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Stirred

“And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, every one whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.”
Exodus 36:2

The work of God through His people is only accomplished in hearts that are stirred up and open to the promptings of His Spirit. It requires diligence to serve the Lord daily. Belief alone, without an actual serving of Him, is deception. (James 1:22-26)

Religion is often a great façade. It soothes the heart and often provides a buffer from the whispers of God and a bearing of the cross of doing His Will. An unstirred heart, content to live isolated from the outreach of God into the world around us, is the tragedy of life. While such may avoid the trials and tribulations accompanying the doing of God’s Will, it also remains unchanged, undeveloped, and oblivious to the depths of God’s love.

An unstirred heart knows little of its own condition. Its faith is untested and assumes itself to be true; it has not touched the reality of its own poverty. Such a faith is based upon the words of the covenant of grace rather than the life of the covenant of grace. Grace is held as a sentiment of God rather than the actual power of God.

The stirrings of God and our response to them take us from being spectators of the economy of God into the wonder of participation. It is in the “yoke of Christ” that we learn of Him. Jesus was always pressing the disciples into involvement in the Will of the Father.

Feeding the multitude:
“But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.” Matthew 14:16

The nearer our heart is to Him the more we recognize the stirrings of the Spirit. Sensitivity to Him is a virtue that can only be learned by obedience.

“But he that doeth truth cometh to the light,
that his deeds may be made manifest,
that they are wrought in God.”
John 3:21

The Word is clear: only those who “do the truth” will know whether their “deeds” are the work of God. It is in our doing that we discover the confidence to grow into the truth of His Will. Many are content with an intellectual knowledge of the truth but have not touched the “hidden manna” that comes as they do the truth. (Revelation 2:17)

The Hidden Manna

“But He said to them, I have food to eat which you do not know. Then the disciples said to one another, No one brought Him food to eat? Jesus said to them, My food is that I should do the will of Him who sent Me, and that I may finish His work.”
John 4:32-34

Early in their walk with Jesus, the disciples were presented with this powerful truth: the “meat” or substance of His nourishment was in doing the Will of the Father. How presumptive it is to think that we are excused from such a truth. Jesus plainly declared that the secret of the power and unction of His Life was through the medium of obedience.

“Jesus said to them, My food is that I should do the will of Him who sent Me, and that I may finish His work.”
John 4:34

The Parable of the Vine in John 15 reveals the secret of abiding in His love:

“if you may keep My commands, you will remain in My love, according as I have kept the commands of My Father, and remain in His love”
John 15:10

Jesus kept the commands of His Father through obedience. “If you keep my commandments you will abide in MY Love”. The reason many fall from a life of obedience is that His Love ceases to beat within their hearts. If we keep His commandments His love abides in us, and our hearts are stirred into the involvement of His Will in the earth.

The crisis of our day is that multitudes claim God has not moved them to extraordinary things. Rather than questioning such a life, they are complacent and content. When we live a life that has no stirrings of His Love, His mercy, and His Will, we must know that we are lacking His Love within. Love is the voice of God within the human heart and no heart can remain unmoved where He abides. Love is the basis of true obedience.

“He that loveth not knoweth not God;
for God is love”
John 4:8

Brian Troxel

6 Comments

  • Great work, Brian.
    It’s an awesome experience to be stirred by the Holy Spirit.
    I enjoy those moments and I want the stirring to continue all the days of life.
    Thank you, brother.
    Keep up doing the good work of the Lord.

    • Brian Troxel says:

      Hello Evidence:

      I was away at a conference for a week – so sorry for the slow response. Thank you for the kind words and my you and your family be blessed today.
      BT

      • It is well brother.
        Hope you were empowered at the conference.
        Blessings

        • Brian Troxel says:

          It was a very stirring and encouraging time…

          A word was shared having a great effect upon everyone there…

          A Word From the Lord
          Shared at a conference in Michigan (11/13/2022)

          I am digging deep.
          Unearthing roots that keep you tethered to places that no longer nourish you.
          Removing debris from an old season that can’t be part of your future.
          Untangling alignments that can’t go where you are going.
          Pruning habits and reshaping mindsets that have hindered and held you for much too long.

          I am digging deep.
          That’s why some painful memories have been resurfacing.
          Old wounds that were covered over but never healed.
          I’ve placed you in uncomfortable situations to reveal the places that still need my attention.
          I am restoring what you have lost.
          I am bringing wholeness.
          I will remove the sting of the past but leave you with the wisdom of that season.

          I am digging deep.
          That’s why you don’t see many visible signs of my activity.
          I am working slowly, beneath the surface, performing spiritual surgery in silence.
          I will not settle for shallow or superficial.
          No more spectators, cheerleaders, or fans.
          I am looking for warriors, lovers, holy ones.
          Consecrated vessels who can carry My goodness, favor, power, and glory.

          I am digging deep.
          Storm-proofing you for the severe shaking that is still to come.
          Making you wholly devoted and durable, firmly established and strong.
          Men will tremble in terror as the nations are shifted, sifted, shocked, and squeezed.
          But my faithful ones will see My Sovereign hand at work.
          You will trust. You will be confident. You will not be moved.

          I am digging deep
          I am making you battle-ready.
          I am building a resilient, radical remnant of worshipping warriors.
          They will win spiritual conflicts in the darkest places.
          You will not be unsettled by the enemy’s noise and bluster.
          You will not pull back when the warfare becomes intense.
          You will take your place.
          You will stand your ground.
          You will prevail.

          I am digging deep.
          I am birthing something new. Never before seen on the earth.
          I am raising up a company of the humble-bold and gentle-brave.
          Refined revolutionaries. Fiercely loyal to Jesus.
          Empty of any desire for man’s praise.
          Fully aware of who they are and whose they are.
          Unconventional. Unashamed. Undaunted. Untamed.
          – Anonymous

  • Hello Brian, this verse was one that I first understood to say that God calls us and fills us with his Spirit to the work that he desires from us.
    We, like those men are given the skill and the stirring, both because it cannot be our own weight to bear, nor can we fill those positions by natural understanding. Let us be spiritually called and led.
    God bless

    • Brian Troxel says:

      Hello Pedro – Sorry for the late response I was away for nearly a week. As Paul wrote to Timothy to stir up the gift that was in him, so each of us must tend with all diligence to be faithful to the precious deposits (undeserved and unmerited) He has given us. The Greek word used in Timothy to stir up the gift literally means to blow upon the coals.

      May we be faithful to “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works…”

      So appreciate the comments and your own contributions to sharing His Word!

      Be blessed today!
      BT

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