" 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty."
- Zechariah 4:6 Trumpet and Torch is a ministry devoted to encouraging believers to return, with all their heart, to their first love, Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 6:3; Jeremiah 29:13; Revelation 2:4-5). Our passion and devotion for this ministry results from the knowledge and the belief that when God's children seek Him whole-heartedly, the power of His Holy Spirit will be unleashed, growing them into the likeness and holiness of our Savior. In turn, His children will then pour out His love upon the whole earth (Mark 12:29-31). The Scriptures state in 2 Corinthians 4:7, "... we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." Our Heavenly Father is the potter; we are the clay. Through His saving grace--the sacrificial and atoning death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ--we have received the deposit of His power in our lives--the presence of His Holy Spirit. While many of us gladly accept His forgiveness, we often fail to comprehend the awesome and incomparable gift He has freely bestowed upon us. In Judges 7, Gideon went into battle with a handful of men armored with the unlikely weapons of a trumpet and a torch. The battle plan of God instructed His faithful warriors to smash their jars of clay to unveil the light of the torch and to sound the trumpet to announce defeat to the enemy. By smashing their jars they signaled to the opposing forces that they had claimed their victory. Gideon and his winnowed warriors battled courageously - not because of what they held in their hands - but because they were armed with the Word of God. Gideon knew the power of His God, and he believed the promise the Lord had given him. Sadly, many believers today would rather hide their light under a bushel than issue the signal for battle. God has called us to be "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). He desires to break us and to strip us, removing obstacles that prevent us from serving as useful vessels in this battle of darkness. Once broken, cleansed, and restored, we can fully reveal to others the light of His love--a precious gift meant to be shared. The ministry of Trumpet and Torch champions God's children to tear down the cracked and carefully manufactured facade walling our hearts. An impure heart dims our inner light, preventing us from exemplifying the love of God in this lost and fallen world. Our lights must shine for the glory of God! The Trumpet and Torch website offers a process of consecration for each believer. Through an individualized journey, the believer will experience a "circumcision of the heart" (Deuteronomy 30:6, Romans 2:29) by dining on the Word of God and prayerfully repenting of the compartmentalized and pocketed areas of life which have not been fully surrendered to Him. The heart of this website is a daily devotional experience entitled EAT at the Table of the King, designed as a practical tool to guide believers through a 40-day period of feasting on the Word of God (this journey is a preparation journey and recommended required journey to complete before undertaking the WELLSPRING: Unleash Your Passion for God and HARVEST: The Kingdom of God journey's (also available on the Temple Side of the website and as free devotional downloads). Three times a day--breakfast, lunch, and dinner--the believer will dine with the Lord, developing a desire for Him above anything else, including food. Throughout Scripture, the Lord used mealtime as an opportunity for teaching and training in righteousness. As the Israelites hungered and thirsted in the desert, He revealed Himself as Sustainer; as the disciples sat and ate with Him in the upper room, He revealed Himself as Savior. Matthew 5:6 promises "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Most of us, though, do not know what it means to be truly hungry. When we do "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8), our appetites will be whetted with the zest of true holiness, and we will begin to desire more. We will hunger purely for the ways and things of God. For the humble, repentant, and wholehearted believer, the Lord can accomplish a lifetime of transformational work in just 40 days. It is the prayer and hope of this ministry, as each believer dines upon the Word of God, seasoned with prayerful communication and heartfelt repentance that the Lord will purify, prepare, and provide an army of faithful and holy warriors fully equipped to set the world on fire for Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission. " 'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.' " (Matthew 28:19-20) |
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