A call to PREPARATION for the Day of Trumpets, which is also Rosh Hashanah
The complete message in pdf:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wWQ92UZT-AH4GHUXf7jC1DyfMpicCwmz/view?usp=sharing
In 2 weeks, on Tuesday 7 Sept., it will be the Day of Trumpets, Yom T’ruw’ah in Hebrew (Leviticus 23:24).
Why is this of interest to us, especially now, 2 weeks ahead?
The Day of Trumpets, is fulfilled in the New Testament among the (gentile) believers (such as myself) in the message that has to do with listening to the Voice of the Lord, as Jesus said (John 10:27): “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me”!
There is no better way to celebrate the living Voice of the Lord than actually LISTENING to the VOICE of the LORD! But that is not a cheap trick. It takes serious, holy devotion with preparation by self-examination and cleansing of everything that stands in the way; everything that actively works to prevent us from being able to listen to His Voice.
Such a preparation with devotion is meant to cause a deep(er), inner cleansing, and a clearing away of anything and everything that the Accuser of the brethren might use to accuse us before the Throne of Grace, which stops us from hearing His Voice.
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [you] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [you] double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and [your] joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you
How do we do that! By cleansing (our hands), purifying (our hearts), lamenting, mourning, weeping, and by humbling ourselves before the Lord.
Psalms 24:3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.
You shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD
As the Feast of Trumpets is a time (‘kairos-timing’) to offer to the Lord an offering made by fire, and as the wildfires have destroyed huge territories of forest during this summer, it may be a prophetic manifestation of a time when God wants to remind us the words of Jesus which speak of holiness:
Mark 9:49 “For everyone will be seasoned [literally, “salted”] with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned [literally, “salted”] with salt. 50 “Salt [is] good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”
Malachi 3:2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He [is] like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in Justice.
Matthew 3:11 “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 “His winnowing fan [is] in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Through many ways the Lord has been speaking and warning of the fire of judgment which devours, and the fire of separation which burns the chaff. At the same time, He is inviting us to the fire of cleansing and sanctification which “purifies the silver” that we may be able to offer to Him a pure sacrifice, an offering in Justice.
I believe that the Feast of Trumpets this year is a time/timing set apart for “fire”, as the Lord reveals Himself as “God who is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).
The question is, what about us personally? Will it be our own choice of fire of cleansing and sanctification for an offering made by fire, or, shall we end up in the fire of the Lord which burns the chaff for the cleansing of His threshing floor, which is the Ecclesia?