Blogspot Message #7

Blow The Trumpet In Zion (Sound The Alarm)

“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: A day of darkness, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong: there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.” Joel 2: 1-3

In the Holy Bible, “Zion” is often synonymous with the church. When I say “the church,” I mean that body of believers in Jesus Christ of Nazareth who have actually become born again according to Jesus instructions found in John 3, whether they happen to be Presbyterian, Baptist, Charismatic, Anglican, Episcopal, Methodist, Pentecostal, non-denominational, etc. I am not speaking of those who simply belong to a church, attend a church or have some sort of church or denominational identification or connection. Jesus told Nicodemus, “…Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3.

In the above-quoted passage from Joel, the Lord is addressing His church, the born again ones. The word for His church today, in all parts of the globe, is one of urgent alarm, and it is this: Judgment is coming, it is even here, and let each person examine his or her own heart. Where do you stand with Me, says the Lord? What condition are your heart, mind and soul in? Will you be accounted worthy by the grace of God to escape those terrible things that are coming upon earth, and which are already here on an ever-increasing frequency and quantity? Do you know what time it is in the history of Planet Earth? Can you wisely and correctly discern the signs of the times? Are you serving faithfully as a watchman on the wall (see Ezekiel 33) or are you sound asleep, slumbering like the five foolish virgins? Are you preparing yourself for my coming? Are you dying to yourself so that my Son can be born in your heart in a greater measure, or are you in love with the world and the things of the world?

These are the days that the prophet Joel spoke of. The fire of adversity is here to burn out everything in the church that is not like Jesus. You can forget silly, foolish and even wicked buzz words and phrases like, “money cometh,” “the purpose driven life” and “if you can dream it, you can achieve it.” Jesus is coming into His temple (you and me—His church) with a whip or scourge to clean up. No more money changers, hucksters and snake oil salesmen. His clean up process will not be pretty and will surely inflict pain on those being cleansed. You can continue to let lying “prophets” tell you that “money cometh” and that you are about to become the next president of General Motors or whatever outlandish lie they are telling these days. Surely the Lord can bless with finances, healing, job promotion and many other earthly blessings. But are you heavenly minded or earthly minded? You will not take your new car or job promotion into heaven or the New Jerusalem.

This is a prophetic message in the sense that God has purposed for it to be spoken to those who read it and to geographic regions. The City of Refuge is going to resume post-Hurricane Katrina public meetings tomorrow evening and this message is a prophecy to the region where it is given (Slidell, Louisiana USA and its vicinity). It is being loosed now in your life as you read it, and if you can hear and obey what the Lord is saying through it, your life will be prospered and bettered, not necessarily according to your definition of “prospered and bettered,” but according to the definition of the Lord. His definition is that He gives us what we need, not necessarily what we want. So, if it is deliverance from a bondage that you are needing, it is yours IN HIM. Don’t go claiming a new Lexus right now. The Lord wants to deal with your spirit and the condition of your life. We can talk some other time about your car, your wardrobe and your pocket book. Surely He can improve those things too, but the focus at this particular moment in time is on your spirit, soul and body. Your being. God wants to deliver you from bondage, worse than you want to be delivered from it, but will you cooperate with the process?

In Malachi 2:17 the Lord says to us, HIS CHURCH, “Ye have wearied the Lord with your words, Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or Where is the God of Judgment (justice, judicial decree) ?” He hears our complaints and griping, even if it is only on the inside, not necessarily finding external expression through our speech. He hears us saying things like, “why did so-and-so get that pay raise and job promotion and I did not?” He hears our unfounded inner complaint that He is, in our estimation, unfair. Like Job, we need to get ready to give an account of our complaints and charges against Him. Oh yes, He will send you an Elihu like he sent to Job, to tell you:

“Elihu spake moreover, and said, Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidest, My righteousness is more than God’s? For thou saidist, What advantage will it be unto thee? and What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?” Job 35:1-2

This is our core problem: we think that we KNOW better than God and that we ARE better them Him. We are self-righteous to the core. We need deliverance if we think that we are going into His heaven. We cannot bring self-righteousness there. He will have to purge it out of us, through the fire of affliction.

You may not be accustomed to hearing such stout words from a preacher. Most of them will coddle you, pacify you and tell you a lot about God’s love and mercy, but little or nothing of His “tough love.” They will teach you in the ways of some man-made doctrine about the “purpose driven life” without ever telling you that you must repent and be converted. Although kindness, generosity and mercy are truly attributes of His, I am not concerned with tickling your ears, picking your pocket (churches call it “tithes and offerings” or “sow your good seed in our good ground for a bountiful harvest”) or currying favor with you. I am not running a popularity contest. If I am pleasing the Lord, that is good enough.

You need to eat off of the entire spiritual menu, not just from what you think tastes good. Consider this also about the Lord:

· “For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” Deuteronomy 4:24

· If we afflict the widow or orphan and they cry out to the Lord, He will KILL those who have afflicted the widows and orphans. See Exodus 22:22-24

· Ananias and Saphira lied to God and He KILLED them. See Acts 5:11. The result of this Divine judgment was an tremendous increase in the fear of and respect for the Lord (see verse 11). Something has to die before there can be revival. In this case it was the death of deception, insincerity and lying. Notice that this happened in New Testament times. Some say that we live in the age of grace and that God does not operate as He did in the Old Testament times, in other words, that we are no longer under the law and we now experience abundant grace. Well then, how do you explain God KILLING Ananias and Saphira during New Testament times? We often say that we want a “New Testament church.” O.K. No problem. Does that mean that we want the Ananias and Saphira experience? Or the many afflictions of the Apostle Paul, like being beaten up and left for dead, shipwrecked, imprisoned and so forth (look in the Book of Acts—it is all there). So much for the modern portrayal of God a some sort of Celestial or Cosmic Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy.

· In Isaiah 6:1-13 it was King Uzziah that died. He symbolized pride and everything that stands between us and seeing the Lord as He is. When our false concepts of who God is and what He is like die, we get delivered, changed, sanctified and converted into a usable condition, fit for doing the work of the ministry, according to the plans and specifications of the Master. 2 Chronicles 26:15-16 says, And he [ King Uzziah] made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up [with pride] to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense.” Uzziah’s job assignment was that of king, not priest. When he got out of place and insisted on doing someone else’s job, Uzziah stepped into a position that he was not equipped for and which belonged to someone else, hence the Lord had to judge him for his pride. This was especially so because Uzziah was invading the office or position of the priest—a position for which he was neither qualified nor appointed.

· In Deuteronomy 32:39, the Lord says, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.”

This is plain: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, [again, you and me, for He dwells in temples not made of stone] even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.” Malachi 3:1-4

Church (read, “you and I”), we need the fire of affliction to cleanse sin out of us. And that is exactly what He is sending to us, His church. In America we think that we are immune to the woes that beset so much of the rest of the world, but take a look at Revelation 18 for a prophetic word about America. We are the evil nation that has defiled and corrupted the entire Earth with our carnality and decadence. You may want to get on the internet and see what the men of God like Dumitru Duduman, Daniel Bohler and Henry Gruver have been shown about God’s punishment that is coming to America:

· Drought

· Famine

· Earthquakes

· Volcanic eruptions

· Civil unrest and violence

· Financial collapse

· Invasion by a coalition of several nations, including, but not limited to China, Russia, Cuba, Mexico and Nicaragua. The initial attack will be NUCLEAR! You may think this to be far fetched, but if you are current on world news and events, you will notice that China is on an ever-increasing basis augmenting its presence in the western hemisphere, including business ventures in South America (there are many ethnic Chinese in Peru) and Hutchison Wampoa Ltd. (Chinese Hong Kong corporation fronting for the People’s Liberation Army) managing the Panama Canal Zone. Consider that China has ICBMs that can reach at least the West Coast of the USA and it is in the midst of considerable build up in military power. China now has submarines and aircraft carriers. Those are naval vessels that are most typically employed in the projection of power, rather than purely defensively. The Western Hemisphere is steadily becoming socialist (read “communist” or “leftist”), with Venezuela led by Mr. Chavez, a Fidel Castro “wannabe” and Bolivia now led by Mr. Morales, another Castro “wannabe.” Today Mexico is electing a new president and the projected outcome is too close to call. Mexico’s new president will either be quite conservative or quite socialist (leftist). Do you now see what is forming up?

The inescapable conclusion is that the Day of the Lord is here. It is not approaching, it is here right now.

So then, what are you to do as one of God’s servants? I am glad that you asked. Here is just some of what we need to do:

· Consider Isaiah 26:9, which states, With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” Pray for an increase in your devotion to and heart for the Lord. Seek Him first thing every day, in prayer and Bible reading. Know that He is sending judgment to the earth to bring repentance and revival, and to punish sin.

· Pray for an increase in the fear (holy respect, awe and reverence) of the Lord. See 2 Corinthians 7:1) Pray for an increase in the fear of the Lord, so that wisdom can be birthed in you (see Proverbs 1:7).

· Pray many passages from the Psalms, such as Psalm 51, especially, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me (verse 10).

· Confess the Word of God (Bible scriptures), not so that you can get a new Buick or Lexus, but so that you will get delivered, changed, transformed and sanctified. There are Bible verses for every occasion, purpose and need and if you get into the Word and dig deeply, you will find those scriptures to pray and confess so that needed change will come into your life.

Consider Gideon and his army (see Judges 6-8). Many were called, but few were chosen. The total force started out with 32,000, but on the day of battle, 31,700 had been weeded out. Only 300 remained! The fighting elite force of God on that day was a little bit less than one percent (1%) of the total force! In these last days it is a very, very small number of Christians who will be in the modern day equivalent of the “Gideon’s 300.” The various military special forces, commandos and elite troops of the world are a splendid natural representation of the spiritual Gideon’s 300, whether we speak of the British Ghurkas and SAS, Russian Spetsnaz, French Foreign Legion, United States Navy SEALs, United States Army Rangers, United States Marines Force Recon, etc.

The point is indeed, many are called, but few are chosen. Where do each of us fall in the order of battle? Am I just a rank and file basic infantryman, or am I an elite commando? How ready for spiritual war am I?

How much oil do we have in our lamps?

PASTOR BEN