HE IS ABLE PART ONE

“Blow ye the trumpet in the land:
cry, gather together, and say,
Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the
defenced cities (stronghold – Hebrew)”
Jeremiah 4:5

It is the DAY of the Trumpet; it is the DAY of Alarm. Who will hear and turn? The Trumpet is beginning to sound where even the careless are starting to feel the distant rumblings. The Word that is to be heard is one of assembling ourselves, not in the old form of meetings and programs but in the sense of the fear of the Lord with the intent of entering into the stronghold of our God. God’s people are to hear and respond to the Word going forth. The disillusionment of the past, the weariness of the present and the desire to ignore the things that are about to break forth are the enemies of responding to the Alarm.

“Ye that put far away the evil day…”
Amos 6:3

It is a day to gather ourselves together, to seek His Face, to shake off the slumber of a faith that has been dimmed in the obscurity of the day. It is a day to pour out our hearts unto Him who is able to kindle a new faith burning in the fire of a LOVE that will not be quenched; a love that compels the people of God to new depths of caring for one another in a fellowship of the Life and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The dead bones of former things are indeed dead; men raising up edifices and programs to give themselves names as they sought to draw men to “their truths” while neglecting the simplicity of a Love that speaks “we are members one of another…”. It is a day to seek the welfare of our brothers and sisters; a day to reveal a love that melts the walls of division and sectarianism. It is a DAY for TRUTH to destroy false teachings, wrong concepts and immoral living; a ministration of the TRUTH that sets people free to live in the fear and the glory of our God without compromise.

In the midst of this call to assemble ourselves together there is much that would mock the thought of such a thing, but the Word of the Lord stands as a testimony to the hour in which we live and the dismal state of the Church. It is a DAY of apostasy, lukewarm and immoral living, broken families and decayed foundations. The God who brought creation and order out of a world that was formless and void can and will raise up a Church against which the gates of Hell will not stand. Why do we stand in our disbelief? Is this the Church that Jesus prayed about in John 17 where HE prays to the Father that the LOVE wherewith thou hast loved me might be in them… that the world may know…”? How can we read such things without daring to believe that HE IS ABLE!!! How do we accept this divided, segmented and fragmented present day expression as something that even dimly compares to the majestic prayer of the SON?

Faith is revealed in what we do. Faith is revealed in a people who walk, live and move in the power of the living God. It is a day to seek out and to become a part of this great assembling to our God. Truth and reality can only start in the heart of each individual. If it starts not in our hearts, in our day and in our community, rest assured others will rise to respond to the call of this day. This will be to our shame and our sorrow. Faith does not rest in what it sees; Faith rests in what it hears.

Jeremiah goes on to say…

“The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the gentiles
is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate;
and thy cities shall be laid waste, without inhabitant”
Jeremiah 4:7

These things are already set in motion. His hand will not be stayed. It is the DAY of the Lord. It is the day of sifting, the day where every man’s work will be revealed and the day of His Judgements. It is the day to turn from our ways; it is the day to depart from evil, and to turn with all of our hearts back unto Him. We have forsaken faith to walk in the wisdom of this world. We have gathered to ourselves riches and things while HIS house suffers the violence of kingdom builders. We have not considered the “ancient paths”. Rather we have forged “new” ideas and embraced the traditions of men instead of the leading of His Spirit. We have taught “our shepherds” and “our clergy” and have forgotten that unlearned fishermen and tax collectors were the vessels of choice in former days. So many sit in a pew not even aware of the precious gifts and ministries that have been entrusted to us to function in, that we might see the wealth and the wisdom of a Church that is living and pulsating in the purity and power of God.

It is a day to ASSEMBLE ourselves together unto our God. No longer meeting in the names of men, but gathering unto HIM in simplicity of FAITH, and in the intensity of a devotion that is birthed by the Love of God burning in our hearts. HE IS ABLE!

Lord, we pray that you will tear down the walls of unbelief, that you would cause us to ARISE and WALK in the call of this NEW DAY. Give us FAITH that is not affected by the things we see, but a FAITH that has fixed its eyes upon the ONE who said HE would Build this Church and that it would stand triumphant in His Power and His Love. We pray that you would so move by your Spirit that in this day we would be drawn into the LOVE of God that will unite us in a unity that will reveal the full power of your redemption for all to see. Amen

HE IS ABLE!

Brian Troxel