Gathered to know His will
That which is gathered unto the Lord, that which is set apart to represent him, the gathering of his household – even the smallest company of committed, are brought together to learn to know the context of redemption, brought together to learn to know the will of God, even to know God. The saints gathered before the Lord, the real Church, are brought out unto corporate understanding of redemption in general as well as the Father’s will unto practical application. The house of the Lord gathers to know him and to know his will. The house, household and servants, does not exist for its own purposes. “His house are we”, built for purpose, built to be inhabited, set apart for his will.
The household of the Lord is meant to stand as a redemptive context. The company of committed stands horizoned by the Fathers will and intentions. This little company, wherever it gathers, rests under his Word, to be taught unto disciplined functionality. Wherever the tabernacle is erected and established, a tempering will occur for the sake of corporate priestliness. “There I will meet with you.” There he will reveal his will.
Without the Master’s words, the house remains empty. A household unwilling to hear, disintegrates. The Church, meant to stand ablaze, ought to stand ashamed because of its misuse or the Word of God and its unwillingness bend its corporate ears. But, she has lost her ability to blush. The Solemn Assembly recovers hearing. The calling together, the gathering of the company of committed aims at a breaking of hearts unto priestly ministry in repentance and reconciliation according to the Father’s will. The calling together of men in every place is a call to brokenness and trembling – a trembling at his Word.
Joel, the prophet of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, is also the one who brings superbly distinct instructions regarding the procedures to precede the outpouring. A Solemn Assembly: A recognition of the absolute necessity of a returning to the Word of God, an absolute necessity of a returning to a corporate understanding of the will of God and obedience in full measure. King Hezekiah, the king of thorough restoration, earns his place in the annals of the kingdom of Judah as a leader who understood the will of the Lord and who courageously engaged the priests and the people in an undertaking which pleased God and secured his sanctifying endorsement. The Church must return to sanctifying patterns, to apostolic patterns. Modern spirituality allows for a bypassing of these sanctifying patterns and releases spiritual experiences, charismatic pretense, which should be avoided at all cost. There is no restoring unto charismatic measure without Solemn Assemblies and its trembling at the Word of God.
It is as if God stands without voice in his own house, without vote in his own assembly in these years. When the apostle Paul defines the house, the fellowship and the ministry, there is no, absolutely no, hesitation or absence of clarity. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Rom 12:1-2. He defines ministry as sacrifice, sacrifice acceptable unto God, priestly ministry based on the perfect understanding of the will of God.
When the Apostle allows us to look into his prayer life, we are made perfectly aware of things pertinent and prioritized. He prays for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, for the sake of a thorough knowing of the Father and of the love of Christ Jesus – this regarding the Church in Ephesus. The Philippians are covered with prayers “that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ”. Thus far: Insight into Christ’s love for the sake of judging unto excellence. And then, Colossians: “We do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” The house of the Lord; the place where the knowledge of the will of God is prioritized as an absolute.
The Holy convocation, the Solemn Assembly stands as a challenge. Who is ready to engage in a restoring of the Word of God in our midst? Who is ready to enroll in a company of committed? The Lord seeks truth in the inward parts. Head knowledge is secondary – knowledge without the presence of the Spirit of truth is as false as a lie. His house must be turned into a Solemn Assembly. Our common prayer must be one which reaches out for an understanding of his Word, for a thorough abiding by the Word, for a restoring of the understanding of the will of the Lord.
Lars Widerberg
Reading: Heb 3:6, Ex 29:42-43, Isa 66:5, 2 Chron 29:20, 30:10, 31:20-21, Rom 12:1-2, Eph 1:15-18, Eph 3:14-19, Phil 1:9-11, Col 1:9-10, Ps 51:6.
