A Solemn Assembly at hand

An arousing trumpet calls, the mellow tune of a Ram’s horn seeks attention. The intensity of the alarm is intended for immediate spiritual alertness. It is intended to arouse the inner man, intended to generate response from men’s inner being. It will be perceived by hearts trained for listening. The outrightness and soberness of the alarm draws men together. It is a warning issued by Heaven itself. Make no mistake, no options follow. The horn offers a mandate; gather before God for service, for redemptive purpose. Gather in the gap for redemptive purpose. The sound travels in every direction, demanding solemn gatherings.

Men of spiritual stature gathers in response to the call, brought together for the exploring and understanding of the purposes and features of the House of the Lord, brought together to survey the prospects of redemptive exploits by means of godly fellowship under the hand of the Lord. Their longing for righteous living, for godly living, is their main feature and their primary source of influence. “The heartfelt supplication of a righteous man exerts a mighty influence.” Corporate prayer and intercession will have even greater effect unto righteousness and revival.

Habakkuk journeyed alone with the burden of the Lord. His was a prophetic waiting and watching, asking the questions which every solemn gathering is meant to formulate. His solitary position on the rampart, models the Solemn Assembly in its corporate listening for words sent from Heaven regarding judgment and restoration, regarding the priestly work yet to be done to reduce the impact of the onslaught of the enemy. The analysis made by the prophet and his crying out for answers stands as pattern and protocol for the priestly mission which the Church is called to in every place in these last days. And Joel underlines the necessity of the presence of a Solemn Assembly in the final years – in the days of the coming Messiah.

The call of the Ram’s horn signals a warning. But its sound brings men together for exploits which transcends the human frame of mind. The fellowship of these brokenhearted men is aimed at reflecting a Davidic approach to life and living: “Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the LORD, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.” The House of prayer, the Solemn Assembly, is intended for service unto God. Its perspective is the Father’s perspective – the sovereign lordship of His Son. The House, which the saints constitute, stands in the midst of the world as salt and light – as a confrontative instrument opposing iniquity and darkness.

“His house are we.” His house is a household of priests – men able to stand in the gap. The Ram’s horn sounds for the gathering of men of stature to stand in the gap, defending the nation with its cities. Men of stature, of spiritual maturity, meant to stand in the gap between what is and what is meant to be. Men of stature taking on the tension between what is and what is meant to be – to resolve the tension by seeking God in repentance for a formation unto maturity. The Solemn Assembly, men of stature, mobilizes the covering of protection of God for the oppressed. Revivals begin in the Solemn Assembly – where men and women gather for the sake of a returning to righteousness. Revival, the recovering of the testimony, begins where the longing for righteous living in fellowship and prayer brings men to abandon every other priority.

The Rams horn is calling, the trumpet sounds loud and clear. Men who are trained to listen in the spiritual realm are brought out for a gathering in solemnity and true fellowship for the sake of a restoring of the testimony and for godly living and fellowship in these days of the Messiah, in the days of the coming of the King. Our proper response will bring a dividing between what is godly and that which is unholy. The Solemn Assembly will have priestly repercussions in our cities. The Solemn Assembly will bring a testimony regarding salvation and holiness.

Lars Widerberg

Reading: Joel 2:15-18, Jas 5:17, Hab 1, Ps 132:3-5, Hebr 3:6.

There I will meet with you 03

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There I will meet with you
Ex 29:42-43

A gathering of the interceding Church for the purpose of unreserved commitment and explicit agreement. . .
03.

The Holy One of Israel – a name of honour, a name borne by God, borne by him who reveals himself. The revealing begins by the name itself, a singular statement about his identity, his nature and his choice. It is a distinct marker of his intent – he chooses a people and a place for communion. He chooses the least, chooses that which is the weakest, even that which is despised for the purpose of revelation – indeed an extra-ordinary setting, indeed holy ground. In a tent, among a people brought forth from among nations, he chooses to call himself by name – the Holy One.

The continuation of this revelation of holiness and communion is set before us, even today, in the call to efforts at an extra-ordinary level of attention and alertness in an atmosphere of fellowship and concord under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Israel of today, Jew and gentile, will be arranged by the same foundational principles and arrayed by the same beauty of holiness as the people of old.

The continuation of the revelation of God will take place among a people who has a desire for communion – like the church of the first days, gathering in homes, arranged by the Spirit of holiness in house fellowships. The continuation of the revelation of the beauty of holiness will take place in settings in which togetherness in righteousness is a main feature. The tent is the place of communion. That which is small and despised is still, even today, the choice of the Lord. In it he fosters a people for his praise – and for his returning to Zion.

The tent, the tabernacle of Israel declared the presence of that which is holy. The priests were constantly occupied with a holy sacrificial service before the Lord. The three parts of the tabernacle were marked as levels of increasing holiness. Parallels may immediately be found in the fellowship of the first church, as it was led to an ever increasing measure of godliness under the instructions and guidance of the Holy Spirit. There is yet a tempering of the tent to be expected among the people of God, to be received and apprehended in the Consensus Church – expressed in house church settings, among those who are waiting for the Redeemer to come to Zion.

The tabernacle is a call to holiness. The tabernacle is an invitation to communion. The church is once again called to extra-ordinary efforts in the realm of godliness. The tabernacle stands in our midst as a setting apart for a unified and unreserved commitment unto holiness. God pitches his tent in our midst as a foretaste of his coming and his rule. The tabernacle is defined among us by explicit agreements for the sake of extra-ordinary prayer for the displaying of the glory of God in these last days. . .

Lars Widerberg
Objective:
A calling forth, a bringing together of godly men and women everywhere, for the sake of unreserved commitment and explicit agreement in prayer and intercession, in preparation for a solid testimony of the Lord. 1 Tim 2:8, Matt 18:19-20.

What is your role in relation to such a call? What is your response to such a call? Would you give yourself to prayer for the mobilization of such a fellowship, given to the working out of explicit agreements concerning time spent, goals defined and devotion refined?
An explicit agreement aiming at:
A recovering of the apostolic patterns for church fellowship and spiritual growth.
A recovering of the glory of God among his people.
A recovering of veracity, authenticity, holiness and godliness.
A renewal of the understanding of the sovereign Lordship of Jesus Christ among his people.
A renewed waiting before the Lord for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
A new period of intensified efforts in the realm of missions – a sending of workers to the harvest.

The intercessors at the Network HQ are waiting to serve you in explicit and ongoing agreement in prayer to help and cover you as you move along these paths of recovery. We have at our disposal a couple of seed fellowships who have chosen to begin to develop apostolic patterns of church life for the sake of waiting on the Lord.
The Network as such is made aware of this mobilization and is in itself the first target for this prayer effort as well as the first unit to be involved in the prayer for the sake of unreserved commitment and explicit agreement in prayer and intercession, in preparation for a solid testimony of the Lord.
The Lord mobilizes Heaven and its resources for our growing together in effectual prayer for the fulfillment of the recovery.
Reports.
We welcome reports and descriptions regarding in what manner you are able to express this agreement:
How often do you find it appropriate to gather?
Where have you found a place to gather?
Areas of prayer which you try to cover and penetrate.
How you are received by the general Christian community.
Present difficulties.
Ideas as to the development of the agreement.

There I will meet with you 02

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There I will meet with you
Ex 29:42-43

A gathering of the interceding Church for the purpose of unreserved commitment and explicit agreement. . .
02.

Why do you not speak a word about bringing the king back? 2 Sam 19:10.

Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isa 40:3.

For all seek their own, not the things which are of Jesus Christ. Phil 2:21.
The activities of the Kingdom of Heaven are in many instances regulated according to repetitious patterns, and we do well to expect and to wait for these reoccurrences, which are secured by irrevocable promises of the Father – promises which may be condensed as follows: “God visits the nations to take out of them a people for His name.” Acts 15:14.

Heaven has defined a final goal, a summing up of all things, for which man may wait expectantly in prayer: “God shall send Jesus Christ, who before was proclaimed to you, whom Heaven truly needs to receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:20-21.

The promises and prophetic words aimed at producing expectant prayer for the ongoing building of the Church, the gathering of a people for his praise, as well as for the singular event – the Redeemer coming to Zion, a returning for the sake of final restoration – both belong to a category of human effort which brings us all far beyond the ordinary. “Why do you not speak a word about bringing the king back?”

The coming of the Lord is gathered up as an extraordinary event. A preparing of the way for the Lord may therefore be taken on as an extraordinary effort. This peculiar people of God is called together for that which is extraordinary, they are called to seek that which is above, that which is far beyond the ordinary. This peculiar nation has been brought together to be led by the Holy Spirit into that which is extraordinary, that which is indeed holy. The people gathered for his praise, his Church, will therefore constitute a holy union, a consensus Church, brought to the scene of world affairs with a single statement: “Why do you not speak a word about bringing the king back?”

The Church ought to prepare for extraordinary prayer efforts aiming at bringing the King back into each and every society.
The Church ought to prepare for extraordinary prayer for the return of the Redeemer to Zion in finality.
The Church ought to prepare for extraordinary prayer for the restoring of prayer – as so many churches close its doors for the intercessors.
The Church ought to gather for extraordinary prayer to prepare the way for the sanctifier – the Holy Spirit.
The Church ought to gather for extraordinary prayer to be able to live as a people for His name.

Lars Widerberg
Objective:
A calling forth, a bringing together of godly men and women everywhere, for the sake of unreserved commitment and explicit agreement in prayer and intercession, in preparation for a solid testimony of the Lord. 1 Tim 2:8, Matt 18:19-20.

What is your role in relation to such a call? What is your response to such a call? Would you give yourself to prayer for the mobilization of such a fellowship, given to the working out of explicit agreements concerning time spent, goals defined and devotion refined?

There I will meet with you 01

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There I will meet with you
Ex 29:42-43

A gathering of the interceding Church for the purpose of unreserved commitment and explicit agreement. . .
01.

God’s history of deliverances, of salvation, allows us to get a glimpse of, and to begin to understand the interaction between the purposes of God, the promises of God and the painful predicaments of a people meant for glory.

Deliverance has come when the word of God has been made void, Ps 119:126.
Deliverance has come when the people of God has chosen to build for themselves, Haggai 1.
Deliverance has come when the purposes of God has been set aside.

Deliverance has come when men and women have decided to seek the Lord with focused intent and with patience and determination.
Deliverance has come when men has gathered together before the Lord according to 1 Tim 2:8, in purposeful union, in deliberate harmony, in matter-of-factness.
Deliverance will come to Zion when men and women gather for the sake of extraordinary prayer.

God delivers a people for his purposes, God saves unto his intentions. God builds his Church. He gathers a people for his praise. He delivers through Christ and unto Christ – to reveal Christ. He builds yet another temple, yet another tabernacle, even a body.

His purpose for this hour – as for all times – is a Consensus Church, the body of Christ. In it he intends to bring forth agreements of an extraordinary kind which, in turn, will bring forth extraordinary prayer. He declares that in such a setting “I will meet with you”. And this concise object aims at bringing back the Deliverer, Jesus Christ, as King and sovereign ruler.

Lars Widerberg
Objective:
A calling forth, a bringing together of godly men and women everywhere, for the sake of unreserved commitment and explicit agreement in prayer and intercession, in preparation for a solid testimony of the Lord. 1 Tim 2:8, Matt 18:19-20.

What is your role in relation to such a call? What is your response to such a call? Would you give yourself to prayer for the mobilization of such a fellowship, given to the working out of explicit agreements concerning time spent, goals defined and devotion refined?

Pray Holiness

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The Beauty of Holiness, provided by the Holy Spirit – a provision for man to lay hold of in order to present the kind of worship which is appropriate before a Holy God.
The Living God, the God of the living, secures suitable worship and prayer by volunteering his own holiness to be established among his people.
Oh, how we long for this miracle of beauty to take place. . .
Pray as you were the only one able to pray.
Pray for God’s holiness to find resting places among us.
L.W.

Corporate Humility 01

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01.
Corporate humility: The summary of the Father’s aims and efforts for the setting apart of a people for his praise and for the overcoming of an already defeated enemy.
Corporate humility: The vigorous operation of the Church, the testimony Christ on display.
Corporate humility: The very foundation for a thoroughgoing work of prayer for the Kingdom to come.
L.W.

Characteristics of a Zealous Man

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A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thoroughgoing, wholehearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God.

Whether he lives, or whether he dies
whether he has health, or whether he has sickness
whether he is rich, or whether he is poor
whether he pleases man, or whether he gives offence
whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought foolish
whether he gets blame, or whether he gets praise
whether he get honour, or whether he gets shame
for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all.

He burns for one thing; and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God’s glory. If he is consumed in the very burning, he cares not for it – he is content. He feels that, like a lamp, he is made to burn; and if consumed in burning, he has but done the work for which God appointed him.

Such a one will always find a sphere for his zeal. If he cannot preach, work, and give money, he will cry, and sigh, and pray. . . If he cannot fight in the valley with Joshua, he will do the work of Moses, Aaron, and Hur, on the hill (Exodus 17:9-13).

If he is cut off from working himself, he will give the Lord no rest till help is raised up from another quarter, and the work is done. This is what I mean when I speak of ‘zeal’ in religion.

J. C. Ryle

One accord

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The unanimous, the concerted and concordant prayer aims at expressing a corporate burden, a corporate testimony of the heart of God.

A burden received from Him who operates world affairs by prayer is not an isolated issue – something which stands by itself – but reveals the brokenness of God, the crucified God. A burden apprehended and admitted from this eternal source causes much aggravation and agony, but holds final fullness at its core. The accepting of a calling to priestly ministry to be expressed corporately, to be expressed as concordant prayer will accomplish much according to the purpose of God.

Remember; one man alone, or woman – lonely as she might be, standing with God in his burden is of greatest significance in the developments towards God’s ends.

Lars W.

Distractions i Prayer

Lord! I cannot pray,
My fancy is not free;
Unmannerly distractions come,
And force my thoughts from Thee.

The world that looks so dull all day
Glows bright on me at prayer,
And plans that ask no thought but then
Wake up and meet me there.

All nature one full fountain seems
Of dreamy sight and sound,
Which, when I kneel, breaks up its deeps,
And makes a deluge round.

Old voices murmur in my ear,
New hopes start to life,
And past and future gaily blend
In one bewitching strife.

My very flesh has restless fits;
My changeful limbs conspire
With all these phantoms of the mind
My inner self to tire.

I cannot pray; yet, Lord! Thou knowst
The pain it is to me
To have my vainly struggling thoughts
Thus torn away from Thee.

Sweet Jesus! teach me how to prize
These tedious hours when I,
Foolish and mute before Thy Face,
In helpless worship lie.

Prayer was not meant for luxury,
Or selfish pastime sweet;
It is the prostrate creature’s place
At his Creator’s Feet.

Had I, dear Lord! no pleasure found
But in the thought of Thee,
Prayer would have come unsought, and been
A truer liberty.

Yet Thou art oft most present, Lord!
In weak distracted prayer:
A sinner out of heart with self
Most often finds Thee there.

For prayer that humbles sets the soul
From all illusions free,
And teaches it how utterly,
Dear Lord! it hangs on Thee.

The heart, that on self-sacrifice
Is covetously bent,
Will bless Thy chastening hand that makes
Its prayer its punishment.

My Saviour! why should I complain
And why fear aught but sin?
Distractions are but outward things;
Thy peace dwells far within.

These surface-troubles come and go,
Like rufflings of the sea;
The deeper depth is out of reach
To all, my God, but Thee.

Frederick William Faber, 1814-1863

Men – God’s method

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Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.

 

The glory and efficiency of the gospel is staked on the men who proclaim it. When God declares that “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him,” he declares the necessity of men and his dependence on them as a channel through which to exert his power upon the world. This vital, urgent truth is one that this age of machinery is apt to forget.

 

What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use – men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men – men of prayer.

 

E. M. Bounds

Power through Prayer