

“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith”
Hebrews 11:7  (SELAH!)

How did Noah condemn the world? By His obedience in building the ark. It is through our obedience unto Him that we condemn this world.

“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”
2 Thessalonians 1:8

The judgment of God falls on the disobedient but the fulcrum for His releasing of these judgments on the earth is the obedience of His people. God is not a hypocrite; He cannot freely judge the world in fullness until He has a people who walk in obedience.

“And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience,
when your obedience is fulfilled”
2 Corinthians 10:6

Obedience and God’s Promises – Lot

“Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire, and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed”
Luke 17:28-30 (ESV)

God waited in Noah’s day, as He also waited for Lot to leave Sodom and Gomorrah (Revelation 18:4).

“Escape there quickly,
for I can do nothing till you arrive there”
Genesis 19:22

The Judgment of God was stayed until Lot was out of the city! May we comprehend the righteousness of God concerning His judgments in our day and how closely they are related to our obedience. He is ever watching over us, pressing us, drawing us, and moving us to follow in the footsteps of the Author of our Faith, Jesus Christ.

Noah being moved by faith was the beginning of the end of the world and its violence of that Day. So it is in this final chapter of the world as we now know it. The True Faith of God MOVES His own unto obedience. Faith that does not culminate in obedience is a dead, religious faith that will never move the hand of God.

“But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets,
according to the commandment of the everlasting God,
made known to all nations FOR the obedience of faith”
Romans 16:26

Why is the Gospel to be made known to all the nations? For the obedience of Faith! The modern-day evangelist who preaches salvation from hell while excluding the obedience of faith has failed to present the Lordship of Christ. There is a vast difference between those who know Christ as Savior and those who know Him as Christ the LORD.

The faith that moves the hearts of men
Is the same faith that moves
The hand of God in a responding manner

†

“The safe place lies in obedience to God’s Word,
singleness of heart and holy vigilance”
A.B. Simpson

See Related Post in this Series: Obedience and God’s Promises – Elisha

See related article on overcoming the apathy: Lukewarmness

See related article on Lot leaving Sodom: The Two Voices

Brian Troxel

The Mystery of Godliness

 

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“Great is the mystery of godliness;

God was manifest in the flesh…”
1 Timothy 3:16

The carnal mind cannot comprehend the Mystery of God. The things of God are spiritual in nature and as such can only be known by those who walk and live in His Spirit.

“But the natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God…”
1 Corinthians 2:14

Why?

“…for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned”
1 Corinthians 2:14

Many browse the scriptures, even expound on the great doctrines associated with God, but few touch the divine mystery hidden within them. Within His Word there is a call, a voice, and a presence that compels us to seek out its wonder.

From the dawn of time religion has readily accepted the notion of a god as man innately attempts to explain his own existence. Even the atheist will endeavor to offer some seemingly reasonable clarification of man’s existence. That very need to explain is proof of the Mystery.

The natural man has no desire to enter the mystery, it is content with the rationale.

“For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew Him not, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him”
Acts 13:27

Though they read the scriptures, and listened to them being expounded by others, they KNEW HIM NOT! Familiarity with the scriptures will not avail us of much concerning the Mystery.

“Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me; and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life”
John 5:39-40

Christ Himself is the Mystery. Only within Him, within His Being and His Nature, will we discover the wonder of a Life beyond all comprehension. Because they “knew Him not” they were unable to hear the voices of the prophets who foretold His coming through His Spirit. How sad to discount the wonders and revelations of Christ throughout the sacred pages of the Old Testament. Jesus testified of the Old Testament scriptures that they “witnessed of ME”. Every page, every word of the Old, bears the testimony of HIM. In our unfamiliarity with Him we do not hear the Voice, we do not feel the drawing or the pressing of His Spirit within to “Come unto Him and learn of Him”. Knowledge about Him is often enough to keep many from the joy of “knowing Him” personally and experientially.

His purpose in coming was to bring us into LIFE abundant; a Life of growing and developing of the Mystery of Christ in YOU. Within this relationship is the eternal call to come and see the unrelenting desire of God for us; to “taste and see”. There is no end to this invitation.

John the Apostle, though intimately familiar with Christ, declared he was in the Spirit on the Isle of Patmos and when he heard the voice behind him and turned to see Him in His glory, he fell as “one dead” at the fuller revelation of Him.

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,
and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet”
Revelation 1:10

Because John KNEW HIM, he heard the voice. Jesus declares “MY SHEEP hear my voice”! It is via our relationship with Him that our lives become ones of following Him and learning of Him. There is nothing static or uneventful in our life in Him. He is ever calling us unto Himself. In hearing we turn from our ways to walk in His. After His death on the cross Jesus appeared to Mary in a way she did not recognize but when He spoke her name she knew instantly it was Him. There is something in His Voice that causes us to see Him in a deeper and more profound way. Mary would have missed Him had she not known the Voice that called out to her. May we grow increasingly sensitive to the hearing of Him!

“And I turned to see the voice
which spake with me…”
Revelation 1:12

In our hearing and in our turning we SEE the voice and are impacted by a fresh beholding of Him that fills our hearts with a glory that no man can aptly describe. If we fail to hear His voice, if we fail to respond to His voice, we will walk in the monotonous tread of a humdrum religion; satisfied with the words of an awesome covenant but never touching Him who is the heart of it.

The Mystery of Godliness to be continued…

PODCAST – The Mystery of Faith

Brian Troxel

As Little Children

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven…”

Matthew 18:3

The exceptions of God are non-negotiable. Apart from the new birth, we are bereft of the power to become child-like. His coming into our hearts is the means of our conversion and growth into the wonder of His kingdom.  Childlikeness is the nature required to enter the depths of the kingdom of heaven.

Simplicity of trust is the bedrock of a faith that glorifies our heavenly Father. Too many have missed the call of God through their own reasoning.  Like Naaman in his own wisdom almost reasoned himself out of God’s healing, we too may miss God if we do not learn to be weaned of our own understanding and inclinations.

“Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.”
2 Kings 5:12

The stipulation for Naaman’s healing was bound to his compliance with the Word of the Lord. Its fulfillment was hidden within the simplicity of God’s way. So, it is with us. God often hides His power within the mundane. The five loaves and two fishes, the oil in the widow’s house, and the walking stick of Moses became the means for the display of God’s power.

To the widow who was about to lose her son to the creditors:

“And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.”
2 Kings 4:2

The Word of the Lord to Moses:

“And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from before it.”
Exodus 4:2-3

The salvation of God is offered freely to all who in sincerity of heart call upon His Name. However, entering the Kingdom of God is an entirely different matter. There is a cost involved, a deep work of His Spirit within, by which we enter its dominion. Read afresh the Parables of Jesus; they hold the keys and truths of His Kingdom.

There is something both unnerving and awe-inspiring in God’s ways. It is to the pure and the humble in heart that He chooses to unveil His majesty.

“but to this man will I look,
even to him, that is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and trembleth at my word”
Isaiah 66:2

The heart is the lens through which we “see” God.

His work of grace is to purify, humble, and transform us from the wisdom and pride of this world into the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, who “humbled Himself” and became obedient to the will of the Father (Philippians 2:5). Only a true child of God can obey the heavenly Father.

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ”
Romans 8:16-17

May we read anew the language of God and feel within His Words the invitation to become child-like in the reality of our hearts!

See Related Post: “Seeing God”

†

“…the simplicity that is in Christ”
2 Corinthians 11:3

Arguments or Obedience

“Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly…  You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters, you can think things out, but in spiritual matters, you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in that matter. Bring all your “arguments and…every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” regarding the matter, and everything will become as clear as daylight to you (2 Corinthians 10:5). Your reasoning capacity will come later, but reasoning is not how we see. We see like children, and when we try to be wise we see nothing (see Matthew 11:25).

Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. This is humiliating because when we are confused we know that the reason lies in the state of our mind. But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God’s will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.”

--Oswald Chambers

Brian Troxel

The Idolatry of Intelligence - Leonard Ravenhill

Affliction and Purpose

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“He delivers the afflicted by their affliction”

Job 36:15 (ESV)

Our God who determines the way of all creation declares:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
Matthew 10:29

There are no wasted efforts in His watch care over our lives. He is ever investing in and orchestrating our life events. The afflictions which come our way are pregnant with purpose and meaning. They are the means to deeper places of knowing, comprehending, and above all pleasing Him.

Knowing Him is always the precursor to pleasing Him. The more I understand His ways, and His movements in me, the more He can reveal Himself through me.

He whose name is the “man of sorrows” must lead me into the valleys of sorrow for me to partake and live in the “joy OF the Lord”. There are deep treasures to be gleaned in sorrow’s way. Brokenness is the temper of the heart from which His streams of grace flow. It is the broken vessel that allows the fragrance of His wonder to touch the lives of others.

Affliction is a means to God’s end. While many endure life’s afflictions, few readily embrace their significance. We fight, we resist, and we insulate ourselves from it. The One who knows the number of the hairs on our head knows our need for such deep valleys.

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all”
Psalm 34:18

The mysteries of grace are ever near the broken and afflicted.

“The secret of the Lord
is with them that fear him”
Psalm 25:14

Hidden within the crushing weights of oppression and sorrow are keys to treasures far beyond the horizons of men. These are revealed to those who find grace to respond to God IN the suffering. Those who truly fear the Lord know that HE is sovereign and above all things. The “fear of the Lord” is proportional to the depth of our knowing Him. Those who know Him little, fear Him little.

Many go through life without the ability to SEE Him in sorrows way; but “unto them that look for Him shall He appear” (Hebrews 9:28). There are graces in Christ that cannot be learned apart from sorrow’s path, and it is in “looking” for Him that He shall appear even in the darkness.

Related Article: Suffering and Enlargement

Brian Troxel

Belief and Faith

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“We having the same spirit of faith…”

2 Corinthians 4:13

In the original Greek, there is very little difference between these two words; belief means “to have faith”, a living faith that draws from God. But very often today the Gospel has been reduced to what a person believes. Salvation is presented as words rather than power. Belief has become a doctrinal concept where the power of God is no longer taken into consideration. We hear “just believe,” as in assenting to a phrase and a concept; it matters little whether or not the “belief” is accompanied by change. Somehow words will ensure our relationship with God is good regardless of any transformation or not. It becomes no different than the offerings of any other religion where you pray multiple times a day the same repetitive prayer, or follow certain rules and procedures, or travel to some special location at least once in your life, or any number of empty mantras.

Belief (in our day) is what a person understands and mentally ascents to; faith is the power to walk in those beliefs. Faith is the dynamic of God in us demonstrating His Life. Belief is simply the framework of an individual’s concept of God.

“You believe that God is One. You do well;
even the demons believe and shudder.”
James 2:19

James follows this statement with:

“But are you willing to know, O vain man,
that faith apart from works is dead?”
James 2:20

The penetrating question of the Spirit of God is: “Are you willing to know, oh vain man…”? Many in this hour are not willing to know the truth. They hide behind what they believe to justify a dead and impotent faith. The demons believe and tremble, but it is not possible for them, nor for those whose faith is dead, to do the works of God. It takes the inspiration of Faith to know the victory of Christ and the power to walk righteously. Belief allows one to be deceived as to the verity of the condition of their faith. The powers of darkness rejoice in those with no ability to touch the power of a living faith.

The Apostolic ministrations often exhorted the people of God to examine themselves whether they be “IN THE FAITH”.

“Examine yourselves,
whether you are in the faith; test yourselves…”
2 Corinthians 13:5

Paul is not asking what we believe; he is pointedly asking, “are you IN the faith”. Is the faith of God moving you, pressing you, and causing you to walk in obedience? The writer of Hebrews wanted to present to the people of God what faith IS. A simple reading of Hebrews chapter 11 defined faith by what people did, not by what they believed.

It is the error of false teaching that a large part of the church today reduces faith to a statement. People and organizations often seek to define and validate themselves by these statements of faith rather than understanding that what they DO is their statement of faith. A faith that produces nothing is worth nothing. A faith that is not costly to walk in, which does not bring repentance and growth in our personal lives, is the bane of religion.

It is not what we believe, it is how we conduct ourselves. Faith produces a life that will cause others to glorify our Heavenly Father. Jesus says to the multitude:

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16

Notice the connection Jesus makes between light and works. His Light shines forth from His Works in and through us. Those who carry Him in their lives cannot be bereft of works.

The great deception of our day is that if I believe right, I am therefore right with God. The true ministration of the Sword of the Spirit will bring to us the burning question, “are you willing to know”?

“But are you willing to know, O vain man,
that faith apart from works is dead?”
James 2:20

It is imperative that we desire the truth of God for ourselves. Our works, our daily walk, and our internal thought life are the revelation of our faith. John pleads with the people of God to not be deceived.

“Little children, let no one lead you astray;
he who is doing righteousness is righteous,
even as He is righteous…”
1 John 3:7

God is very clear concerning righteousness; he who is DOING righteousness is righteous. Doing righteousness is revealed in our walking in forgiveness, casting down vain imaginations, freeing ourselves from jealously, envy and lust. Giving of our time, our resources and the secret prayer life where we find grace to bless those who despise us, exclude us from their company, and walk free from the temptations of all this world has to offer.

“But are you willing to know, O vain man,
that faith apart from works is dead?”

May we allow the penetrating work of the Holy Spirit to keep us in the living relationship by the power of a faith where the love of God produces the works of God in our lives.

Note: There are many scriptures that use the word “belief” in reference to salvation; for example:

“For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness…”
Romans 10;10

The phrase “unto righteousness” is key. It is not by a powerless belief that salvation is secured; it is a belief that brings the heart unto righteousness. How we have misinterpreted these verses as if a mental assent is all that is required. Religion rests in words, God’s power is revealed in transformed lives.

My life as a hopeless addict. associated with gangs and living on the streets, needed far more than words, something beyond confessions and teachings. His coming to me personally, imparting to my miserable existence the breath and wonder of His own LIFE transformed me in that instant, and by his grace continues to change me. I will forever be indebted to the One who found me and saved me. That is the Gospel!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth INTO (the true Greek meaning) Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”
John 3:16

The end result of believing INTO Him is “everlasting LIFE”!

AMAZING GRACE!

Brian Troxel

Believers in Hell - David Pawson

Effectual Prayers - Fire and Quest

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“Tell me, I pray thee, thy name”

Genesis 32:29

Buried within the hearts of those who know the call of God is the stirrings of the Divine seed. Emmanuel, “God with us”, must give way to “God IN us”. The rest we find in God’s providential care should propel us on in that eternal quest to know Him more.

The One who was the Emmanuel of God declared:

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth;
It is expedient for you that I go away…”
John 16:7

WHY?

Because having Jesus with us… is not to be compared to having Jesus IN US! His incarnation made it possible for Him to become our sacrifice to the end He could Dwell IN US! His Spirit could not come until Jesus was glorified (*see scripture below). His blood was shed so that we may draw near to Him “by a new and living way”! We need to begin to comprehend the enormity of the phrase “The Body of Christ” as being His church – not some pedantic building on a street corner, or an isolated, esoteric group of people. The Body of Christ is a Unified Glorious Temple, made up of living stones, each stone infused with the pulsating breath and fire of God, ONE Body in full submission to the Head who has pre-eminence overall!

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ Now, this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, *for as yet the Spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
John 7:38-39

JACOB AND EMMANUEL

As astounding and magnificent is this truth of Emmanuel, “God with us”, it is only the beginning of our journey into Him. Jacob at Peniel was close to or just over 100 years old. His life had been filled with the interventions of God before Peniel. No doubt he knew well God’s call, from his mother’s own narrative, even before his birth. Throughout His wanderings, he encountered God at every turn. Though God was “with” him he understood intuitively he did not know Him who is unknowable. The evident Hand of God in his life was not in truth the Face of God; there is a vast difference between a good and providential religious experience and the experiential relationship of true-born sons.

The true passion of His Own is to know Him rather than having the satisfaction of knowing much about Him. The difference between these two is revealed in the secret place of prayer.

ALONE WITH GOD

“The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone.”
Genesis 32:22-24

At Peniel, Jacob was alone. He had purposely sent all those around him away as the hidden workings of God moved within Jacob toward a divine appointment with Himself. Jacob was the name given to him prophetically; it accurately described his nature, his essential self. God had another name reserved for him – Israel. This name held a deep and eternal call with repercussions that would reverberate throughout history to this very day. By necessity, what this man was by nature (Jacob), must become another (Israel) for God’s purposes to find fulfillment.

Those who know His call feel this necessity and internal cry which cannot find rest in knowing God is with them. The quest for intimacy and relationship is to apprehend His eternal purpose for them individually (Philippians 3:13). The true love of God desires union not a mere awareness of His existence.

The man Jacob would always feel a stranger with the God who over-shadowed his way. God would remain an unknown to him. The mysterious One would always be there for him but that sense of relationship would remain obscure and incomplete.

“Tell me, I pray thee, thy name”
Genesis 32:29

Love ever seeks the object of its desire. The true heart longs for a relationship that is eternal and infinite. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is a singular name. It is this Quest to know God’s Name, His Person, and His being for which Jacob inquired!

“…baptizing them in the name (not names)
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…”
Matthew 28:19

In the Son coming to earth He pleased and glorified the Father in a new way. And the Holy Spirit revealed the new wonders of Christ to all of creation. Even angels could not comprehend the mystery of His work in and through Christ!

“To whom it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us they ministered the same things, which now were announced to you by those having preached the gospel to you in the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven; into which things angels long to look into.”
1 Peter 1:12

The name of God (YHWH) means the “ever-becoming One”. This is the eternal truth of Himself; He is ever becoming more glorious. In everything, He is working new wonders of Himself. Each life that responds to His Call becomes an extension of His unique and living testimony which creation has never seen before. Early on, God revealed Himself through men and women just like us. Their history became part of His own name!

“Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me…”
Exodus 3:16

Yet, the God of Moses was unlike anything revealed by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. All creation was struck anew by the power of God revealed through Moses. Consider all who have gone before us. Peter, James, Paul, and Jude all brought fresh, uncompromising expressions of the ONE Triune God. Who can be satisfied in a life lived here without being a unique light and expression as were so many who have gone before us? Each one mentioned in the Book of Hebrews, though not perfect, left an indelible expression of their God. To pass our time here without consequence, without leaving a mark of His glory upon another life, is unthinkable to those who feel that passion to make Him known. When Paul asked for prayer, it was not to have his circumstances changed but that he would know the power of God to make Christ known in all boldness!

“Pray also for me, that to me may be given speech in the opening of my mouth with boldness to make known the mystery of the gospel…”
Ephesians 6:19

Those who know their God cannot refrain from proclaiming Him. The more they know Him the greater is their passion to know Him more. The unaffected, the distant ones who are content with unfulfilled promises, unfruitful and uneventful lives; feel not the passion to leave His mark in the world around them. Though God is in truth Emmanuel to many, there are those who, like Jacob, are moved by an inner desire to be “alone” with Him. These ones know the internal conflicts of their hearts; the wrestling, the struggles, and the prevailing work of God! These agonizing experiences are necessary for those who would know the fundamental and essential change from a lost and wandering Jacob to the Israel of God!

Prayer becomes the means to this life-changing relationship. Asking for things is transcended by touching the ONE in whom all provision and glory reside. He is no longer just a god; He is no longer the God of a church, a minister, or an organization. He is now GOD; your own personal Shepherd, King of kings, Lord of lords, and the sole purpose for which this life is lived.

Many may know His acts; many may know the sheer wonder of His providence. But until an individual seeks Him for Himself, He will remain shrouded in mystery and obscurity. He is good, and He will remain good to all who call upon Him. But to those who pursue Him, who desire an audience with Him, will He unveil His wonder and Person.

PRAYER IS THE PRIVILEGE
OF THE HUNGRY OF HEART.

The hungry of heart do not depend on scheduled prayer meetings for their heart is an altar upon which the fire burns continually. Abraham did not start a fire as many must do – He brought the fire!

“And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering
and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire…”
Genesis 22:6

<§>

“And when they had lifted up their eyes,
they saw no man, save Jesus only.”
Matthew 17:8

Please Read: The Prayer of Moses

Brian Troxel

Obedience is Higher than Prayer and Fasting

This is from the blog Wisdom of the Ages:

“By obedience a man is guarded against pride. Prayer is given for the sake of obedience. The grace of the Holy Spirit is also given for obedience. This is why obedience is higher than prayer and fasting.”

--Silouan the Athonite

Obedience and the Tree of Life
An Obedient Heart
Faith, Revelation, Obedience

God is Looking for Broken Men

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“God is not looking for brilliant men, is not depending upon eloquent men, is not shut up to the use of talented men in sending His Gospel out in the world. God is looking for broken men, for men who have judged themselves in the light of the Cross of Christ. When He wants anything done, He takes up men who have come to an end of themselves, and whose trust and confidence is not in themselves but in God.”

--H.A. Ironside

Jacob will remain Jacob until He is Broken
The Idolatry of Intelligence - Leonard Ravenhill

Warfare: The Sign of Life

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“I have fought the good fight…”
2 Timothy 4:7

The surest sign of the life of God within His own is the unconquerable will to fight the fight of faith. Life is always the antagonist of death. Faith is the adversary of sin. Victory over sin and iniquity is the result of warfare; warfare of the life of Christ Himself. When a heart ceases to fight it ceases to live.

“Fight the good fight of the faith…”
1 Timothy 6:12

We live in a day where “faith” is presented as a legal declaration of victory (regardless of the life lived) rather than the means by which we attain the victory. Paul was ever encouraging the people of God to remain active in the battle, to be diligent in their walk and to grow in the victory of the faith. The writer of the beauty and the power of all the truths in the Book of Romans also wrote this to Timothy… “fight the good fight of faith”! Compromise and concession are the harbingers of spiritual defeat and death. Life by its very nature opposes death and the scriptures declare that the “wages of sin is death”. The life of Christ within withstands evil in all of its deceptive and destructive forms.

The fight of faith is not won in a moment, nor is the crown easily earned, but we have been given the great gift of faith, the blood of Christ and the grace of God to stand in this evil day! It requires a walk of learning, growth and development in the school of His Spirit.

“Blessed be the Lord my strength,
which teacheth my hands to war,
and my fingers to fight…”
Psalm 144:1

Faint not at the battles which assail you; do not lose heart in the intensity of the conflict for we have this promise from God:

“But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you,
and keep you from evil”
2 Thessalonians 3:3

Ω

“The Christian life, then, is a battle,
so sharp and full of danger
that effort can nowhere be relaxed without loss”

--Huldrych Zwingli

Brian Troxel

The World is the Battleground

Spiritual Warfare will Continue Increasing Intensifying and Worsening

The ONE Thing

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“And Abram journeyed, going on still…”
Genesis 12:9

It is the nature of Faith to produce within true hearts a diligence to ever be “going on still” in their walk with God. Faith is relentless in its quest to seek and know its author. Faith generates in the life of every true disciple a “journey” and a quest for God Himself. This journey is the result of a heavenly vision which causes all earthly things to become dim and obsolete in comparison with the growing radiancy of God. There can be no division of heart when God is becoming the “one thing”. As Paul declared:

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”
Philippians 3:13-14

We read of this same “One Thing” in Psalm 27 as David cries out with fullness of heart:

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple”
Psalm 27:4

It is this “One Thing” which characterizes the pilgrims of faith; that separates the Christian Adherent from the True Disciple. Disciples grow in their love and pursuit of the “One Thing” for an individual cannot follow Him for long without being captured by His incomparable beauty. We cannot follow the ONE in whom resides Wisdom, Grace and LIFE and remain attached to the things of this world.

Who can save us from the misery of self? None but Jesus.

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”
Acts 4:12

While to the believer Christ brings salvation, to the disciple Christ IS their salvation. To one it is an act, a decree and a doctrine (precious as that is). To the Disciple, salvation is the LIFE of Christ resident and abiding within. To one it is a very important thing, to the other it is the ONLY thing.

“For I determined not to know any thing among you,
save Jesus Christ, and him crucified”
1 Corinthians 2:2

May this burning desire become a growing reality in our lives by the wonder of the grace of God empowering, unifying and purifying our hearts; unto the perfect day where we can truly say the desire for the “one thing” has indeed become the ONE THING.

“And when they had lifted up their eyes,
they saw no man, save Jesus only”
Matthew 17:8

Brian Troxel

Hedged In

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?”
Job 3:23

The confinements of God serve His end to those who understand His ways. Liberty in the Spirit often comes to those who feel hedged in in the flesh. The light of God is given in times of darkness. The constrictions of circumstances bring enlargement, patience and strength to those who see beyond the walls of this life. There is a hidden ministry, veiled from the prisoner, during the silent and painful work of a pearl being formed. The graces of God must be fashioned in the life of His own in the dark and lonely experiences of life.

“And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison,
a place where the king’s prisoners were bound:
and he was there in the prison”
Genesis 39:20

There are dark places within the soul of man which require dark times to bring and fill them with the light of God! Joseph could not comprehend the end God had determined for him. He had a dream of authority in the family of God, but he had never even considered the greater sphere in which he would rule and reign! God’s end is always larger than what we can see. What was the secret hidden in Joseph’s captivity?

“But the Lord was with Joseph…”
Genesis 39:21

There is treasure locked within the dark times of our lives. There are purposes to be mined in the deep places of confinement and loneliness. The promise of greater things is bound up within our faithfulness to serve God in these prisons. Joseph’s faithfulness to God was the key to his release. His faithfulness to the gift of interpreting dreams became the very means of unlocking his prison door.

Let not the dark places crush your vision. Let not despondency rob you of your service unto the King of kings. Remain faithful in every circumstance to serve and honor God; for we shall surely reap in proportion to our sowing. We will stand in the Day of harvest, bringing our sheaves to lay at the feet of the One alone who is worthy.

“I have remembered thy name,
O Lord, in the night,
and have kept thy law”
Psalm 119:55

Σ

“And I will give thee the treasures of darkness,
and hidden riches of secret places,
that thou mayest know that I, the Lord,
which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel”
Isaiah 45:3

Brian Troxel

The Struggle and the Crown

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace;
to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed”
Romans 4:16

The Struggle

 

“And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”
Genesis 25:22 – 25

Within the life of every true believer is the struggle between two natures; two ways of living, two sets of desires and two eternal consequences.  The conflict is between the first Adam and the Last Adam, the first Adam being that nature which is earthly and sensual and the second Adam being the heavenly man, the Eternal Son of Man. We see the very portrayal of this within the womb of Rebekah as she by faith brought forth the one who would become Israel in the purposes and dealings of our great God.

Esau was the firstborn, a man of passions, wild and undisciplined.  He was of the earth, earthly and devoid of any real love of spiritual things.  He was born first, bearing the likeness of the first Adam, which in the Hebrew means “red earth”.  At his birth the scriptures take great care to describe his appearance (See The Things of Esau).

“And the first came out red*(see note below),
all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau”
Genesis 25:25

Jacob, though a schemer and a conniver, had one thing that set him apart.  He had respect for the things of God.  The birthright, which was rightfully Esau’s by virtue of being the first born, meant little to Esau and he surrendered it for  a mere mess of pottage in a moment of extreme hunger.  Jacob, on the other hand, coveted this blessing.  Jacob was the son of promise, a man called to become the Israel of God, not by strength, nor by might but by the mercy and strength of our God.

These two distinct “manner of people” struggled within the womb of Rebekah, yet the promise was THE ELDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER.  Jacob’s journey of faith to become Israel was one of many dealings and breakings in the hands of a determined and merciful God.  The promise of God tarries until the man Jacob is broken.  It is in our submission to His dealings that we become the people upon whom the promise falls.

“The Lord sent a word into Jacob,
and it hath lighted upon Israel”
Isaiah 9:8

The promise to Jacob was a sure thing but the severity of the dealings of God and the determination of God is what made the promise sure.  The man Jacob must become the worm that he might indeed become strong.

“Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff”
Isaiah 41:14 – 15

We must see that the inabilities in our life to do God’s will are the result of our strengths not our weaknesses. When we speak of weakness we are speaking of all that has not been brought into submission to the Son; in whatever measure we have known the fellowship of His sufferings there is a corresponding experience of His resurrection life.

“That I may know him,
and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death;
If by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead”
Philippians 3:10 – 11

Let us realize that the struggle within is a struggle that is to be unto life and glory; HIS LIFE and HIS GLORY.  The struggle of Rebekah is prophetic of all that we must know within ourselves.  Jacob will remain Jacob until he is broken.  We too will remain barren unless we discover the wonder and the power of HIS faith in our lives.  A faith like gold submitted to the fire is purified and fit for the master’s use.  Teachings will not produce this life; only a broken and surrendered will in the hands of the God of Jacob!  This is not a day to tarry but it is a day for us to “press toward the mark, for the PRIZE of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”.

Let our confidence be not in ourselves, our knowledge or our associations.  Rather let our confidence be in the God of Jacob who was able to bring forth a PRINCE* (see note below) from the worm and who is able to complete that which He began in us.  The beauty of Jacob’s heart was clearly revealed at Peniel as we see Jacob clinging to the ONE who wounded him for in that place we see and hear God’s declaration… 

The Crown 

“Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel:
for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men,
and hast prevailed”
Genesis 32:28

* אַדְמֹנִי ʼaḏmōniy, אַדְמוֹנִי ʼaḏmôniy: An adjective meaning red, ruddy. from the Hebrew Word ADAM
*Israel – Prince with God

Brian Troxel

Broken Bread and Poured-Out Wine
The Man Christ Jesus
Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel 

Peace with God means Conflict with the World

Jurgen Moltmann, German Reformed Theologian

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“That is why faith, wherever it develops into hope, causes not rest but unrest, not patience but impatience. It does not calm the unquiet heart, but is itself this unquiet heart in man. Those who hope in Christ can no longer put up with reality as it is, but begin to suffer under it, to contradict it. Peace with God means conflict with the world, for the goad of the promised future stabs inexorably into the flesh of every unfulfilled present.”
 
― Jürgen Moltmann

The World is the Battleground

Persecution Post - Uganda 1973

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

DEAD ALREADY – AND HIDDEN IN CHRIST

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:3

Kefa Sempangi was pastor of the large Redeemed Church of Uganda. Easter Sunday 1973 was his first serious brush with death at the hands of Idi Amin’s goons. After an all-day worship service he went exhausted to the vestry to change clothes—too exhausted to notice the five strangers (government secret police goons) following him into the room:They stood between me and the door, pointing their rifles at my face. For a long moment no one said anything. Then the tallest man, obviously the leader, spoke. “We are going to kill you,” he said. “If you have something to say, say it before you die.” He spoke quietly but his face was twisted with hatred.

I could only stare at him. For a sickening moment I felt the full weight of his rage. We had never met before but his deepest desire was to tear me to pieces. My mouth felt heavy and my limbs began to shake. Everything left my control. They will not need to kill me, I thought to myself. I am just going to fall over dead and I will never see my family again.

From far away I heard a voice, and I was astonished to realize that it was my own. “I do not need to plead my own cause,” I heard myself saying. “I am a dead man already. My life is dead and hidden in Christ. It is your lives that are in danger; you are dead in your sins. I will pray to God that after you have killed me, He will spare you from eternal destruction.”

The tall one took a step towards me and then stopped. In an instant, his face was changed. His hatred had turned to curiosity. He lowered his gun and motioned to the others to do the same. They stared at him in amazement but they took their guns from my face.

Then the tall one spoke again. “Will you pray for us now?” he asked. I thought my ears were playing a trick. I looked at him and then at the others. My mind was completely paralyzed. “Father in heaven,” I prayed, “You who have forgiven men in the past, forgive these men also. Do not let them perish in their sins but bring them into yourself.”

It was a simple prayer, prayed in deep fear. But God looked beyond my fears and when I lifted my head, the men standing in front of me were not the same men who had followed me into the vestry. Something had changed in their faces. It was the tall one who spoke first. His voice was bold but there was no contempt in his words, “You have helped us,” he said, “and we will help you. We will speak to the rest of our company and they will leave you alone. Do not fear for your life. It is in our hands and you will be protected.”

I was too astonished to reply. The tall one only motioned for the others to leave. He himself stepped to the doorway and then he turned to speak one last time. “I saw widows and orphans in your congregation,” he said. “I saw them singing and giving praise. Why are they happy when death is so near?” It was still difficult to speak but I answered him. “Because they are loved by God. He has given them life, and will give life to those they loved, because they died in Him.”

His question seemed strange to me, but he did not stay to explain. He only shook his head in perplexity and walked out the door. I stared at the open door of the vestry for several moments and then sat down on a nearby straw mat chair. My knees were no longer strong and I could feel my whole body tremble. I could not think clearly. Less than ten minutes before, I had considered myself a dead man. Even though I was surrounded by 7,000 people there was no human being to whom I could appeal. I could not ask the elders to pray, I could not appeal to the mercy of the Nubian killers. My mouth had frozen and I had no clever words to speak. In that moment, with death so near, it was not my sermon that gave me courage, or an idea from Scripture. It was Jesus Christ, the living Lord.

Standing Strong

Stewardship and the Prophetic

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“But as for me, I am full of power by Yahweh’s Spirit,
and of judgment, and of might,
to declare to Jacob his disobedience,
and to Israel his sin”
Micah 3:8

True prophetic expressions have their origin in God Himself. The fountain from which they spring is God’s heart, not their own. It is a call, not a career. It is a heart that has touched the sacred atmosphere of His dwelling place and sees and feels the waywardness of the human condition. The Holiness of God is the matrix by which all things are uncovered and made bare. Those who have, in some measure, the “knowledge of the Holy…” (Proverbs 9:10) have nothing to boast of. There is no high-mindedness, for in touching God they have seen themselves in that same piercing, Holy Light (Isaiah 6:5). It is a Light which obliterates any sense of worthiness or merit. It cries out against apathy, disobedience and sin, because God does. Those who bear such things know the dichotomy of the treasure in the earthen vessel. The press from within is of greater value than the animosity from without. The over-riding need to express the Holiness of God becomes the purpose of life itself. Whatever may be the reaction of all the powers of the world, or the indignation of our brothers and sisters, faithfulness to Him is paramount.

“For if I proclaim the gospel, no glory is to me;
for necessity is laid on me,
and it is woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel.
For if I do this willingly, I have a reward;
but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a stewardship”
1 Corinthians 9:16-17

How few in our Day know of the necessity to declare The Gospel of God; this unutterable, inherent need to speak of His Holiness and His hatred of sin. The horror of the religious ways and methods of men obscure His very person. The presentation of a Gospel entangled with the ambitions of men for personal gain and recognition, dims the radiance of the risen Christ. Where are those who recognize the entrustment of a stewardship? This call is like a ship at sea driven by the winds of heaven, no longer free to navigate its own way. The ebb and flow of God determines the when and the where of such lives. These are the expressions of those who know the fulness (see note below) of His Spirit and from this fulness that the Words of God flow. It is a fulness which makes the vessel aware of its own emptiness. The great mystery of God at work through fragile earthen vessels is the true revelation of the Grace of God.

“the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?”
Amos 3:8

It is in the hearing, the touching and the seeing of Him that the press of His Spirit rises within. He is the origin of all things pertaining to His Glory. He alone is worthy of lives yielded to Him. May God make known to the next generation the Call to Himself that they may be no longer their own.

STEWARDSHIP

“For if I do this willingly, I have a reward;
but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a stewardship”

To know the life of stewardship is as costly as it is precious. A steward is entrusted with the goods of the master. He owns nothing. He is conscious that God’s things are Holy, and he dare not handle them carelessly. Stewards do not have their own doctrine, nor do they subscribe to the popular teachings of the day. They carry within themselves the true doctrine of the Lord:

“My meat is to do the will of him that sent me,
and to finish his work”
John 4:34

The stewards do not have their own agenda. They do not live to build up a following, or what men call a “ministry” or “church”. They are His alone and by the grace of God they remain such. Their ministry is simple:

“That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you”
1 John 1:3

Ω

A Steward of the Lord

“And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem,
not knowing the things that shall befall me there”
Acts 20:22

Brian Troxel