Unto Him

“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
Acts 13:2

The maturity of a child of God is marked by the realization that we are here for His pleasure, not the other way around.

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure, they are and were created.”
Revelation 4:11

The chief aim for a heart rightly related to Him is a singleness of purpose to please, honor, and glorify Him. Too many today are like the ten lepers who benefit from His healing and salvation with little or no thought of offering their lives back unto Him in gratitude. They receive the earnest of His Salvation, they hold fast to His promises FOR themselves, but offer little of themselves in return.

We read in Acts 13 that the people of God at Antioch “ministered unto the Lord”. They gathered unto Him. Their purpose in meeting was not to have a nice worship service or to hear a good sermon; they were fixed upon bringing joy and honor to Him. From this powerful interaction the Lord Himself speaks:

“Separate me, Barnabas and Saul…”

It requires the power of the Holy Spirit to draw and to separate men and women unto the great work of His purposes. As long as our meetings, our times of fellowship, and our interactions are about us we will not see the intervention of the Lord in our midst. In the early Church, God would manifest Himself for their hearts were fixed on Him with no other agenda.

May God bring us to the truth and purpose of His Salvation. It is not about us. it is about us being redeemed from our self-life and our neglect of His salvation. His gifts and His callings are not ours to do with as we please, but to make Him known and worshipped. We often hear the words “My church”, “My ministry”, and “My right” spoken as though we can do with His undeserved gifts as we see fit. But we must remember that we are going to give an account to Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ! There is no greater abomination than to take the Holy things of God unto ourselves.

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
Exodus 20:7

The world cannot misuse this glorious name for it cannot take what has not been given to them. This commandment is FOR HIS PEOPLE. For anyone to take His name and use it for their own selfish purposes is a flagrant violation of the first commandment.

The Hebrew word used for vain means the following:

שָׁוְא – šāw’: “A masculine noun meaning emptiness, vanity, evil, ruin, uselessness, deception, worthless, without result, fraud, deceit. The primary meaning of the word is deceit, lie, or falsehood. God used the word to indicate that He punished Judah in vain. The word is used by the psalmist to state that all activities such as laboring, guarding, rising early, staying up late, and toiling for food were useless without God’s assistance.”

Only God’s people can use this name deceitfully and fraudulently and there will be great recompense on the Day of Judgment.

“they ministered unto the Lord!”
Acts 13:2

How desperately we need Him to interject His presence into our gatherings unto Him. How we need the anointed ministry of God to be sent from the Church; not from some bible school, but from our local assembly! The men sent forth in Acts 13 would not meet the “qualifications” of most churches today. They would not measure up to their doctrinal “statements of faith” for they walked in the power and the wonder of God’s anointing and Life.

Stephen was a deacon of the early church. God’s estimation of a deacon was vastly different from what we consider to be a deacon in our day!

The Church is to exist for Him. She, the Bride, lives for Him. She prepares herself for His return (“prepared as a bride adorned FOR her husband”, Rev. 21:2). Note the words “adorned for her husband”. Her heart is set on Him, not on herself. The love which burns in her heart is for Him alone; she has no other loves or desires. She is not interested in bigger buildings, more celebrity status, or more approval from others. She lives to honor Him.

“As they ministered to the Lord,
and fasted, the Holy Ghost said…”

The Holy Spirit is present where His people are one and harmonized in the pure desire to minister unto Him. When men seek preeminence or meet with ulterior motives God hides Himself from this glorious manifestation.

“…unto HIM shall the gathering
of the people be”
Genesis 49:10

SEE: Devotion and Worship

Brian Troxel

The Things to Come 2016

THE THINGS TO COME 2016

This is a Word from the Lord given to me on February 26, 2016, which I have reposted (SEE this link for the original: Things to Come). We are touching but the beginning of darker things to come. It is a time to prepare ourselves for the storm which is coming.

“I spake unto thee in thy prosperity;
but thou hast said I will not hear.
This hath been thy manner from thy youth,
that thou obeyed not my voice”
JEREMIAH 22:21 (*1 NOTE)

God is speaking to His Own in the day of prosperity. HE calls out to them, HE seeks to warn them of the storm that is about to break, yet they will not hear. The teachings of this hour dismiss obedience as a “legalistic” approach to our new understanding of “love” (see Revelation 3:19). We are told over and over again that we are OK and that somehow the God of the New Testament is not interested in obedience. We have a “gospel” that removes the fear of God from our land. To this person that will not hear and will not obey God goes on to say…

“The wind shall eat up all thy pastors (*NOTE 2),
and thy lovers shall go into captivity:
surely THEN shalt thou be
ashamed and confounded
for all thy wickedness”
JEREMIAH 22:22

He will remove the pastors who comfort those who should not be comforted. HE will take away their trust in men and the forms of gathering that prevent people from realizing their own responsibility to seek, hear and obey God for themselves. The storm is about to hit and we are unaware.

God speaks in the day of prosperity because in times of prosperity men tend to forget God; they become comfortable in a religion that does not convict. They glory in a form of truth, an appearance of something that is alive but in reality is dead. God speaks to His Church in Sardis…

“These things saith HE
that hath the seven Spirits of God,
and the seven stars; I know thy works,
that thou hast a name
that thou art alive, and art dead”
REVELATION 3:1

These are people who have not grown in their walk with God. The Bread of Life has not been developed within them; they hear much and see little. They have not developed a living relationship with the Fountain of Life and have a constant need to be fed rather than becoming bread for others. God will remove those pastors who have loved the place of pre-eminence in the assemblies but have not been burdened over the condition of the people of God. God will remove those who have spoken smooth things in this day, who have ministered a spirit of slumber, who have spoken “peace, peace” when there is no peace. Rather than sounding out the alarm on the day of the Lord (Joel 2:1), rather than calling people to repentance and righteousness, they have sought to comfort them with a gospel that makes men comfortable with sin and disobedience.

It is in the removal of these things that the people of God are suddenly struck with the true nature of their condition before a Holy God. God must remove these influences that in seeing their true condition they will turn unto Him in heartfelt brokenness to find mercy and grace. God’s end is always to bring men and women to Himself. He does not chasten His Own without the motive to draw them near, heal them, and restore them into a right relationship with Himself.

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear (*NOTE 1); and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent”
REVELATION 3:16-19

*1 NOTE: This prophetic word to His Church concerning their nakedness is in stark contrast to the teachings of this hour. We have a teaching that we are already clothed in righteousness and that we need not concern ourselves with such things! This Word was given in around 90AD over 20 years after the martyrdom of Paul! How false and erroneous are the teachings of our day. God says “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten”, this is the true LOVE OF GOD, blessed are those who have ears to hear and hearts to respond to Him in this hour.

1. “Thou hast a FEW names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.” (Revelation 3:4)
2. “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” (Revelation 16:15)

People who are content with such things (declared righteousness) are those who fail to realize their own responsibility to keep their garments clean; they cannot hear, are not able to see, and will not obey the voice of God in this hour.

*2 NOTE: This removal of Pastors is nothing new in the history of the church. The most recent occurrence of this on a large scale was in China (1950’s) when the Communist Government removed the pastors and installed their own and the visible organized church became a sounding board for the government. Those who had been a part of what was called “the Little Flock Movement”, where the people of God developed their own walk (prior to the purge), simply went underground and the church of God flourishes to this day.

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten:
be zealous therefore, and repent”
REVELATION 3:19

Brian Troxel

Reputation and Discipleship

“But made himself of no reputation…”
Philippians 2:7

The God and creator of the universe made Himself of no reputation. He was not motivated by the approval of men, He required no support system to propagate His message. He did not need marketing efforts and promotional strategies for the proliferation of His purposes. He was born in a lowly stable, raised by simple folks in a village of no regard as evidenced by the question “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46)

This passage has deep things that can be learned in our own interaction with Him in this world. There is a freedom from strife, from craving recognition and acceptance. Sooner or later there comes an acknowledgment that truth requires nothing but His Spirit to stand. We stand in His righteousness, His merit, and we are fully dependent upon His Fire burning within our own hearts. We are to be witnesses of Him, not of ourselves, and for that reason we feel the great responsibility to be faithful to represent Him.

Humility is a fruit of the Spirit rooted in the power of relationship.

“Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that, he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”
John 13:3

Jesus’ ability to gird Himself as a servant and to wash their feet was based on the security of being in a right and pure relationship with His heavenly Father. His freedom was a revelation of true power; to Peter, it was an offense. Service to God will often offend the carnal aspirations of men. The same freedom that allowed the Son to speak the truths of the Kingdom of God without restraint is to become ours. Freedom from self allows us to be free in His Spirit. There can be no true freedom in Christ while we cling to the corruption of self.

As we walk with Him in the experiential realities of life we discover the taint and malaise of self. We see it in our interactions with others, in our own internal conflicts, and in the hidden motives of our hearts. Thankfully He is faithful to correct us, and we must be willing to heed those corrections. Failure to do so will result in selfish living and disappointment.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:1

There is a precious internal work of the Holy Spirit whereby our intentions are freed from the lust of the acceptance of men to live for His approval only.

“Because of this, we also are striving to be pleasing to Him,
whether being at home, or being away from home.”
2 Corinthians 5:9

Why was Paul so passionate about this?

“For we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive the things done through the body, according to what he did, whether good or bad.”
2 Corinthians 5:10

Only by the fear of the Lord are we freed from the fear of men. Accountability to God frees us to live right and to walk right. He who made Himself of no reputation will free us to do the same

True humility is always predicated on the power of truth.

“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:31-32

The fear of man, and the need for acceptance, bring men and women to the snare of conformity to a group, a congregation, or to something other than Jesus Himself. The scriptures declare emphatically:

“The fear of man bringeth a snare:
but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe”
Proverbs 29:25

There are many precious people in God who because of their own insecurities develop unhealthy alliances to leaders, denominations, groups, or teachings. Too often this results in tragic and heartbreaking situations, broken and impoverished lives. The disillusionment and realization that they have been bound to something other than Christ leave them isolated and wounded. Freedom in the fear of the Lord must be the atmosphere of serving God.

“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
John 12:42-43

See: Faithful and Wise Servant

___________________

“Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest”
– Oswald Chambers (Disciples Indeed)

Brian Troxel

Be Enlarged!

“…be YE also enlarged”
2 Corinthians 6:13 (NET)

The heartbeat of every true ministration of Christ should reverberate with this One desire. We are not here to enlarge “our” church or “our” congregation; nor are we to seek selfish gain or the approval of men. Our only desire must be to see the influence, the impact, and the fire of God filling His people with the overwhelming Love of God.

Be Enlarged

Paul was not satisfied with the status quo of his relationship with Christ. His life was one of pressing, seeking, and pursuing a greater depth of “knowing” His Lord. Those who truly “taste and see” the vastness of God’s Being cannot be complacent in their walk with Him.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
Matthew 13:45-46

Too many have contented themselves with a belief, comfortable in knowing their sins are forgiven, all the while moving through life isolated and insulated from the battlefield of faith. Their hearts remain untouched and unmoved by the immensity of God’s beauty and the Love He holds for all creation. It is the one who in truth had “found” the ONE Pearl of Great Price who sold all to acquire its beauty. His “works” were to forsake all for Christ. His heart had no room for other things.

Love without passion, love without fervor, and love without sacrifice are impossible. Those who have seen the Christ cannot help but speak of Him and live in the joy and the desire to make Him known!

Peter and John, when threatened by the religious leaders of their day, declared with unflinching words:

“But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:19-20

The unction and power of Christ within His own selflessly desires to see the people of God enlarged. Paul’s plea to the Church at Corinth was for their enlargement; that their faith would go beyond lukewarm living and apathetic confessions of faith. The Spirit of God is looking for firebrands, motivated by the pure love of God, who feel the same indebtedness to the ONE who first loved them.

“I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also”
Romans 1:14-15

The question becomes – what is in us? What is the fuel that ignites and burns within our hearts? True ministers of Christ have no interest in propagating themselves, their church, their ministry; they live to make Christ known. They plead with, they admonish, and they exhort the people of God toward the same heart as the merchant who in finding the Great Pearl sold everything to acquire its beauty. His desire is to so move in us that we become the full possession of Christ and He becomes our own.

“I am my beloved’s,
and my beloved is mine”
Song of songs 6:3

May we feel the fire of His heart for HIS people:

“…be YE also enlarged”

See: Spiritual Development

Brian Troxel

ONE BREAD – ONE BODY

“For WE, though many, ARE one bread and one body;
FOR we all partake of that one bread”
I CORINTHIANS 10:17

Love is the fruit of a relationship with Christ. Love surpasses knowledge, rejoices with the truth, stands for truth, and knows that the only hope for anyone to be truly free, truly righteous, and truly like the Son is by the ministration of truth. Where truth is neglected the corresponding result will be a “love” which will lack the holiness and power of His Presence. I cannot know what love is except in the true knowledge of God. Truth is my only hope for knowing what LOVE really is.

Love is the selfless and pure expression of the God who so loved the world that HE gave His only Son. That same Love that gave The Only Begotten Son is the same God who in total holiness and impartiality is the judge of all men. All the heavens and they that dwell there are awestruck with the Holiness, the Righteousness, and the Omnipotence of His Majesty. The holy angels who have never known sin or rebellion shield themselves from His glorious penetrating light; such a contrast with the apathy and religion of today. Where there is no unity in the midst of God’s people there will be little or no glory.

In every case of unity in both the Old and New Testaments, there was God’s glory to such an extent that men were bowed and the heavens were opened. The unity PRECEDES the moving of God. On the day of Pentecost, they were in ONE ACCORD prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We read in the Old Testament that when the singers and dancers were of ONE Voice the Glory of God fell (2 Chronicles 5:13). May we hear afresh His Word to us.

“And he spake also a parable unto them; “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed…”
LUKE 5:35-38

The New Wine will not be poured out into old wineskins. They are old, inflexible, and weak. They have become rigid and have a form of righteousness that cannot be changed. God is not in the renovating business; HE TRANSFORMS anyone who dares walk in truth and in the light. His Love does not compromise with sin and religion. He cleansed the temple in His Day and He has not changed!

In His day men and women were satisfied with their paltry offerings, the money changers, and “business” of religion. Even the disciples (prior to Pentecost) were found marveling at the temple buildings in their day. Yet Jesus declared that there will not be left one stone of that old order. For the new was ready to break forth upon the grounds of the pure sacrifice of the LAMB OF GOD. Now it is a temple not made with hands; a living temple made up of living stones mortared together by the simplicity of the LOVE of God. Men no longer build their own edifices but are themselves built together INTO this glorious temple.

“ In Him, you also are being built together
into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
EPHESIANS 2:22

The Living Temple

“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”
I Peter 2:5

The ONE BREAD is to bring forth the ONE BODY in truth and reality. Not a oneness based on the effort of men or the compromise of the truth! This ONENESS is the revelation of the truth not the ignoring of it. True love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is called the “Spirit of Truth”. When men love programs, teachings, the esteem of men, and self-promotion more than they love truth they reap the fruit of their own ways. This in itself is the great judgment of God. When men are content with such things nothing changes. Agnosticism*, apathy, and unbelief have rendered truth to a form and a concept instead of the living demonstration of Christ. Truth is seen as being relative; there is no concern for wrong teachings and soulish ways. We are not to say anything, do anything, that might offend others. God has a name for such a generation… ICHABOD!

“And she named the child Ichabod,
saying, The glory is departed from Israel”
I SAMUEL 4:21

It is time to read the scriptures for what they say and to see through the “status quo” of today. It is a day to return to the simplicity of truth and the power of His Spirit that can only be found where the New Wineskin is made up of those that love one another fervently out of a pure heart. We can no longer meet in the ways of the world. The true church is not an earthly organization but a spiritual organism living in the breath of the Holy Spirit, where men no longer walk in titles and positions but live and walk in the pure expression of His love. It is a place where our meeting together is no longer orchestrated by the programs of men but has become the place where the Spirit of Liberty is free to EXPRESS THE LIVING CHRIST. A place where His Glory comes in such power that the ways of Ananias and Sapphira are judged and God is glorified. A place where HIS Glory so permeates our gatherings unto Him that no earthly agenda can survive and men speak as the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11).

Daniel and the Word

Daniel in captivity UNDERSTOOD by the reading of the scriptures that they would be in exile for 70 years and began to pray and repent; GOD ANSWERED! It is as His people read the scriptures and hear HIS voice that repentance and change come. Daniel did not simply say “Well, God is going to do it”… HE knew God enough to know that HE MUST RESPOND to God’s Word personally to experience the LIFE OF IT. Faith is simply the ability to respond to God’s Word.

The scriptures are read every day across our land but the famine of the word is not in the reading of it but in the HEARING of it. For FAITH comes by hearing not reading. So Jesus warns us to take heed “HOW WE HEAR” and “WHAT WE HEAR”.

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of HEARING the words of the LORD”
AMOS 8:11

That day is upon us, but the promise of God to His Church is …

“He who has an ear,
let him HEAR what the Spirit says”

The unity of the true Body of Christ is only known by the simplicity of WALKING IN THE LIGHT…

“But if we WALK in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another”
I JOHN 1:7

*NOTE: “Agnosticism is the view that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is not known or knowable with any certainty” (Wikipedia) Can we not feel the spirit of this malaise permeating the hearts of many. Many believe in a god, many declare their “faith” in God but few reveal His reality in their lives. There is a fireless faith, a lukewarm attitude to His Word. The faithless teachings of men declare concepts and ideas instead of the fire to OBEY His Word. We hear many who say ‘be content’ with a God who remains hidden in the heavens rather than a God who breathes the power and the dynamic of Christ into His Own. How long will we tolerate the false, the carnal, and the pedantic atmosphere of unbelief? What many call “belief” in this day is unbelief, what many call faith is a trust in an idea of God rather than in the person and the truth of Christ.

Many mock the scripture… “Faith without works is dead…”. Yet it is certain that we will stand before Him at the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of what we have DONE with the measureless wonder of Christ Jesus our LORD! (Read the parables of the Talents and the Pounds)

“So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For WE must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others“
2 Corinthians 5:9-11

The measure of our believing His Word is found in our hearts and lives warning His people of their accountability. Read afresh the Word of the Lord.

Let us all take heed to our ways.

“Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Or do you not yourselves perceive that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are disapproved”
2 Corinthians 13:5

Disunity is the result of sin,
unity is the fruit of walking in His Light.

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“The unity of Christendom is not a luxury, but a necessity. The World will go limping until Christ’s prayer that all may be one is answered. We must have unity, not at all costs, but at all risks. A unified Church is the only offering we dare present to the coming Christ, for in it alone will He find room to dwell”
CHB

Updated article from April 2014 – “One Bread, One Body”

Brian Troxel

The Book of Asa

A Study of Leadership

Part One

“And Asa cried unto the Lord his God…”
2 Chronicles 14:11

Within the life of true disciples, there are experiences and unveilings of our God which leave His indelible mark on them. There are mountain-top experiences, revelations undiscernible to the human eye, and visitations to His own. As precious as these experiences are, it is in the valleys, in the darkest times of the night, where the God of all gods becomes our God. It is in the valley of the shadows; in the lonely and desolate places we discover “thou art with me”. (Ps. 23:4) In the tapestry of our own personal life, it is the dark threads that accentuate the bright colors of His own weavings. His “curious work” (Ps. 139:15-16) wrought within the “secret” places of our being are full of wisdom and understanding far beyond our own ability to comprehend.

Asa was raised in a religious environment where idolatry and compromise infiltrated the land of Judah. But the word declares:

“And Asa did that which was good and right
in the eyes of the Lord his God”
2 Chronicles 14:2

He stood up against the heathen ways which mingled with the worship of God. He stood for truth and became an instrument of Light in his day. The contemptible ways of human reasoning, the groves, and the false and defiling things which were of his own house, made Asa rise up in passion and love for his God.

“And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father. And he took away the sodomites out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.”
1 Kings 15:11-13

Truth, to be truth, must first find expression in our own personal lives, then in our families, before it can bear fruit in the world around us. Asa’s passion for God began in his own sphere of life. God’s ways change not and our love of truth must also bear testimony of its power within our own lives.

“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?”
1 Timothy 3:2-5

See: Leadership

May we consider the testimony of those who have gone on before us; men and women who walked in the truth of their day, who stood for righteousness and by such OBTAINED a “good report” (Heb. 11:2) in the eyes of God! Let us arise out of the mediocrity of our day as we feel the coming storm. As Asa, let us walk in the Light of God, proclaiming His truth to all within the sphere of our lives – beginning with our own self. We must awake from the slumber and the obscurity of soothing words and a gospel void of the fire and intensity of spirit that leaves us barren and numb to His “voice”.

He is calling out to us TODAY, if we will HEAR what the Spirit is saying.

“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
Romans 13:11-14

Brian Troxel

Instructed of the Lord

Instructed

Excerpt from New Book
(Unedited)

“…every where and in all things I am instructed”
Philippians 4:12

There was an intensity in Paul to garner the wisdom of God in all things. He was alive and active in his walk with God. He learned because he wanted to learn from every situation. God speaks to us within our own hearts, He speaks through others who care about our progress in the Lord and also in the situations we encounter if we apply our hearts unto wisdom. A wise heart hears the words of others; they consider all things before God because they know that there is so much more in God than they presently see.

The mark of a true disciple is the intensity of heart to learn of their master.

See: PODCAST – Learning the way of the Lord

PODCAST – Learning the Way of the Lord

Learning the Way of the Lord

Spiritual Warfare

“And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.”
(2 Sam 5:19)

2 Samuel 5:17-25 is the Story of David and his second set of victories, illustrating how we are to stay current with God, gaining conquests in our own hearts. Our inheritance in God, our place of growing under His authority, is going to be to the measure in which we gain our own spiritual victories, both internally and also externally.

God has graciously provided us opportunities to grow into that authority that He is going to unveil in and through each of us, individually and corporately on this Day. The key to victory is to never go up to do battle in your own strength, but to remain in the Stronghold – Him Who IS your victory!

Brian Troxel

PODCAST – The Truth of His Presence

The Truth of His Presence

“Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present Truth.”
(2 Peter 1:12)

Whenever the Spirit of God is speaking to you He is speaking the whole truth concerning you. He is ever seeking to bring you into the place of a connection and a living truth that you might be in the “present” Truth. In the Greek, the “present truth” is, in essence, “the truth of THE presence” that you might be equipped and prepared to walk in a living and consistent walk, in sync with what He is doing on the earth.

Jesus said, “the words I speak they are spirit and they are LIFE!” and as you develop that personal relationship with Jesus there is an unfolding, and a familiarity, that grows within your life of Him speaking to you on a very personal level, where the word of the Lord isn’t the word of Elijah or the word of Ezekiel, but it’s the Word of the Lord to you and through you!

The whole purpose of ministry is to bring you into the place where you begin to speak the voice of The Lord in that particular wonder of His revelation to you. In the hearing of Him, we begin to walk in the present truth of His ministration to this generation and to the church in which we live.

Brian Troxel

God’s Invitation

God’s Invitation to Newness of Life

“I am making all things new”
Revelation 21:5

I love the “ing” of God! He is ever in the present tense, creating, moving, influencing His nature upon our own. He has come and more importantly IS come, to work within the recesses of our hearts the wonder of our becoming new.

Resurrection life can only be known by those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. He breathes into our being His “newness” through the creative power of His Son.

“All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made”
John 1:3

The “ing” speaks to us of an on-going process; our lives interacting with His through the agency of relationship. The living ONE imparts grace and glory into that which is lost and dying. Regardless of our situation in life, there remains a consistent offer to come, drink, rest, and fellowship with Him. In our “becoming” we reveal the truth and authenticity of our relationship in Him.

“In Him was life;
and the life was the light of men”
John 1:4

The LIFE of Him within is the verity of our light; not a thing learned, studied, or discussed. Rather it is this Life that imparts His light and power of being into the lostness of our own. By the power of this relationship, He is “making all things new”.

“And this is life eternal,
that they might know Thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent”
John 17:3

The author and sustainer of eternal life defines it in terms of a relationship. The Greek word used here is one of experiential knowledge, a knowledge afforded us by a living relationship with Him.

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life”
1 John 5:20

The truth of Him can only be imparted to us by the sheer wonder of our abiding in Him. The newness He offers (through a mercy we can never comprehend) is available to all who come to Him by the living faith as He moves within our hearts.

God’s Word to His Own is:

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock: If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will enter to him, and I will dine with him, and he with Me.
Revelation 3:20

He is ever knocking, ever calling, and ever seeking the wonder of a relationship by which He is making all things new. May we hear and respond to His call every morning to the renewing power of His presence by prayer and communion with Him.

“O Lord; in the morning
will I direct my prayer unto Thee,
and will look up”
Psalm 5:3

See: The ING of Life

Brian Troxel