In the book of Joel, the prophet was telling the people to get right. He was prophesying how things would hit the land, invasions of locusts in the farmlands, and catastrophes that would happen if the people didn't repent.
As he was prophesying and speaking to the people, it came to a place wherein he had to get everyone's attention once again, to assemble themselves, to honor God in the right way, to make sure that once again, they turned the situation around, to make sure that their relationship with the Heavenly Father was intact.
Joel chapter one, verse 14 says,
"Sanctify ye a fast. Call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord."
"And cry unto the Lord." A solemn assembly is simply saying, "Let's gather ourselves together. So we can cry out to the Lord, so that we can tarry, so that we can come together with our minds focused and in tune on Him."
Why do we do that? Because we need to make sure that we are doing things to constantly create paradigm shifts, that are going to make sure that things remain in order, so that the covenant between the Heavenly Father and His creation remains intact.
He has told us, "I am your father, I am your God, you are my children."
He has established that through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, giving up Himself to redeem this dying world, we are now heirs to the throne of grace.
We have to make sure that we establish our relationship with the Heavenly Father, by making sure that we have that solemn time established and put away so that we say nothing else is going to get my attention, because this time has been dedicated and set aside so that I can cry out to the Lord.
When we have these solemn assemblies where we come together as the Body of Christ, it causes us to get on one accord, it causes us to become synced.
On one of my many hats that I wear, we have this device, and it's the program, or the app, called the Reader. Whenever information needs to be uploaded, we're contacted by the assistant, the secretary, those that are in charge of getting out the communications, and they send out a message, and they say, "Your Reader has been uploaded with new information, it is now time to sync your device."
Everybody who has this device and this app knows what it means to sync. They all at the same time, when they sync that information, are able to upload new information for whatever procedure, whatever process needs to be carried out.
I look at that in the spiritual realm. When we call ourselves into a solemn assembly, we as the body of Christ, we are getting on one accord, where we are being, we are operating, and we are in sync to what God is calling us to do so that we can be downloaded with information that will give us what we need to carry out the mission and the task that God has for us as His army in the land.
See, the enemy does not want us to be on one accord. And this is something that needs to be constantly put before us so that we can understand our purpose here on the earth. As men and women, and children of the Most High God.
Our purpose is to let those who don't know who Jesus is, those who don't know the power of God our Father, those who have not yet experienced the leading and the guiding of the of the Holy Spirit, it's our responsibility to let our light shine so that that light can be shed on those who do not know. We are in this world but we are not of it!
I always say this, "what's the point in joining up with the ministry if I'm still going to be a part of something that resembles, that looks like, talks like, walks like, the world?
What am I pulling myself out of that situation for to come into something that's going to do the same thing?
No, "Be ye holy, for I am holy."
He's pulled us out of the muck and the mire. He set us on a Rock, a firm foundation, so that we can stand and keep on standing! So that we can emulate the power and the authority and the divinity of God our Father.
But how do you do that? You have to discipline yourself!
You're busy, you get up in the morning, alarm clock goes off, got to get my shower, got to brush my teeth, gotta get my cup of coffee, got to get in the car, got to ride. And everybody's just boom, boom, boom, boom. Slow down!
Call for the solemn assembly! Call for the people of God to come together so they can cry out to the Lord. So the Lord can down pour His power in His anointing. We need fresh anointing. We need new oil.
You can't burn off of the old oil that you were burning off when you were 20 and 30 years old. Come on, our bodies won't even let us do it! You try it, you try. If you were a tumbler or whatever, back when he were 20, 30, you start hitting a certain age 50, 60 years old, you can't do all of what you were doing before, maybe to a certain extent, but not as powerful as when you were younger.
So you need a fresh anointing. You need God to anoint you, how you are now? Where you're standing now? Your physicality, your mentality, "Lord, anoint me where I am now so that I can be used for your glory."
Don't try to burn oil from 1970, 1980, 1990. Come on. We need a fresh anointing from on high!
We have to stay in practice. We have to practice our faith, and we have to stay in sync with how God is leading us.
That's why the solemn assemblies are called. They're usually done during the month of January, the start of the year. There's nothing wrong, but when you go through the Bible, the different feasts, and the different things that have been designed for the people of God, they're all those things are listed for a purpose. Why? So that we memorialize our connection, relationship and covenant with our Heavenly Father.
So for those of us who have been called to a solemn assembly, take advantage of the gift that God has given you to say, Listen, you can come boldly to the throne of grace. He has given us the ability to cry out, spare not, to connect, to relate.
All of that is for us, so that God can take us to higher heights, deeper depths, and from glory to glory to glory. God wants us to experience great things in life. He wants us. He gave us His Son Jesus, so that we can have life and living abundantly!
We don't have to feel like I gotta walk with my head down because I'm a Christian. Being meek and mild does not mean that you have to be down-trodden. Being meek and mild means that you understand that you are a servant of the Most High God and you serve God by being a blessing and by helping others.
Meek and mild doesn't mean that you can't have nice things. Meek and mild does that mean that you have to act as if the world is on your shoulders? No, Jesus already came to save the world. You don't have to do it. You don't have to force anybody.
The only thing you have to do is let your light shine.
Plant a seed. Someone else will come and water it. Someone else will see the growth. But you do your part by letting your light shine.
We're called to solemn assembly.
Take it seriously. Respect it, honor it, draw closer to God. You draw nigh unto me, He will draw nigh on to us. Draw nigh to Him, He will draw nigh unto you. That's the whole purpose.
So don't get things twisted when you're called to fasting, when you're called to a solemn assembly.
You're not called just you're not called to these things.
Because like I say, some people trying to lose weight or some people say, "Oh I want to detox." No. It's to build your relationship. It's to get connected closer, so that you can hear a word where God will deliver instruction through the leading of His Holy Spirit, to show you what you need to be doing at this specific time in your life.
When you do that, you will see change. When you do that, you will see success. When you do that, you will see yourself developing.
You will start to see yourself and say, "Wow, I'm no longer doing what I used to do."
It takes you to be proactive and it takes you to be disciplined and for you to make sure that you take part in the solemn assembly.
K1
