A Strong Exhortation – The Day of Reckoning

A Strong Exhortation

Faith and Works

“His lord said unto him,
Well done, good and faithful servant;
thou hast been faithful over a few things,
I will make thee ruler over many things:
enter thou into the joy of thy lord”
Matthew 25:21,23
(From the Parable of the Talents)

When the time came for the master to reckon with his servants, he did not say “well believed”; He spoke the words “well done”. True servants of God are not idle, nor slack concerning the gracious bestowal of talents. They invest their lives into God’s investment in them. They are faithful in the things entrusted to them. In this passage the one who was slack concerning God’s investment was reproved and cast into outer darkness. The talents were given to HIS SERVANTS and as such the Lord expected a work and a labour into that which was given. These were His people upon whom such privileges were bestowed. They were not given on the basis of individual merit, but according to each one’s ability. Men and women who declare they are not able to walk in such things declare God to be unjust in His estimation of their ability.

“His lord answered and said unto him,
thou wicked and slothful servant…”
Matthew 25:26

Whose Lord? The servant’s Lord. Let us make no mistake as to the meaning of this Parable. It is a false and foolish gospel that has robbed God of His rightful place as Lord in our lives. Let us turn from this deceit and embrace the responsibility and the great reward that awaits those who are found faithful to our Lord and Saviour.

In this Parable Jesus declares:

“After a long time the lord of those servants cometh,
and reckoneth with them”
Matthew 25:19

Rest assured His coming is nigh unto us. Can we not hear with the ears of faith?

“Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh
shall find so doing”
Luke 12:43

Again, the word does not say blessed is that servant that he shall find “so believing”! His Day is upon us and we are to be faithful in so doing and admonishing others to the same.

“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins…”
Hebrews 10:24-26

Do we not hear the exhortation to stir one another unto “love and good WORKS”? Can we not feel the day approaching? It is a slothful people who do not exhort one another unto “love and good works”. Read the context of the above scripture; it is willful sin not to be doing this as we assemble together.

The lethargy and false comfort preached in our day blinds His Own to their responsibility to the talents given.

The Day of the Lord is a day of reckoning for His people.

(Please read 2 Corinthians 5:9-11)

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me,
to give every man according as his work shall be”
Revelation 22:12

Ω

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the Lord’s work,
because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord”
1 Corinthians 15:58

Brian Troxel

Change is Coming

The day of acquiescing with the words and teachings of the Kingdom is coming to an end. The time of the disciples walking, learning and hearing of His words ended abruptly in His crucifixion. Within the scope of ONE DAY everything changed. These disciples now must become Apostles. The truth of Emanuel (God with us) must give way to the Christ within (God IN us). He must go from being our teacher to being our Lord. We must go from needing bread to being bread. This is the day of substance and reality. He is coming for our words, our vows and our hearts. In the dawning of His Day the hearts of all men will be revealed. It is not a day to boast in our knowledge or zeal, it is a day to tremble and to humble ourselves under His mighty hand.

“The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,
and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day”
Isaiah 2:11

Brian Troxel
www.aword.info

Hearken, Hearken, Hearken Part Five

“HEARKEN”

PART FIVE
(Part FIVE of a Five Part Series)
ISAIAH 51

To Those who Know Righteousness

“Hearken unto me,
ye that know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my law;
fear ye not the reproach of men,
neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
For the moth shall eat them up like a garment,
and the worm shall eat them like wool:
but my righteousness shall be for ever,
and my salvation from generation to generation”
ISAIAH 51:7-8

The Hebrew Word used here for “Hearken” is the same as the one used in Isaiah 51:1 for it is unto a people whose walk is pleasing unto God. This is a people who “know righteousness”. This Word is addressed to those who know the reality of a righteousness which is empowered and made real by FAITH; for the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is alive within their hearts. They know the battle of Faith, that victory over sin is through the wonder of faith, and that by faith are they held in the beauty of His Life. It is to such that we see the gracious WORD of God encouraging and strengthening them to not be fearful of the reproaches of men, their reviling and scorn. It is a word to empower them; to consider the temporary state of their persecutors; the substance and eternal nature of their salvation in Him. We are reminded of our Lord and Saviour who for the JOY set before Him endured…

“Looking unto Jesus
the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God.
For consider him
that endured such contradiction
of sinners against himself,
lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds”
Hebrews 12:2-3

The power of this Word in our day is intended by Him to be a strong one of encouragement and exhortation to LOOK and CONSIDER HIM in the things that are to come upon us. In so intently seeking HIM we will be found living in the HOPE of the Joy set before us. We will find the same divine enablement to despise the shame and suffering. It is in the unction of this living hope that we find the same graces of spirit, the same peace and comfort of heart, and the same spirit of Glory to reveal in those moments HIS LIFE and Resurrection! How good is our God to send forth His Word to us now, before the storm breaks forth upon us, that we may be comforted, empowered, free from fear and hidden with Christ in God. He invites us to flee to Him, to enter into the very bosom of His LIFE even as Noah entered into the ark.

“…as it was in the days of Noah,
so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
They did eat, they drank,
they married wives,
they were given in marriage,
until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
and the flood came, and destroyed them all”
Luke 17:26-27

Ω

“And so,
after he had patiently endured,
he obtained the promise”
Hebrews 6:15

Brian Troxel

Hearken, Hearken, Hearken Part Four

“HEARKEN”

PART FOUR
(Part Four of a Five Part Series)
ISAIAH 51

To those who slumber in this day.

TWO LAWS
TWO COVENANTS

“Hearken unto me, my people;
and give ear unto me, O my nation:
for a law shall proceed from me,
and I will make my judgment to rest
for a light of the people.
My righteousness is near;
my salvation is gone forth,
and mine arms shall judge the people;
the isles shall wait upon me,
and on mine arm shall they trust.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look upon the earth beneath:
for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke,
and the earth shall wax old like a garment,
and they that dwell therein
shall die in like manner:
but my salvation shall be forever,
and my righteousness shall not be abolished”
ISAIAH 51:4-6

The literal translation of Isaiah 51:4 is “…For a law from Me shall go out…” (in other words this is the law of His own being; it proceeds out from Him to His own). The people being addressed here are satisfied with a declared righteousness. Overcoming, victory over sin and growth in righteousness are not elements of their everyday life. They have settled into a religious experience which is uneventful and static. The Lord is here proclaiming to them that there is A LAW going forth from HIM; a law of life that saves us from the law of “sin and death”. This LAW is the basis of the New Covenant and it speaks of something far greater than a legal righteousness. It has come to free us to live and dwell within the life and power of the SON! As the scriptures declare…”That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:4).

We are struck with the power of these two laws; the Law of Moses (Acts 13:39) and the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. These are two distinct LAWS that govern the ministration of the two covenants which God made with HIS people. Both are clearly mentioned in the Old and New Testaments for us to see and be instructed. In the Old Testament we first see the giving of the LAW (torah) at Mount Sinai, and later we see the promises of God pointing to a LAW (torah) that would go forth from Mount Zion. Paul clearly refers to these in the letter to the Galatians as does the writer of Hebrews…

THE FIRST LAW

“…which things are symbolic.
For these are the two covenants:
the one from Mount Sinai
which gives birth to bondage,
which is Hagar
for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia,
and corresponds to Jerusalem
which now is,
and is in bondage with her children—
but the Jerusalem above is free,
which is the mother of us all”
GALATIANS 4:24 – 26

THE SECOND LAW
(Romans 8:2)

“But you have come to Mount Zion
and to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem”
HEBREWS 12:22

These LAWS govern the scope and the relationship of these Covenants. They set out the WAY of approach to the Almighty God and the context in which HIS blessings are to be received unto the purpose of God restoring fallen man unto righteousness.

“For the law made nothing perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope did;
by the which we draw nigh unto God”.
(Hebrews 7:19)

The Law that goes out from Mount Zion is a Law of Life and Divine Enablement. It is a Law that is the governing principle of the New Covenant. It is the LAW that separates between the living and the dead; a law that can only function, govern and be active within the lives of those who have the Life and Power of the SON by faith. This law cannot be known apart from the SON for it is the “Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus”!

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
That the righteousness of the law
might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit”
ROMANS 8:2 – 4

The LAW OF the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus HAS been given; given so that we may walk in the righteousness of God in this world because we walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

This “HEARKEN” is written to people who cling to their “rights” to live as they please and to hold on to the sins of the flesh; after all (so it is reasoned) they are now under grace. This HEARKEN is spoken to people who must be reminded that “His salvation has gone forth” (freedom from sin) and “that His arms shall judge the people”! These are people who believe that they are no longer responsible for the consequences of their choices or their actions. This is the “Religion” of our day and the reason the World has seen so little light. It is the reason that the church has so many defeated Christians.

This “HEARKEN” is written to a people who need to be exhorted to “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath”. They are being reminded that they are “seated with Christ in heavenly places” and that they are to “seek the things above” not the things of the earth. They are reminded here that “the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner”. It is a sobering word given in a sobering time.

In Romans 7, Paul describes the Christian Life lived without the POWER of the Law of Life in Christ Jesus,

“For what I am doing, I do not understand.
For what I will to do, that I do not practice;
but what I hate, that I do.
If, then, I do what I will not to do,
I agree with the law that it is good.
But now, it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells in me.
For I know that in me
(that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells;
for to will is present with me,
but how to perform what is good I do not find.
For the good that I will to do,
I do not do; but the evil I will not to do,
that I practice.
Now if I do what I will not to do,
it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells in me.
I find then a law, that evil is present with me,
the one who wills to do good.
For I delight in the law of God
according to the inward man.
But I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind,
and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin
which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me from this body of death?
I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!“
ROMANS 7:14 – 25

(Romans 8 is God’s answer to Romans 7!)

This LAW that governs the life and reality of the New Covenant is available to the people of God by Faith. Not a faith that is in word but a faith that produces the deeds, the life and the reality. Paul, caught up in the apprehension of the fullness of this LIFE, spent his life in the pursuit, apprehension and the power of THIS law of life in Christ Jesus.

Let us take note of His admonition to us to live and walk in the LAW of Life in Christ Jesus. This is the LAW that is going forth from Mount Zion the heavenly Jerusalem (where the King of kings reigns). Let us give heed to live by the wonder of the LAW of HIS LIFE.

“For to be carnally minded is death;
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace…
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die:
but if ye through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body,
ye shall live”
ROMANS 8:6,13

Brian Troxel

Hearken, Hearken, Hearken Part Three

“HEARKEN”

PART THREE
(Part Three of a Five Part Series)
ISAIAH 51

To those who slumber in this day.

“Hearken unto me, my people;
and give ear unto me, O my nation:
for a law shall proceed from me,
and I will make my judgment to rest
for a light of the people.
My righteousness is near;
my salvation is gone forth,
and mine arms shall judge the people;
the isles shall wait upon me,
and on mine arm shall they trust.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look upon the earth beneath:
for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke,
and the earth shall wax old like a garment,
and they that dwell therein
shall die in like manner:
but my salvation shall be forever,
and my righteousness shall not be abolished”
ISAIAH 51:4-6

The Hebrew word for “hearken” used here is quite different from the one used in Isaiah 51:1 (see Hearken – Part Two). It is a word spoken to get someone’s attention; its tone is much stronger in its usage. Literally it means to “prick up the ears” or to “pay attention”. It is spoken to a people who have become “comfortable” in their ways. They are HIS own but there is a casualness in their walk; a satisfaction with the status quo in their attitude. Their expectation is no longer in God but, in a very subtle way, has turned from HIM towards an event. There is a doctrinal expectation; a hope based in a teaching not in the realization of a pure heart. In the verse below we see these two Hebrew words contrasted with each other. The “hearken” used to those who are pursuing righteousness is translated “hear”*. “To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may HEAR” (take heed and obey). The “hearken”* used in speaking to this people is used in the second part of this verse “…their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot even hear” what the Lord is speaking.

“To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear*?
behold, their ear is uncircumcised,
and they cannot (even) hearken*:
behold,the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach;
they have no delight in it”
Jeremiah 6:10

We need to see and understand that the Lord “is a God of Knowledge” and that His heart is ever towards HIS OWN. He speaks to people according to the condition of their heart, not their intellect. Doctrinal statements and understanding will only take us so far in God for the Christian walk is a RELATIONSHIP not a theological treatise!

Here God is pleading and imploring this people to GIVE HEED to HIS WORD. He is speaking to the collective, to the masses who have become dull of hearing and slow of heart. We see Jesus weeping over Jerusalem with the cry that IF they had only known, IF they had only given HEED to God’s gracious invitation they would have been prepared for the destruction that was soon to befall her. These are HIS PEOPLE and as such HE greatly desires to call out and to gather them under the wings of HIS love and protection.

God is giving a stern reminder that the earth is going to pass away and ALL THAT DWELL in it shall die in like manner. Romans Chapter 8 tells us that to be carnally minded is death. To be a “Christian” and to love the things of this world will reap the judgements of this world (Revelation 18:4) [https://aword.info/2010/10/31/the-two-voices-3/].

Let us HEARKEN and give heed to our ways. It is a DAY for us to “weigh” whether our HOPE is a living one or a doctrinal one. The difference between the two is subtle and of the utmost importance. A LIVING HOPE will produce a PURE HEART; a doctrinal hope produces little or no actual change within the heart.

“And every man that hath this hope
in him purifies himself, even as he is pure”
1 JOHN 3:3

The flood is coming to test the foundation of every man’s house and only those who have built on the foundation of hearing and doing will stand in the day that is upon us.

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’
and not do the things which I say?
Whoever comes to Me,
and hears My sayings and does them,
I will show you whom he is like:
He is like a man building a house,
who dug deep
and laid the foundation on the rock.
And when the flood arose,
the stream beat vehemently against that house,
and could not shake it,
for it was founded on the rock.
But he who heard and did nothing
is like a man who built a house on the earth
without a foundation,
against which the stream beat vehemently;
and immediately it fell.
And the ruin of that house was great.“
Luke 6:46-49

This is a parable to the Church not the world. This is a parable to those who are slumbering in this hour, busy with the affairs of this life and who have not taken to heart the “Hearken” that God is speaking. May God raise up a prophetic people who will declare to this generation the solemn and sobering Word of the Lord to all who would hear.

Brian Troxel

HEARKEN, HEARKEN, HEARKEN Part Two

“HEARKEN”

PART TWO

(Part Two of a Five Part Series)

To the seekers of righteousness

ISAIAH 51

“Hearken to me,
ye that follow after righteousness,
ye that seek the LORD:
look unto the rock whence ye are hewn,
and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
Look unto Abraham your father,
and unto Sarah that bare you:
for I called him alone,
and blessed him, and increased him.
For the LORD shall comfort Zion:
he will comfort all her waste places;
and he will make her wilderness like Eden,
and her desert like the garden of the LORD;
joy and gladness shall be found therein,
thanksgiving, and the voice of melody”
ISAIAH 51:1-3

This is a “Hearken” spoken to those in the early stages of their spiritual life who are pursuing righteousness; there is a seeking of the Lord and vitality to their walk. It is a healthy walk. The Hebrew word for “hearken” used here is one that is best translated hear and obey; to take notice. It is translated 88 times in different forms of the word OBEY (obeyed, obeys, obeyeth…). This is spoken to people who intuitively know there is a righteousness to be known that far exceeds a positional truth. There is, within their hearts, a cry for something greater than a doctrinal righteousness and they are in pursuit of it.

To them the Word of the Lord is gracious and filled with strong encouragement as they run after HIS righteousness. This is a stage of great struggles filled with victories and defeats; a stage of great personal development as with each victory strength is garnered for new battles ahead. We see here a great word of comfort as they are encouraged to look back unto the rock from whence they have been cut and the pit from where they have been rescued. The Great Shepherd wants them to see their progress and that they have indeed made strides in their growth and walk with Him! How good and gracious our God is.

He directs them to look unto Abraham their father whose life was a journey of Obedience; to Sarah who by faith received strength to deliver a child in her old age. He seeks to remind them that Abraham was CALLED, and in Abraham’s obedience he was BLESSED, and INCREASED in the goodness and the faithfulness of HIS GOD.

Within the heart of God is an understanding that in the lives of these precious ones is a perplexity they cannot articulate and questioning as they see the lack of reality around them. We see here a God who gives the promise that once again HE will comfort the waste places of Zion, that the wilderness they have known will BLOSSOM like Eden, and that the desert places will be even as the garden of the LORD. There will be JOY and GLADNESS and the melody of song. In spite of where we are, or the secret questions we may harbour in our hearts, HE has promises of good for all those that follow (pursue) after righteousness.

Brian Troxel

HEARKEN, HEARKEN, HEARKEN

“HEARKEN” *

ISAIAH 51

PART ONE
(Of a Five Part Series)

“Hearken unto me ye that follow after righteousness…”
ISAIAH 51:1

“Hearken unto me, my people…O my Nation”
ISAIAH 51:4

“Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness”
ISAIAH 51:7

The word spoken to the people of God in this hour is a word of encouragement, warning and exhortation prefaced by a powerful word… “HEARKEN”. In the book of Hebrews we are exhorted:

“While it is said,
today if ye will hear his voice,
harden not your hearts”
Hebrews 3:15, 4:7

His voice is speaking; it is calling the people of God to recognize the Day and the HOUR that is upon us. These words in Isaiah are for the entire body of Christ. There is a “Hearken” to those who are just beginning their journey of faith with a word of encouragement and exhortation to continue in ardent pursuit of their God. There is a different “Hearken” to the majority of the people of God who have become “relaxed and comfortable in this world”; to those there is a strong word of Exhortation and Rebuke. And finally there is a Word of Encouragement to those who “know their God” to fear not the day and the persecutions that are coming because the righteousness of God that has been formed within their lives.

“Hearken, Hearken, Hearken”

This is the Word to HIS church. Hearken and give heed to the day that is upon us. No matter our present level of maturity and development HE IS SPEAKING. Let us give ear to His Word and obey His instruction that we may lay it to heart and rise up in the strength of it. May we be found ready to meet the Day with our lamps trimmed, our hearts purified by His refining fires and our eyes set upon heavenly things.

Let us hear while it is yet TODAY and give HEED to His counsel. For it is a day of great darkness, even gross darkness, as wickedness will cover the earth as a garment and the fury of all that is opposed to the Reign and Kingdom of God will come to utter fullness. It is also a DAY of great Glory “as the morning spread upon the mountains” for those who live and dwell under the shadow of the MOST HIGH! Let us enter into the stronghold of our God. To face this storm not clothed in HIS armour and His righteousness is an unimaginable tragedy, for the provisions HAVE been given and the invitations sent.

*NOTE: This was a word given to me in March of 2010 however I felt no liberty to share it until now. I trust it will bear fruit unto Him in this hour as we sense HIS WARNINGS unto us to be ready and prepared for the day that is upon us. Whatever stage we are at in our walk with HIM there is the WORD of the Lord unto us to “HEARKEN” and RESPOND to His Call.

Brian Troxel