Blessings!  We have a new week in front of us and many of us are still reveling, from this past weekend, as we celebrated the glory of our Resurrected Savior!  Our lives have been forever changed because of His great sacrifice and we now have the opportunity to live out our gratitude with every step we take and with every word we say!

 

- Luke 24:32

 

Following the resurrection Jesus appeared to many over a period of 40 days and He continues to show Himself to us today.  He desires to reveal Himself in new and very real ways if we would only slow down long enough, on the path we are on, to realize He is walking right beside us.  Has your heart been set on fire this year?  Have you found yourself more deeply in love with your Lord because of  time you have spent in His Word?  His Word is "living and active" (Hebrews 4:12) and will "achieve the purposes for which [He] sent it" (Isaiah 55:11) if we would only sit in prayer before our Lord and feast upon His Holy Word!

 

For those who sat at the table of the Lord, and partook of His bountiful feast during the 40-day journey, we pray your experience was life-transforming and that you now have the courage to keep on walking and the boldness to keep proclaiming His gospel message.  This journey was not about finding our more about yourself - it was about knowing Jesus more fully!  The more we know about our Jesus the greater our desire is to please Him and to do His will.

 

(Joshua 7:10-12)

 

Last week, as we followed the path of Christ during the Most Holy Week, we reflected on the attributes of holiness.  Many of us took a long look in the mirror (if you have not read the five "In Passionate Pursuit of God" emails - see Media & Press/Newsletter Update at www.trumpetandtorch.org) and found our image flawed and distorted; so much so that many of us had to take a holy time out to repent.  The Lord takes His covenant agreement seriously and will not allow even one sin to get in the way of Him accomplishing His plans (Joshua 7).

 

As believers, we long to see revival in this country, but true revival will only come when the children of God return to the Lord with all their hearts and repent of the evil of their own hearts.  "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" (Luke 6:41).

 

The reality is, if we want to see our culture changed for the good we need to begin in the only place that has impacted culture for good - the Church!  Unfortunately, the Church is no longer making the impact it once did - in fact, the complacency of the post-modern church has caused many to be disallusioned with Christianity.  People, especially young people, are watching the church and seeing that it lacks authenticity (and activity!) and they're searching elsewhere to have their spiritual needs met. 

 

The Church is the body of Christ; and if "every member" of this body is to be doing its part, as it should, then we need to address the root of the problem which exists within the walls of the church (1 Corinthians 12 & 13).  The Church has a serious "heart" problem that is in need of repair.  That is why the Lord led Trumpet and Torch to offer this 40-day journey:  To exhort the children of God to sit before the Lord and allow Him to do the necessary "heart surgery" to revive us to do His will!

 

For those who have walked these 40 days you know first-hand what it means to offer your life over to the Lord and let Him have His way with you.  You've allowed Him to make the necessary cuts to strip away the scarred pieces of flesh that have stood in the way of allowing your heart to pump freely for Him.  You've had new life breathed into your bones and many of you have expressed feeling lighter because the weight of years of burdens have been removed from your life.  Talk about an "extreme makeover"!

 

Many of us have realized that fasting, true fasting, is not about offering up a sacrifice of our food to the Lord and it's not about getting God to perform a miracle for us because we performed an extraordinary service for Him (Isaiah 58). The Lord says, "To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22).  What we've discovered is fasting is purely about making ourselves available to God and recognizing our need for dependence upon God.  It's about submitting to His plans and purposes so that He can do the necessary work to unveil our eyes so we can see Him more clearly, and opening our ears so we can hear and understand Him more fully.  In so doing He prompts us to live a life of full devotion and total obedience to Him.

 

(2 Timothy 2:19)

 

We have been set apart for a high and noble purpose - to do the work of the King!  The Lord knows exactly who are His and He knows us by name.  When the Lord said to Moses, 'I know you by name' (Exodus 33:12) He was telling Him He had chosen Him for a special purpose.  Moses was called to lead the children of Israel through the wilderness and God gave him the Ten Commandments.  But on the first try, Moses lost his temper and, "He threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them into pieces at the foot of the mountain"  (Exodus 32:19).  Why?  Because the Israelites had turned their backs on God (in 40 days, no less!) and built themselves a golden calf to worship.  They couldn't see God at work (forget the fire and billowing smoke on the mountain in their midst!) and in their idleness they turned their attention to an idol. 

 

After Moses' little temper-tantrum (aren't we glad he wasn't perfect!), he said to the people, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me" (Exodus 32:26).  When the Levites came to him he instructed them to take their swords and to slay their family and friends.  In doing so they were "set apart to the LORD" (Exodus 32:29a).  Today, the Lord is asking us to make a  choice. We must choose whose side we are on.  "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15).  We must be willing to pick up our sword, "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"  (Ephesians :17b) and share it with our family, friends, and neighbors and allow the Word of God to do the necessary work in their lives, as He did in ours.

 

Today, we find ourselves, as Moses did, standing at the base of the mountain of God, grasping the very Word of God in our hands and burning with anger at the landscape before us, but before we react, we must pause to consider:  Will we act in haste and sling accusations and point fingers and complain at the mess that is piled up in front of us?  Or will we humbly return to the mountain and seek the face of God on behalf of our nation and be willing to do what He requires to bring His glory back down with us?

 

(Exodus 34:6,7a)

 

How grateful we are that our most gracious and loving Heavenly Father knows us by name and that He Himself bears the name, Jealous (Exodus 34:14).  For without His jealous love for us we would be left to fend for ourselves in a lost and fallen world.  He desires that none perish (2 Peter 3:9) and He is waking up His sleeping Church to get back to being about His Father's business. 

 

When Moses came down from the mountain, "He was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord" (Exodus 34:29).  He bore the reflection of the glory of God on his face.  The Church is meant to be the visible representation of Christ on this earth and if we doing what we have been called to do we, too, would reflect that glory.  

 

It was on the day of Pentecost, when the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, that the Church began.  They were filled with the power of God and everyone was amazed! (Acts 2). The people heard and witnessed the going forth of the Word of God and "about three thousand were added to their number that day" (v.41).  This same power is available to us today. 

 

Dear Saints, we have a hill before us to climb.  For those who walked the past 40 days, the journey is not over, it has just begun.  You now have the strength you need to continue (for those who have not made that journey this next climb will be difficult without that necessary preparation - we pray that you will consider dining at the table of the Lord in the temple at www.trumpetandtorch.org.  Simply register online for access to the temple to feast from the Table of the King!).  What the Lord requires of us now is action.  If we are going to see His glory poured out on our homes, our churches, and our nation we are going to have to ascend His holy mountain, in an act of faith, and receive what awaits us!

 

(1 Samuel 14:6b,12b) 

 

We are being held accountable for "hindering the children" from coming to Jesus (Matthew 19:14).  We have failed to "impress upon our children" (Deuteronomy 6:7) the Word of God.  We have allowed our textbooks, our courtrooms, and our culture to be stripped of everything morally and spiritually pure.  The process of repair has just begun.  For those who responded to His high and holy call to "return" you now hold the sword (Zechariah 1:3).  You now have the privilege of going into the camp and bringing others up with you. However, we must first begin within our own families.

 

This week, the task before you is simply to prepare your family to journey with you on April 1st.  Yes, there is another 40 days in front of us.  But, those who have already walked this path, know full well that what once seemed like an impossible task became an incredible journey.  "For nothing is impossible with God!" (Luke 1:37).  Many have asked that this journey would not end.  The intimacy you have experienced with the Lord was never meant to end, but in fact, to grow deeper and deeper, day by day, for the rest of your life.

 

If you were on a liquid-only fast for the past 40-days we ask that you walk the next 40-days on a Daniel-type or partial fast.  Each person should prayerfully submit this journey before the Lord and have Him reveal to you individually where He would like to take you as you ascend His holy hill (Psalm 24:3-4).  For many of us, because we are now sharing this journey with our families, we will be doing a Daniel-type fast and/or partial fast* and encouraging our families to eat healthier meals as we seek to spend more time in the Word and prayer together!

 

We ask each person to invite, at least, one other person to sit at the Table of the Lord and be an encouragement to that person during their first 40-day "feasting" experience.  If you lead a small group Bible study you might consider sharing this journey with them and walking it out together.  If your church did not do this journey corporately, we encourage you to share your testimony with your pastor and encourage them to invite the entire church to take this journey.  It is simply a matter of letting others know about this resource.  The response and the commitment is an individual one.  We are only responsible to share what we know and let the Holy Spirit move the hearts of the people to respond!

 

(Isaiah 55:12-13)

 

 

 

P.S. For those who have completed the first 40 Days at the Table of the King, you may repeat the same 40 day journey and allow the Lord to take you deeper as you dig further into the Scriptures (this was my 3rd time doing this journey - and the Lord continues to reveal so much!) or you may enjoy the next feast that awaits in the Temple of the Lord.  Details on the Path to Pentecost are coming soon!  Be in prayer as the preparations are being made.

 

*The Trumpet and Torch website offers detailed information on the various fasts and how to prepare for fast.  See "FAQ" and "Family Time" on the home page at www.trumpetandtorch.org.  This ministry exists to encourage believers to pray and to "feast" upon the Word of God!