Church of the Laodiceans Part Two Bible Study

PODCAST – A home Bible Study on the Church of the Laodiceans – Part Two. (Revelation 3:14-22)

Church of the Laodiceans – Part One Bible Study

PODCAST – A Bible Study on the Church of the Laodiceans – Part One. (Revelation 3:14-22)

The Church at Philadelphia Part One Bible Study

PODCAST – A Bible Study on the Church at Philadelphia Part One. (Revelation 3:7-12)

The Church of Sardis Part Two Bible Study

PODCAST – An informal home Bible Study on the Church at Sardis Part Two. (Revelation 3:1-6)

Cherith – The Place of Separation

“Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward,
and hide thyself by the brook Cherith”
1 Kings 17:3

The true path of the Lord will always culminate in the setting apart of a vessel unto Himself. “Cherith” literally means separation, derived from a Hebrew root meaning to “cut off”. This life of separation is not the result of works of the flesh or caused by carnal means; it is always entered into by the simple obedience of an individual unto the Word of the Lord. As such, this place of separation will always be filled with special provisions of God to sustain one in the center of His Will.

“And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook;
and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there”
1 Kings 17:4

In these times of loneliness and separation God Himself comes in new and profound ways. There is a drawing near, a learning and a dependency upon Him and His provisions; a time of being hid in the wonder of God Himself. This place of separation brings one to new places of freedom from other comforts and even our reliance on friendships for in the presence of God there is room for none other than God Himself.

“And it came to pass after a while,
that the brook dried up…”
1 Kings 17:7

These separations are intended by God to be temporary in the life of His own, not permanent dwelling places, for God’s desire is that the vessel be poured into the lives of others. The special provision of God dries up and the Word of the Lord comes to move on in new power and a closer relationship with Him. The vessel is prepared for greater works by the cutting off of former things. On this occasion there was a widow in need of the touch of the Lord who would also be a source of new sustenance.

“And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon,
and dwell there: behold, I have commanded
a widow woman there to sustain thee”
1 Kings 17:8-9

This same work of God was evident in Paul the Apostle who was set aside for three years in the wilderness of Damascus in order to become a chosen vessel in the purposes of God (Galatians 1:15-18). To what end was the separation of Paul?

“To reveal His Son in me…”
Galatians 1:16

Brian Troxel

Thought for Today – Unbelief and the Good News

Thought for Today

Unbelief and the Good News

“Why could not we cast him out?
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief”
Matthew 17:19

God’s movings and the shining forth of His salvation are proportional to our faith. It is in the crucible of the realities of life that the true condition of the church is revealed. Truth is the vehicle and the means whereby His thoughts concerning us are expressed. We often speak of truth in terms of His love for us, in terms of His promises and His plans and purposes; but Jesus is always “laying the axe to the root” of our lives. His words can be sharp and to the point. We must see that these words in truth are also the proof of His love.

“Because of our unbelief”

This child would have gone on in the condition in which he came. The agony of his father would have remained unchanged, the situation unaffected by the prayers of the unbelieving disciples. It is here that Jesus presented the truth of the matter. It was not a word given to condemn; it was given to them to arise from where they were into where He had called them to be.

Unbelief is not something about which we should feel condemned. It is His desire that we face our unbelief with the certainty that He has something better, fuller and more blessed concerning our walk in Him. His sharp word spoken to our unbelief is filled with the heart of One who is calling us to better things. It is our response to His word wherein lies the crisis. Do we turn a deaf ear to this reproof or do we acknowledge it. The truth is that the our powerlessness is in the condition of our heart and not in His power? Are we offended by this word or do we feel the promise pulsating within it?

There is always a cure for unbelief, but there is no cure for a heart that refuses the verdict of Jesus. His exhortations are always given to us in order that we may lay these things to heart and not make excuses; to let His words cut asunder our hardness of heart and turn to Him for the fuller measure of all that He is.

“Ye have sown much, and bring in little…
Thus saith the Lord of hosts;
Consider your ways”
Haggai 1:6-7

We must consider our ways for unbelief is the fruit of how we walk, how we think and how we live. Let us hear these words of exhortation and count them as promises of greater things. His heart is full and His call goes out to any who would hear.

“Unto you first God,
having raised up his Son Jesus,
sent him to bless you,
in turning away every one of you from his iniquities”
Acts 3:26

It is called the Good News for in turning from our ways we will find His!

“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness
and forbearance and long-suffering;
not knowing that the goodness of God
leadeth thee to repentance?”
Romans 2:4

Brian Troxel

Thought for Today – Arise and Shine

Thought for Today

Arise and Shine

“Arise, shine! For your light has come,
and the glory of Yahweh has risen on you.
For look! darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples,
but Yahweh will rise on you,
and his glory will appear over you”
Isaiah 60:1

God calls to us to shine though darkness is covering the earth. He sends His light to us in the face of Jesus Christ that we may “arise” in the growing night. It is in Christ that the arising glory of God empowers and strengthens His own to be beacons of Hope to the lost. Our light has come; His life in us is the light of men. His Life is our Light.

“In Him was life
And the Life is the Light of men”
John 1:4

The Life of Christ within is our salvation. Teaching is good and necessary for a season but the teaching must give way to the Life. Teaching must produce a hunger for Him to live and reign within our hearts. In hearing of His life, the true in heart launch their lives into the great ocean of all that He is. The teaching of His extraordinary grace must produce lives that are not content with the “hearing” of His goodness; but like Paul we cry out to know experimentally the “width and length and depth and height” of all that He is (Ephesians 3:18). There is an inward pursuit to “know Him” (Philippians 3:10) for it is in the true knowing of Him we are enabled to walk in the power and wonder of His salvation.

Our living Hope is not based on outward words; our hope is sure because of the Christ within. He is our hope, He is our salvation and He is the substance and surety of all that God has promised.

“To them God willed to make known
what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles:
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”
Colossians 1:27

May we arise in this hour being fully persuaded of His promises. Come to Him with full intent to drink of the waters of His salvation from the living well of His own being.

“Ho, everyone who thirsts
Come to the waters…”
Isaiah 55:1

Ω

“Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness…”
Matthew 5:6

The More of God

“And when they had prayed,
the place was shaken where they were assembled together;
and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,
and they spake the word of God with boldness”
Acts 4:31

They prayed and the place was shaken. They prayed together (in unity) and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost! They had already received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit but this was a fresh outpouring. Whatever we have received… there is more; whatever may be our current understanding of the Body of Christ… there is more. No matter where we are in Him there is more. In our indifference we settle for ordinary and think nothing of the more. We are not stirred by the prayer of Jesus “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” If our hearts are satisfied with less than His manifest presence in our midst we are a short sighted people.

The secret of His presence is found in the unity of hearts, purity of purpose and a genuine love of His people. This was not a church denomination or some isolated group; this was the Body of Christ giving themselves up to God and His purposes. They were not special; they were simply His. They loved His people without division; they were One in Him and the prayer prayed was the expression of One heart and One Spirit.

Not only was the place shaken when they prayed, but the infilling of the Holy Spirit gave them the boldness to declare the Word of God with power. We speak of the baptism of the spirit in our day but where is the power and the impact of it on our brothers and sisters and the world at large? It is time to turn from our ways, repent and seek Him with earnestness of heart; to recognize the little with which we are satisfied. The result of living in His Spirit is to ONE END and that is to glorify Him alone. He must increase and we must decrease.

This is the testimony of those who live for one purpose: to glorify God and honor Him by the life they live. God will always respond with power and glory whenever and wherever His people please Him.

Brian Troxel
www.aword.info

Thought for Today – Love

Thought for Today

Love The Fruit of Obedience

“Seeing ye have purified your souls in
obeying the truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned love of the brethren,
see that ye love one another
with a pure heart fervently:”
1 Peter 1:22

Obedience is the means by which God brings His own unto His end: a pure heart. Love is the perfection of God within an individual’s life. Those who “love not, know not God”. It takes little effort for others to see Him when God’s Love is resident in a life. Understanding deep things, functioning in gifts and ministrations are all good but if we have not love “we are nothing”. To be devoid of love is to be empty of God. When people stop caring over the condition and state of another life they have essentially stopped living. Life consists of loving, caring, encouraging and exhorting for all of these expressions proceed from the same Source.

“For whom the LORD loves He reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights”
Proverbs 3:12

“As ye know how we exhorted and comforted
and charged every one of you,
as a father doth his children…”
1 Thessalonians 2:11

The well-spring of all true expressions of the Holy Spirit flow from the Father’s heart into the lives of those who through the medium of obedience have their hearts purified with a fervent love of God’s people.

The Staff and the Rod of the Shepherd are both wielded by the same heart
to bring us to the same end. David found comfort in both and so should we

The measure of an individual’s life is known by the love beating within one’s heart for the life of the Son in those around us.

Love is the fire which births the words of life, the fire of life and the works of life.

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another”
John 13:35

Brian Troxel
www.aword.info