Category: Voices of the Day

The Holy Fire Of God

The Holy Fire Of God

 

“Ye shall kindle no fire
throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day”
Exodus 35:3

Nadab and Abihu kindled their own fire; they knew not the difference between the Holy Fire of God and the religious fire of men. The fire of God falls upon those who are aware of their dependence upon His presence. The flame of God is His to give, and ours to maintain (Jude 1:20-21). In the days of Eli the priest, when Israel had fallen into great apostasy, we read in the scriptures the following description of the times:

“…the word of the Lord was precious in those days;
there was no open vision”
1 Samuel 3:1

The Hebrew word translated “open” literally means breaking forth; there was no vision bursting forth in Israel. The Word of the Lord was rare. The Priesthood were doing their religious routine, they were reading the prescribed scriptures as per the Law, but it was NOT the Word of the Lord. Where the living Word of God is scarce, there will be no vision bursting forth upon the people of God. The people of God were not being gripped with God’s purpose for their day. It was because of this apathy wherein the Lamp of God goes out! We see that the Word of the Lord to the Ephesian Church was that if they did not repent of their apathy God would remove His Lamp from their midst (Revelation 2:5).

“And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord”
1 Samuel 3:2-3

The mundane and unremarkable lives of His own, and the tepid hearts of many ministers, culminated in the Lamp of God going out in His house! It was The Lamp that burned with the Holy Fire of God having been kept for over 450 years by the Priests of the Lord; yet in Eli’s day it went out! It was a fire which could not be rekindled. It could not be manufactured by the will and energies of religion. As with Elijah, this fire only falls when God bears witness to any who are living and walking rightly before Him.

The Fire of God fell when the Tabernacle had been completed to God’s specifications. It fell when the singers and dancers were of ONE voice in Solomon’s day. It fell when Elijah had completed his obedience to the Word of the Lord in His day. It fell upon the people of God as they met in “one accord” in the Book of Acts. Throughout the history of the Church His fire has fallen when she could no longer tolerate the feeble fires of man’s making and the carnal aspirations of men seeking their own glory. In such times there was a cry from the people unto God to visit them afresh with His eternal fire.

During Eli’s time, when the lamp of God went out in His House, God simply deposited that fire within a man (for God’s fire will never leave the earth); a man who would declare to the House of Israel their waywardness and compromise, and would speak to the priesthood of that Day of their end and of a new beginning. The very night the Fire of God went out in the Tabernacle was the same night that God began to raise up a prophet to speak His Words and to usher in the dynamic change to God’s backslidden priesthood. Later he ushered in the Kingdom of David and pronounced an end to Saul’s reign.

Change is coming. His Fire is already beginning to fall upon those who can feel in their hearts the Day of change which is even now upon us. The change is of such magnitude that the only way to rightly describe it is: Resurrection Life. A life which will end the apathetic offerings of a blind and self-anointed priesthood. A fresh move that will see the Fire of God breathed into the life of every one of His own. A priesthood who will truly rejoice in the people of God overtaking them in their walk and relationship with the Lord. A priesthood who will consider it their own failure that it be not so. A priesthood who will rejoice as John the Baptist rejoiced to have his disciples forsake him to walk with Jesus. May our hearts be such and may the Glory of God arise that His Name will once again be declared from purified vessels who live only to bring honour to His name, and His name only!

“Let God Arise!”

Whenever God’s people touched the unity of His Spirit His Fire fell and the world knew that God was alive in the earth.

May the Lamp of the Lord burn with unquenchable intensity and may it purify our hearts unto the Love of Him and His people.

“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

A people who obey not the truth
are incapable of the true love of Christ
for HIS Body

Σ

“It is an empty altar which receives no fire”
Frank Bartleman

Brian Troxel

I Beseech You

I Beseech You

“I beseech you, brethren,
suffer the word of exhortation.”
Hebrews 13:22

 

True exhortation flows from the lives of those who see the dimness and feel the apathy of the hour in which we live. A slumber has settled upon His Church, but even in that there are those who are beginning to sense the coming incursion of darkness; a virulent uprising against all who are of the light. They who slumber in this deceptive indifference, if not addressed, will culminate in an inability to “stand in the evil day” which is upon us.

Exhortation is shunned and detested by those whom drowsiness is overtaking, even as those who are on the verge of sleep hate the sound of anything that keeps them awake. It is an irritation and a thing to be avoided.

The prayer of the Night Watchman is priestly and borne by those who know their own weakness. There is a comprehension of the necessity to be clothed in the life and power of Christ to stand in this evil Day.

“Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:
lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death”
Psalm 13:3

There is a slumber which is unto death. A pervasive and powerful contagion of this deadly slumber has fallen upon His Church. The lamps of the unwise are failing and the residue of the oil of the Spirit is lacking within the hearts of many. It is a poverty of spirit resulting from a heart that does not know its own state.

The Church OF the Laodiceans knew not they were blind; the Church of Sardis said they were alive, yet in God’s estimation they were dead. It is the presumptuous who become careless in thinking that because we are of His Church, we need not be diligent. It is upon people who have known Him that this deception falls:

“For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered”
Isaiah 29:10

WHY?

“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men…”
Isaiah 29:13

Whenever and wherever there are people who know little of repentance and humility it is because they know Him not. Repentance is the atmosphere of those who have touched the glory of the Almighty. No flesh can remain unbowed in the majestic presence of God. Those who speak lightly of this hour are indeed blind to the intensity and the ramifications of all which is about to transpire.

“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake:
but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”
Mark 13:13

Those who “endure unto the end” will be those who have been willing to be despised of all men (including God’s own people) for the sake of His name.  Those who in the time of a false comfort have “sounded the alarm” to call God’s people to walk in righteousness and to warn them of the coming storm.

“Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. I am coming quickly! Hold firmly that which you have, so that no one takes your crown”
Revelation 3:10-11

Let us hold fast in this hour, our lamps burning by the oil of His Spirit, standing in the midnight watch for His coming.

This is God’s Word to His Watchmen of this hour:

“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion,
and sound an alarm in my holy mountain:
let all the inhabitants of the land tremble:
for the day of the Lord cometh,
for it is nigh at hand”!
Joel 2:1

Those who despise the ministry of exhortation do so at their own peril for the Day of the Lord is upon us. The Alarm is to be sounded! Let the true ministers of the Lord weep between the porch and the altar for the people of God.

“Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord,
weep between the porch and the altar,
and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord”
Joel 2:17

It is the hireling and false shepherds who speak of peace and safety in this hour of great danger. It is the voice of the enemy who speaks pleasant things in the day of preparation. Those who slumber and are not prepared will fall with devastation and judgment. Many who should be warning God’s people of this hour have instead become blind and dumb.

“His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber”
Isaiah 56:10

Like dogs unable to bark, they cannot sound the alarm for they are blind and spiritually ignorant of the Day which is upon us; they love the comfort of slumber. They speak of “smooth things” because that is what the people want to hear. Their comforting and soothing words falsely assure them of their standing in God while lulling them to sleep.

“But take heed to yourselves, for fear that your hearts become over-full of the pleasures of food and wine, and the cares of this life, and that day may come on you suddenly, and take you as in a net: for so it will come on all those who are living on the face of all the earth”
Luke 21:34

Ω

“I beseech you, brethren,
suffer the word of exhortation.”
Hebrews 13:22

Brian Troxel

Words from THE Church in Iran

Words from THE Church in Iran

“Disciples forsake the world and cling to Jesus ’till he comes. Converts don’t,” the leader said. “Disciples aren’t engaged in a culture war. Converts are. Disciples cherish, obey, and share the word of God. Converts don’t. Disciples choose Jesus over anything and everything else. Converts don’t. Converts run when the fire comes. Disciples don’t.”

This is the cry of His people coming out of Iran. God is moving, empowering and raising up a living testimony in Iran and to the whole world! Please go to this link: The Church in Iran

Pray for our brothers and sisters!

The Day of Decisions

A Day of Decisions

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,
and to overcome them…”
Revelation 13:7

In these last days The Cross of Christ will be much more than a teaching; to the saints it will be experiential. There is far too much frivolity in the popular “gospel” of today. Men and women pin their hopes on politics and wealth; scriptures are misconstrued to conclude that we have been called to worldly prosperity and influence. Read this scripture again and let its truth sink deep into your spirit. Let it bring clarity to the things that lie before us.

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,
and to overcome them…”
Revelation 13:7

It was given unto whom?

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea,
and saw a beast rise up out of the sea…”
Revelation 13:1

The Beast is rising in our day. They who have ears to hear and discerning eyes to see know that the day is upon us. John hears and sees this phenomenon unfold before him. We are clearly told what is soon to be:

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him,
whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb…”
Revelation 13:8

John then hears a stern and powerful exhortation:

“If ANY man have an ear, let him hear”
Revelation 13:9

Can we truly hear? The foolishness of empty words will cease. Let His people be under no illusions; a time of great testing is coming upon us. It is a day to “arm ourselves”; not with carnal weapons but with the spiritual armour and graces of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind:
for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin…”
1 Peter 4:1

Jesus is the Way! He overcame this world and the principalities of spiritual wickedness through sacrifice, not carnal warfare! It is a Day to arm ourselves with “the same mind” which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is time to cease from the carnality of politics and turn unto Him alone who can prepare us for our day of sacrifice. Our victory in the days ahead will lie in our being “hid” in Christ, where His mind, heart and Spirit becomes ours. We dare not face this day unprepared. The “cross” IS the power of God. It is as we take on his armour today that we will be given the ability to stand in the evil day, having DONE all.

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having DONE all, to stand”
Ephesians 6:13

There is a large segment of the church who are becoming zealous for political power rather than the true power of God. To them the cross is foolishness and represents a weakness rather than the power that it is. The carnal mind despises the Cross of Christ and all they who think such things are in the throes of “perishing”. It is to those who are being saved that the cross holds the true hope and power of God.

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;
but unto us which are being (the Greek Tense) saved it is the power of God”
1 Corinthians 1:18

The lines of demarcation are being drawn; this Day will separate the wheat from the tares, the true from the false, and those who serve God from those who serve themselves.

The Cross has always been the threshing instrument in the hands of our God.

“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision:
for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision”
Joel 3:14

The Day of the Lord is upon us. There is a deep valley through which His people must pass and where decisions will be made. The flood is coming and the foundation of every man’s house will be tested for the day will declare the verity of everyman’s work.

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest:
for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire;
and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is”
1 Corinthians 3:13

(continued)

Brian Troxel

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

The Day of Harvest

Part Two

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

Many of God’s people are drowsy in this day of great peril. The Parable of the Wedding Feast is at this very moment being fulfilled and there are few who understand the eternal ramifications. The cry went out to His Own, but the invitation was met with lethargy and carelessness. The activity of business, the pleasures of the world, the comfort of a deceptive lifestyle, and the preaching of a false gospel are lulling His own into a deep and fatal slumber.

God’s Provision

“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”
Hebrews 10:24-25

There are many who assemble together today but often the gatherings are filled with false comforts and void of the fear of the Lord. There is a preaching of forgiveness without repentance; of good standing with God regardless of how a life is lived. There is little “provoking unto love and good works”. No wonder His people are so unmoved and careless in response to their God. The Parable of the Wedding Feast portrays this tepid response to the Call of God.

In the Greek the literal translation is terrifying, yet true: “he called the called…” It was the “called” who did not respond. It was His own who failed to give heed to His beckoning. This is often repeated in the history of God with His people.

“He came to His Own and His own received Him not…”
John 1:11

What was the response of the people in the Parable of the Wedding Feast?

“But they made light of it, and went their ways,
one to his farm, another to his merchandise…”
Matthew 22:5

They made light of the call and went their own ways. They fabricated a gospel that everything is well, and God has everything under control; why should I worry? As the Bride of Christ prepares herself, the foolish live on in ignorance concerning the Day of the Lord which is about to unfold. Fires of trial beyond human imagination are about to break upon an unprepared people. Unlike Noah, who saw the day coming and prepared himself (and his family), these slumbering ones do not comprehend the Day we are in.

“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be”
Matthew 24:38-39

Anyone with a simple understanding of English can see it was the foolish who were taken away in the above reference. Noah entered into the Ark; it was the ignorant and the unprepared who were “taken” in their pride and rebellion. Noah preached righteousness for 120 years to a whole generation who were eradicated in the judgments of God. It is time to forsake false teachings and repent of our lethargy. It is a Day to seek out fellowship filled with exhortation unto righteousness and purity of heart. It is a Day to find in Him grace to forsake self and to present ourselves unto God as a living sacrifice. Let us awake, turn from our ways, and seek the welfare of God’s people.

Paul’s word to the Church at Corinth…

“Awake to righteousness, and sin not;
for some have not the knowledge of God:
I speak this to your shame.”
1 Corinthians 15:34

Where are those who would speak the truth; who see the day coming and declare to this generation “Awake to righteousness, and sin not…”? If a declared righteousness is sufficient, why was Paul declaring such things to the Church of God? Why was he speaking this to “their shame”?

A false gospel produces lax living and tepid hearts which cannot respond to the call of God.

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
Matthew 24:11-12

Iniquity abounds because false prophets and teachers propagate false and deceptive teachings causing the love of many to become cold.

Brian Troxel

Voices of the Day – Let Us Consider Our Ways

Voices of the Day

The Moral Dilemma of the Day

“Most recently, it was discovered that a comatose patient at a nursing facility in Phoenix, Arizona, gave birth, despite having been in a vegetative state for 14 years. The staff at the 24-hour care facility said they were unaware of her pregnancy until late December 2018, when she went into labor. She delivered a healthy boy…. After hearing about this horrific act, I felt filled with disgust and could not make sense of it. I buried myself in books by the great moral philosophers and spiritual leaders — Socrates, David Hume, C.S. Lewis, Pastor A.R. Bernard, Adam Smith and, of course, the Holy Bible — to try to understand, and hopefully make sense of, our broken moral and spiritual code. Make no mistake, “the system” is more than just flawed; it is broken on many levels. No one can deny that increasing levels of moral relativism have resulted in tragic outcomes that we never thought possible.”
– Armstrong Williams – (read article)

The above article was written by a secular man in response to a current news story. I was struck by the passion and clarity with which he wrote in calling out the depraved society in which we live; a passion that is seldom seen even within the people of God. It begs the question; why is there not a united voice from within God’s people decrying the wickedness in our land resulting in intercession unto our God? How is it that we have become so desensitized to the horror surrounding us in North America? How is it we hear little, speak little and spend little time concerning these things? It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit moving and reigning within the lives of His own where sin and disobedience is addressed…

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me…”
John 16:7-9

We, the Church as a whole, are becoming as desensitized to sin as the world in which we live. The spiritual decay is almost complete. A gospel which does not speak to sin in its own ranks will have no force or power to stem the rising tide of debauchery without.

Can we not feel the growing tide of dissipation, depravity and wantonness filling our land? Is there no comprehension of the day we are in and the implications of what our children are being subjected to every day? Can we not see the stain of the world pervading the Church of Jesus Christ? The invasion of sin robs God’s people of the fervency of heart and the fire of God.

“Because of the increase of wickedness,
the love of most will grow cold”
Matthew 24:12

When pornography, divorce, strife with one another, greed and power mongering is rampant within how can the Church of Jesus Christ be a light to those without? It is a Day to “consider our ways” to repent of the flippancy of a “seeker friendly” gospel, to repent from men’s desires to build magnificent buildings and ministries, and increase their appetites for worldly wealth all the while neglecting the condition of God’s House. The day of seeking to fill the pews rather than the hearts of God’s people with Godly living is bringing the Judgment of God to our land first and foremost upon His Own Church!

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”
1 Peter 4:17

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

It is hypocrisy to speak to the sin without while we hold to the same within our own hearts. God’s answer to this dilemma is simple…

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

Brian Troxel